ESP32 Dev Board
Device
This PCB I designed, had manufactured, and soldered is going to be the heart of all projects I develop going forward. With super easy programming through USB-C in the Arduino IDE, it is perfect for prototyping any project that is planned to use an ESP chip. I designed it to fit right into a breadboard and to also have pinouts for both IO and UART.
The back of the final soldered board, showing the regulator for 5V0 to 3V3, all necessary capacitors and resistors, as well as my name in silkscreen.
The powerful ESP32 C3 WROOM chip running the board. It runs at 3.3V, has plenty of IO, builtin USB-C compatibility, and can store graphics libraries.
Finished Product
The video below shows the board in action, doing a simple LED blinking demonstration. It also shows how it easily snaps into a breadboard, and shows the power LEDs for both the 5V and 3V3 voltage levels.
The full schematic for the board in Altium.
A view of the 2D front view of the PCB in Altium.
A view of the frontside of the PCB in 3D in Altium.
A view of the backside of the PCB in 3D in Altium.
Additionally, here is the BOM for the project. A link to a Digikey link of all these parts can be found here
| Part Name | Count | Cost Per Part |
|---|---|---|
| 0.1µF 1206 Capacitor | 1 | $0.09 |
| 10µF 1206 Capacitor | 1 | $0.15 |
| 1µF 1206 Capacitor | 3 | $0.12 |
| Red 1206 LED | 1 | $0.20 |
| Green 1206 LED | 2 | $0.20 |
| USB-C Female Connector (16 + 8 Dummy) | 1 | $0.78 |
| 1x4 Male 2.54 Pin Header | 1 | $0.10 |
| 1x12 Male 2.54 Pin Header | 1 | $0.16 |
| 5.1kΩ 1206 Resistor | 2 | $0.10 |
| 10kΩ 1206 Resistor | 2 | $0.10 |
| 220Ω 1206 Resistor | 2 | $0.10 |
| 330Ω 1206 Resistor | 1 | $0.10 |
| ESP32-C3 PCB Antenna | 1 | $3.28 |
| 5V to 3V3 LDO | 1 | $0.22 |
And the total cost of the project comes out to $6.44.
Using the Device & Test Code
When it comes to using the device or soldering one for yourself, there are a few things to note. After finishing soldering, when first plugging the device in, you should hear (if on Windows) a consistent USB disconnect sound effect. This tells you you did it correctly. In the "Arduino IDE, go to File > Preferences > Additional Board URLs". Once done, add the following two links into the additional board URLs list, and save:
https://dl.espressif.com/dl/package_esp32_index.json
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/espressif/arduino-esp32/gh-pages/package_esp32_index.json
Once done, set the target board to the ESP32 C3 Dev Board option. Also note, when programming the device, to set "USB CDC On Boot" to ENABLED. You can follow the settings shown below:
Now, once selecting the COM port that the device is connected to via USB-C, you can program as you'd like! Some sample code to test the board, which will blink the onboard LED (as well as pin 6 if you hook that up to a breadboard and LED) periodically to show that it is programmed correctly. The console should also confirm that the device has been programmed. Additionally, the device should be setup for serial if all the steps were followed correctly, so initializing serial and printing as needed should work like any other board, and information should appear in the serial monitor if done right. One thing to note is, if a program you upload makes the device appear bricked (stuck boot looping, can't upload a program, etc.) you must unplug the device, wire pin 9 on the board to ground, and plug it back in shorted and reprogram it with a new program. This will bypass any program currently on it that may be breaking it. Handy to know!
Development Documentation
Start to finish of how I developed the device.
Part 1 - The Idea
I've had the idea of a dev board of my own in PCB form for a while. I attempted it previously in December of 2024, but the design was poor and the parts I picked were not widely available, so I had given up. In March of 2025, however, a friend of mine, Noah Smith, had already developed his own dev board using an ESP32 chip. He showed me his board and that it functioned, and it sparked my interest, as I had tried to do so previously but hadn't followed through with it. He shared with me his documentation, which you can find here, which detailed the design of his board as well as including his project files. He had originally designed his in KiCad, and I knew I wanted to make one of my own inspired by his but using Altium Designer. I also knew I wanted additional features that he hadn't included. I wanted to have a pin header dedicated to UART for capabilities with an FTDI board. I also wanted a base indicator LED hooked up to one of the chip's GPIO pins and also an LED dedicated to both the 5V and 3.3V power levels. I also wanted all of my IO, GND, and VCC (of both 5V and 3.3V) on one side of the board to make it easy to prototype using on a breadboard (as with current C3 dev boards I've purchased from Amazon do not fit on a breadboard). With all of this in mind, I hopped into Altium and began laying out my schematic.
Part 2 - Schematic Design
This section is currently under development! Check back soon for updates.
Part 3 - PCB Layout
This section is currently under development! Check back soon for updates.
Part 4 - Ordering, Soldering, & Testing
This section is currently under development! Check back soon for updates.