HardLabs

Sparks

vinicius-cardoso·sparks·hardware/kicad/sparks/sparks.kicad_pcb

Sparks PCB layout, top view — open source ESP32 board by vinicius-cardoso

About the Sparks PCB

Sparks is an open source ESP32 PCB design by vinicius-cardoso, published on GitHub under the GPL-3.0 license. It is a 2-layer board measuring 66 × 101 mm, with 41 components from 14 distinct parts.

Its main chip is the ESP32-C3-SuperMini, from the ESP32 family. Other key parts include the MAX7219. By type, the board carries 26 diodes, 4 test points, 3 capacitors, 3 resistors, 2 ICs and 1 connector.

It belongs with the rf & radio and power & battery designs in this gallery.

From the project

Sparks: a Morse code radio transmitter

A handheld Morse code trainer and radio transmitter.

Press the key. The device times your dots and dashes, walks the Morse tree, and lights the letter you just formed on a 26-LED panel shaped like the tree itself. Optionally, it keys a CC1101 and sends the same characters over the air.

The panel is the point. Instead of showing you a decoded letter as text, Sparks shows you where that letter lives in the Morse tree — so the structure of the code becomes something you read off the board rather than something you memorize from a table.

Main components on the Sparks

MAX7219ESP32-C3-SuperMini

Sparks bill of materials (BOM)

41 components, 14 distinct parts — part numbers from the project's BOM.

QtyPartRefs
1
MAX7219
U1
1
ESP32-C3-SuperMini
U2
1
Conn_02x04_Odd_Even
J1
1
Buzzer
BZ1
1
SW_Push
SW1
1
BAT+
TP1
1
BAT-
TP2
1
+5V
TP3
1
GND
TP4
26
LED
D1, D2, D3, D4, D5, D6, D7, D8 +18
2
100NF
100n
C1, C3
1
10UF
10u
C2
1
R
R1
2
220K
220k
R2, R3

Sparks design files

The KiCad project lives in the vinicius-cardoso/sparks repository on GitHub; these links point at the commit this page was built from.

Sparks: common questions

What microcontroller does the Sparks use?

The Sparks is built around the ESP32-C3-SuperMini, from the ESP32 family.

How big is the Sparks PCB?

The Sparks measures 66 × 101 mm, has 2 copper layers and is 1.6 mm thick.

How many components are on the Sparks?

41 components, from 14 distinct parts, with part numbers taken from the project's own BOM. The full bill of materials is listed on this page.

Where can I download the Sparks design files?

From the vinicius-cardoso/sparks repository on GitHub, which has the KiCad layout, the schematic and the BOM; the links under Design files point to each one.

Can I use the Sparks design in my own project?

Yes, under the terms of its GPL-3.0 license, which vinicius-cardoso chose for the repository.

Can I test firmware for the Sparks without the hardware?

Yes. HardLabs builds a simulation of the board from its netlist and BOM, so you can run and debug ESP32 firmware against it before you order a PCB.

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