Year in Review 2024 – Random Nerd Tutorials

We’re already reaching the end of 2024. It’s time to wrap up the year and set new goals for the next one. In this blog post, we’ll share a recap of the year, including the most popular projects, new topics introduced this year, newly published eBooks, what to expect for next year, and more.

Number of Published Tutorials: 110

This year we published/updated 110 new tutorials, a little bit less than previous year (122 published in 2023). But, it’s an average of a little more than two tutorials per week, which was what we had aimed for.

Most Popular Tutorials

Here are the top 5 most popular tutorials published this year taking into account the views and feedback from our readers.

1. LVGL with ESP32 Cheap Yellow Display Board (ESP32-2432S028R)

Our getting started guide for the LVGL library with the ESP32 was the most popular tutorial published this year. This is a step-by-step guide to get you started using the LVGL library with the ESP32 CYD board. The LVGL is a popular free and open-source embedded graphics library to create awesome UIs for many microcontrollers and displays.

There is very limited information about using LVGL with the ESP32, so our guide was definitely a great help for a lot of users.

2. ESP32 CYD with LVGL: Display GPS Location, Date, and Time

This LVGL project with the ESP32 CYD board together with a GPS module creates a GPS reader that displays location, date and time. This project puts into practice a lot of subjects related to the LVGL library to create and display widgets and images.

The next step is to use the microSD card to record the GPS location over time.

3. ESP32 Web Bluetooth (BLE): Getting Started Guide

This guide provides a beginner-friendly introduction to using Web Bluetooth with the ESP32. Web Bluetooth (also sometimes referred to as Web BLE) is a technology that allows you to connect and control BLE-enabled devices, like the ESP32, directly from your web browser using JavaScript.

With Web BLE, you can create web applications that interact with your ESP32 devices via Bluetooth, enabling you to control GPIO pins, exchange data, and manage your devices remotely through a web interface (this means any device that supports a web browser like your computer or smartphone).

This cross-platform compatibility removes the need for users to download and install dedicated mobile apps, simplifying the user experience and reducing development efforts.

This means you can use a smartphone, tablet, or desktop computer to connect and control ESP32 devices using a Web BLE application.

4. Raspberry Pi Pico W: Asynchronous Web Server (MicroPython)

In this guide, you’ll learn how to build a basic asynchronous local web server with the Raspberry Pi Pico W programmed with MicroPython using the asyncio module. Using an asynchronous approach, the Raspberry Pi Pico W can handle multiple clients at a time and can also do other tasks while still waiting for clients to connect.

For a more in-depth guide about using the asyncio module for asynchronous programming we created this guide: Raspberry Pi Pico Asynchronous Programming – Run Multiple Tasks (MicroPython).

5. ESP32 Wi-Fi Provisioning via BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) – Arduino IDE

Wi-Fi provisioning is the process of connecting a new Wi-Fi device (station) to a Wi-Fi network (access point). In this case, we want to connect an ESP32 to a Wi-Fi network. The provisioning process involves loading the ESP32 with the name of the network (SSID) and password that we want to connect to.

The ESP32 supports Wi-Fi provisioning over SoftAP (access point) or via Bluetooth Low Energy. To provision the ESP32 via BLE, we need to use another BLE-enabled device. Espressif developed Android and iOS apps that support Wi-Fi provisioning for its devices like the ESP32 boards. Learn how to integrate this feature in your projects with this guide.

New Subjects

Two new subjects we started covering this year:

• Raspberry Pi Pico projects—you can check all the RPi Pico projects here.
• ESP32 Cheap Yellow Display, TFT Display, and LVGL—we started creating projects about creating graphical user interfaces for TFT displays compatible with the ESP32, specially the ESP32 CYD. Check all our CYD projects here.

New eBooks Published This Year

This year we published two new eBooks.

Learn Raspberry Pi Pico/Pico W with MicroPython

We had already planned to publish this eBook last year, but we could only launched it in March 2024. This eBook covers how to program the Raspberry Pi Pico microcontroller board using MicroPython firmware. We cover basic subjects like digital inputs and outputs, but also file handling, using Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for communication with other devices, MQTT communication protocol and more.

Learn LVGL: Build GUIs for ESP32 Projects

The emergence of the ESP32 CYD board (Cheap Yellow Display) motivated us to write an eBook about creating graphical user interfaces (GUIs) for the ESP32 using LVGL (Light and Versatile Graphics Library). The LVGL library comes with lots of functionalities to draw all kinds of widgets to control outputs and display sensor data.

However, there was very limited information available on how to use it with the ESP32. This motivated us to write this new eBook. Currently, it’s one of the subjects we like more to write about.

eBook Updates

We also updated several of our eBooks.

Note that when you buy one of our eBooks, you’ll receive eBook updates for free. You can get the latest version of your eBook in the RNTLAB member’s area.

• Learn ESP32 with Arduino IDE (3rd Edition) — updated in September

We released the 3rd Edition of the “Learn ESP32 with Arduino IDE” eBook, one of our best-selling eBooks. Unfortunately, due to many breaking changes in the new version of the ESP32 core for Arduino IDE, we had to remove the video course version from the main package.

• MicroPython Programming with ESP32/ESP8266 (2nd edition) — updated in June

We released a new edition of the MicroPython eBook: we updated previous units and added new ones covering new subjects.

• Learn LVGL: Build GUIs for ESP32 Projects (Version 1.4) — updated in September

Since the release of the LVGL ebook, we already updated it several times. It’s currently in version 1.4, released in September this year.

Maker Advisor

For those of you who don’t know, Maker Advisor is our other website where you’ll find reviews about development boards, tools, and gear for your electronics lab. That’s also where we show where you can buy your electronics components for your projects (check the Tools page).

We’re currently not creating new content for Maker Advisor, but we try to have our component’s page as up-to-date as possible.

Milestones for this Year

Looking at the milestones we set for this year, we successfully achieved most of them.

Writing an eBook about the Raspberry Pi Pico ✅

At the beginning of the year, we finally launched our eBook dedicated to programming the recent Raspberry Pi Pico microcontroller board using MicroPython. You can check the eBook here: Learn Raspberry Pi Pico/Pico W with MicroPython.

More RPi Pico, Raspberry Pi, and Home Automation Tutorials ✅

This year, we successfully created more tutorials about the Raspberry Pi Pico, Raspberry Pi and Home Automation.

We create several Raspberry Pi guides about video streaming, and using OpenCV for gesture recognition. We also created several guides for interfacing basic sensors with the Raspberry Pi board. You can check all our Raspberry Pi projects here.

Publishing a New Tutorial Every Week ✅

We successfully published one to two (and sometimes three) tutorials per week with our weekly newsletter. We also sent a monthly recap every month like previous years.

Tutorials about security and encryption ❌

It’s been two years since I had this in our to-do list, but still without success. I’ll try to focus more on this subject next year. What tutorials about this would you like to see covered?

Covering “Matter and Thread” with the ESP32 ❌

Matter and Thread are IoT protocols supported by the ESP32, where Matter ensures secure and interoperable communication between smart devices, and Thread provides a low-power, mesh networking standard for reliable connectivity. This seems quite an interesting subject to cover in our blog. However, I didn’t have the motivation to look into it in detail yet.

Getting Started Guide for the ESP32-S3 ✅

The ESP32-S3 model is a little different than the board we usually use, the ESP-WROOM-32 module. We created a pinout guide about this board here: ESP32-S3 DevKitC Pinout Refence Guide: GPIOs Explained.

Test the Raspberry Pi 5 ✅

We got the Raspberry Pi 5 and tested it with our projects. It is faster than the previous one and most of the things will still work in the same way. If you need to get a Raspberry Pi, we recommend getting the 5 because it’s faster.

Milestones for the Next Year

• Starting to create tutorials using the STM32: we receive several emails per week asking for tutorials with the STM32 board. We’re planning to start covering this board next year. Do you use an STM32? There are so many different models, which one do you prefer?

• Getting Started Guide for the ESP32 C3 Super Mini: I recently purchased an ESP32 C3 super mini, that as mentioned in the name, is super small, perfect for small projects that just need a few GPIOs and low power consumption. I plan to create a getting started guide and a pinout reference for this board. Seems a great board for IoT projects in a small form factor.

• Cover more projects dedicated to building robots: we noticed that we don’t cover much building robots on our blog. I think this is an interesting subject, specially for students and for those getting started into the electronics and home automation world. Do you have any ideas?

• Cover more display models with the ESP32, with different features than the CYD board, specially displays with capacitive touch that we don’t have covered yet.

• Looking into Home Assistant and figuring out whether it’s worth to start making some beginner-friendly tutorials about it. We also receive several requests per week asking about this subject. What do you think? Would you be interested?

• Publish one to two tutorials/projects per week and a monthly recap: as in previous years, we want to stick with our weekly publishing schedule and well as our monthly recaps.

My Travel Blog and Our Adventures This Year

Every year, we also share a bit about our travel adventures (that have nothing to do with electronics). If you’re not interested in this, you can skip to the Wrapping Up section.

For those of you who don’t know, last year, I started a travel blog to share our adventures and travel guides, itineraries, and tips about the places we visit. This is just a hobby, but already has a lot of work invested into it as I’ve written more than 40 articles about 10 different countries/locations.

You can check out our new blog on the link below:

• Tripiwi Travel Blog

You may also follow our travel adventures on social media (make sure to check Instagram stories to check our adventures in more detail):

• Instagram
• TikTok
• YouTube

At the end of last year, we went on a two-month adventure to Southeast Asia. We recently finished all the articles about our itinerary and all the places we visited on that trip (Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore).

This year, we did smaller trips compared to last year, but we went to some of the most incredible locations that we wanted to see for a long time.

Iceland

In March, we finally did my dream trip to Iceland (that was cancelled in 2020). Visiting Iceland was a dream of mine for a long time and it did not disappoint. It was even better than I expected and we were super fortunate with the weather. We spent one week on a road trip on the Southern part of the country. The landscapes are really out of this world.

If you’re thinking about going on a trip to Iceland, you can take a look at the guides that we have already prepared (more coming soon):

• Iceland Itinerary: Ultimate 7-Day Road Trip (includes Map)
• Iceland Golden Circle Self-Driving Itinerary (with Map)
• Iceland: Glacier and Ice Cave Tour—What to Expect
• Renting and Driving a Car In Iceland: 13 Essential Tips
• >> All our Iceland Travel Guides <<

Turkey

After a few weeks of our Iceland road trip, we went to Turkey. We explored the country for two weeks, also on a road trip (you have already guessed that road trips are our favorite kind of trip…). We spent three days in Istanbul, then we caught a flight to Izmir and started our road trip exploring places like Ephesus, Pamukkale, the Turkish Riviera, and ending in Cappadocia.

I didn’t have the time to write all the articles about Turkey, but here are the ones that are already finished.

• Istanbul 3-Day Itinerary with Map (Best Things to Do)
• Turkey Two-Week Itinerary For First-Timers
• Visiting Pamukkale: Is it Worth it? (What to Expect)
• Cappadocia Travel Guide: 3-Day Itinerary and 15 Best Things to Do
• All our Turkey Travel Guides »

Sardinia, Italy

In summer, we always like to go to a beach vacation not very far away. This year, we decided to go to Sardinia, an Italian island in the Mediterranean (approximately only two hours away by plane from where we live). If you want a dreamy beach vacation in Europe, with incredible food, and affordable prices, we absolutely recommend Sardinia. During 10 days, we rented a car and explored the east coast. It’s absolute paradise.

• East Sardinia 10-Day Itinerary: Best Beaches, What to Eat and Budget Breakdown
• Sardinia: How to Get to Cala Goloritzé and What to Expect
• Sardinia: How to Get to Cala Luna and What to Expect

Switzerland

Every year, we go somewhere in our RV. We love the freedom to park and sleep “anywhere”. Traveling on the RV is also great because we can easily work from there and we can save so much on accommodation and food, specially on the country we wanted to visit: Switzerland — one of the most expensive countries in the world. And yes, it is really expensive.

But, staying in campings and cooking our meals allowed us to save a lot of money (vs staying in hotels and eating out). We spent more than two weeks hiking the most beautiful mountains I’ve ever seen and we barely scratched the surface of what the country has to offer. We’ll definitely come back.

We explored the region of Luzern, Grindelwald, Interlaken, Lauterbrunnen, Zermatt, and so much more. These places are so beautiful, they don’t even feel real, it seems like you’re in a fairytale movie. The hike we liked the most was the Stoos Ridge hike.

I still didn’t have the time to write about Switzerland, but I’ll definitely do as soon as I finish my Iceland and Turkey travel guides.

We already have some general plans for our travels next year. But, if you have suggestions, we’d love to hear from you.

Wrapping Up

Even though some sad unexpected things happened this year, overall this was a good year and things are going well with us and with the website.

We hope you enjoyed following our tutorials and guides throughout this year and that you’re enjoying the new subjects we’ve been publishing about, like the CYD board and LVGL. We always do our best.

Thank you so much for following our work, testing our projects and your feedback. It means a lot to us. If you have any ideas for upcoming topics, tutorials you’d like to see published, or something that you’d like to say to us, feel free to write a comment below.

We hope you had an amazing year and we wish you the best for the new upcoming year.

Thank you so much.

Sara and Rui.