What might I be working on  - hopefully more updates to come in the new future. Thanks to #Aisler for manufacturing these amazing PCBs, hassle free.

#PreciousBlocks

Just as promised, I'm back with an update on Precious Blocks.
There are some pretty cool new features, and I think we are slowly getting to a point where you could reasonably build and use the block yourself.
A lot of amazing new things are hopefully yet to come.

https://ccw.icu/blog/precious-blocks-status-update-2025q4/

#cute #toy #esp32 #preciousblock #preciousblocks #blog #writingmonth #projectupdate

It's the last day of November, so I figured it is time for a WritingMonth summary: I wrote 3,900/2,048 words I planned to write for my blog this month.
(I normally base my goal on the amount of time I expect to have, i.e. holidays)

I also started working on a short story, for which I wrote 2,400 words. There is still a lot to do, but I'm not really motivated to work on it right now - so you'll probably have to wait for it a little bit.

I'm currently trying to decide on a writing goal for December, according to my normal goal-system I'd plan 3,073 words, but given that I'll have to start working on gifts, I'm not sure if I can actually manage it.
I do however have a couple of posts lined up, which I would really love to get out before 2026, to make room for new projects.

You might also want to keep your eyes out for a Precious Blocks update, which should hopefully be done by Christmas.
Afterwards, I plan on taking another break from the project, not sure how long it will last, but I have a lot of ideas for future revisions and features.

#writingmonth25 #writingmonth #blog #preciousblocks

Just a quick update, as I'm still fairly busy juggling stuff around:

I'm still working on the next precious blocks revision, but a lot of new things keep coming up, so I'm not sure when I'll be tagging the next version.
I've got some new components to order, so maybe we'll skip rev2 and go to rev3 instead (I want to clean up the inside of the block).

There are also a lot of firmware things I want to change (i.e. datetime & weather behaviour).

So yeah, still a lot to do - but after using the prototype block for a week, I know that I need to do this right, because it is so cute.

For now, I've split the mono-repo into multiple repositories and moved them into a separate Codeberg organisation.
This should ideally allow me to tag firmware versions separately from hardware revisions, enabling OTA update support in the future.
You can find the organisation here: https://codeberg.org/precious-blocks

#preciousblocks #update #progressreport

I'm taking the Precious Block rev2 prototype with me on the go.
It's currently enjoying the sunlight in the train.

#preciousblocks #preciousblock #train

Why I love spending time trying to find the perfect material or device?

Well, while building a prototype board for the new Precious Blocks revision, I was somewhat discouraged by the size it would require to fit the proper charging circuit into the small space. While still preserving the option to transfer data over the exposed USB-C port .

But whilst I was looking for ESP32S3 chip designs, I came across the Adafruit QT Py, which almost matched my expectation and lead me to the Seeed XIAO ESP32S3 (Plus).

I've previously used the Seeed XIAO RP2040, but stopped using it because it lacked Wi-Fi connectivity, but the ESP32S3 doesn't. Heck, it even has an onboard battery-charging circuit 😍.
The latter is especially important, as Precious Blocks Revision 2 is supposed to be wireless: https://codeberg.org/comcloudway/precious-blocks/pulls/1
(Still WIP, but I'm slowly getting there)

#diy #esprs #preciousblocks #esp32 #toy #projectupdate

Just tagged the last version of Precious Blocks revision 1.
Stay tuned for more details concerning a new upcoming hardware revision (soon).

https://codeberg.org/comcloudway/precious-blocks/releases/tag/rev1.0

(Sadly, rev2 will most likely break backwards compatibility with rev1, but it will be worth it - trust me )

#preciousblocks

I'm so excited to finally be able to announce my latest project:

Precious Blocks.
Your desk companion: *waiting to be squeezed*

You can learn more about it in the blog post I just published: https://ccw.icu/blog/introducing-precious-blocks/ .
Or directly in the Codeberg repo: https://codeberg.org/comcloudway/precious-blocks .

#desktoy #cute #toy #ep32 #blog #writingmonth #preciousblocks