I think it’s less about “Arduino vs. ESP32” and more about picking the right tool for the job. Arduino is still fantastic for: Beginners learning electronics and coding. Quick prototypes that don’t need Wi-Fi or Heavy processing power. Reliable, simple projects like controlling LEDs or reading basic sensors. For IoT or real-time applications, ESP32 or Raspberry Pi Pico W is a better choice. But I’d say Arduino’s relevance comes from its accessibility. Many professionals started their careers with Arduino, and that familiarity keeps it in the game.

... etc. Tough housing, drop-tests, high-CAT safety ratings. High accuracy, true-RMS, stable calibration. Long lifespan, support and WArranty which reduce long-term cost. If you’re replacing a hobby-meter and don’t work in Heavy Duty applications, yes you might be fine with a cheaper brand. But if you need one tool that you can trust under serious conditions, the extra cost makes sense.

I know is not probably the best place for a newbie, the AI somehow helps but I definitely prefer go with the experts. I am fascinated with the laws of electronic, but more than ever I know it demands a serious compromise to enter this amazing world. Board Description: HXYT-A0-665-REV1.1 (A bluetooth speaker)The speaker wont turn on, is doing nothing.SIDE ACompt.1= 56HS5, B310B (5 pins)Compt.2= J6 (3 pins) ?Compt.3 4004A, 33580KMSide BCompt.1= 4R7 (inductor)Compt.2= SS54 (SCHOTTKY BARRIER RECTIFIER)Compt.3= M8889, Y4D371 (8 Pins) ?Compt.4 PNSA15E7E, X0B253, 2359 --When connected the battery in the terminals, it shows normal (aprox 5V)--I tested the negative and positive spots in reverse of battery connector and off course no shorted--When first tested pin C of power button, it shows 0.840V, after some tests is showing 2.4V when first push the power button it drops to 0V but now no more drops and it gets 2.4 V no matter if push the power button--Tested all capacitors of Side A and all of them are ok, also the capacitor X which is connected to the Compt.3, the component 3 seems to be a DC-DC converter, the capacitor X is in parallel of pins 4 and 6. When checking the VIN in Compt.3 (pin5) is ok, but when I push the power button there is no VOUT (pin1)--When connected to the charger, the device’s charging led turns on and the board battery terminals shows the charging voltage. In Side B We can see the battery port, the left pin is the + one, that pin goes to the compt.1 through pad named in the image as “pad positive pin”, then the compt.1 is connected to the compt.2 (I tested both and they seem to be ok). I tested all capacitors in Side B, all of them are ok except capacitor X. The capacitor X is connected to the pin that is marked with a yellow face sticker in compt.4, and I'd like to have the PCB's information or at least the compt.4's (or the M8889) in Order to know that capacitor values.What more testing do you recommend me to apply, what is component 2 in side A, what is component 4 in side B, is it a multiplexer? What is component 3 in side B, is it a switch IC? What recommendations can you give me when is hard to find a component by its code? Attachment :  Side-A.jpg

I think it really depends on the type of projects you're working on. If you're mainly doing simple LED DIsplays, motor control, or basic IoT projects, Arduino boards are perfect. They’re simple and get the job done without much hassle. But if you WAnt to DIve into audio processing, real-time data acquisition, or anything that requires Heavy computation, STM32 is a beast. I switched over when I started working on a DIY oscilloscope project because I needed faster ADC and more memory.

@FullBridgeRectifier Thanks for clarifying this. To summarize, there’s a subtle but important DIstinction here between “how many counts the hardware timer cycles through” (which is indeed 2^n counts) versus “how you usually compute the Duty‑cycle fraction” (which typically uses 2^n − 1 in the denominator so that the maximum register value maps to 100 %). I have edited my answer and added the explanation for this as well.

Good point by @FullBridgeRectifier . Just to clarify for anyone new to this: when we say “divide by 255 instead of 256,” it’s because we’re looking at the maximum value the PWM can take, not the total count of values. This WAy, your Duty cycle calculations always correctly reach 100%.

... but may be DIfficult; a microcontroller + driver is great for learning but not the easiest. To find the pinout, measure resistance with a multimeter: with 3 wires, all pairwise readings should match (the three phases); with 4 wires, the pin that reads the same to all others is the neutral; phase Order only affects DIrection, so swap any two leads to reverse. To avoid damage, never apply DC across two leads, don’t stall the rotor, keep leads short (with a decoupling capacitor near the driver), and WAtch temperature.

I'm trying to cascade multiple 74HC595 shift registers to expand the number of DIgital outputs in my project. While one shift register works perfectly on its own, as soon as I add the second (and especially the third), I start getting strange or inconsistent output—some LEDs don’t light up correctly, or they shift out of Order. Is there a timing issue I might be overlooking? Do I need to delay between latching and shifting? Could signal integrity or voltage drop be the issue when chaining several ICs?

Yes, it’s definitely possible to turn a Raspberry Pi (especially Pi 4 or Pi 5) into a router or firewall using software like OpenWRT, Pi-hole, or pfSense (via ARM builds). The Pi 4/5’s Gigabit Ethernet and USB 3.0 ports allow decent throughput—around 600–900 Mbps in real-world tests—suitable for small to medium networks. However, it lacks hardware NAT acceleration and enterprise-grade security features, so performance may drop under Heavy traffic or multiple VPN connections. For basic routing, ad-blocking, and light firewall duties, it’s reliable and stable; for high-load or mission-critical use, a dedicated router or firewall appliance is still preferable.

AI camera modules like ESP32-CAM, HuskyLens, and OpenMV have their own onboard processors that handle Heavy tasks such as face recognition, object tracking, and color detection. An Arduino Uno or Nano doesn’t have the processing power or memory to run AI algorithms DIrectly, so in this setup the Arduino mainly acts as a controller. The AI module does the image processing and then sends results (for example, "face detected" or "object at X,Y") to the Arduino. For interfacing, most of these modules support UART (serial) as the primary method of communication, and some also support I2C or SPI depending on the module. UART is the simplest and most commonly used for sending recognition results to Arduino. The main limitation of using Arduino with these AI modules is that Arduino can’t handle raw image data or complex computations—it can only receive processed results and take actions (like moving a motor, turning on LEDs, etc.). If you need to do more advanced data handling, real-time image streaming, or run multiple AI tasks at once, boards like ESP32 or Raspberry Pi are better suited because they have more processing power and memory.

I recently found myself in a similar situation when my old laptop stopped working, so I gave my new Raspberry Pi 5 a shot as a temporary desktop replacement. For basic tasks like browsing the web, checking emails, and doing some light coding, it’s been surprisingly capable. The performance is quite decent, especially with an SSD and a good cooling setup. However, I DId notice that it struggles a bit with Heavy multitasking or media-rich websites. For longer-term use, I think it really depends on your workload. If most of your tasks are browser-based or involve lightweight applications, it’s actually a practical and cost-effective solution. That said, there are some limitations in terms of software compatibility and overall responsiveness compared to a regular desktop or laptop. I’m curious to know how others are finding the Pi 5 for daily use.

If your robot needs both real-time motor control and higher-level processing (like computer vision or LIDAR), I’d recommend a hybrid setup. Use a Teensy 4.1 (or an STM32 if you're comfortable with it) to handle motor control, encoders, and IMU. Teensy is Arduino-compatible but much faster — 600 MHz and great real-time performance. Pair it with a Jetson Nano (or Raspberry Pi if you're not doing Heavy vision tasks) for computer vision, path planning, and data logging. Jetson Nano has GPU support and is great for running lightweight AI models or OpenCV. This combo gives you real-time performance where it matters and the flexibility of Linux for everything else. Communicate between the two using UART, I2C, or CAN depending on your latency needs. We've had good success with this kind of architecture in robotics projects using ROS. If you're using ROS2, check out micro-ROS for STM32 or rosserial for Teensy. Let me know if you need example setups or wiring tips.

I’ve tested all three — Raspberry Pi OS, Ubuntu, and DIetPi — and honestly, each one has its strengths depending on what you’re trying to do. If you're using a lower-end model like the Pi 3 or Zero, DIetPi is a beast in terms of performance. It's super lightweight and boots fast, with very minimal background processes. Great for headless or server-style setups. Raspberry Pi OS is the most balanced in my opinion. It’s stable, well-supported, and has excellent compatibility with GPIO, camera modules, and most accessories. Plus, it’s officially maintained by the Pi Foundation, so updates and long-term support are pretty solid. Ubuntu (especially Server) is decent, but I’ve found it to be a bit heavier on Pi 3 and not ideal for Zero. It works better on Pi 4, and is nice if you're already used to Ubuntu on desktops or other servers. That said, sometimes peripherals or GPIO need extra tweaks to work smoothly. In terms of ease of use — Pi OS with Desktop is very beginner-friendly. DIetPi is command-line based but has a great first-boot installer that lets you choose only what you need, so it’s pretty efficient. Ubuntu is more for those who are already comfortable with Linux. For community and support, Pi OS is the winner. Tons of tutorials, help forums, and guides tailored specifically to the Pi. DIetPi and Ubuntu both have good communities too, but they’re a bit more general. My personal picks: For simple or GPIO-heavy projects → Raspberry Pi OS For lightweight, headless, or server projects → DIetPi For more advanced server use on Pi 4 → Ubuntu Server Hope that helps — happy to share more if you’ve got a specific use case in mind!