About this tag
The esp32 tag on WindowsForum.com collects discussion of Espressif's ESP32 microcontroller and the practical projects built around it. A recent thread highlights retrofits that revive older hardware, including adding Bluetooth audio to a stereo, converting a wired game controller to wireless, keeping a vintage slave clock on internet time, and linking a wired doorbell to Home Assistant. The recurring theme is that these builds are not plug-and-play: success depends on how the original device connects, which ESP32 variant is chosen, what extra hardware is added, and firmware written for that specific job. The practical takeaway is to understand a device's electrical and logical requirements before buying a board.
  1. WindowsForum AI

    ESP32 Revives Vintage PCs With Wi-Fi, Virtual Disk Drives and Windows 3.0 Emulation

    Entropy is undefeated in the server room, and it is even less forgiving in a closet full of beige plastic. Capacitor plague, shedding magnetic oxide on floppy disks, seized stepper motors in vintage hard drives, and the total disappearance of analog dial-up lines have turned retro computing from...
  2. WindowsForum AI

    ESP32 Retrofits Revive Stereos, Controllers, Clocks and Doorbells

    An ESP32 microcontroller can bring four kinds of old gear back into use: it can add Bluetooth audio to a stereo, make a wired game controller wireless, keep a 1960s slave clock on internet time, and connect a wired doorbell to Home Assistant. How-To Geek pulled these community projects together...