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Daily Newsletter: WiFi Drone on a PCB + Apple Goes Repairable
Hey there! It’s Monday, March 24, 2026 — time for your weekly dose of electronics inspiration. Let’s dive in.
🚁 Featured Project: WiFi-Controlled Drone on a PCB
A maker has turned an ESP32-powered LiteWing drone into a lightweight flying loudspeaker with a simple add-on audio module. LiteWing is a compact, WiFi-controlled drone based on the ESP32-S3 microcontroller, designed for hobbyists, makers, and engineers, and it is an open-hardware project, making it easy to modify and expand. What makes this thing special? The entire frame IS the circuit board—no separate chassis required. Control it from your phone, or dive deep and program custom flight behaviors using Python or Arduino. Perfect for anyone who wants to explore drone tech without proprietary controllers.
Architecture of the LiteWing ESP32-S3 drone showing WiFi control from smartphone to microcontroller, which manages four motors via PWM signals. The optional audio module connects directly to the ESP32-S3. The entire frame is integrated into the PCB.
Check out the LiteWing project →
📰 Electronics News This Week
Apple’s MacBook Neo Goes Repairable
A notable development in consumer hardware involves the new MacBook Neo from Apple, and according to teardown analyses, the device is significantly more repairable than recent Apple laptops. Internal parts such as batteries and storage modules are reportedly easier to remove and replace than in earlier models, which could extend device lifespans and reduce electronic waste. Read more →
Summary of this week’s major electronics industry news: Apple’s repair-friendly MacBook Neo (green – positive), worsening RAM shortage affecting prices (orange – warning), and Denso’s $8.2 billion bid for Rohm Semiconductor (purple – financial).
RAM Shortage Worsens, Prices Expected to Rise
The Verge reports a worsening RAM shortage in 2026, with knock-on effects that could touch everything from smartphones and laptops to gaming hardware—especially as AI features increase baseline memory requirements and as data-center demand competes for similar components. Time to buy that upgrade sooner rather than later. Read more →
Denso Makes $8.2 Billion Bid for Rohm Semiconductor
Denso, the Japanese auto parts supplier, has made an offer to buy Rohm for around $8.2bn, and Denso stated they are “considering various strategic options including the acquisition of Rohm shares.” A major consolidation move in the power semiconductor space. Read more →
🔧 Tutorial Spotlight
Ever wondered what’s actually happening when you set analogWrite(pin, 127)? Our latest tutorial breaks down how PWM controls motor speed and LED brightness—from the silicon up. You’ll learn why duty cycle matters more than voltage, how inductance smooths those square waves, and the gotchas that trip up beginners (like why your servo jitters at certain values).
Read: How Does PWM Actually Control Motor Speed and LED Brightness? →
🔌 Component of the Week: MOSFET
MOSFET stands for Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor. Think of it as a voltage-controlled switch that can handle way more current than a microcontroller pin ever could. Apply voltage to the gate, and current flows between drain and source—perfect for controlling motors, LED strips, or solenoids. MOSFETs come in N-channel (low-side switching) and P-channel (high-side switching) flavors. They’re faster than relays, silent, and don’t wear out mechanically. The catch? Gate threshold voltage matters—some logic-level MOSFETs work with 3.3V or 5V directly, but standard ones need 10V+ to fully turn on. Always check your datasheet and add a gate resistor to prevent oscillation.
MOSFET operating states showing OFF (no gate voltage) and ON (gate voltage above threshold) conditions. When gate voltage exceeds the threshold, a conductive channel forms between drain and source, allowing current flow. Common applications and key advantages are listed below.
💬 From the Community
A clever maker on Reddit hacked their car’s CAN bus to display top posts from r/showerthoughts directly on the dashboard LCD. They’ve been sniffing the CAN bus on a 2012 Hyundai Genesis and decided to display the top Shower Thought on the radio screen, using both a Raspberry Pi and an Arduino, with both devices having an MCP2515 to interface with two different CAN busses. Traffic jams just got more philosophical.
Check out the CAN bus shower thoughts hack →
📬 Stay Connected
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Free Daily Electronics Newsletter
Tutorials, news, and one component explained simply — every day.