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Silveira Neto Posts

ELEGOO ESP32 kit notes

Published by Silveira on 2026-06-25

Notes on the ELEGOO ESP-32 Super Starter Kit with Tutorial and Development Board USB-C Dual Core Microcontroller Support AP/STA/AP+STA, CP2102 Chip Compatible with Arduino IDE. The material content of the kit is good but the documentation lacks some very fundamental information about the product.

The board is an ESP32CP2102. An ESP-WROOM-32 module that utilizes the Silicon Labs CP2102 chip for USB-to-UART communication.

The documentation currently is at https://wiki.elegoo.com/en/oshw-getting-started-&-kits (and not in the QRCode link that comes in the package).

Breadboard layout

I removed one power line from one breadboard them attached the remaining board to the other breadboard.

I found this better than bending the boards as the tutorial suggested.

Arduino IDE Setup

On a Windows 11, I had to install these drivers https://www.silabs.com/software-and-tools/usb-to-uart-bridge-vcp-drivers?tab=downloads
(look for CP210x VCP Windows). Without this the port option in the board manager would not populate.

  1. Download, install, and open Arduino IDE
  2. Go to File → Preferences
  3. On the field “Additional Boards Manager URLs” paste “https://espressif.github.io/arduino-esp32/package_esp32_index.json” (without quotes).
  4. Press OK.
  5. Now go to Tools → Board → Boards Manager
  6. Search for ESP32
  7. Install “esp32 by Espressif Systems”
  8. In the board manager, select “ESP32 Dev Module” and port (COM3).

Failed to connect to ESP32: Timed out waiting for packet header

The message “Failed to connect to ESP32: Timed out waiting for packet header” was showing when uploading the code to ESP32. This is fixed by holding-down the “BOOT/FLASH” button in your ESP32 board while uploading the code.

Flashforge AD5X

Published by Silveira on 2026-06-17

Factsheet

Maximum build volume: 220 x 220 x 220mm
Filament diameter: 1.75mm
Nozzle Diameter: 0.4mm (default); 0.25/0.6/0.8mm optional
Maximum Nozzle Temperature: 300°C
Maximum Build Plate Temperature: 110°C
Printing Speed: Max 300mm/s (travel speed max 600mm/s)
Supported Filament Types: PETG, PLA, TPU95A, TPU64D-75D, PLA-CF, PETG-CF
Supported Software: Orca-Flashforge, Orca Slicer
Print Interface: Wi-Fi, USB, Ethernet.

Tutorials

Useful first things to print

Fun first things to print

You know what would be really cool?

Published by Silveira on 2026-06-15

Sometimes while driving on a long trip I end up caught in a thought exercise. A creativity game that we can call “You know what would be really cool?”.

Then I try to think of something original. A movie, a game, a book. It’s also a world-building exercise. Then after some mashing of different genres and elements, I always come up with the same idea: “a space opera that’s also a western and that’s also a samurai movie”.

Sometimes I spend a bit iterating on this idea until I’m interrupted by some background thought that screams “Star Wars did it first!”.

The asymmetry of the historical record

Published by Silveira on 2026-05-21

“Yeah, I think that, I think it is important to recognize that much like the present, the past is largely a chronicle of misery.

I mean, people suffer. And the people who suffer the most leave the least evidence behind. And so, any history that begins with what survives has a real challenge to arriving at any proper perspective on the human condition.

I think that is the asymmetry of the historical record, right? The people who were wealthiest and most literate and had the greatest resources, not only left, not only made a lot of records, they managed to have their records preserved. And everyone else disappears and just vanishes, their remains are gone.

And I think it puts a special obligation on anyone who’s trying to write history or tell a story about the past to be attentive, to not give up in the face of the asymmetry and to try to repair the historical record by finding other kinds of evidence, the evidence that does survive, that makes sure that we understand the lives, both of the powerful and the powerless.”

Jill Lepore said in the podcast 99% Invisible: 100 Objects #1: The Century Safe, May 19, 2026.


Treat the elderly as you would your own elders, and the young as you would your own children

Published by Silveira on 2026-03-12

老吾老以及人之老，幼吾幼以及人之幼

“lǎo wú lǎo, yǐ jí rén zhī lǎo; yòu wú yòu, yǐ jí rén zhī yòu”

“Treat the elderly as you would your own elders, and the young as you would your own children.” Mencius (孟子)

Found this quote in this interview of Michael Crook by Dan Vineberg.

There is something similar in the Bible, Paul’s letter to Timothy (1 Timothy 5:1):

“Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers,”

Drawing: chibi in 2 heads proportion

a page that downloads itself

Published by Silveira on 2026-01-09 
<html><head>
    <title>Self-Downloading Page</title>
</head>
<body>
    <textarea id="textArea" rows="10" cols="50">Try writing here then click the button.</textarea><br>
    <button onclick="downloadPage()">Download This Page</button>
    
    <script>
        function downloadPage() {
            document.getElementById('textArea').textContent = document.getElementById('textArea').value;
            const html = document.documentElement.outerHTML;
            console.log(html);
            const blob = new Blob([html], { type: 'text/html' });
            const url = URL.createObjectURL(blob);
            const a = document.createElement('a');
            a.href = url;
            a.download = new Date().toISOString() + '.html';
            a.click();
            URL.revokeObjectURL(url);
        }
    </script>
</body></html>