Moorabbin MakerSpace

01/09/2026

The Two-Dollar Antenna Problem

I bumped into a design flaw in a cheap ESP32 board that could have crashed my project. With some good luck, and help from Claude AI, I found a good solution.

See more: https://moorabbinmakerspace.org.au/c3-antenna-fix-89510

(This is the follow up work from my previous post about the ESP32-C3 Supermini flaw)

29/08/2026

Struggling with the notorious Wi-Fi dropouts on the ESP32-C3 SuperMini? 📡

We’ve been testing the popular "loop + vertical wire" antenna mod by Peter Neufeld, and the signal boost is incredible! Instead of dealing with constant disconnects or tweaking code to lower the transmit power, soldering a 31mm wire (featuring a 5mm horizontal loop and a vertical straight section) directly over the ceramic antenna drastically improves both range and stability.

Check out the setup in the photo! Have you battled these boards yet, or tried this fix? Let us know your results in the comments! 👇

06/08/2026

The one-hour clock

I have had this tiny little ESP32 board with a tiny OLED display lying around for a while. So I decided to make a clock for my hobby room. I recruited Claude AI to help me out. It took an hour to simply resolve what the module actually is - an ESP32-C3 that responds to ESP32-C3 Dev Module in the Arduino IDE. Claude helped me with that; without that help, it could have taken several hours of tearing out my remaining hair.

Once that was resolved it took 3 or 4 iterations to fine-tune the screen layout. It gets the time via WiFi from an NTP server, it has automatic daylight saving, and it shows the date.

The first .INO file save is time-stamped 22:46. The final one 23:32. That's less than one hour to produce a useful program.

So now I've ordered a couple more of those modules. With luck the displays will be mounted straight!

30/07/2026

29/07/2026

Sewing Group @ Moorabbin MakerSpace

Join us every 4th Saturday from 11:00am onwards for a relaxed and friendly get-together where you can work on your own projects, share ideas, and connect with fellow sewing enthusiasts.

💡 All skill levels are welcome, and you’re free to bring along any sewing or craft project you’re working on. We look forward to stitching, chatting, and creating together!

Saturday, August 1st, 2026 from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Location
479 Warrigal Rd
Suite 26, 1st Floor
Moorabbin, VIC 3189
Australia

21/07/2026

Challenging our newly built CNC machine.

The editing of the this first sketch to use a cursive script was unsuccessful as the Fusion 360 software kept throwing “contours are missing” errors. This was the case on attempts using Verandah Reverie, Latenza Script and Cream Cake fonts. After much head scratching AI was able to help with some suggestions, none of which overcame the issue.

The problem is that Fusion struggles to figure out what is the “inside” versus the “outside” of the letter due to fine details, overlapping lines, or tiny gaps in the geometry of the font.

More:

At our last CNC project activity we had an exercise of engraving text and in particular the attempt yesterday to […]

08/07/2026

There's been a bit going on at our Moorabbin MakerSpace headquarters.
There will be no activities at Moorabbin MakerSpace this Saturday 11/07/2026 due to water works.

04/07/2026

https://moorabbinmakerspace.org.au/bakeacake

Create a cake for a friend or loved one. Birthday, anniversary, bar mitzvah, whatever. Just fill in the form, hit […]

20/04/2026

The picture is of an LED lighting diffuser printed on a conveyor belt. The strip is almost 2.7 meters long!
This 3D printer really opens up some possibilities!
This Creality CR30 Printmill is available for use by Members.

20/04/2026

Are you into podcasts?
Do you have a story or two you'd like to share with listeners?
Are you curious?
The podcasting room is up and running and Members are starting to put it to good use. Come down and check it out!