Looking back at 2025, what truly made element14 shine was the community itself. Member blogs, project write‑ups, and forum conversations were standout moments throughout the year, full of clever builds, thoughtful insights, and genuine discussions. RoadTests and Design Challenges continued to draw interest, even if there were fewer opportunities than in years past. Our webinars stayed informative, the forums remained respectful and technical, and that strong sense of community never faded.
So, we wanted to take a moment to highlight all the creativity, contributions, and memorable moments that shaped the element14 Community in 2025, and celebrate the members who made it all possible.
Showcasing the Top RoadTesters of 2025 
These were just a few of the RoadTests that kept the community busy and inspired throughout 2025.
Infineon's PSoC 6AI Evaluation Kit
By battlecoder
This review earned a spot in our Top 3 because it delivered a clear, thoughtful deep dive into the Infineon PSoC 6 AI Evaluation Kit, showing exactly how its sensors and DEEPCRAFT tools can shine in real projects. The reviewer’s hands‑on exploration, practical insights, and community‑minded approach made it one of the most engaging and genuinely useful RoadTests of the year.
Rohde & Schwarz NGC103 Power Supply
By john.porter
This review stood out because it delivered a clear, thorough, and highly practical deep dive into the Rohde & Schwarz NGC103 Power Supply, showcasing not just its features but its real‑world value on the bench.
Arduino Giga R1 Portable Communicator
By ralphjy
Real‑world look at developing a portable communicator with the Arduino GIGA R1 and GIGA Display Bundle, showing how the hardware performs in a genuine application rather than a simple demo. The reviewer’s clear explanations, honest notes on software library gaps, and practical problem‑solving made it an especially valuable and relatable read for the community.
Showcasing the Top Design Challengers of 2025 
Design Challenges bring the community together to tackle real‑world engineering problems, with members receiving kits, building creative projects, and sharing their progress for a chance to win prizes. It’s where innovation, hands‑on learning, and friendly competition meet.
A Better Microscope
By Gough Lui
Great job creating a macro pot that takes a ring light, accounting for individual addressability, enabling segments to be selectively activated, rotated around its circumference, and changed in colour, all via remote control.
SwishMaster
By amgalbu
Created a system for assessing basketball free throws, evaluating the parabola, height, and angle of entry, to help someone learn how to make the perfect shot, particularly when training by themselves.
Adaptive Environmental Monitoring and Smart Access Control
By skruglewicz
Designed an intelligent building automation solution using a distributed architecture, with the NXP FRDM MCX A153 as the central hub and multiple FRDM MCX N236 boards as edge sensor nodes.
Showcasing the top projects of Project14 from 2025 
Project14 is a fun, low‑pressure electronics build challenge where members create projects using what they already have, based on a quarterly theme. It’s ideal for beginners and seasoned makers alike, with plenty of creativity, community sharing, and prizes up for grabs.
2025 was packed with a fantastic mix of Project14 challenges, from the bright and practical builds of Spring Clean to the spooky creativity of the Halloween Hackathon, and plenty more in between. Each theme brought out a wave of clever, fun, and brilliantly executed projects that showed just how imaginative this community can be.
Reviving the ATX Lab Supply Project
By obones
Picking up a community project dating back to 2009 is no small task, but Obones did just that, breathing new life into the ATX Lab Supply Project.
Their outstanding contribution included designing and ordering a custom-made as well as building a detailed LTSpice simulation to validate the design. This thoughtful blend of modern tools and respect for legacy work perfectly captures the spirit of Project14, making Obones a well-deserved recipient of the Spring Clean award.
Automated Trick-Or-Treating
By foxbat
Foxbat built an automated trick-or-treating system featuring both trick and treat mechanisms, including a linear shelf pusher. The setup can be remotely controlled to dispense a treat, trigger a trick, or play a “game over” clip to keep things moving.
With added" lighting" and sound effects, the project delivers a fun Halloween experience and is well documented in an 18-page PDF that covers the design, key components, and reference material.
Festive Interactive LED Wreath with Music and Motion Magic
This festive project combines music, motion, and lighting to create an interactive LED wreath. It uses a Seeed Serial MP3 Player, a Grove PIR motion sensor, and WS2812B addressable LEDs to respond to movement with sound and light effects.
The wreath base was 3D-printed in 6 sections, bringing all the elements together into a polished, well-executed seasonal build.
Testing your skills in 2025 
Essentials delivers short, self‑paced learning modules covering electronics fundamentals, components, and key technologies, each rounded off with a quick quiz to test what you’ve learned.
Our element14 Essentials continue to be a cornerstone of the community, always available and always relevant, whether they were created last month or several years ago. Each Essential offers the chance to pick up new knowledge, earn achievement badges along the way, and build confidence through quizzes that challenge and support learning across a wide range of topics.
Exploring Core Concepts in Current Sensing and Measurement
A clear overview of current sensing fundamentals, covering direct and indirect methods, common circuit topologies, and real‑world applications from battery management to power protection.
What Every Engineer Should Know About Electrical Grounding
A clear explanation of grounding methods, safety practices, and why proper grounding is essential for protecting people, equipment, and system reliability.
Why Are Ferrites Needed in Electronic Devices?
An introduction to ferrite materials, their different forms, and where they’re used in electronics.
Bluetooth LE Audio: Basics & Implementations
An up‑to‑date look at how modern wireless audio works and why Bluetooth LE Audio is such an important step forward in consumer tech.
Designing an IO‑Link Sensor – Industrial Sensing
A deep dive into IO‑Link smart sensor technology, its design principles, and how it improves on traditional sensor systems.
Top Quizzes of 2025
We released plenty of quizzes this year to help you brush up on new skills, and the community definitely got involved!
The top‑participating quizzes of 2025 were:
Low Power and Battery Management Quiz
This quiz gives members a quick, engaging way to brush up on key components like MOSFETs, LDOs, load switches, and temperature monitors—all while earning the Power Management Badge along the way.
Kria︎ K26 System-on-Module (SOM) Quiz
This quiz gives members a fun way to test their knowledge of the K26 SOM, its robotics and vision‑AI ecosystem, and features like flexible boot options and ROS 2 support, all while competing for a top‑scorer prize and earning the K26 badge.
AC/DC Power Supplies Quiz
This quiz is a fun way to test their knowledge of everything from output filtering and medical‑grade isolation to load behaviour, current‑sharing methods, and power‑supply protections.
Time-of-Flight Sensors Quiz
This quiz lets members dive into the fundamentals of ToF technology, testing their knowledge with help from Broadcom’s sensor resources while earning the TOF badge along the way.
Analog Tech 1 Quiz
Challenged members to sharpen their understanding of core analogue-design components, from DC/DC converters to LDOs, op‑amps, LED drivers, and automotive‑grade regulators, while earning the Analog Badge along the way.
element14 presents videos of 2025 
At element14, we love inspiring engineers and showing just how creative (and clever) the engineering community can be. One of our favourite ways to do that is with element14 presents!
And 2025 has been a big one! element14 presents has racked up over 3.2 million views and an incredible 150,000 hours of watch time 
Ready to relive the highlights?
Let’s dive into the top videos on YouTube!
Open-Source Multicolour 3D Printing Upgrade
Clem rebuilds the 3D Chameleon MK4 from the ground up, replacing the legacy electronics with a modern ATtiny3226 controller, TMC2209 drivers, thermistor-controlled cooling, and clearer status indicators. The mechanical system stays true to the original open-source design, but the updated hardware is easier to assemble, easier to source, and designed for reliable multicolour filament changes without modifying your printer’s firmware.
Making a Stronger Affordable DIY Robot Arm with 3D Printing with Raspberry Pi Pico
After building a popular 3D-printed arm last year, he's now redesigned it with more powerful servos, real bearings, and improved electronics—all while keeping costs down. In this video, he walks through the new build, tests out its movement, and shows how Python scripts can record and replay motion with position feedback.
Powering Your Projects: reviewing Multicomp Pro MP11001 Bench Power Supply!
James reviews the Multicomp Pro MP7110001, a four-channel linear bench power supply delivering over 340W of output. He walks through its key features, including a 4.3" display, digital I/O control, built-in serial and parallel channel switching, and user-defined presets. The video includes practical performance tests such as ripple voltage, turn-on skew, and maximum power output. James also notes the absence of remote sensing and shares insights into real-world usage.
Turn anything into an Arduino Module: Reusing Everyday Electronics
Clem shows how to reverse engineer a cheap breathalyser keyfob and repurpose it into an Arduino-compatible sensor module. By dissecting the circuit, discovering the LM339 comparator at its core, and reducing current draw by removing LEDs, he adapts the device for safe use with 3.3V logic microcontrollers like the Arduino MKR WiFi 1010. The project demonstrates how to integrate salvaged electronics into Arduino projects, including building voltage dividers for level shifting, handling warm-up delays, and logging sensor data. Follow along to learn techniques that can be applied to countless other gadgets.
How fast can I2C go??
Can you really run I2C over 10 meters—or more? It’s a protocol designed for short PCB traces, but in this video, Clem puts it to the test using Raspberry Pi Picos, coaxial cable, and some hands-on experimentation. From breadboard setups to cables running out the window, we explore how far you can push I2C before it breaks!
Member's choice - favourite episodes on the community
A DIY Test and Programming Rig Built for Small-Batch Electronics Production
Clem Mayer walks through a fully homemade programming and test rig designed for small-batch electronics production. Built around a Raspberry Pi and the Arduino command-line tools, the system combines a touchscreen interface, custom hardware, and Python-based automation to flash and test boards quickly and repeatably. In the video, Clem explains the design decisions, shows how the software and routing hardware work together, and demonstrates how makers can build production-style test setups without industrial budgets.
DIY ESP32 Heat Monitor!
Follow Milos as he builds a DIY ECG-based heart rate chest strap using an AD8232 module and an ESP32 C3, then tests it during a real run to compare its performance with common fitness tracking gear. He walks through the signal capture process, explains how the Pan Tompkins algorithm detects heartbeats and shows how the device streams data to a phone over BLE just like a commercial sensor. The project explores what works, where the readings drift and what he plans to improve in the next version.
How Clem Built a Handheld Sci-Fi Communicator That Really Works
Clem Mayer builds a real working communicator inspired by classic sci-fi — a handheld badge that actually makes phone calls. Powered by an ESP32-S3 and a SIM800L GSM module, this device bridges retro design with modern engineering. From 3D printing the conductive case to debugging AT commands in Arduino, Clem walks through every step of creating a fully functional 2G cell phone disguised as a lost-era communicator:
Designing an Arduino PID Controlled Micro Drone
Milos builds a fully custom micro drone from scratch using the Arduino Nicla Vision board—no off-the-shelf flight controllers, just custom PCBs, hand-written flight control code, and a lot of trial and error. He walks through the full process from hardware design to PID-based stabilisation and joystick-controlled flight via Python. Watch the full build and flight test to see how it all came together!
How to Run Linux on an ESP32
Can you run Linux on an ESP32? Until recently, you could just answer "no!" But, in fact, you can run Linux on a specific variant of the ESP32-S3 MCU! Based on this, Clem saw an opportunity to build his own Linux-powered SBC in the form factor of the Raspberry Pi 4 Compute Module. Along the way, he creates a CM4-style template, a simple command-line flashing tool to make the process easier, and two iterations of his module (called Sudosom) that could be used whenever a real Raspberry Pi might be overkill, but a simple MCU just won't cut it for your project. Discuss the episode, find all project resources, and ask Clem questions on the element14 Community!
Now, let's take a look at what you have been doing
The community remained a space people could count on throughout 2025, a place where makers, creators, and engineers came together to ask questions, share ideas, and connect over what inspires them. And with 2026 already underway, we’re excited to see even more opportunities for collaboration and creativity ahead.
We also want to give a special shout‑out to dougw who reached an incredible milestone: 1 million points. It’s an achievement unlike anything we’ve seen before, and we were thrilled to send over a well‑deserved award (plus a swag bag!) to mark the occasion. His contributions continue to uplift the whole community
Let's Recognise our Great Community Contributors
We’re ending on a high note by celebrating the members who truly helped shape the community this year. Whether you’ve been here for under 12 months or since the very beginning, each of you has contributed in your own way, and together, you’ve shown just how special this place really is.
Rising Contributors of 2025
Welcome, new members of the Community that have contributed to the site in various ways:
Top Contributors of 2025
Familiar faces who help keep the site running with their amazing additions to the Community.
Top Chatters of 2025
These fantastic members have kept the conversation flowing throughout the year:
Top Member Chatters
Our valued members of the Community that keeps us honest while helping out fellow members
Top Members Contributors
It's always worth taking your time to read through the contributions of our top and valued members of the community:
- beacon_dave
- dougw
- ralphjy
- shabaz
- Gough Lui
- dixonselvan
- Robert Peter Oakes
- kmikemoo
- Workshopshed
- phoenixcomm
Time to reflect
As we wrap up this year’s round‑up, we want to take a moment to acknowledge all of you, our amazing members, both long‑time regulars and those who’ve just joined us. As a token of our appreciation, E14Alice will be reaching out to all of you to arrange a shipment of goodies.
Thank you for being part of the community in 2025. Whether you jumped into a challenge, shared a project or blog, asked a question, offered advice, or simply stopped by to see what others were creating, your involvement helped make this year one filled with creativity, learning, and collaboration across the globe.
We can’t wait to do it all again in 2026, with new ideas, new projects, and the same incredible community at the heart of everything we do.
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