What Happened
ESP32- TEA5767 tuner, KY-040 rotary encoder, PAM8403 amplifier, and 0.96" OLED display. Custom PCB design.
The project device using the TEA5767 radio module and the Arduino UNO in January 2026. Phase 2 includes designing a compact, custom-designed further improvements while keeping the design simple and reproducible. documented in this repository as I design (so, hopefully, I can finish this project).
The primary functions of the prototype Arduino circuit include manual and preset FM tuning, displaying the current frequency on a 16x2 LCD, and outputting headphones. speakers to output TEA5767 module a built-in speaker amplifier, which required us to solder directly onto the module. Photos of the prototype circuit and the circuit diagrams Figures 1 and 2.
Schematic To further improve the project, I decided design while improving the radio device as well. The improvements include PAM8403 amplifier 3-Watt, 4-Ohm speakers while working as a volume control, an ESP32 Development Board instead of the Arduino , a 0.96 OLED display replacing the 16x2 Liquid Crystal Display for a similar reason, and a KY-040 rotary encoder manual frequency and preset frequency control.
Why It Matters
Before diving design, I circuit works on a breadboard. During this process, I realized some important things which include how although the TEA5767 module is designed to be powered by 5V, (and should) be powered by 3.3V to protect ESP32 module. The manufacturer of the microcontroller Nulllab mentioned that a voltage larger than 3.6V on the I/O damage, and powering the TEA5767 module from 5V and connecting microcontroller 5V, exposing . More information about the ESP32-DevKit-32E [esp32-devkit-32e] (https://github.com/nulllaborg/esp32-devkit-32e).
Furthermore, what has caught attention includes how the PAM8403 powered by a source microcontroller. The speakers I used are 3-Watt speakers (6- I have two speakers), so assuming amplifier with 5V, the amount of current I = P / V = 6W / 5V = 1.2A. This amount of current through the microcontroller pins exceeds the manufacturer's specified limit (absolute : 40mA) by a huge amount. Therefore, the amplifier and the microcontroller parallel to a single transformer of 5V 1.5A capacity. As the amplifier required large current to operate and even larger current , it is recommended to use adapters that can supply more than 1A to avoid brownouts in other regions of the circuit when the volume is turned up.
Having , I started drawing the circuit diagram in KiCad's schematic editor. The schematic Figure 3. Figure 3 [Schematic of the ESP32-based Circuit].
( signal from the TEA5767 module to the PAM8403 amplifier, I used a 3.5mm jack with a , connected to the L, G, and B amplifier. connections are not reflected in the schematic of the circuit schematic symbol of a device device's footprint, which becomes a bit complicated for the TEA5767 module designated L, G, R. 3.5mm schematic editor; however, connection between the two modules will never actually , I decided to simply amplifier not connected TEA5767 physical pins).
What Comes Next
As the project required modules whose footprints do not readily , I create custom footprints as well. The footprints for the ESP32-DevKit-32E, TEA5767, PAM8403, KY-040, and the 0.96 OLED Display are included in the Custom_Footprints.pretty folder. Photos of the custom footprints are attached below.
Figure 6 [PAM8403 footprint]. ( PAM8403 project is the "knobby" version of the PAM8403 amplifier board, which allows volume control. Furthermore, PAM8403 and KY-040 modules are not included in their corresponding footprints drawing the footprint and because the boards will not physically ).
The final Gerber manufacturer gerbers folder. silkscreen text reading “. Grateful for everyone who supported me.” has been removed from the manufacturing files, personal and unnecessary for reproducing the board.
device itself Figure 12. Figure 12 [ ESP32-based Radio Module using TEA5767]. To see a video demonstration device, please follow https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM1Qq82G7yY.
Lastly, designing a valuable learning experience and has strengthened my interest in electronics and hardware design. I hope this repository is useful to anyone building a similar project or beginning design journey. I Workshop informative YouTube tutorial series, family and my girlfriend, Amy, for their encouragement and support throughout this project.
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