💡 What is it for?

• Ambient Lighting: FULL mode with all 16 bright yellow LEDs illuminated.
• Connected Clock: CHASE mode displays minutes.
• Synchronized automatically via NTP server.
• Hour Signal: A special animation triggers every hour (CHASE mode only).
• Fully upgradeable (create new functions, replaceable LEDs).
• Educational Platform: A perfect playground for MicroPython and circuit assembly.

🛠️ Technical Snapshot

• Logic: Raspberry Pi Pico 2W
• Drivers:  2x TPIC6B595 Power Shift Registers (high-current sink)
• Display: 16x 2500 mcd Yellow LEDs in a circular array
• Connectivity: Wi-fi Web Server via Microdot (Remote control & Log monitoring)
• Retro design and no case to showcase the PCB & electronic components
• PCB dimensions: 165 mm high x 110 mm wide
• PCB stand: Material and color are up to you, as you'll be printing it yourself
• Efficiency: Ultra-low consumption (0.18 Wh to 1.25 Wh)

👷 How to build it?

1. Buy the PCB on Tindie (complete kit will be available perhaps later, depending on demand).
2. Print your PCB stand from the provided 3D files.
3. Assemble and configure your board according to the documentation provided.
4. Upgrade the code as desired and share your creations if you wish.

📖 The Story

Most modern LED projects rely on pre-assembled surface-mount components (SMD) and smart LEDs like WS2812Bs. While convenient, they often hide the "magic" of how electronics actually work.

I created the ML01 to go back to the basics:

• The Beauty of THT: I chose through-hole components to make the project 100% repairable and perfect for those who find soldering therapeutic.
• Power Shift Registers: Instead of "smart" LEDs, ML01 uses two TPIC6B595 power shift registers. This is a deliberate choice to teach how to expand microcontroller I/O and handle higher current loads.
• Next-Gen Brain: By using the Raspberry Pi Pico 2W, the board has enough power to run a local web server (Microdot) while maintaining ultra-low power consumption.
• Dual Control: You can toggle between "FULL" mode and "CHASE" mode using physical buttons or any browser on your network for remote-control.
• This project is fully documented, even complete beginners should be able to complete it by following the assembly and configuration guides on my GitHub repository.

📜 Licenses and philosophy

This project is part of a balanced open-source model. 

• Firmware: MIT License
• Documentation & 3D Models: Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
• PCB Design: Proprietary to ensure project sustainability

🤝 Contributions & Collaboration

Your contributions to improving the firmware and documentation are welcome. Thank you in advance for reporting any bugs or new ideas.

I am also open to any form of collaboration with other passionate makers in order to explore the possibilities of cross-promotion, hardware, etc.