Scott, Wes, and CJ dive into Wes’s Hackweek project: a real-time, web-controlled LED grid. They break down the hardware build, custom 3D-printed diffuser, ESP32 microcontroller, and Cloudflare durable objects powering live pixel art, GitHub activity displays, and interactive web drawings.

Show Notes

00:00 Welcome to Syntax!
02:03 Wes’ Hackweek project: a web-controlled LED grid
03:52 The hardware: LED panels, soldering, and power
- WS2812 LED panels
06:38 ESP32 microcontroller and WLED firmware explained
- ESP32 Microcontroller
10:57 Power supply challenges and injection fixes
15:05 Debugging and testing a DIY LED matrix
15:56 Shorts, blown circuits, and melted wires
17:58 Designing and 3D-printing the diffuser for crisp pixels
21:29 The software: Cloudflare Durable Objects + Party Server
- Cloudflare Durable Objects
- Party.server
22:18 Real-time sync and state management across clients
- Party Client
28:43 Connecting the server to the LED hardware
41:51 Open access fun: scripts, NSFW images, and moderation
- Cloudflare tunnel
44:10 Live demos
45:34 Future plans: stats, rooms, and making it always-on

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