Flash Bee is an easy-to-make DIY handheld lightning detector based on off-the-shelf parts such as the XIAO ESP32C3 board and the Round Display for XIAO, as well as a 3D-printed enclosure. The design relies on the AMS AS3935 Franklin lightning sensor that’s been around for years, and found in kits like Sparkfun’s Arduino IoT weather station, which is capable of detecting lightning up to 40 km away with 1km accuracy. While it’s not quite new technology, I found the Flash Bee design to be rather cute and convenient, and it looks really easy to reproduce. Flash Bee key components: Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32-C3 with Wi-Fi 4 & Bluetooth LE 5.0 connectivity ($4.90) Round Display for XIAO – 1.28-inch touchscreen display with 240×240 resolution, 65K colors, 100 Hz refresh rate ($18) Grove Lightning Sensor AS3935 ($26.90, alternative link if out of stock) 3.7V 400mAh LiPo battery Slide switch 2x M2 5mm […]
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Read more here: https://www.cnx-software.com/2026/04/09/flash-bee-an-esp32-c3-based-diy-handheld-lightning-detector/
