ESP32 Bit Pirate Dock - Voltage-Translating Carrier Board for the ESP32-S3 DevKit

What it is

An open-source carrier board that seats a genuine or compatible ESP32-S3-DevKitC-1 and adds selectable level/voltage translation (1.8V, 3.3V, or 5V) between the 3.3V ESP32-S3 and external peripherals. It's designed as the hardware companion to the ESP32-Bit-Pirate firmware by geo-tp, a multi-protocol hacking tool inspired by the Bus Pirate.

Main components

• 2x TXS0108E 8-bit bidirectional level shifters
• 2x TMUX1574 analog multiplexers
• TS5A3157 analog switch
• TLV75518 LDO regulator
• Voltage-select header/switch for 1.8V / 3.3V / 5V I/O
• TC2050 debug connector, WiFi-mode button, and USB/COM headers exposed from the seated DevKit

What you can use it for

• Building the official ESP32 Bit Pirate hardware to run the ESP32-Bit-Pirate firmware
• Any project that needs a socketed ESP32-S3-DevKitC-1 with selectable I/O voltage translation
• A reference design for combining bidirectional level shifting with an analog mux/switch front-end on a carrier board

Notes before use

• Nastrotek has not independently fabricated or tested this board yet.
• Requires an ESP32-S3-DevKitC-1 (genuine or a pin/dimension-compatible clone) to be procured separately — it is not part of this design.
• Only connect external peripherals at the selected translation voltage; connecting at a different voltage level can damage the ESP32 or the dock.
• Always confirm the selected I/O voltage before powering up connected hardware.
• Third-party DevKit clones work as long as header pin layout and board dimensions match the official devkit — some clones are 2.54mm wider, so measure before assuming a fit.
• Hardware design files are licensed CERN-OHL-W-2.0; documentation and images are CC BY 4.0 unless otherwise noted.

Source / reference

Original hardware design by AndreiVladescu, designed to pair with ESP32-Bit-Pirate by geo-tp.

Hardware files use CERN-OHL-W-2.0. Images and documentation on this page are attributed to AndreiVladescu under CC BY 4.0. Nastrotek is not officially affiliated with either project.

How to evaluate this board

Read this resource as a starting point for review, not as a board you should manufacture blindly. Open the schematic first and identify the power input, regulator path, MCU or main controller, external connectors, programming interface, and any sensor or display interfaces. Once the functional blocks are clear, it becomes much easier to decide whether the design matches your project.

For a dock/carrier board, I would review the pin mapping against the exact ESP32-S3 DevKit, then check level-shifter direction, connector labeling, boot/reset access, and whether the USB port remains reachable once the dock is mounted. A silkscreen mistake on a tool like this can cost more time than a schematic mistake because you use it while debugging other boards.

Before reusing the files

• Check the license and original author notes.
• Confirm voltage levels before connecting external modules.
• Verify connector pinout against your cables and sensors.
• Review BOM availability before ordering PCBs.
• Export fresh Gerbers from the design tool if you modify anything.
• Treat untested designs as references until you have fabricated and measured them.

Good use cases

This kind of resource is useful when you want to study a real open-source hardware design, borrow part of a circuit, or compare layout decisions before creating your own board. Even if you do not fabricate the PCB directly, the schematic can still be valuable as a reference for power design, connector planning, enclosure constraints, or firmware bring-up.

For a small product prototype, the best workflow is to reuse ideas carefully: copy the principle, not the entire board without context. Mark what you changed, keep notes on assumptions, and add measurement points so the first fabricated board can teach you something useful.

Related reading

• PCB review checklist
• ESP32 schematic review checklist
• Net classes and trace width rules
• Ground plane basics for PCB layout