DIY ESP32 Marauder assembly: complete instructions with TFT display, MicroSD and power supply

Are you building an ESP32 Marauder yourself? This guide will help you build a complete ESP32-based Wi-Fi scanner with a TFT display, MicroSD, battery, and TP4056 charging module. Explanations of wiring diagrams, Arduino library setup, firmware, SPIFFS configuration, and even 3D printing of the case are all in one place. Learn how to build your own cybersecurity device without ready-made boards — simply, cheaply, and efficiently.

What you need to create a homemade ESP32 Marauder

If you want to build the ESP32 Marauder yourself, without using a pre-made board, you will need a basic set of electronic components, a little time, soldering skills, and a willingness to experiment. This project does not require expensive equipment, and all the components are easy to find online or at your local electronics store.

Required components:

• ESP32 ESP32-WROOM-32D Microcontroller Module 4.17 euro

• MicroSD Module 0.43 euro

• Lithium Polymer Battery 3.7V 103450, price 4.87 euros

• TP4056 Charging Board 0.30 euro

• Double-sided Breadboard 5×7 cm, Copper Green, 1.61 euro

• 3.5-inch TFT Touchscreen LCD for Raspberry Pi ILI9486, 14 euro

• Copper Wire 26 AWG, 5 meters, solid, 1.50 euro

• Two 100kΩ Resistors, price 0.45 euros

• Soldering Wire 3.20 euro

• Soldering Skills

Estimated project budget: 34.7 euros. Estimated project time: 2 to 8 hours.

Foams

SD card module

Battery

• battery + -> 100 kΩ resistor -> ESP32, pin 34

• battery -> 100 kΩ resistor -> ESP32, pin 34

Building

Prototype with breadboard

Construction mess

3D printing of cases

Infill density: 45%
Layer height: 0,18mm
Raft: Yes

The STL and SketchUp files are located here.

Software flashing

Preparing Arduino

1. Installing the Arduino Development Environment

2. In the Arduino development environment, go to File>Preferences

3. Add the following URL to the Additional Boards Manager URLs: https://dl.espressif.com/dl/package_esp32_index.json

4. Go to Tools>Board>Boards Manager, search for esp32, and install esp32 by Espressif Systems

5. Install the SimpleList library from Spacehuhn in your Arduino development environment. Download the SimpleList repository. In the Arduino development environment, go to Sketch>Include Library>Add .ZIP Library… and add the file SimpleList-master.zip you just downloaded.

6. Install Bodmer’s TFT_eSPI library in your Arduino development environment. Download the TFT_eSPI repository In the Arduino development environment, go to Sketch>Include Library>Add .ZIP Library… and add the file TFT-eSPI-master.zip you just downloaded.

7. Follow these instructions to install the ESP32 Spiffs Tool.

8. Set the compiler options to C:\Users\<USERNAME>\AppDate\Local\Arduino15\packages\esp32\hardware\esp32\2.0.3\platform.txt (Windows) or /Users/<USERNAME>/Library/Arduino15/packages/esp32/hardware/esp32/2.0.5/platform.txt (Mac), add -w to the end of each line: build.extra_flags.esp32; build.extra_flags.esp32s2; build.extra_flags.esp32s3; build.extra_flags.esp32c3

9. Also add -zmuldefs to the following lines (at the end): compiler.c.elf.libs.esp32; compiler.c.elf.libs.esp32s2; compiler.c.elf.libs.esp32s3; compiler.c.elf.libs.esp32c3

10. Install the CH340 drivers (if you have Windows)

1. Copy User_Setup.h from the root of the project repository to ~/Documents/Arduino/libraries/TFT_eSPI . If you change the configuration of any pins, you should also change the definitions in this file, as well as in configs.h in the project.

2. Download or clone this repository.

3. OPEN esp32_marauder/esp32_marauder.ino

4. Connect the ESP32 to a USB port and select the COM port in Tools>Port

5. Select LOLIN D32 in Tools>Boards

6. Select Tools>Partition scheme>Minimal SPIFFS (Large APPS with OTA)

7. Click ESP32 Sketch Data Upload and wait for the SPIFFS upload to complete.

8. Click the upload button.

9. When the device reboots, you should see the upload logo on your TFT screen.

For more information, please read the official wiki.