Open Hardware Files: Wired Ethernet and a Soldering Dice Kit

November 6, 2026

Small boards can open up useful opportunities for makers, from adding a wired network connection to a microcontroller to practicing soldering with an electronic dice kit. This edition looks at two recent open hardware projects with editable engineering files.

Both have publicly available KiCad schematics and PCB files. We reviewed the source files and documentation, but have not run independent electrical or design-rule checks or tested physical hardware.

UEXT-CH390: Wired Ethernet for Microcontroller Projects

UEXT-CH390 top silkscreen drawing, cropped and resized from an OLIMEX design document; not a product photograph. Design credits: Bernardo Kastrup and Dean Belfield. OLIMEX documentation, CC BY-SA 3.0. Source PDF · License.

Olimex’s UEXT-CH390 adds an SPI-connected 10/100 Mbps Ethernet interface for boards such as Raspberry Pi Pico and ESP32. The UEXT and pUEXT connectors make it a candidate for compact wired sensors and controllers, especially where wireless connectivity is inconvenient.

Olimex first uploaded the engineering files on November 4. The design includes a KiCad 10 schematic and PCB under CERN-OHL-S-2.0. The product was listed for preorder at the time of our November 6 snapshot, with availability expected November 9; that is not evidence of completed deliveries.

Before building: check your controller and firmware compatibility. The vendor’s example is not a substitute for long-term reliability testing, and we have not independently tested the board.

Read the project notes · Browse the editable engineering files

SLD-KIT-DICE: A Soldering Project That Rolls

PCB layer rendering exported from OLIMEX’s SLD-KIT-DICE Rev A design, not a photograph. Design: OLIMEX; hardware CERN-OHL-S-2.0. Source PCB · License notice.

Olimex’s SLD-KIT-DICE is a shake-operated electronic dice kit built around the CH32V003 microcontroller. It combines LEDs, a vibration sensor, a speaker and a coin-cell power supply in a small project suited to practicing assembly.

The editable schematic and PCB were first uploaded on November 5. The hardware is licensed under CERN-OHL-S-2.0. The source files are KiCad format; the inspected headers do not identify a specific KiCad application version.

Before building: review component choices and the assembly instructions. We have not run the firmware or tested its randomness or power consumption.

Read the project notes · Browse the editable engineering files

Explore Before Ordering Boards

These links lead to editable engineering directories, not a separately verified one-click archive. Keep the source and license notices with files you reuse, review the latest upstream documentation, and perform appropriate checks before manufacture.

This roundup draws on the November 6, 2026 engineering-file report, America/Los_Angeles. Dates refer to project file releases; the UEXT-CH390 media report appeared on November 6. Our review was limited to source-file and documentation inspection. We did not independently run ERC/DRC, execute project code, or test hardware.

source https://blog.tindie.com/2026/11/open-hardware-files-wired-ethernet-and-a-soldering-dice-kit/