Hey what's up folks, this is my version of Super Mario Theme Player powered by an ESP8266 MCU.

I Made the PCB themed after Mario the Plumber himself, On the TOP Side it's just an Artistic PCB but on the BOTTOM Side I've placed all the important components that drives this board.

For Powering this setup, I added an ONBOARD USB Pad for making a USB on PCB.

As for the Super Mario Theme song, it's a Note Based Sketch that plays melodies similar to Arduino Note Sketch.

This Board is made in such a way that it can Run any tune that we flash into it. for now, it's playing Super Mario Song but it can play other things as well.

This article is gonna be about its built process so let's get started

Material Required

Following are the componenets I used in this built-

• ESP12F
• Custom PCB
• 10K Resistor
• 10uf Cap
• 1uF Cap
• AMS117 3.3V
• Node MCU for Flashing the ESP12F
• LEDs
• SMD Button
• M7 Diode
• Solder Paste

Why use ESP8266, why not an Arduino board or Attiny85?

I Previously made a similar project in which I used an Attiny85 with a Buzzer to emulate or make R2D2 Sounds. The Sketch that I used was small with less size as it just makes random tones, but the sketch I'm using in this project is completely different.

https://www.pcbway.com/project/shareproject/R2D2_Mini_Edition_1d9aa84a.html

In this project, I'm playing the whole super Mario song and it needs space, a lot of space that Attiny85 doesn't have unfortunately so instead I used an ESP8266.

I could use an Arduino Board here but using it would be cheating as I wanted to make a Minimal Setup from scratch, also using Atmega328AU would be an option but its cost is pretty high these days so instead, I use a minimal ESP8266 Setup.

PCB Design + Schematic

Here's the Schematic I prepared.

This is the minimal setup for powering an ESP12F Board, It contains an ESP12F module that is set to run like a normal NodeMCU Board except it doesn't have a USB Flashing Feature as I haven't added any UART IC with it.

I've added Two LEDs and a buzzer with GIPO4 and GPIO12.

After preparing the Schematic, I converted it into a Board file.

I searched for Mario's Black and white image which I later used to prepare the board outline and other facial features like his iconic mustache and eyebrows.

PCBWAY Review!

After completing the design, I uploaded the Gerber data on PCBWAY's quote page, selected the solder mask color which was RED, and placed the order.

I choose RED Soldermask as Mario is RED and Silver would look cool.

After placing the order, I received the PCBs in a week and the PCB quality was pretty great.

I left a few Soldermask Openings in the TOP Layer and the shape of this PCB was also not exactly easy to produce but PCBWAY did an Awesome job of making it with no problem whatsoever.

Really loved the end result.

You can checkout PCBWAY from here- www.pcbway.com

PCB ASSEMBLY

After unboxing the PCBs, I started the assembly process which had the following steps.

• Solder Paste Dispensing
• Pick & Place Process
• Hotplate Reflow
• Adding LEDs
• Adding Buzzer

Solder paste

Now the first step is to add solder paste to each component pad one by one.

To Apply solder paste, I'm using a Solderpaste Dispensing Needle with a Wide syringe, and the solder paste I'm using is a regular solder paste consisting of 63% Tin and37% Lead.

Pick & Place Process

After applying Solderpaste we move on to the next step which is to add components to their assigned location.

HOTPLATE REFLOW

After the "Pick & Place Process", I carefully lifted the whole circuit board and place it on my DIY SMT Hotplate.

the hotplate heats the PCB from below up to the solder paste melting temp, as soon as the PCB reaches that temp, solder paste melts and all the components get soldered to their pads, we lift the PCB and then place it on a cooler surface for a little bit, to cool down the heat of PCB.

Adding LEDs

After the Reflow process, I added two LEDs on the TOP Side of the Board.

Adding Buzzer

At Last, I added a Buzzer in its assigned place.

Flashing ESP8266 with NodeMCU

we start first by shorting the Enable pin and GND, this will turn off the esp12F of the Nodemcu and now we can connect an external ESP12F setup with the Nodemcu according to the given schematic.

I designed the Mario PCB in such a way that I can connect the NODEMCU PROGRAMMER PCB with this setup by plugging the Mario Board onto the Programmer Board's CON6 Pin which consists of 3V, GND, RST, GPIO0, TX, and RX Pins.

It's a clever method to use as because of this external programmer, we don't need to add FTDI Chips on ESP12F setup and we can make smaller PCBs and for programming them we just breakout 6 important pins and connect our external programmer with it.

For Programming the ESP12F board, we need to connect the NodeMCU with our ESP12F Setup in this way-

• 3v to 3v
• GND to GND
• RST to RST
• GPIO0 to GPIO0 //D3 is GPIO0 on Nodemcu
• TX to TX
• RX to RX

Also, do not forget to add a Jumper wire between ENA and GND Pin on Nodemcu. this will turn off the ESP12F of the Nodemcu and our external ESP12F will get connected with the Nodemcu's CP2102 chip.

Blink Sketch to check LEDs

As for the test sketch, I'm using Blink sketch to test the leds and the ESP12F Setup. LEDs are connected on GIPO4.

Connect the Nodemcu programmer with the ESP12F Board

open Arduino ide, plug the USB on Nodemcu

then go to the Tools menu and select the Nodemcu board that you are using

select the right port and hit upload

Do check out this video of mine for a brief version-

Main Code

Here's the main code that I'm using.

/*
Super Mario Bros - Overworld theme
Connect a piezo buzzer or speaker to pin 11 or select a new pin.
More songs available at https://github.com/robsoncouto/arduino-songs
Robson Couto, 2019
*/
#define NOTE_B0  31
#define NOTE_C1  33
#define NOTE_CS1 35
#define NOTE_D1  37
#define NOTE_DS1 39
#define NOTE_E1  41
#define NOTE_F1  44
#define NOTE_FS1 46
#define NOTE_G1  49
#define NOTE_GS1 52
#define NOTE_A1  55
#define NOTE_AS1 58
#define NOTE_B1  62
#define NOTE_C2  65
#define NOTE_CS2 69
#define NOTE_D2  73
#define NOTE_DS2 78
#define NOTE_E2  82
#define NOTE_F2  87
#define NOTE_FS2 93
#define NOTE_G2  98
#define NOTE_GS2 104
#define NOTE_A2  110
#define NOTE_AS2 117
#define NOTE_B2  123
#define NOTE_C3  131
#define NOTE_CS3 139
#define NOTE_D3  147
#define NOTE_DS3 156
#define NOTE_E3  165
#define NOTE_F3  175
#define NOTE_FS3 185
#define NOTE_G3  196
#define NOTE_GS3 208
#define NOTE_A3  220
#define NOTE_AS3 233
#define NOTE_B3  247
#define NOTE_C4  262
#define NOTE_CS4 277
#define NOTE_D4  294
#define NOTE_DS4 311
#define NOTE_E4  330
#define NOTE_F4  349
#define NOTE_FS4 370
#define NOTE_G4  392
#define NOTE_GS4 415
#define NOTE_A4  440
#define NOTE_AS4 466
#define NOTE_B4  494
#define NOTE_C5  523
#define NOTE_CS5 554
#define NOTE_D5  587
#define NOTE_DS5 622
#define NOTE_E5  659
#define NOTE_F5  698
#define NOTE_FS5 740
#define NOTE_G5  784
#define NOTE_GS5 831
#define NOTE_A5  880
#define NOTE_AS5 932
#define NOTE_B5  988
#define NOTE_C6  1047
#define NOTE_CS6 1109
#define NOTE_D6  1175
#define NOTE_DS6 1245
#define NOTE_E6  1319
#define NOTE_F6  1397
#define NOTE_FS6 1480
#define NOTE_G6  1568
#define NOTE_GS6 1661
#define NOTE_A6  1760
#define NOTE_AS6 1865
#define NOTE_B6  1976
#define NOTE_C7  2093
#define NOTE_CS7 2217
#define NOTE_D7  2349
#define NOTE_DS7 2489
#define NOTE_E7  2637
#define NOTE_F7  2794
#define NOTE_FS7 2960
#define NOTE_G7  3136
#define NOTE_GS7 3322
#define NOTE_A7  3520
#define NOTE_AS7 3729
#define NOTE_B7  3951
#define NOTE_C8  4186
#define NOTE_CS8 4435
#define NOTE_D8  4699
#define NOTE_DS8 4978
#define REST      0
// change this to make the song slower or faster
int tempo = 200;
// change this to whichever pin you want to use
int buzzer = 12;
// notes of the moledy followed by the duration.
// a 4 means a quarter note, 8 an eighteenth , 16 sixteenth, so on
// !!negative numbers are used to represent dotted notes,
// so -4 means a dotted quarter note, that is, a quarter plus an eighteenth!!
int melody[] = {
// Super Mario Bros theme
// Score available at https://musescore.com/user/2123/scores/2145
// Theme by Koji Kondo
NOTE_E5,8, NOTE_E5,8, REST,8, NOTE_E5,8, REST,8, NOTE_C5,8, NOTE_E5,8, //1
NOTE_G5,4, REST,4, NOTE_G4,8, REST,4,
NOTE_C5,-4, NOTE_G4,8, REST,4, NOTE_E4,-4, // 3
NOTE_A4,4, NOTE_B4,4, NOTE_AS4,8, NOTE_A4,4,
NOTE_G4,-8, NOTE_E5,-8, NOTE_G5,-8, NOTE_A5,4, NOTE_F5,8, NOTE_G5,8,
REST,8, NOTE_E5,4,NOTE_C5,8, NOTE_D5,8, NOTE_B4,-4,
NOTE_C5,-4, NOTE_G4,8, REST,4, NOTE_E4,-4, // repeats from 3
NOTE_A4,4, NOTE_B4,4, NOTE_AS4,8, NOTE_A4,4,
NOTE_G4,-8, NOTE_E5,-8, NOTE_G5,-8, NOTE_A5,4, NOTE_F5,8, NOTE_G5,8,
REST,8, NOTE_E5,4,NOTE_C5,8, NOTE_D5,8, NOTE_B4,-4,
REST,4, NOTE_G5,8, NOTE_FS5,8, NOTE_F5,8, NOTE_DS5,4, NOTE_E5,8,//7
REST,8, NOTE_GS4,8, NOTE_A4,8, NOTE_C4,8, REST,8, NOTE_A4,8, NOTE_C5,8, NOTE_D5,8,
REST,4, NOTE_DS5,4, REST,8, NOTE_D5,-4,
NOTE_C5,2, REST,2,
REST,4, NOTE_G5,8, NOTE_FS5,8, NOTE_F5,8, NOTE_DS5,4, NOTE_E5,8,//repeats from 7
REST,8, NOTE_GS4,8, NOTE_A4,8, NOTE_C4,8, REST,8, NOTE_A4,8, NOTE_C5,8, NOTE_D5,8,
REST,4, NOTE_DS5,4, REST,8, NOTE_D5,-4,
NOTE_C5,2, REST,2,
NOTE_C5,8, NOTE_C5,4, NOTE_C5,8, REST,8, NOTE_C5,8, NOTE_D5,4,//11
NOTE_E5,8, NOTE_C5,4, NOTE_A4,8, NOTE_G4,2,
NOTE_C5,8, NOTE_C5,4, NOTE_C5,8, REST,8, NOTE_C5,8, NOTE_D5,8, NOTE_E5,8,//13
REST,1,
NOTE_C5,8, NOTE_C5,4, NOTE_C5,8, REST,8, NOTE_C5,8, NOTE_D5,4,
NOTE_E5,8, NOTE_C5,4, NOTE_A4,8, NOTE_G4,2,
NOTE_E5,8, NOTE_E5,8, REST,8, NOTE_E5,8, REST,8, NOTE_C5,8, NOTE_E5,4,
NOTE_G5,4, REST,4, NOTE_G4,4, REST,4,
NOTE_C5,-4, NOTE_G4,8, REST,4, NOTE_E4,-4, // 19
NOTE_A4,4, NOTE_B4,4, NOTE_AS4,8, NOTE_A4,4,
NOTE_G4,-8, NOTE_E5,-8, NOTE_G5,-8, NOTE_A5,4, NOTE_F5,8, NOTE_G5,8,
REST,8, NOTE_E5,4, NOTE_C5,8, NOTE_D5,8, NOTE_B4,-4,
NOTE_C5,-4, NOTE_G4,8, REST,4, NOTE_E4,-4, // repeats from 19
NOTE_A4,4, NOTE_B4,4, NOTE_AS4,8, NOTE_A4,4,
NOTE_G4,-8, NOTE_E5,-8, NOTE_G5,-8, NOTE_A5,4, NOTE_F5,8, NOTE_G5,8,
REST,8, NOTE_E5,4, NOTE_C5,8, NOTE_D5,8, NOTE_B4,-4,
NOTE_E5,8, NOTE_C5,4, NOTE_G4,8, REST,4, NOTE_GS4,4,//23
NOTE_A4,8, NOTE_F5,4, NOTE_F5,8, NOTE_A4,2,
NOTE_D5,-8, NOTE_A5,-8, NOTE_A5,-8, NOTE_A5,-8, NOTE_G5,-8, NOTE_F5,-8,
NOTE_E5,8, NOTE_C5,4, NOTE_A4,8, NOTE_G4,2, //26
NOTE_E5,8, NOTE_C5,4, NOTE_G4,8, REST,4, NOTE_GS4,4,
NOTE_A4,8, NOTE_F5,4, NOTE_F5,8, NOTE_A4,2,
NOTE_B4,8, NOTE_F5,4, NOTE_F5,8, NOTE_F5,-8, NOTE_E5,-8, NOTE_D5,-8,
NOTE_C5,8, NOTE_E4,4, NOTE_E4,8, NOTE_C4,2,
NOTE_E5,8, NOTE_C5,4, NOTE_G4,8, REST,4, NOTE_GS4,4,//repeats from 23
NOTE_A4,8, NOTE_F5,4, NOTE_F5,8, NOTE_A4,2,
NOTE_D5,-8, NOTE_A5,-8, NOTE_A5,-8, NOTE_A5,-8, NOTE_G5,-8, NOTE_F5,-8,
NOTE_E5,8, NOTE_C5,4, NOTE_A4,8, NOTE_G4,2, //26
NOTE_E5,8, NOTE_C5,4, NOTE_G4,8, REST,4, NOTE_GS4,4,
NOTE_A4,8, NOTE_F5,4, NOTE_F5,8, NOTE_A4,2,
NOTE_B4,8, NOTE_F5,4, NOTE_F5,8, NOTE_F5,-8, NOTE_E5,-8, NOTE_D5,-8,
NOTE_C5,8, NOTE_E4,4, NOTE_E4,8, NOTE_C4,2,
NOTE_C5,8, NOTE_C5,4, NOTE_C5,8, REST,8, NOTE_C5,8, NOTE_D5,8, NOTE_E5,8,
REST,1,
NOTE_C5,8, NOTE_C5,4, NOTE_C5,8, REST,8, NOTE_C5,8, NOTE_D5,4, //33
NOTE_E5,8, NOTE_C5,4, NOTE_A4,8, NOTE_G4,2,
NOTE_E5,8, NOTE_E5,8, REST,8, NOTE_E5,8, REST,8, NOTE_C5,8, NOTE_E5,4,
NOTE_G5,4, REST,4, NOTE_G4,4, REST,4,
NOTE_E5,8, NOTE_C5,4, NOTE_G4,8, REST,4, NOTE_GS4,4,
NOTE_A4,8, NOTE_F5,4, NOTE_F5,8, NOTE_A4,2,
NOTE_D5,-8, NOTE_A5,-8, NOTE_A5,-8, NOTE_A5,-8, NOTE_G5,-8, NOTE_F5,-8,
NOTE_E5,8, NOTE_C5,4, NOTE_A4,8, NOTE_G4,2, //40
NOTE_E5,8, NOTE_C5,4, NOTE_G4,8, REST,4, NOTE_GS4,4,
NOTE_A4,8, NOTE_F5,4, NOTE_F5,8, NOTE_A4,2,
NOTE_B4,8, NOTE_F5,4, NOTE_F5,8, NOTE_F5,-8, NOTE_E5,-8, NOTE_D5,-8,
NOTE_C5,8, NOTE_E4,4, NOTE_E4,8, NOTE_C4,2,
//game over sound
NOTE_C5,-4, NOTE_G4,-4, NOTE_E4,4, //45
NOTE_A4,-8, NOTE_B4,-8, NOTE_A4,-8, NOTE_GS4,-8, NOTE_AS4,-8, NOTE_GS4,-8,
NOTE_G4,8, NOTE_D4,8, NOTE_E4,-2,
};
// sizeof gives the number of bytes, each int value is composed of two bytes (16 bits)
// there are two values per note (pitch and duration), so for each note there are four bytes
int notes = sizeof(melody) / sizeof(melody[0]) / 2;
// this calculates the duration of a whole note in ms
int wholenote = (60000 * 4) / tempo;
int divider = 0, noteDuration = 0;
void setup() {
// iterate over the notes of the melody.
// Remember, the array is twice the number of notes (notes + durations)
for (int thisNote = 0; thisNote < notes * 2; thisNote = thisNote + 2) {
// calculates the duration of each note
divider = melody[thisNote + 1];
if (divider > 0) {
// regular note, just proceed
noteDuration = (wholenote) / divider;
} else if (divider < 0) {
// dotted notes are represented with negative durations!!
noteDuration = (wholenote) / abs(divider);
noteDuration *= 1.5; // increases the duration in half for dotted notes
}
// we only play the note for 90% of the duration, leaving 10% as a pause
tone(buzzer, melody[thisNote], noteDuration * 0.9);
// Wait for the specief duration before playing the next note.
delay(noteDuration);
// stop the waveform generation before the next note.
noTone(buzzer);
}
}
void loop() {
// no need to repeat the melody.
}

I used the same uploading method for uploading this sketch into ESP8266.

Result

Here's the result, check out the video for the super Mario theme song!

Thanks for reading this article, if you need any help regarding this project, DM me or comment.

Special thanks to PCBWAY for supporting this project, you guys can check them out if you need great PCB Service for less cost.

Peace out.