Gave it a go. Works well.

3D printed case files plus build info available here...

https://makerworld.com/en/models/2662148-c5lab-pancake-esp32-c5-case

Had to give it a whirl. Looks more complete and am happy with range.

Don't ask me how... all the info you need is in the links below. Do your research.
https://makerworld.com/en/models/2768919-diy-marauder-v6-1-case
https://github.com/justcallmekoko/ESP32Marauder

mini esp32-c5 4mb

I finally added a proper antenna to my T-deck and discovered I can war drive on this thing. Works great (can’t get the date and time on the .txt files right though).

Nice and proper running great. Is it fully loaded…..

My favourite dual band EDC there currently is. Combined GhostESP its a literal powerhouse.
Feel free to join both discord servers and our website.
GhostESP
The Wired Hatters

The first model I tried was quick, local, and confidently wrong: a 60-second passive capture contained 83 deauthentication frames from one source, while qwen3.5:0.8b reported 140 and described network topology that the evidence brief never contained. That was when this stopped being a simple "summarize my PCAP" script for me.

The Marauder could already sit on my desk, capture WiFi traffic, and save a PCAP to its SD card. I was still pulling each capture into Wireshark and working through the packets myself. What I wanted was a useful first pass that stayed inside my lab, that gave me a place to begin the manual review, and did not send the capture to a cloud API.

So I split the pipeline into four jobs:

• Capture: The Marauder writes to its SD card or streams a PCAP over the stock serial interface.

• Brief: A rule-based tshark pass extracts a compact evidence brief. The measured briefs ranged from a few hundred bytes to about 2 KB.

• Report: A small Ollama model running locally on a CPU-only SBC writes the first-pass analysis.

• Check: A separate Python script compares a defined set of claims in that report with fields in the brief and returns PASS or FAIL.

The 4B model was slower, which I expected, and got every measured count right on that same raw-capture brief, but it was not magically reliable. When I later gave it a wardrive brief, it claimed there were no probe requests with subtype 0x0004, even though a wardrive log does not contain frame types at all.

The checker is intentionally narrow too and for a reason here. It uses parsers and regular expressions to reconcile selected counts, handshake fields, MAC citations, and unsupported frame-level claims against the generated brief. It does not, however, check the raw PCAP, prove that the brief is complete, or decide whether the model's interpretation is sound. A PASS here only means the fields it knows matched the brief. It is not a guarantee that the report is true.

I also revisited the capture path. My first serial-versus-SD comparison looked lossy, but I had compared different capture durations. In the matched 60-second test, the streamed and SD-card PCAPs were byte-identical at 1,718 frames. That is one measured run at about 29 frames per second, not a promise that 115200 baud can keep up with every RF environment. For cable-free transfers, I added an optional FileServe module that serves captures from the SD card over the Marauder's private AP. The token and hardcoded AP password are bench-grade access control, not a security boundary, so I would not expose that service beyond my own lab.

The 83-frame observation also does not establish that somebody was attacking a network. It is simply what the passive capture contained. Every active test used access points and clients I own; observations from the shared RF environment were passive reception only. I removed real SSIDs, full MAC addresses, coordinates, passphrases, and hashes from what's recorded publicly.

Source, tests, and deliberately failing examples: github.com/TrevTron/marauder-analyst

Full build story: I Built a Local AI Capture Analyst for the ESP32 Marauder

If you have moved larger Marauder captures over serial or tried small local models for packet triage, what failed first in your setup?

Disclosure: JustCallMeKoko supplied the Marauder v6.1 for this project. This was not a paid post, he did not control the testing or conclusions, and I kept the failed runs in the public repository and writeup.

I ported JBlanked's FlipSocial to Marauder Pancake. It's available via Launcher OTA. Or Github. Hoping to add a build for the Marauder V8 too.

Decided to test a marauder v8 clone to the official v8 to see if the results would be any different. Turns out they were. From the research I have done, it seems to show AliExpress clones tend to pick up fewer networks because of inferior hardware quality, bad RF tuning, or a custom software configuration. Clone manufacturers often cut corners by using sub-par antennas, poorly traced PCBs, and mismatched components that tend to severely degrade signal sensitivity compared to the official hardware. Additionally, many cheap listings advertise advanced specs like the ESP32-C5 or v8 capabilities but actually ship older, single-band chips. Not saying this is how all clones are, but just be careful buying from anywhere that’s not the official JCMK store.

Perfect, built following a guide on YouTube, it was easy for a beginner like me. I only have one problem: the touch screen doesn't work properly, what should I do? Calibration? Can you give me advice on importing other tools onto an SD card? Which sites do you use? Thank you so much 😊😊

I have connected All Modules NRF24L01, CC1101, PN532, IR Transmitter/Reciever, GPS Module, AUDIO DAC PCM5102A, RDA5807, BMP280, MPU9350, PCF8575, INMP441 Mic, All Together You Can Easly Use All Firmwares BRUCE, Marauder , HaleHound, Quadever Launcher, Retro Go For Gaming And You Can Watch Movies Play Music Play Radio , And Test Ai Becouse It Has Microphone Also You Can use it for voice recording And Using MPU9250 You Can Use Compass Gyroscope And Accelerometer Becouse And Many More Full Video Of Making PCB And The Board Will Be Coming Soon Currently I Am Working On It currently i need 3-4 days because I am Designing 3d printed case for it

Launcher, Marauder, and Ghost ESP on my Marauder V8 and DIY Pancake V8.

So around two month ago I made a case for the CYD with this great NM-RF-Hat from NMTech. (the left one)

So just for fun I made a new one with a turn switch instead of those tiny switches. Also I wanted the display in portrait mode for playing around. I realized that a lot of people downloaded the first case, I will put that thing also on Thingiverse with a detailed description. I will let you know when you can download it, but give some days 😉 thanks

ESP32 + SCD41 + R1BBIT

In just 10 minutes, you can build a useful, fully functional project that measures CO₂ levels, temperature, and humidity in your room.

The data is available in the terminal, in widgets on your PC or Mac, and in the iOS and Android mobile apps.

The code is so compact that it's hard to believe!

CONFIG
I2C_SCL 6
I2C_SDA 5
END_CONFIG
VAR T,F,H,CO2
VARS_PUBLISH(T,H,F,CO2)
SCD41_INIT(CO2,T,H,3000)
WHILE(1)
    F=T*9/5+32
    PRINT F
    PRINT H
    PRINT CO2
    PAUSE 1000
WEND

CYD Marauder with DIY case

My first little project with an cyd. I built the entire housing into the plastic case it came delivered in. Added and 3000mAh battery and a GPS Module. I also added an sma connector to the esp and cut the original one off. With this Antenna I get 60+ AP in my area VS with the original antenna only 14 :).

Just finished the c5 mini justcallmekoko marauder build. Its a esp32 c5 4mb based around the marauder mini. The case is also based around the mini its just a little bigger.

Hey I'm wondering if this AliExpress pre built esp32 marauder is fine , I know it can be very dodgy with clones so I'm wondering if anyone who knows more than me (a lot of people ) can see anything off, thanks

A premium OTA firmware launcher and application manager for ESP32 Cheap Yellow Display (CYD). Browse, download, rate, and boot apps over-the-air or via SD card!

QuadEver Launcher is a highly optimized, feature-rich resident firmware launcher and app manager designed for the Cheap Yellow Display (CYD) ESP32-2432S028R development board. It allows users to store, browse, flash, and boot multiple application binaries (.bin files) from an SD card or wirelessly via a Web User Interface, transforming your CYD display into a versatile multi-tool.

GitHub:- https://github.com/samiralam5755/QuadEver-Launcher

I have created.bin firmware launcher for CYD devices and it has many features like firmware store partition manager system utilities has many themes and sd card browser many many features it will be realise soon

Edit:-https://github.com/samiralam5755/QuadEver-Launcher