YouTube Subscriber Plaque

This is a live YouTube Subscriber plaque. It has a mix of 3D printing, electrical engineering, and coding using an Arduino Mini and 7 segment LCD display. A really fun project for an intro to coding and a bit of engineering.

3D Printing: The main frame can be printed in any color. It should be printed face up and there is a pretty hefty support matrix that prints on the underside to hold it up. Print the "YTbuttonshell" in red and the "YTbuttontriangle" in white. Use some adhesive to put the shell into the frame, and the triangle into the shell and you're all done. There is a "blankytplate" file that has a 2mm recessed 112mmx45mm rectangle in the center of it. I did this so you can make your own rectangle with your own YouTube channel's name and glue it in the center.

F3D (Fusion 360): I've provided the F3D file so you can customize the plate with your own YouTube channel name if making a plate isn't your thing.

ESP Module: As you can see in the pictures, one of the slots in the back of the frame is fit for an ESP8266 module. Be cautious because these come in a variety of sizes. The one I used can be purchased at the link below for around 8USD.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B010O1G1ES/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Power cable: As of this writing, the ESP module takes 5V power over a USB Micro plug. That may change in the future as things continue to migrate toward USB-C, but below is a link to a 10' USB micro cable if you don't already have a thousand of them in every junk drawer of your house.

https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Basics-Charging-Transfer-Gold-Plated/dp/B071S5NTDR/ref=sr_1_1_ffob_sspa?crid=B6RR5FWWTYOX&keywords=10%27%2Bmicro%2Busb%2Bcable&qid=1705465909&sprefix=10%27%2Bmicro%2Busb%2Bcabl%2Caps%2C141&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1

7-Segment Display: The other slot in the back takes a 4-digit 7-segment display. The display must have an I2C backpack on it. This is a press-fit into the frame and shouldn't require any adhesive or glue (although some hot glue wouldn't hurt). It can be purchased at the link below for around 20USD.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00XW2L6SS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Wires: I use the below linked multi-colored wires. They're great for breadboarding, prototyping, and solder up pretty nicely when you clip the ends off for a more permanent install. around 7USD.

https://www.amazon.com/Elegoo-EL-CP-004-Multicolored-Breadboard-arduino/dp/B01EV70C78/ref=pd_bxgy_img_d_sccl_2/145-4068545-2262616?pd_rd_w=oES3j&content-id=amzn1.sym.839d7715-b862-4989-8f65-c6f9502d15f9&pf_rd_p=839d7715-b862-4989-8f65-c6f9502d15f9&pf_rd_r=77KREA6QRPKZEPECDTHG&pd_rd_wg=amert&pd_rd_r=28a7e252-89c5-494d-b820-97a0fa487582&pd_rd_i=B01EV70C78&th=1

Wiring instructions: Wiring is fairly simple. It's four wires. I've provided an extremely professional MS paint of the wiring diagram. It's four wires.

Code: This is the tricky part. The code I've attached requires very little modification on your part. You'll need to type in the SSID (line 25 of the code) and password (line 26) of your local wifi network, and you'll need to get your Google API token (line 29) and YouTube Channel ID (line 30). Unfortunately, there's not enough room here for me to explain how to download Arduino IDE for programming of the ESP, or configuring your USB port, downloading drivers, importing libraries and programming to the board. There's equally less room for me to explain things like how to get your Google API token that allows you to communicate with YouTube and get the live subscriber count, or where to find your unique YouTube channel ID (hint: it's not just the name of your channel). I've got two great pieces of news though. 1) There are literally dozens of videos on YouTube that explain, in detail, how to achieve everything I outlined above and 2) If I can figure it out from scratch, you can, too! I believe in you!