Dim an LED with a Potentiometer

Understand the target result

Map a potentiometer reading to PWM brightness for intuitive analog control. The expected result is: Turning the knob changes LED brightness smoothly.

Prepare the board and parts

Disconnect the ESP32 from USB. Put the ESP32, breadboard, jumper wires, and the listed lesson parts in front of you. Straighten bent pins gently and never force a module into the breadboard.

Make each connection with power off

1. Potentiometer outer legs → 3.3V and GND; center wiper → GPIO 34.
2. LED anode → 220Ω resistor → GPIO 23.
3. LED cathode → GND.

Install any library and upload the code

No additional Arduino library is required for this starter sketch. Select your ESP32 board and serial port before clicking Upload.

const int POT = 34, LED = 23;
void setup() { ledcAttach(LED, 5000, 8); }
void loop() {
  int raw = analogRead(POT);
  int brightness = map(raw, 0, 4095, 0, 255);
  ledcWrite(LED, brightness);
  delay(10);
}

Power the circuit and observe

Connect USB power only after the wiring check. Open Serial Monitor at 115200 baud when the sketch prints data. Watch the circuit for at least 20 seconds and compare it with this expected behavior: Turning the knob changes LED brightness smoothly.

Change one value and test again

Make one small change—such as a delay, threshold, brightness, or displayed message—then upload again. This confirms that you understand which part of the program controls the result.