More informations and tutorial here: https://dgt3000-gw.tednet.fr/
If you are unable to build the gateway yourself, I occasionally offer functional units on eBay.
You can check availability on my profile: https://www.ebay.fr/usr/tortue95
This project implements a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) gateway for the DGT3000 chess clock, built for the ESP32 platform. It acts as a bridge, allowing a BLE client (such as a mobile/pc application) to communicate with and control a DGT3000 clock using a simple, JSON-based protocol.
This gateway handles the complex dual-I2C communication required by the clock and exposes a clean, modern BLE interface.
- BLE Service: Exposes a standard GATT service for controlling the clock.
- JSON-Based Protocol: Simple and extensible command/response protocol.
- Asynchronous Event Notifications: Receive real-time updates for button presses, lever moves, and time changes.
- Dual-Core Architecture: Utilizes FreeRTOS tasks to separate BLE communication (Core 1) from the time-sensitive I2C communication (Core 0) for robust performance.
- Status and Diagnostics: Provides a status characteristic to monitor the gateway's health, including connection states, memory usage, and more.
- Auto-Recovery: Includes logic to automatically attempt reconnection with the DGT clock if the connection is lost.
- Status LED: Provides visual feedback on the operational state using the built-in NeoPixel on the ESP32-S3-Zero. It also supports an optional external LED on GPIO 11 (by default) for more flexible integration.
- ESP32-S3-Zero (or a compatible ESP32 board).
- DGT3000 Chess Clock.
- Wiring to connect the ESP32 to the DGT3000's I2C port (jack).
To upload the firmware to your ESP32-S3-Zero, please use the following web flasher tool:
https://dgt3000-gw.tednet.fr/flasher/
Follow the on-screen instructions on the website to flash the firmware onto your device.
To connect your ESP32-S3-Zero to the DGT3000's jack, follow the wiring diagram below:
- ESP32 Pin 5 and 6 (SCL) connects to the SCL line of the 3.5mm jack.
- ESP32 Pin 7 and 8 (SDA) connects to the SDA line of the 3.5mm jack.
- ESP32 GND connects to the GND of the 3.5mm jack.
Please ensure all connections are secure before powering on the devices.
This project includes a Python-based command-line client for testing and interaction, located in the /test_client directory.
To check the currently installed firmware and protocol version directly on the DGT3000 clock, follow these steps:
- Power on the gateway and ensure it is connected to the DGT3000 clock.
- Wait for the clock to display the
BT WAITmessage, which indicates it is waiting for a Bluetooth client. - Press the
+(plus) button on the DGT3000 clock. - The clock screen will briefly display the version information (e.g.,
1.0-0.5beta).
src/: Contains the main implementation files for the different managers and the main application logic.include/: Header files defining the classes, data structures, and constants.lib/: Contains libraries, including the coreDGT3000driver.doc/: Project documentation, including the BLE protocol definition.test_client/: A Python-based CLI for testing the gateway.platformio.ini: The main configuration file for PlatformIO.
All communication between a BLE client and this gateway is handled via a JSON-based protocol over BLE. For detailed information on the service UUIDs, characteristics, command formats, and event structures, please refer to the official protocol documentation:
This document is the single source of truth for developing a client application to interact with this gateway.
This project is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0. See the LICENSE file for details.
This project was developed by Tortue, 2025.
