ESP_Sprite wrote: Could be that the path from the ch341 tx to the ESP32 rx is broken.

So after painstakingly resoldering and cleaing the esp32 module 3 times the prbolem was the rx connection didn't reflow properly.
Now I can communicate with module

Hi, Recently as way of practicing, I designed a custom breakout board using the esp32-pico-mini-02 module. I basically copied the original dev board for the module and left out the usb-uart controller, usb connector and added an rgb led. schematics.png After soldering the components I went through a...