Alex-developer writes about a standalone aircraft radar firmware designed for Waveshare ESP32-P4 round touch displays. The system connects to WiFi to fetch live ADS-B traffic, visualizing it on 3.4-inch or 4-inch screens with features like range rings, altitude color coding, airport markers, and weather overlays. It operates independently without needing a Raspberry Pi or an active browser once configured via its built-in admin web page or touch interface.
- Supports both the 720x720 (4") and 800x800 (3.4") Waveshare LCD variants from a single firmware image
- Integrates with multiple data sources including Airplanes.live, ADSB.lol, and local feeds like readsb/dump1090
- Features an optional web-based admin interface for configuration of location, display settings, and WiFi
- Can include aircraft detail popups with PlaneSpotters photo thumbnails via touch input
- Supports optional hardware additions such as a USB GPS receiver or a secondary SSD1306 status OLED
- Supports both the 720x720 (4") and 800x800 (3.4") Waveshare LCD variants from a single firmware image
- Integrates with multiple data sources including Airplanes.live, ADSB.lol, and local feeds like readsb/dump1090
- Features an optional web-based admin interface for configuration of location, display settings, and WiFi
- Can include aircraft detail popups with PlaneSpotters photo thumbnails via touch input
- Supports optional hardware additions such as a USB GPS receiver or a secondary SSD1306 status OLED
Alex Kretzschmar writes about building a live aircraft radar using an ESP32-C3 and a 1.28-inch round display to track ADS-B traffic by plotting distance and bearing. He improved the original firmware to include flight context such as origin/destination, descriptive aircraft types, local weather data, and adjustable text sizes via a web interface.
- Firmware supports authenticated OTA updates for wireless installation
- The Makerworld 3D models had tolerances too tight for the author's boards
- A web interface allows modifying coordinates and display settings without resetting Wi-Fi configuration
- Firmware supports authenticated OTA updates for wireless installation
- The Makerworld 3D models had tolerances too tight for the author's boards
- A web interface allows modifying coordinates and display settings without resetting Wi-Fi configuration
This article details a fascinating project where a researcher successfully used signals from the NISAR radar-imaging satellite to create a passive radar system. By utilizing the satellite's L-band chirp signal, reflected off the landscape, and comparing it to a direct signal, a topographical image could be generated. The setup involved using GNSS antennas and an SDR (Software Defined Radio) with a Raspberry Pi to record and process the signals. While not producing high-resolution images, the experiment successfully demonstrated the feasibility of using satellite signals for passive radar, even with relatively simple and inexpensive equipment.
This Hackaday article details a DIY passive radar system built to track aircraft by analyzing existing radio wave reflections. Unlike traditional radar, this system doesn't emit its own signal, instead relying on signals already present in the environment, specifically those used for ADS-B transmissions. The system uses a nine-element Yagi antenna to capture these reflections and a computer program to compare the direct and reflected signals, identifying aircraft.
A project by Martin Pittermann demonstrates how to build a sophisticated ultrasound sensor using a Raspberry Pi Pico and basic components, employing Frequency-Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) radar techniques for distance measurement and potential wind speed detection.
Aircraft radar display with retro styling. Visualises real-time aircraft positions and metadata from a local tar1090 server, with a retro interface.
>/u/Quantum-Stability writes: I got this working with just a free public api! Here is the base_url that you can use for TAR1090_URL in the config.ini file. No other set up is needed <https://opendata.adsb.fi/api/v2/lat/{your_latitude}/lon/{your_longitude}/dist/{your_distance}>
>/u/Quantum-Stability writes: I got this working with just a free public api! Here is the base_url that you can use for TAR1090_URL in the config.ini file. No other set up is needed <https://opendata.adsb.fi/api/v2/lat/{your_latitude}/lon/{your_longitude}/dist/{your_distance}>
An aircraft monitor based on Charlie Gerard's JavaScript Aircraft Radar System. It requires an RTL-SDR USB dongle and a WebUSB capable browser.
