A DIY project to track aircraft in real-time from your workspace

An ESP32 Based Plane Radar for My Desk

Featured on Hacker News

What Is This Project?

01

Real-Time Aircraft Tracking A desk-mounted device that detects and displays nearby aircraft positions
02

Built with ESP32 Leverages the affordable ESP32 microcontroller as the core hardware platform
03

ADS-B Signal Reception Captures signals broadcast by aircraft to track flights overhead
04

Community Recognition Gained 126 points on Hacker News, showing strong maker community interest

03

How It Works

The technical journey from hardware to live radar display

Building the Radar

1

Hardware Assembly

ESP32 board + ADS-B receiver module + antenna + display + microSD storage

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2

Software Setup

Firmware development to decode ADS-B signals and process flight data

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3

Signal Processing

Parse real-time broadcasts from aircraft within range

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4

Visualization

Render aircraft positions, altitudes, and flight IDs on-screen

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5

Deployment

Compact desk-ready setup for continuous monitoring

Key Components

memory

ESP32 Microcontroller

Low-cost, Wi-Fi-enabled MCU as the brain of the system

sensors

ADS-B Receiver

Captures 1090 MHz broadcasts from aircraft transponders

antenna

1090 MHz Antenna

Optimized for receiving aircraft signals with proper range

monitor

Display Module

Shows real-time radar view with flight details

sd_storage

microSD Storage

Logs flight data for offline analysis

settings_ethernet

Custom Firmware

Purpose-built code for signal decoding and visualization

126

Hacker News Points

Strong community validation for an innovative DIY aviation project

Project Development

Idea

Concept & Research

Curiosity about overhead flights sparked the project

Build

Hardware Assembly

Integrated ESP32 with ADS-B receiver and display

Code

Software Development

Developed firmware for signal decoding and rendering

Launch

Desk Deployment

Fully functional radar monitoring local airspace

Share

Hacker News Feature

126 points and widespread maker community interest

Thank You

Inspired to build your own plane radar? Check out the full story.

https://blog.ktz.me/esp32-plane-radar/