I love simple projects, especially ones that can be completed in a day or afternoon. It is great if all required tools are stowed away directly. Today, I want to show you a project that I recently completed as a gift. The ESP32 Plane Radar by MatixYo is a small ESP32-C3 Super Mini microcontroller combined with a 1.28-inch round GC9A01display. To complete this project, I just had to solder the parts together, print the case, assemble the parts, and flash the binary. The documentation is plenty detailed for such a small project and easy to follow. The printed case fits perfectly, so there’s nothing else to do (except be a little bit more careful while pressing the screen into the case).
One thing I found really noteworthy was how easy the software was to handle. You can program the microcontroller directly via a Chrome-based browser, and the setup is done directly via the captive Wi-Fi portal that you usually encounter when signing in to enterprise Wi-Fi (as found in bigger hotels or on in a Deutsche Bahn ICE).
- Link to the repository: https://github.com/MatixYo/ESP32-Plane-Radar
- The Print files: https://makerworld.com/en/models/2872376-esp32-plane-radar-live-ads-b-on-a-round-display
A button on the back of the device is used to control the device. A short press changes the zoom factor. A longer press resets the Wi-Fi settings. Press and hold the button while plugging the device in to enable flash mode. When connected to a PC, you can use a Chrome-based browser (Firefox might be also possible, did not test this) to upload the binary from the repository using the ESPHome website.
