Summary
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FlightScnr is a plug-and-play desktop radar that displays live aerial flights without soldering or coding.
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Uses an ESP32 T-Encoder Pro, polls the routing/ADSB APIs and caches the results to stay in the free tiers.
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A 3D printable casing and local web setup provide a simple desktop display and Wi-Fi captive portal.
It’s been a fantastic week for aviation fans who also like to play games. A few days ago we saw Someone projects planes passing over your roof.which was really cool, but maybe a little difficult to set up. Now, someone has brought their own aircraft tracking device, and this one requires no soldering or coding.
FlightScnr shows you the skies from your office desk
No need to look out the window
This interesting project is called FlightScnr and was created by Yash Mulgaonkar. FlightScnr uses a LilyGO T-Encoder Pro powered by an ESP32-S3 R8 microcontroller, which provides both the display and scroll wheel for viewing and interacting with the radar. To keep the hardware safe, Mulgaonkar designed a 3D-printable case that also acts as a stand to place on your desk.
Here are all the features that come with this project:
Live scanning radar display with radar points for aerial air traffic
Flight details for each visible aircraft: origin/destination, model, altitude, heading
Center adsb.fi in the background and caches route API lookups (AirLabs, FlightAware, FR24) to flash/RAM to minimize API calls and try to keep you below the monthly limits of the free tier
Easy setup with a captive portal for Wi-Fi configuration and a local web interface (flightscnr.local) to configure your coordinates, ranges, API keys, and other display settings.
Watch, because why not?
Mulgaonkar proudly states that the project requires no soldering or coding on your part, so if you’re looking for something easy to make and are a big aviation fan, FlightScnr seems perfect for you. You can see how to create your own and download the source code from the project page. GitHub pageand you can grab the 3D printing scheme for the shell at Creator world.
