ESP Flight Tracker

2025 · ESP32 · Aviation · IoT

Custom ADS-B desk display: live traffic from the adsb.lol feed on an ESP32 Feather V2 and a 64×32 RGB matrix, with hand-drawn airline glyphs and a wall-or-desk 3D printed enclosure.

Background

This build is a dedicated flight tracker that pulls open ADS-B data (via the adsb.lol API) and renders nearby or worldwide traffic on a bright pixel board. It is intentionally affordable, about $30 in parts compared with commercial gadgets, fully custom electronics and graphics, and stable enough to run continuously as a desk toy or wall-mounted glanceable display.

Hardware

MCU: Adafruit ESP32 Feather V2, enough headroom for Wi-Fi, parsing, and tight display refresh.
Display: Waveshare 64×32 RGB LED matrix (HUB75-style routing).
Assembly: Hand-soldered on protoboard today; a proper PCB is on the roadmap for cleaner power and signal integrity.
Enclosure: SolidWorks-designed 3D printed case for bench or wall mounting.

Software & firmware

Firmware runs on ESP-IDF so both cores stay busy without stutter: networking, JSON handling, and framebuffer updates stay partitioned for smooth animation. The on-screen UI is bespoke, layout, typography, and transitions tuned by hand so airline branding reads clearly at a distance.

I drew 60+ pixel airline logos manually so tails and codes match what you see overhead, rather than relying on generic placeholders.

Roadmap

Next steps include an integrated PCB spin, open-sourcing the repo, and offering an affordable kit for hobbyists who want the same live map without the four-figure price tag of industrial avionics displays.