Launch!
Yet another ADSB display… with a bit of a twist, hopefully.
DeskRadar64 is a LED Matrix display of live local ADSB data. That means it does not require any APIs, or even the internet. Theoretically you could plug it into a portable power brick and GPS unit and walk around with it? The idea has been suggested by multiple test users. I thought this could be a pretty cool way to make your home feeder a bit more interesting, or just as a cool desk gadget for av-geeks.
DeskRadar64 uses a RaspberryPi, FlightAware Pro stick to listen to local ADSB broadcast and convert it into a cool (I think), retro-style display in your house. It can (soon) also double as a feeder. The architecture is compatiable with existing ADSB terminals, meaning you can buy just the display components and with some small changes, it’ll work anywhere in your house, no wires required or moving what you already have.
This is my first project of this kind, and before I started I knew nothing about 3d modelling, RaspberryPis, Linux, ESP32s, electronics, firmware creation and many more things. I come from a background of DevOps/Sys Admin. I could code in Python and know my way around a terminal but that was about it in terms of relevance for this project. So be kind! I know there’s a lot of improvments to make - check out the bug board. I started on it around 18 months ago but only really put a lot of effort in over the past 4 months. There are currently 4 test users based across the UK who’ve been enjoying DeskRadar for a while, and it seems to work quite well!
I know there are many of these floating around in different guises, and the response always seems to be “where can I get one?” so I’ve put a lot of effort into answering that question. https://deskradar.io is a comprehensive wiki for this product explaining how it works and how you can build one. There is also a fairly busy bug/feature board which gives a good idea of the roadmap for DeskRadar.
More images here: https://deskradar.io/gallery/