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My ESP plane

Fg_

Hi Element14 community,

I'm currently working on an innovative RC plane project using the ESP32 DevKit V1 as the flight controller. The goal is to create a competition-ready aircraft capable of real-time GPS telemetry using NRF24L01+PA+LNA modules for long-range communication. The system also includes a ground station based on Arduino Uno, which will receive the data and display or forward it to a mobile device.

Project Overview:

NEO-6M GPS module on the plane collects real-time GPS data.

Data is transmitted via NRF24L01+PA+LNA to the Arduino Uno ground station.

Optionally, the data is forwarded to a mobile phone via Bluetooth or USB.


Components Needed:

ESP32 DevKit V1 – 1x

Arduino Uno – 1x

NEO-6M GPS Module – 1x

NRF24L01+PA+LNA (with antenna) – 2x

NRF24L01 Adapter Boards – 2x

18650 or LiPo Battery + Voltage Regulator – 1x

Jumper wires and connectors

(Optional) HC-05 or BLE Module – 1x


I Would Like to Ask:

1. Can you help verify the feasibility of this system for reliable long-range GPS telemetry?


2. Are there any project references or documentation on Element14 that can guide me?


3. Most importantly, would Element14 be able to help provide or sponsor these components for my project?

This is a competition-oriented build, and I’m aiming for first place with a creative and technically sound solution. Any support, advice, or guidance from the Element14 team would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much for your time and help!

Best regards,
Jeevan

Parents Reply
  • in reply to Fg_

    The newer ESP32 modules have BLE5.0 built-in, which supports BLE Long Range.

    Is there a reason you want a separate NRF BLE radio?

    BLE probably won't go much beyond 1 km, even lowering the data rate to 125kb/s.

    Have you considered using LoRa? (Which can have much longer range)

Children
  • in reply to dougw

    For wireless communication between the plane and ground station, we are currently using the NRF24L01+PA+LNA module to achieve reliable long-range telemetry. However, BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) is also considered as an alternative communication source, especially with newer ESP32 modules (such as the ESP32-C3 or ESP32-S3) that support BLE 5.0 Long Range.

    While NRF24L01+PA+LNA provides stable packet-based transmission up to ~1 km, BLE 5.0 offers modern features like adaptive frequency hopping, lower power consumption, and mobile device compatibility, which may be suitable for future upgrades or shorter-range applications.