SoftRf

SoftRF is an esp32 based flarm/poweraware receiver and decoder, that also provides a gps output.

Kind of like a 'flarm lite'.

Note, it appears not to do any 'flarm' collision prediction, and it only has gps height, not a 'proper' barogram, so its more of use as a 'situation awareness' aid, than a flarm replacement.
Also, whilst it can presently decode flarm, that doesnt mean that will last forever..
But at £25... worth a punt..

SoftRF homepage

Although its not producing all the functions of a flarm, it is very cheap. ( £25 delivered from China ), I thought I'd investigate it as a possible input to OpenVario.

These are my notes / thoughts....

I bought one of the 'prime edition mk 2 models' from China, took about 2 weeks to arrive..

March 2019
Powered it on, and followed the instructions for connecting to its wireless hotspot from my android phone, and the device settings in xcsoar, and... it worked straight away !
Very simple took 5 minutes to get up and running, and provides gps and 'flarm' no problems..

One observation, there is a high pitched whistle from the unit.. not to annoying, but noticeable.. other than that it seems remarkable for the price..

Next job, take it to the club and see if it can see other gliders on the flarm part, and will it appear on the OGN radar..

End March 2019
Fired it up on the airfield today, powered from usb.
It can see other aircraft flarms, and puts them on the xcsoar radar page on my mobile !
Also, my glider flarm can see the softrf flarm.

Cant actually fly with it, as my glider has OV and a red box flarm to provide the gps, and having both on at the same time, means the flarm constantly thinks we are about to crash... doh !

Next job, get working on OpenVario, this means setting up wifi, should be easy enough...

Mid April 2019
Got it working fine on OV, and now doing some 'soak testing' at home before trying in the glider.. Presently, I've run it for over 10hrs straight, with no issues.
Onboard GPS reciever seems excellent, I am getting 5 satellites and a lock, inside my study, thro 3 walls and no windows !
It still whistles a bit, but doesnt get hot, and seems rock solid..