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SkySweep32 Build from Scratch (Beginner's Guide)

If you've never built electronics before, don't know how to solder, and are hearing the word "microcontroller" for the first time — this guide is for you. Here we will assemble the basic version of the drone detector (Starter Tier) without a soldering iron, simply snapping wires together like Lego bricks.

🛒 Step 1: What do I need to buy?

You only need to buy 4 items (available at any electronics store or Amazon/AliExpress):

  1. The Brain: ESP32 DevKit V1 Board (Usually a black board the size of a flash drive, with a Type-C or MicroUSB port. Get the 30-pin or 38-pin version).
  2. The Ears (Radio Module): NRF24L01+ Module (It's best to get the black board with a screw-on antenna, look for "NRF24L01+ PA+LNA").
  3. The Face (Screen): 0.96 inch OLED Display, I2C (A small blue/white screen with 4 pins at the bottom).
  4. The Wires: A bundle of Dupont jumper wires (Female-to-Female) (Wires with holes on both ends to slip over the pins).

🔌 Step 2: The Easiest Wiring Guide Ever

Don't be intimidated by the pin names. Just take a wire, slip one end onto the pin on the ESP32 board, and the other end onto the pin of the screen or radio module.

Connecting the Screen (OLED)

The screen only has 4 legs:

Pin on Screen Where to plug on ESP32 What it does
VCC (Power) 3V3 (or 3.3V) Provides electricity
GND (Ground) GND The negative power pole
SDA (Data) D21 (or GPIO 21) The pipe where pictures flow
SCL (Clock) D22 (or GPIO 22) The rhythm for the pictures

Connecting the Radio Module (NRF24L01+)

The module has 8 pins (two rows of 4). Connect them like this:

Pin on NRF24 Where to plug on ESP32
VCC (Power) 3V3 (WARNING: NEVER plug this into 5V, the module will burn!)
GND (Ground) GND
CE D2 (or GPIO 2)
CSN D15 (or GPIO 15)
SCK D18 (or GPIO 18)
MOSI D23 (or GPIO 23)
MISO D19 (or GPIO 19)

(Leave the 8th pin 'IRQ' disconnected, it just hangs in the air).

🗺️ Visual Diagram (Mermaid)

This is a block diagram of the connections to help you visualize. The lines are your physical wires.

graph LR
    subgraph ESP32 Board
        P3V3(3.3V Pin)
        PGND(GND Pin)
        P21(D21 Pin)
        P22(D22 Pin)
        P2(D2 Pin)
        P15(D15 Pin)
        P18(D18 Pin)
        P23(D23 Pin)
        P19(D19 Pin)
    end

    subgraph Screen OLED
        OD_VCC[VCC]
        OD_GND[GND]
        OD_SDA[SDA]
        OD_SCL[SCL]
    end

    subgraph Radio Module
        NRF_VCC[VCC]
        NRF_GND[GND]
        NRF_CE[CE]
        NRF_CSN[CSN]
        NRF_SCK[SCK]
        NRF_MOSI[MOSI]
        NRF_MISO[MISO]
    end

    P3V3 -->|Red Wire| OD_VCC
    P3V3 -->|Red Wire| NRF_VCC
    PGND -->|Black Wire| OD_GND
    PGND -->|Black Wire| NRF_GND
    
    P21 --> OD_SDA
    P22 --> OD_SCL

    P2  --> NRF_CE
    P15 --> NRF_CSN
    P18 --> NRF_SCK
    P23 --> NRF_MOSI
    P19 --> NRF_MISO
Loading

💻 Step 3: How to "Flash" the brain

You have the hardware assembled, but it's empty. You need to pour the program into it. Previously you needed complicated programmer software, but now it's just 1 click!

  1. Plug a USB cable into your computer, and the other end into the ESP32 board.
  2. Download the folder with this project to your computer.
  3. Find the file inside called flash.bat (or just flash, it might have a gear icon).
  4. Double-click it to run it.
  5. A black window will appear and automatically find your board. Press the number 1 (for Starter Tier) and hit Enter.
  6. You will see percentages scrolling by for about 1 minute. You are done! The text "SkySweep32" should light up on the screen of your device.

(If flash.bat didn't work: open the Chrome browser, go to esptool-js, set Baudrate: 460800, click Connect, select the SkySweep32_Starter_v0.4.0.bin file from the releases folder, and click Program).

📱 Step 4: How to use the Radar (Web Dashboard)

  1. As soon as you flash the board, it will create a new Wi-Fi network.
  2. Take your phone, go to Wi-Fi settings, and look for the network called SkySweep32_AP.
  3. Password: skysweep
  4. Open any browser (Chrome, Safari, Edge) and enter this address: http://192.168.4.1
  5. Congratulations! You are looking at the control panel. If a drone with a controller flies nearby, the phone screen will immediately light up with a warning!