Ep.05 - S1|E5: From Zero to Flight-Ready - Drone Telemetry with CircuitPython

02/09/2025 10 min

Listen "Ep.05 - S1|E5: From Zero to Flight-Ready - Drone Telemetry with CircuitPython"

Episode Synopsis

This week on Build, Create & Learn – A Maker’s Journey, I finally put the Adafruit Feather RP2040 and CircuitPython to the test — and the results were a huge step forward for my drone telemetry project.
 
After weeks of SD card frustration on STM32, I’m relieved to say: the new setup just works. From a simple blinky app to logging environmental data and GPS coordinates straight to a microSD card, I now have the first version of a working telemetry logger. And with my mechanical engineering hat back on, I’ve also started sketching and 3D printing ideas for the enclosure that will carry it into a real drone flight.
 
What you’ll hear in this episode:

Setting up the Adafruit Feather RP2040 with CircuitPython
Running the first “blinky” and rainbow LED examples
Reading environmental data with the BME280 sensor
Finally getting reliable SD card logging with sdcardio
Adding GPS data to the logger with Adafruit’s GPS library
Why I chose not to solder everything down yet — a maker’s choice
Starting the design process for a flight-ready enclosure

It’s the most complete version of the telemetry system so far, and it feels amazing to see the pieces finally coming together.
 
Companion blog article: https://herndlbauer.com/blog/a-makers-journey-podcast-episode-5/
 
🎧 Listen now and let’s keep building, creating, and learning – together!

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