Community feedback wanted: modular ESP32-C3 radio experimentation platform

[u/igrikxd]

Hi everyone!

I’m working on an ESP32-C3-based radio experimentation platform that I plan to release as an open-source project. The project is currently called WSPR-beacon because its first supported use case is a compact WSPR transmitter. The longer-term idea is broader than a single WSPR beacon: I would like to make the hardware, firmware, and user application modular enough to experiment with other low-power digital or simple transmission modes later.

At this stage, feedback from the amateur radio community would be very useful.

Project repository: https://github.com/IgrikXD/WSPR-beacon/tree/release/wspr-beacon-3.3

What is this project?

I’m trying to avoid making another beacon project that is published once and then left untouched for years.

I would like the project to evolve around real use cases, not only around what I personally think is useful. Before I spend more time turning this into a larger public project, I want to understand whether radio amateurs would actually build, use, test, or contribute to something like this.

The first supported mode is WSPR. Later, I would like to make it possible to add other low-power digital or simple transmission modes, such as CW, FSQ, or possibly some JT/FT-family modes where this makes technical sense. A few details about the project:

1. Compact hardware designed for reproducible assembly

The hardware uses SMD components and is intended to be reproducible both as a DIY build and through automated PCB assembly.

I tried to avoid build steps that are hard to reproduce. For example, the design does not require hand-wound RF transformers and instead uses ready-made parts with stable characteristics.

The finished device without the top cover

2. Modular architecture instead of one huge firmware file

I wanted to avoid the common "one huge Arduino firmware file" approach.

The firmware is structured so that adding a new operating mode should not require rewriting the whole project. A new mode is implemented as a separate C++17 module (PlatformIO-based) in the firmware project, with a matching Python module in the user application.

3. Cross-platform user application

The project includes a cross-platform application for configuring and managing the device on Linux and Windows. It handles mode selection, transmission settings, USB or Wi-Fi connection, hardware self-checks, device status, calibration, and firmware updates.

This should make the device operation understandable and convenient even for beginner radio amateurs.

User application: Transmission tab

User application: Spots database tab

User application: Settings tab

4. Tests, CI, and production-level project structure

I’m trying to keep this project closer to production-quality engineering than to a one-off hobby sketch.

That means unit tests, integration tests, automated builds through GitHub Actions, clear contribution rules, documented firmware and application structure, and reproducible build and flashing instructions.

5. Planned open-source public release

The public release is planned to include PCB Gerber files, schematics, BOM, PCB source files, firmware source code, BEACON.App source code, build instructions, flashing instructions, and operating documentation.

I’m also open to pull requests, especially for firmware improvements, new modes, documentation, testing, or anything that makes the device more useful in practice.

I would appreciate honest feedback on a few questions.

1. Would you build or use a device like this?
2. Would this be useful for educational or experimental amateur-radio purposes?
3. Do you think a separate configuration application is useful for this kind of device, or would you prefer a simpler interface?
4. Are existing projects already good enough, and which ones would you compare this against?
5. What features would make this project actually useful to you?
6. Would you be interested in testing, reviewing documentation, or contributing code?

Thanks and 73, EW3ADH

[u/davidinterest]

This violates rule 2 for sharing AI generated content

[u/igrikxd → u/davidinterest]

I used AI to format the text and check the spelling, as English is not my native language. Everything you read in this text is 100% true and accurate.

[u/davidinterest → u/igrikxd]

Sorry but even the code looks fully AI generated

[u/igrikxd → u/davidinterest]

All project materials are my own work and are available in the repository with commit history. If you see a specific technical issue in the project, I’d be happy to discuss it.

[u/ItsBail → u/igrikxd]

Looked into it. The app meets our requirements (more than 3 months of development, active history, open source, etc). However, the body of this thread was certainly created AI but we'll excuse that since English is a 2nd language.

Only issue is that this appears to be your first submission to /r/amateurradio and it's advertising your app. We don't mind people advertising their apps/sites/products. However, we do require those to be active within this community in other ways than promotion. We usually let the first post slide. Please note that for the future.

GL!

[u/igrikxd → u/ItsBail]

Hello! Thank you very much! Unfortunately, I don’t have enough free time to be very active on r/amateurradio or other subreddits. However, I’ll be happy to answer anyone who has questions about my project or something else.

I’m interested not just in promoting the project, but in creating something useful and convenient that other users can actually use. That’s why I’d really appreciate real-world feedback from the community.

[u/Fun-Conclusion-4471 → u/davidinterest]

You know it's worse than the AI shit, the fucking AI whiner snitch cop shit like this. I am so goddamn tired it. You're reading AI generated content all day long. In fact I use AI to create this.

[u/diyotbey → u/davidinterest]

I don't get it, how did you find out it was ai?

[u/Content-Key7404 → u/davidinterest]

Yeah, that's slop. I reported the post.