We built the smallest dual-band aircraft tracker
I grew frustrated with closed source ADS-B receivers a few years ago, and wanted to build a true low cost embedded ADS-B receiver from scratch for low power applications. I ended up developing a custom radio frontend that uses RP2040 PIO for Mode S preamble detection and demodulation, and also released the first open soruce implementation of UAT decoding on an RF MCU from TI (which works somewhat beyond the publicly stated specs for the chip). Today, ADSBee is a fully featured dual-band ADS-B receiver, with Mode S, ADSB, UAT ADSB, UAT TIS-B / FIS-B, a ton of configurable reporting…
We built the smallest dual-band aircraft tracker launched on August 26, 2026 with 95 votes, #420 of 23,274 launches that month and more than 95% of that year's launches.
In plain words
The ADSBee 1421 is an open-source dual-band ADS-B receiver module designed to detect aircraft signals. Made by Pants for Birds, it represents a miniaturized version of their existing receiver technology using a new Semtech chip. The device is intended for applications like drone detect-and-avoid systems, ground stations, and weather balloons that need low-power, low-cost aircraft tracking without extensive features. It is available in standard and NDAA-compliant variants.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
Pants for Birds is excited to introduce a new product in the ADSBee family of open-source ADS-B receivers: ADSBee 1421!
In the maker’s words, at launch
We've been building open source embedded ADS-B receivers for a while, and spent the past 8 months smallifying our existing receiver tech with a new chip from Semtech. Ask me anything about ADSB or hardware manufacturing!
Pricing, as stated on its site
Paid from $48/mo — ADSBee m1421 is a hardware product sold at $48 USD for single quantities (standard variant from China), with volume discounts available. An NDAA-compliant USA variant costs $75.
checked September 2026 · prices change
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