AeroDial displays nearby aircraft and ships, airport weather, satellite positions and an optional map. Use the round touchscreen or the Web Console from a phone or computer.
AeroDial is an information display. Do not use it for navigation, flight safety, vessel safety, emergency response or operational decisions.
Before first-time setup
Have these ready:
A stable USB-C power source.
Your 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi name and password.
Your home latitude and longitude in decimal degrees, for example 50.8503 and 4.3517.
A four-character airport ICAO code for weather, for example EBBR, EBLG or KJFK.
ICAO is not the ticket code. Use EBBR, not BRU. Latitude must be from −90 to 90 and longitude from −180 to 180. West and south coordinates use a minus sign.
Recommended setup: use the touchscreen
This is the simplest and most reliable first-time setup.
Power on. Connect USB-C power. The screen starts, the backlight fades in and a short buzzer test sounds.
Start. On the WELCOME screen, tap the framed START button near the bottom.
Select Wi-Fi. Wait for the scan to finish. Tap the left or right side to move through networks, then tap the center to select yours.
Enter the password. Use the QWERTY keyboard. Select abc, ABC, 123 or #+= for different characters. Use the space bar or delete key as needed, then tap CONNECT. The password is visible while typing so it can be checked.
Wait for connection. Do not press repeatedly while it connects. If it fails, check capitalization and symbols, then retry.
Enter the home location. Tap the latitude or longitude field to select it. Enter both decimal values, using the minus key for west or south, then tap OK.
Enter the METAR airport. Type the four-character ICAO code on the QWERTY keyboard and tap OK.
Finish. AeroDial shows READY, opens the main menu and begins loading live data. Aircraft, ships and the map can take a few seconds to appear.
Nothing is erased by a failed connection. If setup cannot complete, AeroDial keeps the setup network available so you can try the Web Console method below.
Alternative setup: use a phone or computer
During first-time setup AeroDial creates a temporary network:
Wi-Fi name: AeroDial-Setup
Password: 12345678
Web address: http://192.168.4.1
Join AeroDial-Setup. Your phone may warn that this network has no internet; choose to stay connected.
Open a browser and type http://192.168.4.1 exactly. If mobile data interferes, temporarily disable it.
For a complete Web setup, first open Location and enter the home coordinates and radius, then open Device and enter the four-character METAR airport.
In Device, enter the normal Wi-Fi name and password and choose Change network. Do this last because AeroDial-Setup closes after AeroDial connects.
Reconnect your phone or computer to the same normal Wi-Fi. AeroDial finishes onboarding and opens the menu when all required details are valid.
If only Wi-Fi was configured from the browser, simply finish the location and ICAO prompts on the touchscreen. After setup, open Config → Web Console on the dial to see the current IP address and QR code.
Want to search by city? Complete the basic setup first. Then open the Web Console on the normal Wi-Fi, choose Location, search for a city, confirm the map point and save it.
Touchscreen navigation
Tap the left or right side to move between menu items or configuration pages.
Tap the center to open or select.
Tap BACK near the bottom to return.
On a list, swipe vertically to scroll.
On keyboards, use the labelled delete, clear, cancel and confirmation controls.
The main menu contains Radar, METAR, Satellite and Config.
Radar and traffic
Radar shows aircraft and ships around the saved home location.
Tap the left side for quick Radar and Data Source settings.
Tap the right side for the aircraft and ship list.
Tap an aircraft marker or an aircraft list row to open its detail card.
Tap the center away from a target to return to the menu.
Aircraft detail cards and photos
The detail card can show flight or registration, aircraft type, route, altitude, speed, distance, direction and live status. AeroDial looks up an aircraft photo from Planespotters.net when one is available. Tap the photo to display a QR code for its source page; tap again to close it. Use BACK to return.
Radar settings
Radius: viewing range from 1 to 250 km. Use the control or enter an exact value.
North Offset: direction faced by the top of AeroDial, from 0° to 359°.
Mode: aircraft and ships, aircraft only, or ships only.
Labels: always shown, shown on sweep, or off; choose which details appear.
Ground aircraft: include or hide aircraft reported on the ground.
Sweep: enable or disable the rotating sweep.
Map: enable or disable the map background.
Labels can include flight, callsign, registration, type, altitude, speed, distance and route.
Map styles and colors
Choose Default Night, Mono Night, Mono Day or Default Day. The Web Console can also change aircraft, ground-aircraft, label, airport, sweep and ring colors. A new map is downloaded after changing location, radius, heading or map style, so the background may briefly disappear while it refreshes.
Track a particular aircraft
Open the Web Console and choose Radar.
Under Track aircraft or flight, enter one exact registration, flight number or callsign, such as OO-ABC, SN203 or BEL203.
Tap outside the field to apply it. Spaces and separators are ignored when matching.
The matching aircraft receives a dedicated highlight and label. On the Waveshare model, the buzzer gives a double beep when the sweep reaches the tracked aircraft. If the sweep is hidden, AeroDial uses a periodic fallback beep while fresh matching traffic remains in range. Clear the tracking field to stop tracking alerts.
METAR weather
METAR shows weather for the selected airport.
Move left or right between the interpreted and raw report pages.
Tap REFRESH to request a new report.
Tap the center to return to the menu.
Change the airport under Config → Airport ICAO or Web Console Device.
Satellite
Satellite shows the selected orbital object and its calculated position around Earth.
Drag the globe to rotate it.
Tap the globe to pause or resume rotation.
Tap the left side to choose another satellite.
Tap outside the globe to return to the menu.
Config on the dial
Move left or right through these pages:
Web Console: current IP address and QR code.
Wi-Fi: scan, connect and manage remembered networks.
Airport ICAO: four-character weather airport.
Location: home latitude and longitude.
Radar: radius, North Offset, mode, labels, colors, sweep and map.
Data Source: aircraft provider.
Satellite: selected satellite.
Update: installed firmware version. Online installation is not enabled for this Waveshare build.
Confirmed settings remain saved after power is disconnected.
Using the Web Console
Your phone or computer must be on the same Wi-Fi network as AeroDial. On the dial open Config → Web Console, then scan the QR code or enter the displayed http:// address.
Overview: connection, traffic counts, weather, coverage and current screen.
Radar: mode, map, labels, colors and tracked aircraft.
Location: city search, map point and radar radius.
Feeds: aircraft source, satellite and optional ADS-B receiver.
Device: Wi-Fi and METAR airport.
Remote screen control
The Web Console can switch the physical screen directly to Menu, Radar, Aircraft, METAR, Satellite or Settings. This changes only the screen being shown; it does not change the saved radar data.
The local IP address can change after reconnecting to Wi-Fi. If an old bookmark stops working, check Config → Web Console again.
Aircraft data sources
Select a provider under Config → Data Source or Web Console Feeds. Choices include AeroDial, Airplanes, FR24, Custom and Local, depending on the configured credentials and receiver.
Optional local ADS-B receiver
Connect AeroDial and the tar1090/readsb receiver to the same network.
Open Web Console Feeds → Local ADS-B receiver.
Enter the receiver's full aircraft.json address and save it.
Select the Local source.
Local ADS-B supplies aircraft data only. Maps, weather, ships, satellite data and aircraft photos still need internet access.
Wi-Fi after setup
AeroDial remembers successful networks and can try another remembered network if the active one is unavailable. Under Config → Wi-Fi, scan for a network or open the saved-network manager to review and forget entries.
If no remembered network works, AeroDial starts AeroDial-Setup. Join it and open http://192.168.4.1. Your location, airport and radar preferences are not erased.
Common messages
NO AIRCRAFT / NO SHIPS: no matching targets are available for the location, radius, source and mode.
RETRY: a data source is being tried again.
STALE: displayed data is older than expected.
WIFI ERR: AeroDial is offline and attempting recovery.
NO PHOTO FOUND: the aircraft is valid but no matching photo was available.
PHOTO UNAVAILABLE: the photo service or download could not be reached.
Quick troubleshooting
Wi-Fi will not connect
Confirm the password exactly, including uppercase letters and symbols.
Use a 2.4 GHz network. Guest networks that block devices from communicating may prevent the Web Console from opening.
Move AeroDial closer to the access point during setup.
Wait for a connection result before tapping again.
No aircraft, ships or map
Confirm Wi-Fi, home location, radius and radar mode.
Try another aircraft source.
Ships depend on online coverage in the selected area.
For maps, enable Map and wait after a location or radius change.
Web Console will not open
Use the current address shown under Config → Web Console, including http://.
Confirm the phone and AeroDial are on the same normal Wi-Fi.
During setup, remain connected to AeroDial-Setup even if the phone reports no internet.
If AeroDial does not respond, disconnect USB power, wait a few seconds and reconnect it.
Care and support
Keep AeroDial dry and away from excessive heat.
Use stable USB power and support the USB-C connector while inserting or removing the cable.
Use gentle touches. Clean the screen with a soft, dry cloth.
Do not press on the display or leave the enclosure where heat can soften adhesives.