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Stylus Edition

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Linar Yusupov edited this page Jul 26, 2026 · 8 revisions

Stylus Edition is a successor of SoftRF Bracelet Edition.

It is supposed to require minimal skills from a builder to begin with and gives an opportunity to evaluate if the SoftRF technology is appropriate for your needs.

Stylus Edition is based on third-party's hardware - LilyGO® T-Impulse Plus product, which is available for direct purchase from manufacturer at more or less reasonable price (40+ USD).

The T-Impulse Plus is an example of cutting edge technology. It contains

  • Nordic nRF52840 Low Power MCU
  • Semtech SX1262 Long Range Low Power RF Transceiver with TCXO clock source
  • Ublox MIA-M10Q GNSS Receiver
  • 0.49" I2C OLED display
  • Zetta ZD25WQ32B 4 Mbytes QSPI flash memory storage
  • TDK InvenSense ICM-20948 Inertial Measurement Unit


Compatibility 1

Type Protocol FLARM OGN tracker PilotAware Skytraxx SoftRF
Radio FLARM AIR V7

 

OGNTP

 

P3I

 

FANET+

 

SRD 860
ADS-L

Data FLARM NMEA

  Garmin GDL90

 

Dump1090  

1 - it is necessary for a reader to feel the difference between statement "compatible" and statement "fully compatible".
     SoftRF implements only a reasonable minimum of the protocols specs. No "bells and whistles" so far.


Stylus vs Bracelet

Edition Bracelet Stylus 
First appearance 2021 2026
Manufacturer LilyGO LilyGO
SoC STMicroelectronics
STM32L073Z		 Nordic Semi
nRF52840
sub-1GHz radio Semtech SX1276 Semtech SX1262
sub-1GHz antenna internal, PCB external, SMA
Bluetooth 5 LE
Display 0.49" OLED 64x32 0.49" OLED 64x32
Battery Li-Ion 250 mAh Li-Ion 200 mAh
GNSS receiver Sony CXD5603GF Ublox MIA-M10Q 
USB 2.0 device 2.0 device
Sensors TDK InvenSense ICM-20948 IMU TDK InvenSense ICM-20948 IMU
QSPI flash memory   4 MB

Disclaimer

SoftRF firmware for Stylus Edition is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

Author of SoftRF firmware:

  • will reject any hardware related claims associated with LilyGO® T-Impulse Plus product. Ask for support from seller or manufacturer ;
  • reserves the right to suspend or terminate support of LilyGO® T-Impulse Plus in the firmware at any time.

For the time being ( Jul '26 ) there were no critical hardware issues reported for current version of the T-Impulse Plus product. However things my change over the time...
If you have issues with bringing up your new LilyGO® T-Impulse Plus or just not happy with the device - be prepared to execute your Purchase Protection plan.


Bill of materials

Required

Number Part Qty Picture Source
1 LilyGO®
T-Impulse Plus 3 		1 Seeed Store

3 - 868 MHz variant is applicable for these world regions: EU, RU, NZ, SA, IN ;
     915 MHz - US, CA, AU, IL, KR ;
     433 MHz - CN .

Settings

Procedure of settings change is explained on this page.

Basic (radio) settings description is located here.

Important

EASA ADS-L radio protocols selection is not applicable with current version of SoftRF Tool app for Android - use

If you are an application developer and you think about to add the Card configuration menu into your software, please, use:


Buttons

Touch button function

When unit is Off:

  • touch and release Touch button to turn the unit On.

When unit is On:

  • touch and release Touch button to cycle between screen pages available, or
  • touch and keep holding Touch button for 2-3 seconds to turn the unit Off.

Reset button function

  • press and release Reset button one time to restart the SoftRF unit.

Boot button function

  • press and keep holding Reset button, then
  • press and keep holding Boot button, then
  • release Reset button, then
  • release Boot button, to enter the device into (firmware) service mode.

Screen pages



Bluetooth LE

Factory default data output setting is to deliver GNSS and air traffic information over Bluetooth LE in NMEA plain-text format.


This data is sufficient for an app (such as XCSoar) to facilitate a Radar view:



These Bluetooth LE services are available:

  • UART
  • Battery
  • Bluefruit device information
  • OTA firmware update


This is a list of mobile applications that are known good to operate with the Stylus Edition over Bluetooth LE:

Please, use the Bluetooth LE page for Badge Edition to get more information.


Device Id

When a user wants to register a SoftRF device in OGN or other aircrafts database - it's Id can be obtained with assistance of SoftRF Tool application.

Protocol Id
OGNTP
Legacy
P3I
ADS-B
ADS-L
PRoL
FANET

Optional equipment

SkyView

SkyView EZ is a DIY companion device for SoftRF Stylus Edition.
Recommended connection method is Bluetooth LE.


   


SkyView Pico

   


Hardware

SoftRF

SkyView

Flight Recorder

Adapters

Software

Firmware

Tools

Protocols

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