Polar Imaging Cyberdeck

by jamesbrayy · Hard · manifest draft — being verified

A Pelican-case Raspberry Pi radio-imaging station that combines an RTL-SDR receiver, 10.1-inch DSI touchscreen and portable antenna rotator.

James Bray built this off-grid station to receive and decode weather-satellite imagery in the field. A Raspberry Pi 4B and RTL-SDR Blog V4 handle reception and processing, while the Pelican-case touchscreen console and servo-driven antenna assembly make the system portable.

Original: github.com, github.com

Parts

QtyPartPriceBuy
1×Raspberry Pi 4 Model B
The creator's README explicitly specifies a Raspberry Pi 4B with more than 4GB RAM; the catalog link is the compatible 8GB variant.
—PiShop.us Search PiShop.us Search Amazon
1×RTL-SDR Blog V4 USB receiver
The creator's README parts list explicitly names the RTL-SDR Blog V4.
—SparkFun Search Amazon
1×Waveshare UPS HAT (E)
The creator's README parts list explicitly names the Waveshare UPS HAT (E).
—Waveshare
1×Waveshare 10.1-DSI-TOUCH-A
The creator's README explicitly names the Waveshare 10.1-DSI-TOUCH-A display.
$58.39
Waveshare
Waveshare
1×Pelican 1300 Protector Case
The creator's README explicitly names a Pelican 1300 case; color and foam configuration are not stated.
—Pelican
4×21700 5000mAh Li-ion cell (model unspecified)
The creator's README specifies four 5000mAh 21700 Li-ion cells but does not identify their maker, model, protection type or discharge rating.
—Amazon
Estimated parts cost
Prices for 1 of 6 required parts, so the real total is higher · checked 2026-11-02 at reputable sellers · excludes shipping, tax, printed parts and optional parts
from $58.39

Notes

Official README, repository tree and MIT license rechecked at commit 3a44cc608b44949d4e16a6e3292ce9dffb276171 on 2026-11-02. The display, case and four-cell quantity are now explicit and included. Kept as draft because the creator does not identify the 21700 cell model or the antenna rotator's servos and mechanical hardware, does not publish the stated three-dimensional antenna/rotator models, and marks autonomous Raspberry Pi operation as work in progress.

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