Welcome to Build, Create & Learn: A Maker’s Journey with Stefan Herndlbauer! Dive behind the scenes of real tech projects – from messy hardware builds and embedded systems to insightful software design and product design. Join a curious product manager and passionate maker as he shares the honest process of learning, experimenting, and figuring things out. Perfect for fellow tinkerers, aspiring engineers, and anyone fascinated by how ideas truly come to life. Start your journey with us!
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Welcome to Build, Create & Learn: A Maker’s Journey with Stefan Herndlbauer! Dive behind the scenes of real tech projects – from messy hardware builds and embedded systems to insightful software design and product design. Join a curious product manager and passionate maker as he shares the honest process of learning, experimenting, and figuring things out. Perfect for fellow tinkerers, aspiring engineers, and anyone fascinated by how ideas truly come to life. Start your journey with us!
Ep.04 - S1|E4: When the SD Card Won… and Why I’m Switching to CircuitPython for My Drone Telemetry
Build, Create & Learn: A Maker’s Journey
11 minutes
3 months ago
Ep.04 - S1|E4: When the SD Card Won… and Why I’m Switching to CircuitPython for My Drone Telemetry
This week on Build, Create & Learn – A Maker’s Journey, I hit a wall with my STM32 drone telemetry project. My GPS parser worked beautifully, but the SD card shield? Not so much. After days of debugging SPI conflicts, wiring quirks, and endless C/C++ frustration, I had to face a tough question: keep grinding, or pivot to a tool that actually fits my maker workflow?
In this episode, I share the full story of why I’m switching from STM32 and C to CircuitPython on the RP2040 for my drone telemetry logger. We’ll talk about NMEA strings (RMC & GGA), testing external GPS antennas, and the lessons I learned from failing at SD card logging. More importantly, I’ll reflect on the maker’s mindset: knowing when to push through and when to change tools so you can keep learning, building, and actually finish projects.
What you’ll hear in this episode:
How I parsed GPS NMEA data (RMC & GGA) and added a motion filter
Why my STM32 + SD card shield setup refused to cooperate
The moment I realized C wasn’t helping me move forward
Why CircuitPython + RP2040 is the better fit for my telemetry project
My next steps: reconnecting sensors, logging to SD, and moving toward a flight-ready prototype
Listen now and let's keep building, creating, and learning – together!
Build, Create & Learn: A Maker’s Journey
Welcome to Build, Create & Learn: A Maker’s Journey with Stefan Herndlbauer! Dive behind the scenes of real tech projects – from messy hardware builds and embedded systems to insightful software design and product design. Join a curious product manager and passionate maker as he shares the honest process of learning, experimenting, and figuring things out. Perfect for fellow tinkerers, aspiring engineers, and anyone fascinated by how ideas truly come to life. Start your journey with us!