C5VRX: Can an ESP32-C5 Really Receive 5.8 GHz FPV Video?

Here is the kind of hardware hack that makes you look twice at a $5 dev board. C5VRX is an open-source project that turns a Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32-C5 into a working 5.8 GHz analog FPV video receiver, using nothing more than the chip's own Wi-Fi radio and a handful of resistors. Hackster.io highlighted the project on October 22, 2026, and its GitHub repository has been shipping new stable firmware builds almost daily since, with 427 stars and 61 forks at the time of writing.

• Hardware: one Seeed XIAO ESP32-C5 plus six resistors forming a 6-bit DAC and one load resistor, with no extra RF parts
• Output: PAL or NTSC composite video into goggles, a DVR or an analog monitor
• Signal path: Hackster reports the radio's ADC is sampled at 40 million samples per second without the CPU in the sample path
• License: GPL-3.0, built with ESP-IDF 6.0.2, with an optional open-source carrier PCB for Fat Shark goggle bays

How Does an ESP32-C5 Receive FPV Video?

First-person-view drone pilots usually rely on dedicated 5.8 GHz receiver modules to pick up the analog video their aircraft transmits. The developer behind C5VRX took a different route. The ESP32-C5 is a dual-band Wi-Fi 6 microcontroller, which means its radio already operates in the 5 GHz range. C5VRX repurposes that radio and the chip's diagnostic sampling path to capture the raw signal, then demodulates the wideband FM video in firmware.

According to Hackster.io, the processing pipeline keeps the CPU out of the sample path entirely, which is how it sustains such a high sample rate on a tiny low-power chip. The firmware layers on automatic gain control, carrier centering, a sync flywheel to hold the picture steady, and a startup calibration routine that stores its results so later boots are faster.

How Do You Build the Resistor DAC?

The video output is refreshingly analog. Six resistors, from 8.2 kilohms down to 240 ohms, run from pins D4 through D9 on the XIAO to a single node, with a 200-ohm load resistor to ground. That node is your composite video output. The README stresses that pin order matters, since swapping a pair produces a scrambled, banded picture, and it includes a DAC self-test that displays a pattern on your goggles and helps identify a wrong or open resistor with a multimeter.

If you would rather skip the perfboard, the C5VRX_JACK_DIY carrier board measures 42.51 by 28.80 mm, drops into standard Fat Shark Dominator module bays, adds a 3.5 mm AV jack for bench testing, and uses socketed headers so the XIAO stays reusable. Gerbers, drill files and a bill of materials are in the repository.

What Can C5VRX Do Today?

Flashing is easy: a web flasher in Chrome or Edge installs the firmware over USB-C. A single BOOT button handles channel changes and opens an on-screen menu with band, channel, scan, video format, calibration, output level and gain settings. The first calibration run can take up to eight minutes, so let it finish with your video transmitter switched off.

The developer is admirably upfront that this is experimental firmware. The README asks pilots to test every build on the ground with propellers removed and never to rely on C5VRX as their only way to keep safe control of an aircraft. PAL support and weak-signal range are still being validated, which makes this a superb bench and learning project today with plenty of room to mature.

Why This Maker Project Matters

C5VRX is a great example of software-defined radio thinking applied to an everyday microcontroller. It joins a busy year for the chip, from boards like the Waveshare ESP32-C5 touch LCD kit to compact Wi-Fi 6 modules, and shows how much untapped capability sits inside low-cost silicon when the community digs in.

Explore more boards and builds in our mini computers coverage.

Sources: C5VRX on GitHub — October 2026; Hackster.io — October 22, 2026.