diff --git a/main/protocol.c b/main/protocol.c
index 8e53997..81d431c 100644
--- a/main/protocol.c
+++ b/main/protocol.c
@@ -35,6 +35,29 @@ static void encode_u16(uint16_t val, uint8_t *out)
     out[2] = p[1] & 0x7F;
 }
 
+void encode_u32(uint32_t val, uint8_t *out)
+{
+    uint8_t *p = (uint8_t *)&val;
+    out[0] = ((p[0] >> 7) & 1) | ((p[1] >> 6) & 2) |
+             ((p[2] >> 5) & 4) | ((p[3] >> 4) & 8);
+    out[1] = p[0] & 0x7F;
+    out[2] = p[1] & 0x7F;
+    out[3] = p[2] & 0x7F;
+    out[4] = p[3] & 0x7F;
+}
+
+uint32_t decode_u32(const uint8_t *d)
+{
+    uint8_t b[4];
+    b[0] = d[1] | ((d[0] & 1) << 7);
+    b[1] = d[2] | ((d[0] & 2) << 6);
+    b[2] = d[3] | ((d[0] & 4) << 5);
+    b[3] = d[4] | ((d[0] & 8) << 4);
+    uint32_t v;
+    memcpy(&v, b, 4);
+    return v;
+}
+
 float decode_float(const uint8_t *d)
 {
     uint8_t b[4];
diff --git a/main/protocol.h b/main/protocol.h
index 77dece0..c040c3d 100644
--- a/main/protocol.h
+++ b/main/protocol.h
@@ -106,7 +106,9 @@ int  protocol_init(void);
 int  protocol_recv_command(Command *cmd, uint32_t timeout_ms);
 void protocol_push_command(const Command *cmd);
 
-/* 7-bit decode helpers */
+/* 7-bit encode/decode helpers */
+void     encode_u32(uint32_t val, uint8_t *out);
+uint32_t decode_u32(const uint8_t *d);
 float    decode_float(const uint8_t *d);
 uint16_t decode_u16(const uint8_t *d);