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Hardware

William Buddenberg edited this page Jun 8, 2025 · 2 revisions

Best:

Category Item Cost Source(s)
SBC Pi 5 - 8GB $80 MSRP Adafruit PiShop.us CanaKit SparkFun
SBC UeeeKKoo ~$15 BezosMart
SBC Official Fan $10 Adafruit PiShop.us CanaKit BezosMart
SBC RTC Battery $5 Adafruit PiShop.us CanaKit
SBC 32GB SD Card $7-$15 Adafruit PiShop.us CanaKit BezosMart
SBC Power Adapter $15 Adafruit PiShop.us CanaKit

Custom Meshtastic and GPS board parts

Category Item Cost Source
HAT Proto HAT $4.95 Adafruit
HAT GPS Module $29.95 Adafruit
LoRA RFM95W Breakout $19.95 Adafruit
HAT uFL SMT Connector x2 $1.50 Adafruit
Antenna LoRa ant + adapter $12 BezosMart
Antenna GPS Antenna $20 Adafruit

Optional parts, depending on your use case

Category Item Cost Source
TNC DigiRig Mobile $40 DigiRig
TNC DigiRig Cable $30 DigiRig
Router GL.iNET GL-A1300 $70 BezosMart
Power Charging Station $50 BezosMart
Power Anker USB-C Cables $12 BezosMart

Alternative Options

  • Replace RTC battery with holder and CR2032 battery that produces less waste when the battery dies CR2032 Holder CR2032 Battery
    • RTC battery is entirely optional, but it keeps the system clock running (accurate) while unplugged
  • Use the Anker charger instead of the official power adapter reduces cables if you're using a lot of USB powered devices in your setup, including the recommended router
  • Replace uFL connectors with Edge SMA connectors
    • Will also need to obtain SMA-M to SMA-F jumpers to connect the antennas to the outside of the case
  • Other USB-based KISS TNCs should work

TBD

  • An m.2 SSD HAT and 2230 drive can replace the SD card
    • Pros: More robust, larger drive space
    • Cons: Doesn't fit in many cases, costs more, requires additional configuration

Better

TODO

  • Pi 4, lower RAM

Good

TODO

  • Pi Zero
  • USB Micro-B instead of USB-C

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