[Harc] Cheap Meshtastic node

[jdaviderickson at comcast.net]

Hi all,
For Meshtastic enthusiasts. There is a great approach to making a cheap Meshtastic repeater node using a Raspberry Pi Pico. I built one, and it was very easy. I have not yet run it on solar but I found a cheap solar panel that would work with it. For the electronics, you only need a Pico (plain old Pico, not W or 2W), and a Waveshare Pico-LoRa-SX126X module. The Waveshare comes with a battery and is set up to be charged with a solar panel.

BOM
Pico: 2 for $12 without header or $10 with pre-soldered header
Waveshare Pico module with battery: $23
6 W Soshine solar module:  2 for $23
IP67 Waterproof junction box: $17

Total cost: $115 for two. Doesn't include shipping or mounting hardware.

Of course, the software is free. Burn it on to the Pi and connect to the Meshtastic client to set it up.

I'm happy to give you more details, if you want to contact me. I've got all the parts, and have the node working, but haven't assembled it all with the solar panel and put it out into the field yet.

I don't know if anyone else has discovered this, or has looked at building cheap meshtastic repeaters, but this is one approach. I'm sure there are others.

The  this can also be set up with a display and an input device, but I haven't gone down that road yet.

73,
Dave
K6WCE
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