bobricius
AWARDS
- Armachat is Winner of PCBWay 3rd PCB Design Contest 2nd place BEST DESIGN !
- Hackaday Prize Community Vote (Bootstrap Award)
THANKS
Articles about project:
- https://hackaday.com/2020/04/25/a-lora-im-me-for-the-end-of-the-world/
- https://hackaday.com/2020/07/02/an-off-the-grid-instant-messaging-plattform/
- https://www.hackster.io/news/off-grid-wireless-communication-with-the-armachat-762b1cc966e5
Searching sponsors, patrons https://www.patreon.com/bobricius
Experience freedom of communication without borders operators networks fees !!! Create your own network, your own rules !!!
Summer update, Armawatch, new smaller Armachat and keyboard backlight:
Official Hackaday prize OPERATION VIDEO preview:
ARMAWATCH
ARMACHAT
Hardware features UPDATED !!!:
- Only single chip SAMD21E18, more easy to solder in TQFP32
- QWERTY keyboard - 30 keys (5x6 matrix)
- 18650 li-on battery
- LCD on HW SPI:
- FUSION: 1.8 TFT LCD display 128x160 ST7735 or 240x240 IPS ST7789 - RFM95 long range radio module - 3 freq. by your country - IRQ / wake up
- Beeper
- Battery charging
- DS3131 RTC with CR1220 battery backup, optional not used now
- GPS support, optional not used now
- Environmental sensors possibility, optional not used now
- native HW USB for next features like, modem, sniffer ....
- EXPANSION port I2C, UART (GPS, RTC, Environmental sensors)
Working software features:
- Send message ... compose and send message to specified recipient or broadcast
- Receive message ... message is received on background and stored in memory.
- Message editor ... write message about +/- 80 characters long ...
80 is now best readable on full display .... - Message memory ... all send/received messages are stored in memory
- Display memory ... display memory content
- Config ... user radio configuration spread factor / power
- check message delivery confirmation
- contact list display with auto updated names from remote units
- BEST working feature - resend undelivered messages
if delivery fail, message is stored with "undelivered" attribute. Every station at power on broadcast "Ready receive status", then if any near station receive this broadcast and have undelivered message automatically try send this messages,
if then receive confirmation mark messages in memory as DELIVERED :)
All this features uses only 20% flash memory !!! there is lot free space for next updates
TODO software features:
- add message encryption
- Message forward between devices to extend range (mesh) https://www.meshtastic.org/
(Addressing, protocol and packet structure is already implemented)
- add some USB link features like work as usb modem, send receive/message from PC terminal
- GPS position parse
Some screenshots:
STEM Learning:
What you can learn on this board?
- modern architecture based on M0 arduino zero compatible, with lot memory and native USB
- QWERTY keyboard matrix reading
- complex input/output HID processing read keyboard data,
- create and display graphics, save data to flash, send results over radio or usb
- radio communication with world best, most advanced long range radio technology
- work with I2C sensors or process GPS data
- learn lot about network architecture, packets, communication, addresing, delivery confirmation
- RTC clock and alarms
- power management, sleep, wake by alarm, wake on receive
( all this things I learning now on this project)
Production and marketing plans:
Hardware is very simple and easy to solder by hand (in pocket version with SAMD21E18), low active component count make it very attractive as learn to solder kit. Unfortunately SAMD21 come without bootloader, this is little problem because SAMD need special tools to burn bootloaders, I have no experience how much is complicated burn bootloader in factory on bare unsoldered chip. I suggesting sell this as semi populated board > PCBA all active components except buttons and radio module (Unsoldered radio module give small...
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M.daSilva
zakqwy
Ulrich
interesting but incompatible ;(