Haruki Toreda has designed a compact gadget that goals to offer a quick-start platform for these within the Meshtastic mesh community challenge — and which operates completely standalone, with no need to connect with a smartphone or laptop computer.

“HelTXT Lite [is] an reasonably priced entry-level machine designed for many who want a dependable communication answer for off-grid situations,” Toreda explains. “This compact unit is a standalone communication machine that does not require a smartphone for operation. Superb for preppers, emergency conditions, outside adventures, or anybody seeking to get began with Meshtastic with little technical data, the HelTXT Lite integrates seamlessly into the Meshtastic LoRa platform, enabling you to construct a dependable mesh community with a number of units.”

Constructed atop the LoRa radio normal, Meshtastic is designed to offer off-grid communication between two or mode nodes arrange in a mesh infrastructure — permitting extra distant nodes to robotically route their messages by way of intermediaries. Usually, a Meshtastic radio is used with a smartphone or pc over Bluetooth or USB — however standalone communicators are an possibility for many who solely wish to carry a single machine.

The HelTXT Lite is constructed round an Espressif ESP32 microcontroller with a 915MHz LoRa transceiver, related to a compact antenna projecting from the highest of the machine. There is a compact 0.96″ single-color OLED show to the highest, above a small tactile M5Stack keyboard for message entry and management. An built-in 1.1Ah battery offers energy to be used on-the-go, chargeable through a USB Kind-C connector.

The HelTXT Lite is now obtainable to order on Toreda’s Tindie retailer at $79.99, and is claimed to be absolutely appropriate with current Meshtastic nodes.