LowMesh Pocket-S | Portable Meshtastic device with Solar!
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- Опубліковано 7 лют 2025
- Welcome to The Comms Channel! Today, we’re taking a look at the Pocket-S from LowMesh which is available exclusively at Rokland. This is a unique offering as it's a portable Meshtastic device with its own solar panel for charging while on the go.
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The reviewer has the first version of the case so you can see some slight gaps in the parting line. The newer version of the case has built in ribs and the overall case design has been stiffened to reduce the amount of gap between the top and bottom cover. This does not make the case waterproof but at least helps in reducing the number of particles coming in from the sides. I designed a prototype model of Pocket-S that can be injection molded in the future if there is enough need for waterproofing as a potential v2.
The solar panel is not large enough to adequately charge a battery with a GPS module present, so I opted to add an RTC. I did provide a 2.54mm vias which has the UART exposed, and users already have tinkered with the Pocket-S and connected their own GPS. Rokland will be potentially coming out with their own GPS adapter for this product if GPS is absolutely needed. The device can charge in the sun with the device set to ON or OFF, so in the use case where you might have GPS connected, you could have the device off just to charge or use the sun to extend the battery life rather than try to charge the battery.
A few more things on the technical side about the Pocket-S product:
- The system operating voltage is 3.1v rather than 3.3v just to save slightly on current draw, anything higher than 3.1v is wasted on the sx1262 and gives no range benefit. I wanted to set the operating voltage to 2.7v but SX1262 datasheet says there would be a -3dBm loss.
-The charging IC used is bq24074. The "correct" way to charge using solar is through an MPPT charger. The bq24074 does not have MPPT but has something called "Input Dynamic Power Management Mode" which simulates a similar result. Adafruit has a good writeup on this topic.
-The provided SMA connector can be soldered onto the PCB to connect an external antenna but the internal antenna needs to be disabled. De-solder the 0-ohm resistor R17 and rotate to R23. (Solder bridge of R23 can also work) At some point there might be a version of Pocket-S with the SMA already attached.
-The internal antenna was tuned and designed by the RF engineers over at RAK Wireless. They re-tuned based on the 3d printed case and performance is as good as you can get for an internal antenna so try it out before switching to an external.
- BME280 sensor for Temperature/Humidity/Air Pressure
At CES we showed an SLS 3d printed model of an outdoor solar node using a 4W solar panel, 4 hybrid super caps with a total capacity of 6000mAh and can withstand being outdoors on a pole. This is a prototype but much more applicable for a constant outdoor stationary node, the Pocket-S is more of an on the go, backpacker solar node. In the next few months there will also be a MagSafe mini node available.
Thanks for sharing all this detailed information! Appreciate you taking the time to clarify these points for the community. I'll pin this so it's more visible to others.
@@The_Comms_Channel And thank you for another amazing review!
@@brolly759 sure thing! Looking forward to seeing what else you have in store for us and hopefully get to review more of your products in the future! Feel free to reach out via Discord. I'll try to get the finer details from you on the next product you release so I can be sure to include it in the review.
I received my Pocket-S from Rokland and the case is definitely a lot nicer than that prototype. No gaps, very tidy. I'm not sure if it's injection molded or FDM printed, but it's nice.
@@unwin42 Do you have the blue or brown? The blue being lighter makes it much harder to see the layer lines. I appreciate the positive feedback! It is FDM printed on a fleet of Bambu Lab A1 mini's. I spent a long time testing different filaments from a lot of different manufacturers. The best looking prints come from the Bambu Lab PLA-CF and other Meshtastic devices from other companies are printed using that material but you run into 2 very big issues. 1 is melting point only being 59c, so in a car it will turn into mash potatoes and the 2nd which no one talks about is "CF", carbon fiber can absorb some of the RF and reduce range. The Pocket-S and all LowMesh 3d printed products use PETG-GF with a melting point of 79c to resist the heat more and "GF" Glass Fiber makes the product more rigid and not effect RF performance like "CF". If and when I go injection molding, that will be in ASA.
Glad to see they're taking the charging circuit more seriously. I have basically killed a couple of the wismesh because of cold causing the BMS to lock them out. They should NOT be allowing these to drain to 3.1v exactly. Wish this was user adjustable.
A few things on the hardware side: 1. The system operating voltage is 3.1v rather than 3.3v just to save slightly on current draw, Anything higher than 3.1v is wasted on the sx1262 and gives no range benefit . 2. NTC is used (mentioned in the video). 3. The charging IC used is bq24074. The "correct" way to charge solar is using an MPPT charger. The bq24074 does not have MPPT but has something called " Input Dynamic Power Management Mode" which simulates a similar result. Adafruit has a good writeup on this topic
About to grab one to try out
Hope you enjoy it! Seems to be the first commercially available one with a solar panel on it.
I saw these at CES. Super cool and they even brought the 3D printed prototypes.
It needs to be waterproofed is all I see is the issue. The 3D printed box does not have a great fit and water ingress can kill it too easy. I want something I could just strap to a pole and it run without worry about water ingress from dew, etc.
The reviewer has one of the very first made cases, so you can see the parting lines have a slight gap. The newer cases have the gap closed much more by adding ribs to stiffen the walls, still though its not waterproof. Waterproofing on a 3d printed product like this is very hard (using solar panels). I have redesigned the case to be injection moldable which also will be waterproof but the cost of the mold is quite high. If the demand is high enough I will pull the trigger on it. At CES I had a prototype waterproof stationary solar node that uses a 4W solar panel and hybrid super caps, that might be more your product need when that eventually comes out.
@brolly759 if you could leave a comment with this, I can pin it to the top to make sure it's seen
@brolly759 Was not aware I had an early prototype case and would have otherwise mentioned that in the video.
@@brolly759 gotcha. Appreciate the clarification
Silicone conformal coat
Have you tested Waveshare's LoRa-related products? I'm curious to know if Waveshare's products could be applied in more ways based on your ideas and projects
Could you make a video of the post v2.5 firmware- firmware update process for remote nodes? I’ve gotten permission recently to put one of your builds up on a tower but I’m hesitant to do it because I don’t understand the firmware update procedure. Thank you!
Got mine today. Little instruction card that came with it was not clear. The card that talks about enabling buzzer and BME280 sensor.
Lots of variables but what I as the battery life like? You said on a sunny day it changed up to 25% was that while powered up?
This is a good question, I will let the reviewer respond as to his test setup. To add to your question, if it was "on" what mode was it in? Repeater, ect? Each mode has a different current draw.
Nice video. Your audio level is quite a bit lower than the other videos I watched today.
Thanks for the heads-up!
Can you use the USBC port to connect to a graphical display?
The USB-C port is used for programming and charging. The programming happens on D-/D+ pins.
Where did you get the antenna to solder on?
@@prolificentertainment3496 I believe the sma connector is included. Mine came with one at least. It doesn't mention it in the product description though so I'll confirm with Rokland and get back to you
Just heard back from Rokland. The SMA connector IS included. I figured it was, but wanted to make sure with them so I didn't give you incorrect information. Hope you enjoy it!
Given the solar charge rate, would it be realistic to hope that the panel could keep the battery charged full time? In other words, if you stuck this up on a pole or at the top of a tree, do you think it would stay charged, or would you occasionally need to pull it down and plug it in to charge?
@@area51org I think it's possible, but would have to do further testing to confirm. During my testing, when it charged to 15%, it didn't make it through the night. But when it charged to 25% it was still chugging along the next morning. So it seems like it may be possible as long as you have sunny days but would like to replicate this multiple times to confirm first though.
@@The_Comms_Channel Out of curiosity, what kind of solar charger were you using? (No intention of critiquing, just interested.)
@@area51org not sure what is being used. Not my product but the creator is the person in the pinned comment if you want to reply on that he may be able to help.
@ Oh, I meant to ask what you were using when you were testing, assuming you were charging the unit with a solar charger.
@@area51org The product has a solar panel and charger built in. The black square with the bumps you see on the product is the solar panel. The charging IC embedded inside the pocket-s is the bq24074
Do you have to disable or de-solder the on board antenna if using an external antenna?
@@SPLTDP good question. Didn't see a way to do disable the on-boad antenna
Is the external antenna even connected if you solder on the external jack? It looks like there is a jumper at the split between internal and external traces. It's possible that would need to be moved over to make the external one live.
Hard to tell on video though
@@Firecul There is a 0 ohm jumper resistor that you need to remove and either swap positions or do a solder bridge to enable the external antenna, R17 to R23. Its for more advanced users who are not afraid to solder. At some point there will be a separate sku with the external SMA already connected.
I'm still trying to get an answer on how to clear the screen on the wispocket mesh. The app won't clear it. I have messages that stay on there for 20 or 30 days. The node reset on the app doesn't clear the screen on the device, either does running the battery down
I’m not sure on that one. Not been able to duplicate what you're experiencing. Does it still happen if you do a complete wipe?
@@The_Comms_Channelhaven't tried that but it seems that that should be a simple function of the app. If I do a complete wipe I would have to set up the whole thing again. A simple feature like "clear screen" makes a lot more sense
@@budprepper3811reflash or update the firmware. May be a bug that already got fixed
Ok, but for us laymen, what does it do?
Its a device that allows you to connect and send messages on the Meshtastic network which is a peer to peer, local, off-grid mesh network built on top of lora hardware.
So this is just expected to be a repeater node, or what?
All these new devices popping up aren’t worth much if not ip rated for long term rain.
This device isn't designed to be an outdoor repeater node. It's a pocket device that happens to have a solar panel for convenient charging.
You can buy yourself a waterproof enclosure if you want something that is weatherproof and suited for being mounted on a pole.
@ yeah, I get it. I’m just making an observation about the additions to the market which have the same limitations.
Can't leave it outside, not relevant.
🤷♂️
I guess China hasn't decided to subsidize these yet like they do with Baofengs in order to dominate the market. $100 is pretty high
agreeed BaiFeng DM-1701 5W Dual Band DMR is only $89 and does SOOO much more.. this guy wants $99 for a weak device
It would be so cool if the Chinese manufactureres would offer a stable alternative to this unstable us- made meshtastic.
100 bucks cmon? Make it water proof, fix those 3d prints.. Great idea but cmon..
As mentioned in previous comments, the reviewer had an older case design. The newer case design is much sturdier with much less flexing and much fewer blobs or issues in the print. Since this review I also started adding a 1/4" threaded insert rather than a 3d printed version. The next batch of PCBs will be conformal coated to help significantly in protecting the PCB.
Making a waterproof multi layered part with a solar panel and using a 3d printer is not easy. Injection molding is really required.
Its the first product line from a new company and as new products come out, the prices will drop
Fun fact for ten dollars less you can buy a BaoFeng DM-1701 5W Dual Band DMR
Fun fact all BaoFeng come with a CCP wifi kill chip so they can tactically shut down dissident coms in the eventual land assault.
Cool, but I want a mesh node, not a two way VHF radio.
Not really sure of the relevance here, can I communicate via encrypted text miles and miles away from my recipient with zero cell phone coverage while using the DM-1701?
That enclosure leaves a lot to be desired. The split design instead of using a design with a cover is suboptimal and the fact that they didn't put threaded inserts into the 1/4-20 hole is a nonstarter. I understand why they did the split design because of the desire to radius the edges but it's just inviting a lot more dust, dirt, debris, and moisture into the case. They could have designed a groove for a gasket but they didn't even put that level of effort in.
If a groove and gasket was added, you still have the USB-C, 2 LED light ports, Power and Reset buttons and through the sides of the solar panel as all ingress points for dirt, dust debris, ect. I use an eptfe membrane to cover over the speaker/bme280 hole. There is another design that is injection mold ready, uses a waterproof USB-C connector and will have a weatherproof rating if I get enough requests.
"threaded inserts into the 1/4-20 hole" that is something I am looking at and might be in a newer case design.
@@brolly759I don't think people appreciate the amount of R&D, design, engineering, and T&E that goes into making a product decently water/element resistant.
@@DynamicSynergistics People also dont understand startup costs to create and operate a 3d printing farm, renting out the space, the cost to work with distributors, to pay for tradeshows, ect. All of that gets amortized into product cost.
Since the debut, the feedback helped make some improvements.