This is a custom circuit board developed for a hackathon organized by Hack Club, called The Trail. The goal of the hackathon was to design a functional, off-the-grid circuit board to function as equipment for a seven-day hike on the Pacific Crest Trail.
Our LoRa communicator is a lightweight, low-power, off the grid, messaging device designed for remote communication without cellular networks.
- Full keyboard based on a Mac layout, supporting shifting, capitalization, and alternate characters.
- 128x64 LCD display for clear text-based messaging.
- Sends messages beyond one mile through dense terrain with no data loss thanks to the LoRa protocall (most likely capable of longer distances)
- Event-driven firmware eliminates the need for a main loop with checks, significantly reducing power consumption. (See OLDTODO.MD for a rough code outline)
- Minimal idle power draw, allowing for multi-day operation on a single charge.
- PCB designed from scratch, designed for portability (with mounting holes for carabiners), user friendliness and efficiency.
