Description

We have built the simplest, power-efficient and 'ready-for-solar' APRS Digipeater and iGate on an MCU (RPi Pico 2 W)!

KISSLink v1 Render

Our existing KISSLink v1 BLE KISS TNC device is capable of running in standalone mode with an alternate firmware!

Goal(s): Our design prioritizes low power, reliability, and unattended deployment over flexibility.

And yes, we want to do this with cheap, widely available BaoFeng radios. This means a couple of things:

  • We need remotely configurable volume knob (PT2259-S).

  • FM notch filter OR VHF bandpass filter for BaoFeng's frontend-overload protection.

  • The firmware will open a control channel in outbound mode.

    Essentially, it will be using standard MQTT for remote control, configuration and debugging.

Configuring Mosquitto MQTT server

$ sudo cat /etc/mosquitto/mosquitto.conf
...
listener 1883
allow_anonymous true

listener 9001
protocol websockets

sudo systemctl enable mosquitto.service

sudo systemctl restart mosquitto.service

Pros

  • FREE hardware (Gerbers + BOM + CPL + enclosure design file)

  • Open schematic!

  • No cables to make. No cables to cut up!

  • THT audio connectors which can handle rough handling

  • We may even open-source the firmware part (currently requires a support license) after sales target are hit ;)

  • No more struggling with flaky and power-hungry Raspberry Pi APRS setups ;)