Table of Contents
Bill of materials
Bill of materials to various combinations of Edgemap related kits.
Please note that my Edgemap project is development work I do for myself. It's not ready made product and it requires quite a bit embedded Linux expertise to be useful. I am happy to help with this, so reach me out for hands on instructions.
Make also sure you have powerful Linux computer, good amount of disk space and 256 GB MicroSD's at hand. You need to handle over 100 GB files when deploying world map pmtiles to MicroSD cards and edgemap image cross compilation takes anything between 1 to 10 hours depending your computer.
For quick testing you might check my test images at Github release section. They get you up faster, but ultimately any useful modifications require you to cross compile full image for yourself.
Edgemap with RPi 2W Zero
With this kit you are able to host World Map + World Terrain + limited amount of imagery on single MicroSD card.
Edgemap running on Raspberry Pi 2W Zero creates hotspot and you can connect your mobile or laptop to it and use Edgemap user interface and exchange messages over Meshtastic (LORA) channel.
Perfect light kit for initial testing but creates Wifi hotspot and is not suitable for RF hostile environments.
| Pos | Item | Link | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Raspberry Pi Zero 2W | RPi Offical Site | $15 | |
| 2 | 2.13“ display + case | Waveshare | $23 | |
| 3 | Micro-USB ↔ USB-A OTG Adapter Option #1 | RPi Offical Site | $5 | |
| 4 | Micro-USB adapter cable Option #2 | Amazon | $10 | NOTE: If you choose to use LilyGo (pos 7) this might be handy cable. |
| 5 | Samsung 256 GB MicroSD | Amazon | $25 | |
| 6 | Radio Heltec (option #1) | Heltec Tinytronics (EU) | $20 | NOTE: Without case and has USB-C → So not compatible with MicroUSB-MicroUSB cable → needs USB-A OTG adapter (pos 3) |
| 7 | Radio LilyGo (option #2) | LilyGo Tinytronics (EU) | $22 | NOTE: Without case Model: LILYGO Paxcounter TXCO |
Edgemap with RPi 4
Select RPi4 based setup for all the latest on my developments.
With this kit you are able to host World Map + World Terrain + limited amount of imagery on single MicroSD card.
Edgemap running on Raspberry Pi 4 creates hotspot and you can connect your mobile or laptop to it and use Edgemap user interface and exchange messages over Meshtastic (LORA) channel.
You can also use RPi 4 kit with wired Ethernet and disable Wifi completely. In which case RPi 4 is either DHCP client on your LAN or acts like DHCP server in you LAN - depending your use case.
Perfect and more robust 'appliance kit' when you require wired Ethernet on RF denied environments.
| Pos | Item | Link | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Raspberry Pi 4 | RPi Offical Site | $15 | |
| 2 | Samsung 256 GB MicroSD | Amazon | $25 | |
| 3 | Radio Heltec (option #1) | Heltec Tinytronics (EU) | $20 | NOTE: Without case. With RPi 4 you need USB-A to USB-C cable. |
| 4 | Radio LilyGo (option #2) | LilyGo Tinytronics (EU) | $22 | NOTE: Without case NOTE: This board has 17 dBm power limit! Model: LILYGO Paxcounter TXCO You need USB-A to MicroUSB cable. |
| 4 | Power supply for RPi4 | RPi Offical Site | $20 | NOTE: RPi4 requires good amount of power and too weak power supply for RPi4 is number one problem with rasperrypi's |
| 5 | 4.3” DSI screen with case | Waveshare | $36 | |
| 6 | Raspberry Pi Codec Zero | Raspberry Pi | $20 | |
| 7 | Kenwood SMC-34 | Amazon | $44 | You might be able to use kenwood pin-out variants as well. |
| 8 | Blinkstick NANO | Blinkstick | $20 | Optional |
Display & case
You can also take parts 5,6,7 to build this cased unit with a display and SecurePTT. Check my Github for details on wiring and note that you need plug connectors (3.5 mm and 2.5 mm) for Kenwood monofone.
- HeltecV3 LoRA board fits inside the case
Meshtastic Radios
You can check official Meshtastic site for list of available radios. There is good amount of details and frequency area (US/EU) is one main difference on these models. I have experience of LilyGo and just recently Heltec V3 radios. I have created 3D printed case for my LilyGo boards and it mounts nicely on your laptop lid.
There is also new Vision Master T190 and Vision Master E290 from Heltec available and I've been testing these with latest Meshtastic version. There was some initial flashing issue but I managed to get them flashed by modifying device-install.sh so that it installs bleota-s3.bin for these devices. Automatic identification on script does not yet handle properly these models.
Software images and Maps
You can download my Open Source Edgemap from Github and compile complete image and burn it to MicroSD card. This is pretty demanding task but gives you complete control to produce these units in battle space and provide unique digital sovereignty approach. You could also use releases from Github for quick demos.
Please note that doing MicroSD card image + maps installation requires Linux computer since card uses EXT4 filesystems. You need to download full planet pmtiles from this page and optionally you can download full world Terrain from this link. Both of these files need to be copied to second partition on MicroSD after you burned initial image from github.
Note that copying these 100 GB's files to MicroSD requires patience but once it's done, they are fast to use.