femtofox/README.md

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# Femtofox &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<sub><sub>The tiny, low power Linux Meshtastic node
**Femtofox is a Linux-based mesh development platform - a Raspberry Pi sized computer with onboard LoRa radio, capable of being run with only 0.3w, making it *ideal* for solar powered nodes.**

The Luckfox Pico Mini is the postage stamp sized heart of the Femtofox - a compact and power efficient Linux board, running a customized version of Ubuntu. Femtofox is an expansion of the Luckfox's capabilities, utilizing a custom PCB with a 30db LoRa radio (over 6x the transmit power of a RAK Wisblock or Heltec V3) to create a power efficient, tiny and highly capable Meshtastic Linux node.

- [Features](#features)
- Specifications - coming soon
- [Supported hardware](./supported_hardware.md)
- [Installation guide](./foxbuntu_install.md)
- How to order - coming soon
- DIY instructions - coming soon
- [Networking](#networking)
- [USB configuration tool](./usb_config.md) 

### Features
* Tiny size (63x54mm for the Kitchen Sink Edition, 65x30mm for the Smol Edition). Roughly equivalent to a standard Raspberry Pi hat and Pi Zero respectively.
* Power efficiency (~0.27-0.4w average, depending on radio and mesh congestion)
* Full Linux CLI (Ubuntu) via our pre-built Foxbuntu image
* Meshtastic native client support via SPI
* USB host support - attach USB peripherals (see [supported hardware](supported_hardware.md))
* USB wifi support (see [supported hardware](supported_hardware.md))
* RTC support for timekeeping (see [supported hardware](supported_hardware.md))

**Accomplished:**
- [x] Meshtastic native client controlling a LoRa radio (see [supported hardware](supported_hardware.md))
- [x] WIFI over USB (see [supported hardware](supported_hardware.md))
- [x] Ethernet over USB (see [supported hardware](supported_hardware.md))
- [x] Ethernet over pins (see *Networking* below and wiring diagram at bottom of page)
- [x] UART communications with Meshtastic nodes (2 pin pairs) such as RAK Wisblock
- [x] USB serial communications with Meshtastic nodes (see [supported hardware](supported_hardware.md))
- [x] USB mass storage
- [x] Real time clock (RTC) support (see [supported hardware](supported_hardware.md))
- [x] Activity LED disabled. User LED will blink for 5 seconds when boot is complete
- [x] Short pressing the "BOOT" button toggles wifi, 2-5 second press triggers reboot, 5+ second press shuts system down
- [x] Ability to reconfigure wifi via USB flash drive
- [x] Meshtasticd to run LoRa radio over SPI (accomplished, updated image and instructions coming soon)
- [x] Allow editing of config files by plugging in thumb drive
- [x] Ability to activate or deactivate WIFI via Meshtastic admin

The preconfigured images will reboot every 24 hours. If the internal clock is accurate, this will be at 3am. Reboot timing is set in `crontab`. To keep accurate time, an RTC module can be installed (see [supported hardware](supported_hardware.md)) or internet connectivity can be utilized for NTP via [Chrony](https://chrony-project.org/).

> [!NOTE]
> The information on this page is given without warranty or guarantee. Links to vendors of products are for informational purposes only.
> Meshtastic® is a registered trademark of Meshtastic LLC. Meshtastic software components are released under various licenses, see GitHub for details. No warranty is provided - use at your own risk.
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