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<img src="https://github.com/noon92/luckfox/blob/main/luckfox_pico_mini_tiny_linux_board.jpg" width="400">
<h1 id="femtofox----subsubthe-tiny-low-power-linux-meshtastic-node">Femtofox &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<sub><sub>The tiny, low power Linux Meshtastic node</sub></sub></h1>
<h4 id="the-luckfox-pico-mini-is-a-compact-and-power-efficient-linux-capable-board-capable-of-running-ubuntu.-femtofox-is-an-expansion-of-the-luckfoxs-capabilities-combining-a-customized-ubuntu-image-with-a-custom-pcb-integrating-it-with-a-lora-radio-to-create-a-power-efficient-cheap-and-small-meshtastic-linux-node.">The Luckfox Pico Mini is a compact and power efficient Linux capable board, capable of running Ubuntu. Femtofox is an expansion of the Luckfox’s capabilities, combining a customized Ubuntu image with a custom PCB, integrating it with a LoRa radio to create a power efficient, cheap and small Meshtastic Linux node.</h4>
<p><strong>Features:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Tiny size (63x54mm for the Kitchen Sink Edition, 65x30mm for the Smol Edition). Roughly equivalent to a Raspberry Pi and Pi Zero.</li>
<li>Power efficiency (~0.38w)</li>
<li>Full Linux CLI (Ubuntu) via our pre-built Foxbuntu image</li>
<li>Meshtastic native client support via SPI</li>
<li>USB host support</li>
<li>Wifi over USB</li>
<li>RTC support</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Accomplished:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li class="task-list-item"><input type="checkbox" class="task-list-item-checkbox" checked="true" disabled=""> Meshtastic native client controlling a LoRa radio (see <a href="supported_hardware.md">supported hardware</a>)</li>
<li class="task-list-item"><input type="checkbox" class="task-list-item-checkbox" checked="true" disabled=""> WIFI over USB (see <a href="supported_hardware.md">supported hardware</a>)</li>
<li class="task-list-item"><input type="checkbox" class="task-list-item-checkbox" checked="true" disabled=""> Ethernet over USB (see <a href="supported_hardware.md">supported hardware</a>)</li>
<li class="task-list-item"><input type="checkbox" class="task-list-item-checkbox" checked="true" disabled=""> Ethernet over pins (see <em>Networking</em> below and wiring diagram at bottom of page)</li>
<li class="task-list-item"><input type="checkbox" class="task-list-item-checkbox" checked="true" disabled=""> UART communications with Meshtastic nodes (2 pin pairs) such as RAK Wisblock</li>
<li class="task-list-item"><input type="checkbox" class="task-list-item-checkbox" checked="true" disabled=""> USB serial communications with Meshtastic nodes (see <a href="supported_hardware.md">supported hardware</a>)</li>
<li class="task-list-item"><input type="checkbox" class="task-list-item-checkbox" checked="true" disabled=""> USB mass storage</li>
<li class="task-list-item"><input type="checkbox" class="task-list-item-checkbox" checked="true" disabled=""> Real time clock (RTC) support (see <a href="supported_hardware.md">supported hardware</a>)</li>
<li class="task-list-item"><input type="checkbox" class="task-list-item-checkbox" checked="true" disabled=""> Activity LED disabled. User LED will blink for 5 seconds when boot is complete</li>
<li class="task-list-item"><input type="checkbox" class="task-list-item-checkbox" checked="true" disabled=""> Pressing the “BOOT” button triggers reboot</li>
<li class="task-list-item"><input type="checkbox" class="task-list-item-checkbox" checked="true" disabled=""> Ability to reconfigure wifi via USB flash drive</li>
<li class="task-list-item"><input type="checkbox" class="task-list-item-checkbox" checked="true" disabled=""> Meshtasticd to run LoRa radio over SPI (accomplished, updated image and instructions coming soon)</li>
<li class="task-list-item"><input type="checkbox" class="task-list-item-checkbox" checked="true" disabled=""> Allow editing of config files by plugging in thumb drive</li>
<li class="task-list-item"><input type="checkbox" class="task-list-item-checkbox" checked="true" disabled=""> Ability to activate or deactivate WIFI via Meshtastic admin</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Project goals:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>A solar-deployable Meshtastic node running Linux, without needing a giant solar panel / battery</li>
<li>Wifi capabilities (with ability to disable/enable wifi via mesh for power savings)</li>
</ul>
<p>Login for the images is <code>femto:fox</code>. Root is <code>root:root</code>.</p>
<p>The preconfigured images will reboot every 24 hours. If the internal clock is accurate, this will be at 3am. Reboot timing is set in <code>crontab</code>. To keep accurate time, an RTC module can be installed (see <a href="supported_hardware.md">supported hardware</a>) or internet connectivity can be maintained for NTP. If no authoritative time source is found, time will be set to 2024-01-01 00:00 on boot.</p>
<h3 id="supported-hardware---click-here"><a href="supported_hardware.md">Supported hardware - click here</a></h3>
<h3 id="networking">Networking:</h3>
<p>There are four methods to get online:</p>
<ol>
<li>Ethernet over USB - most adapters should be supported, but I’ve only tested the RTL8152 chipset.</li>
<li>USB wifi (see <a href="supported_hardware.md">supported hardware</a>).</li>
<li>Preconfigured Ubuntu images: ethernet via the castellated pins at the bottom of the board. See pinout at the bottom of this readme.</li>
<li>RDNIS via usb - <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20241006173648/https://wiki.luckfox.com/Luckfox-Pico/Luckfox-Pico-Network-Sharing-1/">see this guide</a>. Note that in the preconfigured images USB is set to host mode, so you’ll have to switch back to peripheral with <code>sudo luckfox-config</code>. This is not really recommended, but can be used in a pinch.</li>
</ol>
<h3 id="installation---connection-to-meshtastic-node-via-uart-or-usb">Installation - connection to Meshtastic node via UART or USB:</h3>
<ol>
<li>Download the most recent OS image in <a href="https://github.com/noon92/femtofox/releases">releases</a>.</li>
<li>Flash the image your MicroSD card using <a href="https://etcher.balena.io/">Balena Etcher</a> or your favorite flashing program. You will likely get a warning that the image appears to be invalid or has no partition table. This is normal.</li>
<li>Insert the microSD card into the Luckfox Pico Mini.</li>
<li>Configure the system with a USB drive as described in <a href="usb_config.md">USB Configuration Tool</a>.</li>
</ol>
<h3 id="pinout">Pinout:</h3>
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Pin #</th>
<th>Pin ID</th>
<th>Function</th>
<th>Luckfox</th>
<th>Pin #</th>
<th>Pin ID</th>
<th>Function</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>1</td>
<td>VBus</td>
<td>5V in/out</td>
<td></td>
<td>22</td>
<td>1V8</td>
<td>1.8V out</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2</td>
<td>GND</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td>21</td>
<td>GND</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3</td>
<td>3V3</td>
<td>3.3V out</td>
<td></td>
<td>20</td>
<td>4C1</td>
<td>1v8 IO, SARADC</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>4/42</td>
<td>1B2</td>
<td>Debug UART2-TX</td>
<td></td>
<td>19</td>
<td>4C0</td>
<td>1v8 IO, SARADC</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>5/43</td>
<td>1B3</td>
<td>Debug UART2-RX</td>
<td></td>
<td>18/4</td>
<td>0A4</td>
<td>3v3 IO</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>6/48</td>
<td>1C0</td>
<td>CS0, IO</td>
<td></td>
<td>17/55</td>
<td>1C7</td>
<td>IRQ, IO</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>7/49</td>
<td>1C1</td>
<td>CLK, IO</td>
<td></td>
<td>16/54</td>
<td>1C6</td>
<td>BUSY, IO</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>8/50</td>
<td>1C2</td>
<td>MOSI, IO</td>
<td></td>
<td>15/59</td>
<td>1D3</td>
<td>i2c SCL</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>9/51</td>
<td>1C3</td>
<td>MISO, IO</td>
<td></td>
<td>14/58</td>
<td>1D2</td>
<td>i2c SDA</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>10/52</td>
<td>1C4</td>
<td>UART4-TX</td>
<td></td>
<td>13/57</td>
<td>1D1</td>
<td>UART3-RX, NRST</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>11/53</td>
<td>1C5</td>
<td>UART4-RX</td>
<td></td>
<td>12/56</td>
<td>1D0</td>
<td>UART3-TX, RXEN</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table><p>Pin ID explanation: <strong>1C6</strong> = GPIO bank <strong>1</strong>, group <strong>C</strong>, pin <strong>6</strong>.<br>
In Meshtasticd’s config.yaml we use GPIO bank 1, and subtract 32 from the pin number.</p>
<p><img src="https://github.com/noon92/luckfox/blob/main/luckfox_pinout.png" alt="pinout"><br>
<img src="https://github.com/noon92/luckfox/blob/main/luckfox_pico_mini_original_wiring_diagram.jpg" alt="pinout"></p>
<blockquote>
<p>[!NOTE]<br>
The information on this page is given without warranty or guarantee. Links to vendors of products are for informational purposes only.<br>
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.</p>
</blockquote>
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