Seeed Studio's SenseCAP Solar Node P1, P1-Pro Are Sub-$90 Solar-Harvesting Meshtastic Nodes

Seeed Studio has unveiled its latest devices designed for use on the Meshtastic mesh LoRa network: the solar-powered SenseCAP Solar Node P1 and P1-Pro.

"The SenseCap Solar Node [is] a solar-powered off-grid communication and positioning solution based on Meshtastic," the company says of its latest launch, "to build a smart network without boundaries. "Send real-time location and text messages in areas without network coverage. Serve as a mesh relay node to expand the coverage of the existing Meshtastic network. Learn about the development of Meshtastic and LoRa decentralized networks."

The new devices, brought to our attention by CNX Software, are built around the pairing of a XIAO nRF52840 Plus microcontroller board with a Nordic Semiconductor nRF52840 chip delivering a single 32-bit Arm Cortex-M4 core running at up to 64MHz, 256kB of static RAM (SRAM), 1MB of on-chip and 2MB of on-board flash memory, and a Wio-SX1262 module with Semtech SX1262 LoRa transceiver. It's designed specifically for use with Meshtastic, an open source community driven firmware that turns low-cost microcontrollers and transceivers into nodes on a free-to-use mesh network.

The base SenseCAP Solar Node P1 kit includes a weatherproof housing attached to the rear of a 5W solar panel, designed for mounting on a wall or pole with the included mounting brackets. a 2dBi dipole antenna provides omnidirectional coverage, while the device can be kept running when the sun goes down by adding a quartet of 18650 lithium batteries. The SenseCAP Solar Node P1-Pro includes everything from the base kit plus a XIAO L76K GPS module and four 18650 batteries pre-installed.

The new devices come a week after RAKwireless announced its own solar-powered Meshtastic nodes, the WishMesh Repeater and Repeater Mini. Like Seeed's version the devices are based on a Nordic nRF52840 microcontroller and Semtech SX1262 LoRa transceiver pairing, but RAKwireless offers a more compact single-box solution alongside Solar Node P1-like larger variant with separate solar panel and battery pack — at, admittedly, a considerably higher price.

The SenseCAP Solar Node P1 is available to pre-order on the Seeed store now for $69.90, without GPS module and batteries; the SenseCAP Solar Node P1-Pro, which includes GPS module and four 18650 batteries, is priced at $89.90. Both devices are due to start shipping in early June, the company has confirmed.