This Ultra-Compact Meshtastic Node Squeezes LoRa Mesh Networking Capabilities Into an Altoids Tin

Pseudonymous maker "Fir3" has built an ultra-compact LoRa node for the Meshtastic or Meshcore peer-to-peer mesh radio networks — fitting almost entirely into a standard Altoids mint tin, for classic hacker cred.

"This build started as a joke, but it actually works surprisingly well," Fir3 explains of the pocket-sized mesh radio node. "I used a RAK[wireless] WisBlock Mini and an 18650 battery tucked into a standard Altoids tin. To get around the Faraday cage issue, I mounted the Muzi whip [antenna] on top and the BT [Bluetooth] antenna outside on the bottom."

Cramming electronics into empty Altoids tins is a time-tested hacker challenge: over the years we've seen everything from handheld games consoles and eight-bit microcomputers to combination drum-synth machines and electronic book readers. Fir3's contribution to the minty ecosystem leans on clever component selection to squeeze a node for the Meshtastic community-driven LoRa mesh network — and theoretically also compatible with the rival Meshcore network — into an ultra-compact footprint.

The heart of the build is a RAKwireless WisBlock 4631 LoRa microcontroller board, built around the Nordic Semiconductor nRF52840 microcontroller. There's a 3.5Ah 18650 lithium battery good for around two weeks of uptime, Fir3 says, with USB Type-C connectivity for charging and wired data transfer. Almost every component is housed within a standard-sized Altoids mint tin, bar the antennas for LoRa and Bluetooth connectivity — which don't fare well sealed in a metal box.

Said metal box is blocked from shorting anything out thanks to adhesive foam strips, lifting the back side of the WisBlock off the tin's metal surface. The rear of the case, meanwhile, houses a rubber-coated heavy-duty magnet, making it easy to mount the node on magnetic surfaces — though "it's not waterproof," Fir3 admits of the build, meaning that "I don't plan to leave it outside unattended."

More information is available in Fir3's Reddit post.