Meshtastic FakeTAK "Commander" Tacticool big boi water Resistant, RUGGED, ATAK, GPS, outdoor node

UPDATE 14.01.25:

• Added Cover with no pattern or logo.
• Added USB C plug cover for charging port as the original that it comes with is to soft and unusable. 

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The FakeTAK was intentionally made for a Faketec Node but also fits a Heltec V3 or T114, there is enough space inside so it even fits other nodes of the same size. 

The goal on this project was to create a node that can survive the outdoors easily, by being shock proof( printed in Carbon fiber infused PETG),  water resistant (TPU sealings and fluid able silicone inside the top cap to prevent water intrusion) I also wanted it to run for a long time so with a  10500mAH  battery pack (3x 3500 18650 cells in parallel) should last quite a while even with GPS constantly on. 

Once the Batteries are run down you can relatively quickly charge them up with a 15 watt  quick charge circuit over USB C. 

 Utilizing a very sensitive GPS antenna position should be more then precise when using ATAK. 

 It is easy to maintain as all the electronics can simply slide out once the top cap is taken off. So its not hard to upgrade the firmware either as the faketecs USB C port is easy accessible.

No visible light from the outside as it could be a tactical disadvantage. To know if the unit is turned on I implemented a buzzer. Toggling the GPS module on over a mosfet you can hear a tune over the buzzer clearly indicating if it is turned on or off. 

There is a hard switch inside to turn the unit completely off, but you can of course also only make a soft shutdown by holding the main button. 

Dont forget to pull down the Mosfet with a 10k Ohm Resistor to ground so GPS stays off when the faketec is in “softshutdown” same with the buzzer as it can turn into a heating element pretty much xD 

USB  C water resistant connector did not arrive yet so its not on the picture.

More shells with different patterns coming soon!

The Carbon fiber infused PETG Filament with its dark olive green color I used is the following one.

 Kohlefaser PETG Filament 1.75mm, TINMORRY PETG-CF 3D-Druckmaterialien, Kompatibel mit Bambu FDM 3D-Drucker, 1 KG 1 Spule, Olivgrün : Amazon.de: Gewerbe, Industrie & Wissenschaft

TIPP: 

The side button is a bit tricky, connect long enough wires to the Faketec board, slide the sledge in with the gps antenna cable already connected to the board, once the battery pack passed by the button hole you simply push the wire out and solder the button on “outside”, dont forget to slide the buttons counter nut on the cable before you pass the cable through the hole!  After you connected the button to the cable slide it in and then use a thin screw driver to screw the counter nut on, its a bit tricky but totally doable ;) 

Parts list:

Faketec NRF 52 DIY node ( the best and cheapest option available as of now) 

gargomoma/fakeTec_pcb: A low-cost nrf52 device.

3x 18650cells source locally and connect them in parallel.

1S Lithium Ion battery protection for the in parallel connected cells: 

10 TEILE/LOS 1S 3,7 V 3A li-ion BMS PCM batterie schutz bord pcm für 18650 lithium-ionen li batterie - AliExpress 502

1S Lithium Ion charger 3A: 

Typ C USB Eingang High Strom 3A Polymer Ternären Lithium-Batterie Schnell Lade Board IP2312 CC/CV Modus 5V Zu 4,2 V - AliExpress 502

SMA compatible antenna with region correct frequency  of your own choosing or my recommendation:

GSM 868 MHz 915 MHz Antenne Lora PBX wasserdicht 3bdi SMA Stecker IOT Antena 868 MHz 915 MHz Antennenantennen für Lorawan - AliExpress 509

Or:

Nb-iot /LORA Weiche Antenne UAV drahtlose modul Abbildung übertragung daten übertragung 840-868-900-915-902-928mhz antenne SMA männlichen - AliExpress 509

Watertight USB C socket: 

USB-C 2p Hochstrom-Lade buchse mit ph 2,54 Mutter Snap-Lock-Platte USB TYPE-C Buchse Typ C wasserdichte Buchse - AliExpress 13

GPS module: 

Tzt gps bds beidou Dual-Mode-Modul, Flugs teuerung Satelliten position ierungs navigator, atgm336h Ersatz, für NEO-M8N - AliExpress 502

GPS antenna: HA-203

Rtk gnss antenne hochpräzise helix position ierung uav unbemanntes fahrzeugs chiff gps l1 l2 l5 glonass beidou galileo sma wasserdicht - AliExpress 509

Ipex SMA adapter cable for GPS and lora module: SMA Female, 7,5CM and 5CM

10 teile/los sma zu ipex rf 1,13 kabel rp sma/sma weiblich zu ufl/u. fl/ipx/IPEX-1Female wifi antenne rf 1,13 rf kabel pigtail verlängerung - AliExpress 13

Water resistant button to toggle GPS on/off:

8mm Tasten Metall Power Auf Off Push Button Mini Schalter Momentary Self-reset Türklingel Wasserdicht Horn Taste Power start Stop - AliExpress 13

Mosfet to power buzzer and toggle GPS on/off  as NRF52 output power is to low:  SI2312

200PCS SI2300 SI2301 SI2302 SI2307 SI2312 SS8050 SS8550 MMBD1503A SOT-23 Transistor SMD Triode - AliExpress 502

Resistor to “pull down” mosfets used for buzzer and GPS so they dont draw power when not active or shut down (software shutdown)

1000 stücke 1/6w Kohlenstoff film widerstand 1r-1m 10k Ohm 10k 4,7 k 2,2 k 1k k 3k/5/6/7/8/9.1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8./k/r 220r - AliExpress 502

Buzzer: (8.5x8.5.3mm 3volt)

10 stücke smd Summer 5020 7525 8530 9650 1230 9032 3V 3,6 V 5V magnetischer Mini aktiver passiver Piezo-Summer Lautsprecher elektronisches Kit - AliExpress 502

Main power Switch:

Heißer 20 stücke 5V 0,3 A Mini Größe Schwarz SPDT Rutsche Schalter für Kleine DIY Power - AliExpress 13

Wiring cable: 0,5

5 Meter quadratisch 0,3 0,5 0,75 1 1,5 mm RV-Feindraht PVC-isoliertes blankes Kupferkabel 220 V Lautsprecher Power Led elektrischer elektrischer Draht - AliExpress 13

M3 brass hot melt inserts: M3,  4,5OD  6mm: 

M2 M2,5 M3 M4 M5 M6 Messing Hot Melt Einsatz Rändelmutter Gewinde Wärmeform Doppel-Twill-Injektions-Einbettungsmutter für 3D-Drucker - AliExpress 13

M3 screw: 10mm

10/50 Stück M1,6 M2 M2,5 M3 M4 M5 M6 M8 schwarzer Stahl der Güteklasse 10,9 ISO7380 Sechskant-Innensechskant-Knopf-Pilz-Inbusschraube - AliExpress 13