The Femtofox Pro v1 kit is a compact, low-power LoRa and Meshtastic development board running Linux specially designed for Meshtastic networks. Built around the Luckfox Pico Mini (Rockchip RV1103) SBC, this compact development platform supports USB host/device functionality, Ethernet, WiFi over USB, GPIO interfaces, I2C, UART, and a real-time clock (RTC).
The most unique feature of this board is that it operates at very low power (0.27-0.4W), making it ideal for solar-powered applications. Additionally, Femtofox supports native Meshtastic client control, USB mass storage, and network reconfiguration via a USB flash drive. It also includes user-configurable buttons for WiFi toggling and system reboot, enhancing its usability. These features make Femtofox particularly useful for applications such as emergency response and off-grid messaging.
Femtofox Pro v1 kit specifications
- Mainboard – Luckfox Pico Mini A
- SoC – Rockchip RV1103 SoC
- CPU – Arm Cortex-A7 processor @ 1.2GHz + RISC-V core
- Memory – 64MB DDR2
- NPU – 0.5 TOPS NPU with support for INT4, INT8, and INT16
- ISP – 4M @ 30 fps ISP
- Storage – MicroSD slot (8GB–128GB supported)
- Camera – 2-lane MIPI CSI connector
- USB – USB 2.0 Host/Device Type-C port
- Expansion
- 2x 11-pin headers and castellated holes with up to 17x GPIOs, 14x PWM, 4x UART, 1x SPI, 1x I2C, 2x ADC, 5V (VBUS), 3.3V out, 1.8V out, and GND
- 5x castellated holes for Ethernet
- Misc
- BOOT button
- Act and user LEDs
- SoC – Rockchip RV1103 SoC
- Connectivity
- Wireless
- 30dB LoRa Radio (E22-900M30S, SX1262)
- Frequency 868–915MHz
- Supports Meshtastic native clients via SPI
- Networking
- RJ45 Ethernet port with filtering
- USB WiFi support (via external adapter)
- Wireless
- USB – USB-C OTG with support for WiFi
- Expansion
- 17x GPIO pins
- 2x I2C (JST PH connectors)
- 1x UART (JST PH connector)
- SPI, PWM, and Digital I/O support
- 1x CH340 USB to serial adapter (Pro only)
- Pre-soldered GPIO headers
- Misc – RTC (unpopulated footprint for a real-time clock)
- Power Supply – 5V via USB-C port
- Dimensions – 63 x 54mm (or about the size of a Raspberry Pi HAT)
The Femtofox Pro v1 LoRa and Meshtastic development board runs Foxbuntu, a Linux distribution based on Ubuntu 22.04.5 LTS (Jammy), optimized for low-power embedded applications. It includes full Linux command-line support and allows system configuration and software development. Additionally, the board also supports Buildroot for minimal, custom Linux builds. Foxbuntu is pre-configured for Meshtastic, enabling LoRa mesh networking with SPI support. More information along with hardware design files and an installation guide can be found on femtofox’s GitHub repo.
The Femtofox Pro has many features, but while writing the post, I couldn’t find detailed information about the Raspberry Pi-style GPIO header and how the onboard USB-C port functions.
We have previously written about XIAO ESP32S3 for Meshtastic & LoRa an ESP32-S3 LoRa dev kit that combines an XIAO ESP32S3 board with the tiny Wio-SX1262 LoRa module for LoRa Meshtastic applications, and the SenseCAP Indicator a compact and portable 4-inch touchscreen device designed for IoT and Meshtastic applications. We have also covered the Meshtastic Designer a web-based tool to help users easily configure and visualize custom Meshtastic devices using WisBlock hardware components, and Meshtastic projects have really become popular in recent times.
All in all the Femtofox Pro v1 LoRa and Meshtastic development board offers ultra-low-power operation while running Linux, enabling off-grid LoRa mesh networking without bulky power sources. The development kit is available on Tom’s Tindie store for $81.95 plus shipping.
Debashis Das is a technical content writer and embedded engineer with over five years of experience in the industry. With expertise in Embedded C, PCB Design, and SEO optimization, he effectively blends difficult technical topics with clear communication
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Comparisation between this and the Station G2 would be really interesting. The Station G2 is the only other Meshtastic device with more then the default 22dBm and LNA build in that is supported by Meshtastic.
This here looks to be the second one with such capabilities.
>The most unique feature of this board is that it operates at very low power (0.27-0.4W)
That’s low for Rockchip, but not low for an ARM-A chip. Typical smartphone chips consume 0.05-0.07 or so in deep sleep, 0.1-0.15 in typical idle.
I left my old Android tablet fully charged on desk, powered on, and forgot about it. It started to notify of low charge only after 35 days.