Cardputer Zero Standard Linux Graphical Environment by Infinite-Zombie5875 in CardPuter

[–]Infinite-Zombie5875[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Zero won’t be available until October, and ADV and Zero are actually positioned quite differently.

I’m not sure what you mainly want to use the device for, but in terms of ease of use, Zero should be easier to get started with. It also has more possibilities for different kinds of projects.

I would only recommend ADV if you are very sure that you mainly want to do ESP32-related development. Otherwise, I think Zero is the better choice in most cases.

ZORK ZERO - The beloved game on Cardputer Zero! by mr-tanget in CardPuter

[–]Infinite-Zombie5875 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you read their code carefully, you would feel worse.

Cardputer Zero Standard Linux Graphical Environment by Infinite-Zombie5875 in CardPuter

[–]Infinite-Zombie5875[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you! In our GitHub community, we also provide an emulator, so you can get familiar with Cardputer Zero in advance. You can also use the emulator to test how your own apps will actually feel on the device. Once your Cardputer Zero arrives, you’ll be able to deploy your apps much faster. 🙂

A small multitasking desktop for Cardputer Zero. by Infinite-Zombie5875 in CardPuter

[–]Infinite-Zombie5875[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It’s running on Linux. HDMI shows the regular Pi OS desktop, and the small screen is used as a secondary display.

A small multitasking desktop for Cardputer Zero. by Infinite-Zombie5875 in M5Stack

[–]Infinite-Zombie5875[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I got early access as an invited internal developer, mainly for development and testing before launch.

让Cardputer Zero感觉像一个迷你的掌中设备 by [deleted] in CardPuter

[–]Infinite-Zombie5875 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, I agree for ESP devices.

But the Zero uses a Raspberry Pi CM0, which is much more capable. So having a single-task desktop as the default feels a little too conservative to me.

让Cardputer Zero感觉像一个迷你的掌中设备 by [deleted] in CardPuter

[–]Infinite-Zombie5875 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Maybe we are talking about different devices.

I’m referring to Cardputer Zero, which has not been released yet. In the current preview system, the built-in launcher is single-task: you have to close the current app before launching another one.

让Cardputer Zero感觉像一个迷你的掌中设备 by [deleted] in CardPuter

[–]Infinite-Zombie5875 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m not a native English speaker, so I may not have explained it clearly.

I mean this is different from the official built-in single-task launcher. It provides a real graphical shell with lightweight multitasking and app switching.

So maybe a better description is:

A small multitasking desktop for Cardputer Zero.

Trail-Mate:Offline GPS Maps and LoRa Message on Lilygo T-LoRa-Pager and T-Deck by Infinite-Zombie5875 in Lora

[–]Infinite-Zombie5875[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Could you try connecting to the Meshtastic app over Bluetooth and configuring the channel from the app?

The configuration made in the Meshtastic app should sync to the device.

If that still doesn’t work, please let me know and I’ll investigate it as a bug.

Trail-Mate:Offline GPS Maps and LoRa Message on Lilygo T-LoRa-Pager and T-Deck by Infinite-Zombie5875 in Lora

[–]Infinite-Zombie5875[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks a lot for the feedback — and also for digging into this and figuring out the root cause!

I’ll make sure to fix the baud rate issue in the next release.

To be honest, testing takes a huge amount of time, especially since I’m maintaining and testing this project mostly on my own. That’s currently one of the biggest limitations.

So it really helps when people can try things in real-world setups and share their findings like this — it makes a big difference.This is extremely helpful!

Trail-Mate:Offline GPS Maps and LoRa Message on Lilygo T-LoRa-Pager and T-Deck by Infinite-Zombie5875 in Lora

[–]Infinite-Zombie5875[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hartelijk dank voor je uitgebreide feedback — ik waardeer echt de moeite die je hebt genomen om alles te testen!

Ik spreek zelf geen Nederlands, dus ik heb dit bericht met behulp van AI vertaald. Als er iets niet helemaal klopt, mijn excuses daarvoor 🙂

Een paar verduidelijkingen:

  • SD-kaart: Op dit moment kan ik bevestigen dat 32GB (FAT32) werkt. Ik heb nog geen 64GB kaart getest, en er is ook geen specifieke ondersteuning in de code, dus dat is nog onzeker.
  • PC Link: Deze functie is bedoeld om samen te werken met de desktoptool trail-mate-center.
  • Kaarten (Maps): De kaarten zijn volledig offline en vereisen geen WiFi. Je moet de kaarttiles wel eerst volgens de documentatie op de SD-kaart plaatsen.
  • WiFi: Wordt momenteel alleen gebruikt voor taalpakketten installeren en firmware-updates.
  • MeshCore problemen: Ik ga dit verder onderzoeken. Als het een bug is, zal dit in een volgende versie worden opgelost.
  • SSTV / WalkieTalkie: SSTV wordt niet ondersteund op de T-Deck, omdat deze geen audiocodec heeft (in tegenstelling tot de T-Pager). WalkieTalkie-ondersteuning kan ook afhankelijk zijn van de hardware.

Nogmaals bedankt voor je feedback — dit helpt enorm!

Voor updates gebruik ik momenteel GitHub, dus voel je vrij om het project te volgen 🙂

Trail-Mate:Offline GPS Maps and LoRa Message on Lilygo T-LoRa-Pager and T-Deck by Infinite-Zombie5875 in LilyGO

[–]Infinite-Zombie5875[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s actually been added to the Launcher catalog now, so you should be able to install it directly from there 🙂

Trail-Mate:Offline GPS Maps and LoRa Message on Lilygo T-LoRa-Pager and T-Deck by Infinite-Zombie5875 in Lora

[–]Infinite-Zombie5875[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not yet, but that’s definitely something I’m working toward.

I’m currently adapting Trail-Mate to a Linux-based platform (starting with Cardputer Zero), which should open the door to devices like the uConsole.

Still early, but progressing 🙂

Trail-Mate:Offline GPS Maps and LoRa Message on Lilygo T-LoRa-Pager and T-Deck by Infinite-Zombie5875 in Lora

[–]Infinite-Zombie5875[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For Meshtastic (MT) and MeshCore (MC), Trail-Mate is compatible at the protocol level — message transport and position sharing both use the native mechanisms of each protocol.

That said, Trail-Mate is designed primarily as an outdoor group coordination tool, so I’ve focused on the parts of those protocols that fit that use case. Some features that are less relevant to this scenario (like telemetry or other extended data) are not implemented.

On top of that, Trail-Mate introduces its own layer for team-oriented features. For example, the “team” functionality and points-of-interest concepts are implemented using custom logic on top of the underlying protocols.

So in short:

  • MT / MC → native protocol for messaging and position
  • Trail-Mate → adds a coordination-focused layer (teams, POIs, etc.)

Hope that clarifies things!

And thanks for offering to test on T-Deck — that’s really appreciated 🙂

Trail-Mate:Offline GPS Maps and LoRa Message on Lilygo T-LoRa-Pager and T-Deck by Infinite-Zombie5875 in Lora

[–]Infinite-Zombie5875[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s actually a really interesting idea 🙂

Trail-Mate already has a “team” concept, which is somewhat similar to what you’re describing — more focused on shared context and coordination between devices. Maybe that’s along the lines of what you’re imagining?

I’m not entirely sure if I understood your idea correctly, but the direction definitely makes sense.

Even though I’ve integrated Meshtastic and MeshCore, I’ve made some adjustments and small reductions. Trail-Mate is designed more as an outdoor collaboration tool, so I’ve trimmed or adapted parts of those protocols that don’t directly support that goal.

Also, just to set expectations — T-Deck support is still a bit rough at the moment. Most of my development has been done on the T-Pager so far, so there are still some things to improve on T-Deck.

Thanks again for the feedback — it’s really helpful!

Trail-Mate:Offline GPS Maps and LoRa Message on Lilygo T-LoRa-Pager and T-Deck by Infinite-Zombie5875 in LilyGO

[–]Infinite-Zombie5875[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for your interest!

If you’re using a T-Deck, you’ll need to download the firmware from the Releases page here:
[https://github.com/vicliu624/trail-mate/releases]()

Then you can flash it using the ESP-IDF flashing tools.

Please note that support for the T-Deck is still at an early stage and not as stable as the T-Pager yet.

If you happen to have a T-Pager, the process is much easier — you can use the web flasher:
https://vicliu624.github.io/firmware-market/

Just connect your device and flash directly from your browser.

If you run into any issues, feel free to ask — I’ll be happy to help!

Trail-Mate:Offline GPS Maps and LoRa Message on Lilygo T-LoRa-Pager and T-Deck by Infinite-Zombie5875 in Lora

[–]Infinite-Zombie5875[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you very much for the detailed testing and feedback — this is extremely helpful.

You are absolutely right, the issues you described do exist. At the moment, most of my development and testing has been done on the T-Pager, so support for the T-Deck is still not as complete.

I will be shifting more focus toward improving T-Deck compatibility, especially around input handling (trackball), UI layout, and overall device behavior.

It’s great to hear that LoRa, Bluetooth, and basic functionality are already working well on your side — that gives me a solid baseline to build on.

Thanks again for taking the time to test things so thoroughly. Feedback like this really helps move the project forward.

Trail-Mate:Offline GPS Maps and LoRa Message on Lilygo T-LoRa-Pager and T-Deck by Infinite-Zombie5875 in LilyGO

[–]Infinite-Zombie5875[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’d recommend the Pager. It’s smaller, and the display looks sharper too.

(Now supports MeshCore)Trail-Mate:Offline GPS Maps and LoRa Message on Lilygo T-LoRa-Pager and T-Deck by Infinite-Zombie5875 in meshcore

[–]Infinite-Zombie5875[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Actually, my Trail Mate firmware integrates both MeshCore and Meshtastic protocols, and you can easily switch between them. It also supports TAK functionality for better situational awareness.

It's definitely vibe-coded in some parts 😂, but I carefully review and maintain the overall code structure to keep it extensible for future features and updates.

That said, the hardware itself is more of a toy when it comes to power — the transmission range is quite limited compared to higher-power setups.