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Realizing Meshtastic's Promise with the T-Deck

Meshtastic—a simple off-grid mesh network used to transfer short messages—is a neat bit of tech, but until recently, most development has focused on little nodes with or without tiny OLED displays, and a separate phone app or web UI to actually interact with the mesh.

The major use case I have for Meshtastic is backup comms—when cell networks and physical infrastructure may be unavailable. In those conditions, I don't want to run my full computer, or even a full smartphone, just to communicate long range via text.

Enter the T-Deck:

Lilygo T-Deck running experimental UI Meshtastic firmware

3rd Party PoE HATs for Pi 5 add NVMe, fit inside case

Today I published a video detailing my testing of three new Raspberry Pi HATs—these HATs all add on PoE+ power and an NVMe SSD slot, though the three go about it in different ways.

You can watch the video for the full story (embedded below), but in this post I'll go through my brief thoughts on all three, and link to a few other options coming on the market as well.

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GeeekPi P33 M.2 NVMe M-Key PoE+ HAT

52Pi P33 GeeekPi PoE+ NVMe HAT for Pi 5

Use an External GPU on Raspberry Pi 5 for 4K Gaming

After I saw Pineboards 4K Pi 5 external GPU gaming demo at Maker Faire Hanover, I decided it was time to set up my GPU test rig and see how the Pi OS amdgpu Linux kernel patch is going.

GLmark2 running on Pi 5 with AMD RX 460 external GPU

I tested it out on a livestream over the weekend, but I thought I'd document the current state of the patch, how to apply it, and what else is left to do to get full external GPU support on the Raspberry Pi.

I also have a full video up with more demonstrations of the GPU in use, you can watch it below:

Snapdragon Dev Kit for Windows - the fastest X Elite, tested

Snapdragon Dev Kit for Windows - Snapdragon X Elite

Update - October 17: Today Qualcomm cancelled all remaining orders, and will no longer support the Dev Kit.

I have mixed feelings publishing this post: many developers who are actively trying to port their Windows software to Arm are still awaiting shipment of their own Snapdragon Dev Kits, and I seem to be one of the first few people to receive one.

Everyone I've been in contact with also ordered the Dev Kit on July 16, but we've all been waiting for it to ship—for months.

AVerMedia Live Gamer Portable 2 Plus - Can't record to microSD

I recently purchased an AVerMedia Live Gamer Portable 2 Plus to help record screens on devices I test at my desk.

It's claim to fame is being able to record to a microSD card standalone (at resolutions up to 1080p60), without having a separate computer attached.

For my 4K cameras, I typically use an Atomos Ninja V, since it can record in full 4K resolution, but that thing is $700—the Live Gamer Portable is $120, and runs a lot cooler (and quieter).

I don't enjoy dealing with microSD cards, but it's more convenient than having to use OBS or some other recording software on my main computer just to capture the HDMI output of another device. Especially since I can't pass through the HD or 4K signal through my little Elgato USB capture card (they do make a few models that do this, but I digress).

Anyway, what brings me to this post is the fact I spent way too long trying to figure out the magical microSD card format required to be able to record on the device.

Qualcomm Snapdragon Dev Kit for Windows Teardown (2024)

Update - October 17: Today Qualcomm cancelled all remaining orders, and will no longer support the Dev Kit.

In late July, a week after ordering the Snapdragon Dev Kit, I wondered where it was. Arrow's website said 'Ships tomorrow' when I ordered, after all.

Many developers eager to test their code on Windows on Arm, on the premiere new 'CoPilot+' PCs that would revolutionize computing as we know it, were also wondering.

Snapdragon Dev Kit - teardown complete