Fork it. Build it. Improve it.
Every Field Station is its own bill of materials. Schematics, gerbers, firmware, enclosure CAD and assembly notes live on GitHub under a share-alike open hardware license. There is no proprietary stack.
Everything you need, in one org.
KiCad schematics, PCB layout, gerbers, BOM, IPC files. Two PCBs: main + sensor breakout.
ESP-IDF firmware for the ESP32-S3. Sensing, power management, LoRaWAN/LTE-M uplink, OTA.
Fusion 360 + STEP files for the IP67 polycarbonate enclosure. 3D-printable variant included.
Self-hostable ingest + storage server. Docker compose. Stores telemetry, serves the public API.
~ 48 line items, ≈ $180.
| Ref | Part | Mfr / MPN | Qty | Cost (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U1 | MCU · ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 | Espressif | 1 | $4.20 |
| U3 | Charge IC · LiFePO₄ buck | TI BQ25798 | 1 | $3.90 |
| U5 | PM sensor | Plantower PMS5003 | 1 | $18.40 |
| U6 | Temp/RH | Sensirion SHT40 | 1 | $3.10 |
| U7 | VOC | Sensirion SGP41 | 1 | $4.80 |
| U9 | Camera | OmniVision OV2640 | 1 | $6.40 |
| MIC1 | MEMS microphone | Knowles SPH0645 | 1 | $2.10 |
| BAT1 | LiFePO₄ 18650 1500 mAh | A-grade | 1 | $8.20 |
| PV1 | Solar panel 3.4 W mono-Si | Voltaic P115 | 1 | $24.00 |
| E1 | Enclosure · IP67 PC | Hammond 1554F | 1 | $22.50 |
| + 38 more passives, connectors, fasteners… | ≈ $180 total | |||
- Step 01
Order the PCB
Send the gerbers in /pcb/main and /pcb/sensor to JLCPCB or your fab of choice. 4-layer, 1.6mm, ENIG finish.
- Step 02
Place the SMD parts
We use a stencil + hot-plate reflow. Hand-solder is also documented; a steady iron and 0.4mm solder are enough.
- Step 03
Through-hole + modules
Add the LoRa/LTE module, antenna connector, JST cells. Test power rails before installing the MCU.
- Step 04
Flash firmware
esp-idf 5.2+ · `idf.py flash`. The first boot generates a station ID and shows it on the BLE provisioning channel.
- Step 05
Calibrate
30-minute warm-up against a reference probe. Calibration offsets are written into NVS.
- Step 06
Mount it
Strap, screw, or epoxy to any vertical surface with at least 4 hours of direct sun. The station does the rest.