Bare camera board

The board inside the camera kit, sold bare. A solar LoRa camera dev board for people who bring their own everything.

MeshCam camera board, back side
$89Estimated ship: Q4 2026 — the bare board needs no kit parts, so it ships as soon as the boards land
  • The assembled, tested board from the camera kit — board only, no kit parts
  • ESP32-S3 with camera connector, 915 MHz LoRa module on board
  • Solar charge input and on-board LiFePO4 26650 battery bay
  • Sockets for PIR motion sensor, BME280 environment sensor, and IR illuminator; microSD slot
  • Pre-flashed with the open-source firmware, serialized
Preorder · $89

Card saved now, charged only when it ships. Cancel any time before then for nothing.

What this is

This is the same board that ships in the camera kit, without the kit: no camera module, no sensors, no antenna, no panel, no cell, no port kit. It exists for builders who already have a parts drawer and their own plans.

It doesn't have to become a trail camera. It's an ESP32-S3 with a camera connector, a LoRa radio, a solar-charged LiFePO4 power tree, and microamp deep sleep — flash whatever you want on it. The MeshCam firmware it ships with is open source, and so are the device API and the server it talks to.

What's on the board

An ESP32-S3 module with an OV2640-style camera ribbon connector, a 915 MHz LoRa module, a microSD slot, and a power section built for unattended solar duty: charge controller with a solar input, an on-board 26650 LiFePO4 bay, and deep sleep measured in microamps. Keyed JST sockets take a PIR motion sensor, a BME280 environment sensor, and an 850 nm IR illuminator.

Support is the community kind

Bare boards come with docs, the public firmware and API repos, and a pinout reference — not the hand-holding we owe kit buyers. If you want the parts chosen, tested together, and supported as a product, that's the camera kit.

FCC authorization pending. This device has not been authorized as required by the rules of the Federal Communications Commission. This device is not, and may not be, offered for sale or lease, or sold or leased, until authorization is obtained. We only save your card now: delivery is contingent on successful completion of FCC equipment authorization, and if authorization is not obtained your reservation is cancelled and your card is never charged.

Specifications

MCUESP32-S3 module — WiFi + BLE
Radio915 MHz LoRa module on board, u.FL antenna connector (antenna not included)
CameraOV2640-style ribbon connector; module not included
Powersolar charge input, on-board 26650 LiFePO4 bay, microamp deep sleep
SocketsPIR motion, BME280 environment, 850 nm IR illuminator (keyed JST)
StoragemicroSD, FAT32
Firmwareships pre-flashed with the open-source MeshCam firmware; bring your own if you'd rather
Supportcommunity — docs + public repos
Ships toUnited States (Canada once certified there)

Ships in the US for now. Firmware, device API, and the web app are open source: self-hosting is free forever and nothing you buy depends on us staying in business. Full shipping and kit terms are on the shop page; range, batteries and offline behaviour are covered in the FAQ. Anything else: hello@getmeshcam.com.

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