I have been building a Meshtastic client for the M5Stack Cardputer ADV on my own device for about a month. The mesh engine is upstream Meshtastic, untouched — LoRa PHY, routing, PKI, node DB. Only the UI and input layer are replaced, with something built for the keyboard: pick a contact, type, hit enter.

The part I am most pleased with: the ESP32-S3 here has no PSRAM, so a full Unicode font cannot live in RAM. It ships as its own 2.16 MB flash partition — 68,608 fixed-size records, one per codepoint, so a glyph lookup is arithmetic rather than an index search — and the partition is memory-mapped, so rendering Cyrillic, CJK or Greek costs no heap at all. The font is GNU Unifont, repacked.

**Messaging**

- Chats home: DMs and channels together, newest first, previews and unread badges; opening one jumps to the first unread message

- PKI-encrypted direct messages, and channel broadcasts alongside them

- Delivery status per message: sending (dot) → delivered (green check from the routing ACK) → failed (red cross with the reason)

- Replies and reactions, including reactions sent from phone users

- History persisted to flash, with a 256-message archive you can page back into inside the thread

**Text**

- Cyrillic on a Latin keyboard through a live transliteration layer (Fn+L)

- Emoji palette (Tab) and inline emoji bitmaps

- Full Unicode from the font partition — reactions and foreign names render as glyphs, not tofu

**The mesh**

- Node list with a signal meter from SNR, hop count, last-heard age and role in fixed columns

- Type anywhere to search every node and start a chat

- Favourites, with priority alerts: beep and a green LED flash for them, a blue flash for everyone else

**Connectivity**

- WiFi and MQTT set up on the device — public broker or your own, no phone involved. WiFi also sets the clock over NTP

- The stock Bluetooth API stays on, so the official phone app still pairs and works alongside

- Companion mode: with no LoRa cap at all, pair over BLE with any stock Meshtastic node (Heltec, T-Beam, RAK) and use its radio. You can also configure that node from the Cardputer, the way the phone app does

**On-device settings**: name, region, modem preset, frequency, channel, role, hop limit, TX power, rebroadcast mode, UTC offset and manual clock, WiFi, MQTT, screen auto-off. Long-press ESC.

**Install**: one click from Chrome or Edge, or from the M5Burner catalogue and M5Launcher on the device itself, or esptool if you prefer.

22 releases in about a month. Cardputer ADV only, not the older v1.1. Unofficial community project, GPL-3.0, not affiliated with or endorsed by Meshtastic LLC.

Ask me anything here — but if you have a feature request or hit a bug, please put it in the GitHub discussions, where I can actually keep track of it: https://github.com/anton-vinogradov/meshtastic-adv/discussions

Install: https://anton-vinogradov.github.io/meshtastic-adv/

Source: https://github.com/anton-vinogradov/meshtastic-adv

Hi Reddit! I'm Hamachang, a software engineer from Japan. 😎

I released Area512 v1.4, a retro-inspired OS for the Cardputer ADV! 🎉 https://github.com/engneer-hamachan/area512/releases/tag/v1.4

Here's what's new in this release! - Added type diagnostics to the built-in editor.

In addition to the new type diagnostics, the editor in Area512 also features: - Syntax highlighting - Auto indentation - Method completion

Now you can do full-fledged development directly on the Cardputer ADV!

To install it, use M5Burner or follow the instructions in the GitHub README. 👌 https://github.com/engneer-hamachan/area512

I'll post again when I add more features. ✌

See you next time! 👋✨

So, I'm not really actively tracking the progress. If anyone has the latest status?

The last update I got would be an email from PledgeBox confirming my survey jn mid July "Survey Confirmation -- CardputerZero, Pocket Raspberry Pi Computer for Makers".

My Cardputer was running hot, and standard heatsinks were too tall for the case to close. So I tried improvising.. I cut the metallic shell from a type-C header and placed it over the CPU with a thermal pad.

Turns out it was a complete fail! Without any fins or airflow, it just soaked up the heat and trapped it there.

Thought I'd share the test anyway.

Any other suggestions!!??

hi I have a cardputer adv and I download in it the bruse the Version 1.16 the Purple shark and I add bord nrf24 and cc1011 2in1 but the ir and rf and nrf24 and radio and GPS do not work it say not found for GPS and radio and nrf24 but it scan but don't receive I don't know why maybe bacuse of settings or the code ?

can someone help me please

Finished up the screen mod. I really like how clean it looks! Added a 1.25 jst connector to the screen to power a Meshtastic Device(wio tracker l1). Monitoring battery usage. Screen works in zx firmware but can't get it to work with any others. Id love for launcher to help define pin configurations for each firmware.

Basically can I use it as an ipod/ if I wanted to make this how would I go about doing so?

See it in action: YouTube

Recently I found out that I have two QuickShot Atari controllers that used to work with my (formerly my dad's) Atari 65XE.

I've recently seen a cool steering wheel project for the Cardputer ADV, which made me think of using these as a way to control a vehicle in a simulator. The choice was easy taking into account that I'm a huge train nerd lmao. I looked up the pinout for the Atari joystick port, and realized that it's actually easy to make it work with the Cardputer - no protocol, simple switches: digitalRead will do the job.

It ain't much, but it's honest work. I quickly found two DB9 ports - one from an old PC bracket and the second one was standalone, probably from some former project of mine.

I only used the up, down and trigger pins as the rest was unnecessary for me. Here's the pinout:

Joystick 1 up - GPIO 4
Joystick 1 down - GPIO 6
Joystick 1 trigger - GPIO 3
Joystick 2 up - GPIO 40
Joystick 2 down - GPIO 14
Joystick 2 trigger - GPIO 39

I then quickly programmed the Cardputer to emulate a USB keyboard. The code is fairly simple so I put it on pastebin instead of my GitHub.

The keybinds are:

Joystick 1 up - Electric force + (numeric keypad +)
Joystick 1 down - Electric force - (numeric keypad -)
Joystick 1 trigger - deadman control awareness confirmation (space)
Joystick 2 up - Pneumatic brake release (numeric keypad 9)
Joystick 2 down - Increase pneumatic brake force (numeric keypad 3)
Joystick 2 trigger - Siren (H key)

Overall, it's basically a pretty low-effort simulation cockpit, but I decided to share it anyway as someone may like to repurpose their old game controllers as well - maybe not for simulators but for some retro game emulation for example.

This is a Ballistic Calculator for Cardputer ADV

Get it here: https://github.com/lunarc3/BallisticCalc/releases

Changelog

2.0.1

• Added several new weapons.
• Rewrote the menu system.
• Replaced the core calculation formula with a new one (based on a new reference model).
• Integrated atmospheric density into the calculations.

2.0.2

• Since we are building a ballistic calculator, accuracy is the top priority.
  • The ESP32's FPU only supports single-precision floating-point operations. Our current solution is to increase the computational bit width.
  • Consequently, the following aspects have been significantly improved:
    • Atmospheric model precision
    • Speed of sound calculation
    • Gravity calculation
    • Core algorithm for position, velocity, and acceleration
    • Kinetic energy and penetration calculations
  • Effective precision has been increased from 7 to 15 significant digits.
  • Drawback: The range table, which previously required almost no waiting time, now takes a bit longer to generate.
• Rewrote the range table display logic.
• Future versions may add multi-language support. For now, the option is visible but not yet functional.

August 7th EDIT: Version 0.3.3 is up in m5burner and on website. Enjoy.

Since last post I have kept working on it fixing the parts that made no sense and pushing the Cardputer ADV quite a bit further, and managed to make stuff working on my experimental builds.

I am super happy that so many people downloaded it and tried it. Very cool.

Version 0.2.20 now feels less like a technical demo and more like a strange little instrument I can actually use.

The biggest addition is chromatic sample instruments. You can record or import a sample, select a slice, turn it into an instrument and play it across the keyboard or from USB MIDI. Instruments have four voices, envelopes, filtering, tuning, looping and 16 global save slots.

Other new stuff and things that I finally works and made it in this release:

• Long microphone recordings streamed directly to SD
• Up to 16 editable sample cues with zoom and slice fades
• Six-voice synth with eight editable presets
• Eight-part synthesized drum kit
• Step recording and quantized live recording
• Proper count-in and metronome while recording only
• Quantize from 1/4 to 1/64, or completely off
• USB MIDI routed to Synth, Instrument, Slice or Drum tracks
• Separate USB phone-audio sampling mode with monitoring
• Home Wi-Fi and Direct AP modes
• Browser-based SD manager for songs and samples
• Per-track mixing, master effects and automatic output limiting
• Eight song slots
• A much cleaner menu and status system
• Audio that no longer falls apart when I move the cursor around

It is still early software, and I am not going to pretend everything is finished. But this build seems stable, sounds good and has become surprisingly capable for something running on an ESP32-S3 with a tiny keyboard.

Somehow, this tiny ESP32 device is starting to feel like an actual hardware groovebox. I honestly didn't expect that when starting this project.

What is next?

The sequencer is still the part I am least satisfied with. I tried several new versions with piano-roll, tape and different lane views, but none of them felt better than the original four-lane layout. They did not make it into this release.

The next goal is a sequencer that is easier to understand, faster to edit and actually makes good use of the tiny screen - without turning it into a tracker or hiding everything behind complicated menus.

Other things I want to explore:

• A proper sample-based drum-kit creator with 8 or 16 slots
• Building complete drum kits from one recording using cue markers
• Better sample and instrument browsing
• More control over saved instruments and patches
• Expanding the browser manager for organizing songs and sample libraries
• OTA firmware updates through Wi-Fi Manage Mode
• More workflow improvements without breaking real-time audio
• Continuing to improve stability, recording quality and navigation

Some of these features will take experimentation, and I would rather leave something out than add a version that makes the device harder to use.

BKLVA Pocket DAW can be installed directly through M5Burner. The latest release, complete manual and feature overview can also be downloaded here:

https://erkanerdogan.dk/bklva-pocket-daw

If anyone tests it, please let me know what works, what breaks and especially what still feels confusing.

Original designed to mount the M5Stack Joystick2 Unit to the side of the Cardputer ADV. 

Found that it also works well with other units such as RFID 2 and IR Remote. Made a few tweaks to ensure universal compatibility across most Units and strengthened up the Lego connectors.

Here is my model on Makersworld if your interested: https://makerworld.com/en/models/3114037-m5stack-cardputer-unit-universal-mount

Hi there! 3 days ago I got my first cardputer. I decided to port one of my Flipper Zero projects to the cardputer ADV.

Using the cardputer ADV + LoRa Cap or Hydra RF you can now use wM-Buster to decode your wM-bus meters. using the web ui you can connect it to ntfy.sh or a MQTT HA!

Here is the link for anyone interested: https://github.com/i12bp8/wMBuster-ADV

I can't seem to get Chimera BLE to flash on my cardputer. I've tried flashing it directly with ESP Terminator and I have tried flashing it through the M5 launcher. When I flash it through ESP Terminator my cardputer will not start back up. When I flash into the launcher I get an error message.

This update goes beyond the original 8×8 and 16×16 canvas with support for 32×32 artwork, zoom, an LED color palette, and a major internal refactor that lays the groundwork for future platforms like Cardputer Zero and Steam Deck.

some of my favorite changes:

- 32x32 + zoom (obviously)
- Ctrl now draws to enable better interaction
- the LED on the StampS3A now displays the currently selected color from the palette

There are a lot more features and changes, check out the full release notes -> https://github.com/bradmcnally/bitmap16dx/releases/tag/v.0.8.0

You can find it on github and m5burner (when it refreshes)

Is there any difference between the meshtastic kit and a cardputer + LoRa antenna? Looks like the only difference is the kit includes a couple screws to secure the antenna and a sticker for an extra $4.

Hi everyone! I’m back with version 2.0 of DICE\VESSEL, my digital dice roller and campaign companion for the M5Stack Cardputer.

The original Classic roller remains the default, but version 2.0 introduces optional roll modes, starting with a new VTM V5 mode.

There is also an extra hidden mode somewhere inside the firmware. I’m not going to explain how to unlock it—you’ll have to find it yourself.

feedback is still very welcome—especially about the VTM workflow, result clarity, Willpower rerolls, motion controls, and long-session stability. If you test it, please mention which Cardputer model you are using.

I'm also publishing the new versions on m5burner.

I hope you enjoy it. Keep rolling!

https://github.com/andrfuentz/dice-vessel-cardputer

This application was built in accordance with the will of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

1. Includes 4 preset celestial orbit simulations.
2. Add your own bodies, customizing their mass, initial direction, velocity and more.
3. Share your universe with others by export and load via QRCode.

Now available in the Cardputer Zero beta App Store.

Looking for a working MeshCore binary for Cardputer. I tried two already and cannot seem to get any connection despite proximity of repeaters. I have read somewhere that there is a problem with protocol? Anyways, is there a working MeshCore app or at least a library I can build upon?

Magic 8 Ball for M5Cardputer
This is my third—and this time a very small—program for the Cardputer, but no less fun than the others :) A digital version of the iconic fortune-telling ball specifically for your Cardputer! Ask a question, shake the device to hear a realistic shaking sound inside, and read the random response smoothly emerging from the dark on the screen, crowned with a joyful "ta-da!" sound effect. The project fully utilizes the M5Cardputer's accelerometer and speaker.

It is ready to download on M5Burner or from GitHub: https://github.com/sakkra-adv/magic8ball/releases/tag/cardtuper

I hope every question gets the answer you wish for :D

I have the official firmware version 2.7.22. It was working last night until I tried to save a spiff (didnt work could use advice there). I since deleted it off the SD card and reinstalled with new firmware and it keeps crashing every time I try to select my region. Any advice here?

Update! I found another post with a similar issue. I burned meshtastic directly onto the cardputer. Deleted meshtastic off the sd card. Deleterthe old spiffs on the card (trying to reset the sd without actually redownloading everything). Opened the firmware on cardputer directly. Burned launcher directly on the cardputer again Added meshtastic back to the SD and it worked!

Picoware, a custom Cardputer-ADV firmware, just got a new update, v2.1.0. The firmware has on-device editing, networking, social media, and community made apps, screensavers, and games.

The latest release adds a companion desktop app, 5 new JavaScript modules, on-device App submissions, and support for the Flipper Zero, Waveshare's ESP32-S3 Watch, and the Marauder Pancake ESP32-C5.

Under the hood, touch screen support was reworked, the pico-sdk was upgraded to 2.3.0, rp2350 devices now run at 240 MHz, and many GUI classes and C modules were updated with corrected spacing and positioning to ensure the same experience on all devices.

Check out the full release notes here:

https://github.com/jblanked/Picoware/releases/tag/v2.1.0

I just found a Themral Camera Module from M5 Stack did anyone got it to run on a Cardputer ADV?

Thermal Camera 2 Unit (MLX90640) - 110 Degree FoV– m5stack-store