Converting a $20 4G wireless hotspot into a texting device
A $20 4G hotspot turned into a Linux texting device with a Clicks keyboard
- Category
- Other
- Website
- bkovac.github.io
- Language
- English
- Listed
- 2d ago
For less than $20 shipped, the MF800 4G hotspot comes with WiFi, Bluetooth, a battery and an unlocked modem, and this project turns one into a dedicated messaging device. The board runs Linux through the OpenStick project, gets trimmed to fit inside a Clicks keyboard case made for the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and drives an Adafruit SHARP Memory Display over SPI.
A custom adapter PCB handles USB host mode switching, the 5V boost and display level shifting. The display runs on a patched sharp-drm-driver with optional dithering, Atkinson for video and Floyd-Steinberg for stills, which is enough for mpv to play video on it. Sleep is still unsolved, the enclosure is hot glued for now, and the messaging software is still being shaped through daily use. The PCB files and driver patches live in the project's GitHub repository, bkovac/modem-thing.