Backplate with SMA ports and a built-in Meshtastic node (CRANK)
A printed rear panel with SMA bulkheads for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, LoRa, LTE and GNSS, housing a WisBlock LoRa radio, its own LiPo and later a small solar panel.
What it takes
- 3D print
- Disassembly
- Soldering
- Purchase required
Difficulty 3 of 3 — advanced.
Details
CRANK's backpanel started at v0.7 in February 2024 with SMA holes for Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 915 MHz LoRa, LTE and an optional GNSS port, room for a Rokland WisBlock radio running Meshtastic with its own LiPo, power button and USB extension, and heat pipes for the CM4; by v0.19 a thin solar panel had joined the plate. Funcron warned that heat pipes against a plastic back are risky at the 82 °C the CPU reaches, so CRANK moved to ASA or nylon with a heat-deflection temperature above 105 °C.
The Printables model is the Meshtastic node backplate; a six-cell 18650 version was planned and has its own wiring thread.
Links
Open at Forum threadRelated mods
A screw-mount SMA bulkhead passed through the case's existing cable slit and nutted from inside — an external antenna with no drilling and no printing.
The SMA mounting board that bolts to the console and carries up to seven antennas, and the matching pack of SDR, LoRa, GPS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth antennas.
A printed expansion-slot cover with a bulkhead for an SMA pigtail, so an external antenna comes out where the blank plate was — not usable with the 4G card.
A thicker printed side panel for the HackerGadgets AIO board whose SMA mount does not strip, with the connector angled to suit the SDR antenna.
A printed rear plate that builds in a folding stand and positions for external antennas, published on Printables in February 2025.
A slimmer plastic backplate that helps Wi-Fi by getting the aluminium out of the way and hides extra radio hardware, with a matching antenna side compartment.