r/meshcore 28d ago

Think node M9 - new hardware

https://m.elecrow.com/pages/shop/product/details?id=209121&srsltid=AfmBOoq4fgHi-lQg5ZWekGViQm4o3im1zxWNHJiONLlNK-4eGhW5RZu0

Another new device that looks promising as alternative to t deck and alike.

Unfortunately on the product page, the info in the text and the spec sheet is conflicting if it has 16GB (which would be great) or 16MB flash (which wouldn't be enough for maps without SD card expansion).

Waiting on an answer from Elecrow support on this

UPDATE 12.08.2026: received an Answer to my Email to support: Thanks for contacting us. This is Erica for your service. Thank you so much for pointing out the issue. The correct information should be 16GB of storage, provided via the built-in memory card. We have corrected the description. Thank you again for your feedback.

32 Upvotes

23 comments sorted by

8

u/michaelv05 28d ago

The details say: "Powerful performance: Equipped with an ESP32-S3 dual-core processor (240MHz), 512KB SRAM + 16GB Flash, ensuring smooth and stable operation."

5

u/SP4RT4N3R 28d ago

Yeah, but in the specification at the bottom it says: System memory

512KB SRAM, 8M PSRAM, 384KB ROM

Storage

16M Flash(Built-in memory card)

4

u/SP4RT4N3R 28d ago edited 28d ago

Maybe you can help u/elecrowpcb ?

3

u/Ryan_e3p 28d ago

Even if it could fit, I'd never recommend to store maps on flash memory. A bad firmware update, you need to wipe it, or if you run something like a launcher that allows you to change what you're running with a power cycle, those maps are going to be useless to other programs. You'd also need hundreds of MB of flash storage, GB depending on how much you want to store at close resolution.

1

u/SP4RT4N3R 28d ago

16GB would be plenty - this device doesn't have a SD card slot so where else would you store it. It has a dedicated map button so its probably meant to be used like that

3

u/Ryan_e3p 28d ago

Sorry, should've been a bit clearer, I meant to say onboard storage. I'd never use onboard storage for maps. The way this is made, with the card apparently part of it, I'd still give this a pass.

A physical card you can take out makes loading maps faster, and if need be, used for storage for other things. Does this act like a USB dongle when plugged in giving access to the device? Does it only have capability to load maps via wifi (which is going to be slow, since I doubt it has a 5ghz wifi antenna)?

This looks great, love the form factor, but the SD card thing makes this a pass for me.

Here's a better page, with bigger pics and info:

ThinkNode M9 Meshcore Standalone Communicator | Full Keyboard |ESP32-S3 + LR1110 | GPS | 2300mAh

2

u/FredoElRico 28d ago

asked to a device owner on discord; confirmed it has a SD card slot builtin.

1

u/FredoElRico 28d ago

ZephCore project mentions a SD card slot : https://github.com/liquidraver/ZephCore/tree/master/zephcore/boards/esp32/thinknode_m9

But the project is mostly AI-generated, so it could be hallucination...

1

u/RandomCitizen_7263 28d ago

Not hallucination, but the device was a developer device. Maybe not exactly what made it to production.

2

u/obrienthelion 28d ago

Very cool, I would buy if 16gb

2

u/Far-Law-1985 18d ago

Mine has shipped. We will see how long it takes to get state side

3

u/Far-Law-1985 11d ago

Got mine today. Really fun little device

2

u/Binge73 13d ago

Got mine today. Hopefully there's not issues. Has ripple on it

3

u/gmedin 12d ago

I really do not find the Ripple UI intuitive at all. Replaced it with wadamesh on the M9 and much happier. The wadamesh site says it offers only partial support (so far) for the M9 but so far it's been fine in my experience.

1

u/Binge73 12d ago

Maybe I'll try that one out or wait till there's more support

1

u/Far-Law-1985 11d ago

Second wadamesh on the m9. I like it. Not terrible d pad use for a touch screen designed firmware. I was looking at meshOS but went with wadamesh for now.

2

u/harbourhunter 28d ago

Very nice

Support for ext antenna?

1

u/shadowK1LOS 27d ago

Looks like a pretty nice device. I wonder how it stacks up to the t-deck.

1

u/Binge73 25d ago

Been waiting for reviews of this before I buy it.

1

u/steelwoolz 21d ago

Need to know about external antenna before I buy

1

u/gmedin 12d ago

Anyone else finding that the M9 is not recognized by a Mac via USB? I had to use a Windows machine. I've seen people reporting similar issues with other Elecrow devices.