D.E.G.E.N. Beacon

Introduction

The Distributed Entity Geolocation and Entity Navigator (D.E.G.E.N.) Beacon is a mesh communication device designed by Degenerprises. It combines the functionality of a ~1km range LoRa radio, a GPS, and a compass to allow burners to ping locations and guide their fellow degenerates to them.

Features

• Kilometer-range mesh networking
• Location-tagged messaging
• Repeating SOS message
• Easy configuration from a PC

Hardware Versions

V1

Degen Beacon V1

Notes

• Does not power on reliably
• LoRa antenna unscrews easily. Don’t MOOP it!
• GPS is more power hungry. A charge should last you a good chunk of the day
• The battery is not removable without a soldering iron

V2

Degen Beacon V2

Notes

• Battery is known to last a full 24 hours
• Battery is replaceable
  • A charging cable must be inserted to register the new battery before powering on
• GPS is much more reliable
• Compass doesn’t work too well before calibration
• LoRa antenna can become unscrewed and impossible to fix without an allen key to open the case
• The top case screw can push the bottom out when screwed in too far

Powering On

V1

Flip the power switch up and hold down the top left navigational button.

V2

Flip the power switch up

Navigation Basics

The Home Screen

The four navigational buttons correspond to the actions listed in each corner of the screen. From your home screen, the top left button will open a menu with actions such as saving your current location, or putting the device in and out of silent mode. The top right button will allow you to select a location and a message to broadcast. The bottom left button will lock the device. The bottom right button will open the main menu.

The navigational knob allows you to navigate within your current window. Scrolling up from the home screen will display the last message you sent with an option to re-transmit. Scrolling down will show recent messages received.

Pressing the SOS button will prompt you for a button sequence denoted by the LEDs glowing behind the navigation buttons. After this sequence, the beacon will periodically broadcast your current location with an SOS message.

Use the SOS responsibly! If you want to spam “TAKE A SHOT”, use the retransmit feature.

Sending a Ping

Selecting broadcast from the home screen will prompt you for a location. You can select your current location, or select a location saved to the device.

Location Selector

After selecting a location, you will be prompted to select a message to go with it.

Message Selector

Pings

Example Ping

A received message includes a user name, a message, a location, and a color. Tracking a message will turn the LEDs around the display into a compass pointing to the pinged location. Reply will send a ping directly back to the sender, Marking Read will hide the message from your home page. Save will allow you to save the message/location of the ping.

Main Menu

Most of the functionality of the Degen Beacon is contained within the home page. The main menu does contain functionality that is good to know about.

Settings

Configure your beacon on the go. Highly recommended to configure from the terminal if nearby.

Pair With Terminal

Attempt to pair with a terminal running the configuration software. This is the preferred way to change settings, add messages, and add locations.

Edit Status Messages

View, Edit, Create, and Delete saved status messages.

Edit Saved Locations

Navigate to GPS coordinates saved on the device.

Received Messages

View the last message received from each user. Even the ones you dismissed on the home page.

Flashlight

Toggle the flashlight functionality.

Debug Compass

Calibrate your compass and ensure the hardware is working. Calibration is highly recommended for v2 beacons.

Debug GPS

The only way to ensure you have a proper GPS signal. If you receive messages with obviously wrong directions, either you or the sender does not have a good signal.

Diagnostics

Displays information related to memory usage.

Reboot Device

Software reboots the device.

Settings

A list of settings for the device. It is recommended to use the companion app to configure the device.

UserID

Read Only

A (hopefully) unique identifier for your device used by the meshing algorithm

User Name

The name displayed to others when you send a ping

Silent Mode

Enables or disables the buzzer when a message is received

Color Theme

The color used by most LED effects on your device. Setting this to custom will allow you to define it with RGB values

Theme Red

Red value for a custom color theme

Theme Green

Green value for a custom color theme

Theme Blue

Blue value for a custom color theme

Frequency

The frequency used by the LoRa radio. Don’t touch this unless you know what you’re doing.

Modem Config

Modem settings used by the LoRa Radio. Don’t touch this unless you know what you’re doing.

Broadcast Attempts

The number of times your device will send a message. More attempts will result in more reliable delivery but will consume more power and potentially clog the airwaves.

24H Time

Time format.

Device Name

The name of the device. Only used by the desktop configuration app.

WiFi Provisioning

This defines how the device searches for WiFi credentials when a known network cannot be found.

Firmware Version

Read Only

Current firmware version.

Hardware Version

Read Only

Device hardware version.

Companion App

The companion app was designed to make configuring the device much more convenient (no more typing on a fucking knob!). You can: - Update device firmware - Edit your saved messages - Edit your saved locations, including loading locations from a file - Access device settings.

Connecting

To connect your device to the companion app, select ‘Pair with Terminal’ from the main menu. Hopefully, an IP address should appear on the display.

Degen Beacon pairing interface

Once your IP address appears, type it into the IP field on the ‘Connect Device’ view.

Once connected, the companion app should load basic device information, all of your saved messages, all of your saved locations, and your settings.

Upgrading Firmware

Once your beacon is connected, a list of firmwares compatible with your hardware model should be enumerated.

Simply select a firmware (the lastest will be at the top) and click ‘Upgrade Firmware’ to begin the process.

Older firmware doesn’t necessarily support use of the companion app, meaning some versions are a one way trip!

Editing Messages

Editing messages is pretty straightforward. Type one in the box and click ‘Add Message’ to save it. You can select one from the list to edit it or delete it.

Message Editor

Editing Locations

Location Editor with a file of theme camp locations loaded

Editing locations is similar to messages. Adding will add whatever is in the text boxes as a new location. Clicking on a location saved to the device will load its values for editing or allow you to delete it.

You can load in locations from a JSON file and pick which ones to download to your beacon. Every location from the burn map has already been translated to JSON for your convenience. Simply load the category from the PC.

Configure Settings

Settings Editor

The Settings view gives you access to the same settings available on the device.