MagSafe Node - Officially BRILLIANT

Sal W6SAL - Updated on: 2025-11-04

Robert N6MRO Has Officially Lost His Mind—And Built Something BRILLIANT in the Process

You know what was missing from mesh networking? DO YOU KNOW? MAGSAFE. That’s right. The thing Apple invented so you could magnetically attach your iPhone to a charging puck like you’re living in some kind of minimalist Scandinavian fever dream. THAT’S what mesh networking needed! Robert, callsign N6MRO decided that the entire telecommunications industry, with its BILLIONS of dollars and THOUSANDS of engineers, was doing it wrong. ALL WRONG.

The Madness Begins

Now, most people—NORMAL people—when they want to build a MeshCore node, they buy a nice little pre-made unit, slap it in a box, call it a day. Not Robert. OH NO. Robert fires up his 3D printer—because OF COURSE he has a 3D printer—and starts designing an enclosure that would make Jony Ive weep.

Look at this thing! That’s not just a case. That’s a STATEMENT. That’s a 3D-printed work of art with more texture than a Jackson Pollock painting! You can see every single layer line, every infill pattern, every minute detail that says, “I spent SEVENTEEN HOURS printing this and I’D DO IT AGAIN!”

The Technical Wizardry (And I Mean That Both Ways)

Inside this magnificent beast of engineering insanity, what does Robert install? A RAKwireless WisBlock Mini. For those of you not fluent in radio nerd—and WHY WOULD YOU BE?—this is a modular development board that can do LoRa communications. That’s Long Range radio for the uninitiated. LONG. RANGE. We’re talking miles of communication without cellular infrastructure, powered by radio waves that would make Marconi jealous!

But WAIT—there’s MORE! He’s got a 2000mAh lithium polymer battery in there. From MakerFocus. MakerFocus. Even the battery manufacturer sounds like a self-help seminar for engineers! “Stay focused on making things!” Thank you, battery company, VERY inspirational!

The Pièce de Résistance

And the antenna! OH, the antenna! That’s not some wimpy little rubber ducky. No sir! That’s a proper 915MHz external antenna—because Robert is operating in the ISM band like a CIVILIZED radio amateur—with what appears to be an SMA connector. He’s got it all laid out on his workbench with a RULER next to it for scale, like he’s documenting a crime scene! “Your Honor, Exhibit A: one extremely nerdy radio project.”

But here’s where it gets REALLY crazy. You see that circular cutout on the back? That perfect ring? THAT’S the MagSafe magnet coil!

The Build Process (Or: How Many Ways Can One Man Say “I’m Not Satisfied”)

You can see from the photos that Robert has gone through the entire process:

And the TEXTURING! Look at that print surface! That’s not a bug, that’s a FEATURE! That crosshatch pattern isn’t just for looks—it’s providing grip, thermal dissipation, and probably communicating in Morse code if you look at it the right way!

In The End (Because Even Rants Must End)

So there you have it. Robert N6MRO has created a device that marries the cutting edge of mesh networking with the convenience of magnetic wireless node, all wrapped up in a custom 3D-printed enclosure that screams, “I HAVE BOTH THE SKILLS AND THE TIME TO MAKE THIS!”

Is it practical? Probably! Is it necessary? WHO CARES! Is it absolutely brilliant in its fusion of technologies that have no business being together? ABSOLUTELY!

Robert, you magnificent maniac, you’ve done it. You’ve created something that’s simultaneously completely absurd and utterly genius.

And THAT, my friends, is what amateur radio is ALL ABOUT!

73s to you all!

Sal W6SAL

P.S. - That organizer box full of screws and fasteners in the this photo? That’s the sign of a TRUE maker. You can judge an engineer by their fastener organization. Robert, your tiny hardware game is STRONG.