A Kickstarter would only make sense once we can gauge demand for such a kit.
The Meshtastic is mostly responsible for the software I believe. Hardware is largely in the hands of manufacturers.
Getting a certification can be tricky. I am not even sure if getting one is necessary for selling and using such a kit.
I am interested to see how the hydra 1w boards workout then perhaps order them though JLPCB I don’t know if they will source and assemble them with the ebyte e22 and ESP32 however
AFAIK the certification can be avoided if using modules with all of the antenna HW built in. As an example I’m using this Bluetooth 5 module in a project that will be soldered to a larger PCB.
Thus no extra FCC etc certification because you are using a pre-certified module and not impacting the RF emissions
Is this the kit which you say is just not working?
Yes. This comes preassembled, just like in the picture. The hardware is probably fine but the firmware has a lot of bugs. Lilygo did not bother to check if the meshtastic firmware is working properly with this hardware before releasing it.
Do NOT buy it as of now. Go for the T-Beam or RAK boards.
Yes, I have 2 TTGO units where I soldered the board on, but for your whole overall question, it seems that the shortest path to a complete unit like the one you want is to somehow work with Lilygo to surmount the bugs in the ones that they already have as single units.
Is anyone working on the bugs for this hardware configuration? I noticed that you said you had 2 of these to try to quash the bugs, or have I misread that? Also, Lilygo states that this unit comes with Meshtastic installed. Could the units have been updated since the version of hardware that you have?
Lastly and somewhat relatedly, the BME280 that has pressure and tempurature would be a nice addition if captured by Meshtastic, and sent as info to the mobile applications. It chaps my arse that Garmin GPS units don’t have temp sensors built in.
Just for background, I am trying to test these to deploy for my SAR team either with just Meshtastic, or with ATAK as well. We already have MotoTrbo radios, but that only provides location info to our command centre. All searchers knowing where everyone is would be beneficial, and we are often doing searches well beyond cell signal areas.
I support this idea. late to the game in replying, I know, but did you move forward?