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Pocket Edition

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Linar Yusupov edited this page Feb 7, 2026 · 41 revisions




Pocket Edition is a variant of SoftRF DIY GA proximity awareness device been implemented in a small, lightweight form factor.

The device is supposed to require minimal skills from a user to begin with and gives an opportunity to evaluate if the SoftRF technology is appropriate for your needs.

Pocket is based on third-party's hardware - Elecrow® ThinkNode M3 product, which is available for direct purchase from manufacturer at more or less reasonable price (30+ USD).



Compatibility 1

Type Protocol FLARM OGN tracker PilotAware Skytraxx SoftRF
Radio FLARM AIR V7

 

OGNTP

 

P3I

 

FANET+

 

SRD 860
ADS-L

Data FLARM NMEA

  Garmin GDL90

 

Dump1090  

1 - it is necessary for a reader to feel the difference between statement "compatible" and statement "fully compatible".
     SoftRF implements only a reasonable minimum of the protocols specs. No "bells and whistles" so far.


Certificates

Elecrow® ThinkNode M3 has the following certificates of compliance :

It means that this device is approved by corresponding agencies for:

  • land use and
  • with genuine factory firmware.

Pocket vs Card

This is a picture of SoftRF Card and Pocket Editions, side by side.


Edition Card  Pocket 
First appearance 2024 2025
Manufacturer Seeed Studio Elecrow
SoC Nordic nRF52840 Nordic nRF52840
sub-1GHz radio Semtech LR1110  Semtech LR1110 
sub-1GHz antenna internal, PCB internal, PCB
Battery Li-Ion 700 mAh Li-Ion 760 mAh
GNSS receiver Airoha AG3335 HZM AT6558
USB 2.0 device 2.0 device
LED(s) green green
red
blue
Button(s) 1 pc. 1 pc.
Buzzer(s) 1 pc. 1 pc.
Sensors QMA6100P accelerometer
light
temperature		 SC7A20H accelerometer
AHT20 humidity &
temperature
Water and dust
resistance		 IP65 IP66
Certificates FCC, CE FCC, CE
Weight (g) 32 38.5
Thickness (mm) 6.5 10
Accessories USB cable USB cable
fixed base
lanyard

Summary

  • M3 has more of LEDs
  • buzzer sounds a little bit louder than Card Edition does
  • the device is accompanied with a nice "fixed base" clip
  • Elecrow ThinkNode M3 comes with pre-installed Adafruit bootloader and the most widely used Nordic SoftDevice version 6.1.1. It makes a lot easier to install SoftRF firmware on the M3 rather than Seeed T1000-E - no extra steps necessary, just drag and drop a UF2 file and that's it.

Disclaimer

SoftRF firmware for Pocket Edition is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

In general a lot of Chinese DIY electronics manufacturers are known to behave this way:

  • sometimes they may not apply necessary Q.C. before releasing of a product from factory ;
  • they may arbitrary change schematics and electronic components from one batch to the next one.

Author of SoftRF firmware:

  • will reject any hardware related claims associated with Elecrow® ThinkNode M3 product. Ask for support from seller or manufacturer ;
  • reserves the right to suspend or terminate support of Elecrow® ThinkNode M3 in the firmware at any time.

For the time being ( Oct'25 ) there were no critical hardware issues reported for current version of the ThinkNode M3 product. However things my change over the time...
If you have issues with bringing up your new Elecrow® ThinkNode M3 or just not happy with the product - be prepared to execute your Purchase Protection plan.


Bill of materials

Number Part Qty Picture Source
1 Elecrow®
ThinkNode M3 2 		1 Elecrow Store
1 2
AliExpress
1

2 - 868 MHz variant is applicable for these world regions: EU, RU, NZ, SA, IN ;
     915 MHz - US, CA, AU, KR, IL.


Quick start

Important

Pocket Edition is currently supported by recent Release 1.8 only.

  1. follow these instructions to install the firmware ;
  2. use instructions for Card Edition to start operating with your delivered Pocket device.
    Begin with Step 9.

Settings



Procedure of settings change is explained on this page.

Basic (radio) settings description is located here.

Important

EASA ADS-L radio protocol selection is not applicable with current version of SoftRF Tool app for Android - use Online Tool method instead.

Default settings

Protocol Aircraft type
FANET Paraglider

If you are an application developer and you think about to add the Pocket configuration menu into your software, please, use:


LEDs

Green LED indicates unit power on status.
Flashing green LED indicates low battery charge level.

Buzzer

The buzzer makes a four-tone sound at boot time to indicate completion of initialization sequence.

It plays a short melody at very first GNSS fix. A positive GNSS fix is required to start transmitting of radio packets and to decode received ones properly.

When air traffic situation needs attention from a pilot - the Pocket makes one tone beep.

Button

When unit is Off:

  • press and release the button to turn the unit On.

When unit is On:

  • press, keep holding for 2 seconds then release the button to turn the unit Off.

Important

The Off button function has no effect until completion of boot sequence indicated by the buzzer sound.



Press and keep holding the button for more than 20 seconds to enter Adafruit bootloader USB Mass Storage mode.

When unit is in Adafruit bootloader USB Mass Storage mode:

  • press, keep holding for more than 10 seconds then release the button to leave the Adafruit bootloader USB Mass Storage mode.

Bluetooth LE

Factory default data output setting is to deliver GNSS and air traffic information over Bluetooth LE in NMEA plain-text format.


This data is sufficient for an app (such as XCSoar) to facilitate a Radar view:



These Bluetooth LE services are available:

  • UART
  • Battery
  • Bluefruit device information
  • OTA firmware update


This is a list of mobile applications that are known good to operate with the Pocket Edition over Bluetooth LE:

Please, use the Bluetooth LE page for Badge Edition to get more information.


Device Id

When a user wants to register a SoftRF device in OGN or other aircrafts database - it's Id can be obtained with assistance of SoftRF Tool application.

Protocol Id
OGNTP
Legacy
P3I
ADS-L
PRoL
FANET

Battery life

Current consumption from 3.7 Volt battery:

Mode Average current
Active

TBD
Sleep 3

0.6 mA

3 - the value may vary for different hardware revisions and firmware versions

Operating time from a full charge depends on your actual battery capacity.

When battery charge level is getting low - the green LED will start flashing to indicate that charging is necessary.
When battery charge level is almost "zero" - the Pocket will enter into low power (deep sleep) mode.

Charging

  • device is ON

Use a Bluetooth LE app, such as SoftRF Configurator, to monitor charging progress / battery voltage.




  • device is in Sleep

A tool like that can help to realize when charging process is complete.


Optional equipment

SkyView

SkyView EZ is a DIY companion device for SoftRF Pocket Edition.

   


SkyView Pico

   


Additional information on ThinkNode M3

  1. Elecrow® ThinkNode M3 Wiki
  2. User Manual

Troubleshooting

  1. If you are in doubts that your device powers up properly - you can monitor the boot sequence with USB cable connection ( 38400, 8N1 ).
    This is how a good boot log looks like:

Hardware

SoftRF

SkyView

Flight Recorder

Adapters

Software

Firmware

Tools

Protocols

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