This, but it's a Meshtastic board powered by photovoltaic fletching so I can fire them high into trees to create a rogue comms network
this post was submitted on 22 Apr 2026
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nrf52840 I presume. ESP32 needs a bit too much battery for a bow.
I should probably read into them before the world goes belly up. At the moment, I'm only somewhat knowledgeable about ESP and Arduino.
It's easy. Just get a nrf based device like the lil go echo and you are set.
You can flash all variants of Lora network software and it has a built-in rink display if you need to read messages without a phone and also battery and charging.
Thanks 💖
But I meant programming these myself, I'm a sucker for that stuff 😅
Ooof deepdive. It ends for ne with avr cli and somebody else's code.
No worries. I'm too busy with other stuff anyway. ESP32 I use all the time and they're fine but hungry. I would like to create a battery operated sensor. But that is, I guess, out of the question for the ESP.
... one more thing on my "to check list" that I'll never complete!
let me help you rethink your design. the arrowhead is going to take too hard an impact for pcb. you want to put all that in the shaft near the fletching so you don't have to run as much wire.
My retirement plan is to sell one ooga for two boogas.
Buy for an ooga, sell for tew.
The funny thing is that that board is actually designed to be arrowhead-shaped, not just a shard sawn off a larger PCB. I wonder what it came from (assuming it's real)?
I noticed the same thing. Maybe it’s AI. I don’t see any inputs or power source and there’s no indication that there’s anything big enough on the other side to be either.
The big chip has 2 number one pin markings
Could be a car key fob maybe? CR2032 and buttons could fit on the backside
Maybe, but it would be huge. Most key fobs I’ve seen don’t need mounting screws either. I’m not sure about the battery holder, but any buttons on the other side would likely run through the pcb. I don’t think contact solder would be strong enough for repeated use. There would also be traces somewhere that come from the other side to the controller.
~~I don't see any merging traces or other aspects of it that don't make sense when looking at the board holistically, so I don't think it's AI.~~ Edit: another commenter pointed out two "pin 1" marks on the biggest chip, so never mind, it's AI. Fuck.
With two microchips with that many pins (maybe a 4+ layer PCB?), it looks too complicated to be a key fob. It also has what looks like a 5-pin header for programming.
It does look close to PCBs you'd see in random key fobs but I think solid chance it's a prop (or AI). If you look close and of course we do only see one side but a lot of the things you'd expect to see are missing. What could this do, how does it interact or connect to things, whats up with those traces and why are they going there, who made this and why is nothing labeled? None of that is definitive, but it's weird to have that many questions like those on a real PCB.
The wiring is consistent (no ghost/empty wires) so likely not AI.
"This hunting trip is brought to you by our sponsor, PCBWay."
"Our favorite thing about PCBWay has to be their shared projects. This week we'd like to highlight the one about using old cat6 for trapping and the best places to scavenge for it"
Perhaps a board from some form of drone that fits in the nose cone?
Edit: Never mind, saw the comment about the #1 pin.
Duh, it's obviously from a smart spear that stopped working because it was part of a bot net.
So Horizon Zero Dawn
Honestly, one of the best "outcomes" humanity could hope for at this point.
I was thinking Vintage Story
I want to see someone knap an arrowhead from the fancy fighter jet sapphire cockpit winshield
That would be good news though. Either electronics got cheap again (enough to be used as arrowheads) or we’ve taken the chips back from the evil megacorps that are hoarding them.
The tip is not sharp enough.
Just the tip?
I'd put a taser on the end of a stick so I have electrical damage added to my spear.
This is terrible. Those board components have terrible aerodynamics. You should scrape those off to improve the flight profile for the arrow
Hunting giant robo animals?
"use ai as a tool"
"Where do you see yourself in five years?"
"Retired early or in an unmarked grave. Those are the only two options."
What are you planning and can I get in on it?
Eh, just bash with rock.
user:~# rock
rock command not found
Someone's first hunt, good luck with that spear
Needs barbs, probably, and something better than tape.