Alright so I’m fairly new to all this LoRa stuff, so let me explain what I’m doing. Anything to point me in the right direction will be helpful. I’m setting up some meshtastic nodes and I want to make an “SOS” feature to notify the network if a node has been taken down, messed with, etc. A few people have done this but I’ve seen it done with Heltec stuff once or twice. I have both 19007’s and 19003’s with 4630’s. I would prefer to use the 19003 due to its size.
It looks like an “SOS” feature is already available in the meshtastic settings under the “Detection Sensor” settings. This feature states its function as “Configure a GPIO pin to be monitored for specified high/low status and send text alerts”, so in my case; I would place a button in an enclosure that when opened would release the button thus completing that GPIO pin and sending an alert. My question comes down the the GPIO availability on the 19003. I have found only one other thread where GPIO use and the 19003 was mentioned but both Slot C and D were occupied in that situation.
My understanding was that I could use the header pins, however beegee had mentioned later on it could not be used because those pins are being shared with the RAK12500 as it is connected to both UART1 (RX1/TX1) and I2C. So because I am NOT using any of those slots, could I use these pins or is there more to this?
When it comes to the code, would I just assign the GPIO pin in the software? In my case could it be whatever pin RX1 is? Would it be easier to de-solder an LED and use that as my detection pin (either pin 14, 15, or 16)?
My last question is, would there be a better way to go about this with the 19003?