WanderAlert — Family Architecture Spec (v1.0-candidate)
Product family: WanderAlert — 4-source redundant siren + alert system for camps, schools, outdoor crews, hospitals, and care environments. Revision: v1.0-candidate Date: 2026-04-24 SOP: v2.4
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1. Why this exists
Camp Mystic, Hunt, Texas — July 4, 2025. A flash flood arrived in the dark. Twenty-seven people, most of them children, drowned. The Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) cellular broadcast that should have warned the camp didn't reach the cabins because the camp was in a known cellular dead zone. The local NOAA Weather Radio tower (KEC95 Kerrville) was broadcasting the warning, but no receiver in the cabins was tuned to it. There was no LoRa community mesh. Counselors had no off-grid alert path.
The Camp Mystic deaths are the proximate cause of WanderAlert's existence. The product thesis is concrete: the cabin should hear the warning when the cellular network doesn't reach. A redundant alert system that wakes everyone up when one source fires, because one source is always going to fail.
WanderAlert is the reference implementation of "what a 21st-century camp / school / care environment alert system should look like." Four independent sources (LoRa mesh + NOAA Weather Radio + Cellular LTE-M + WiFi). Identity-aware acknowledge. Mesh re-broadcast. Subscription-optional. Ambassador-assembled. Open STLs. Camp Mystic Memorial Fund makes it free for camps that can't afford it.
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2. Product family overview
| Tier | Device ID | Form factor | Hero feature | Retail | Ship target |
|---|
| **Cabin Unit** | `WV-ALERT-CABIN` | Indoor battery siren + strobe ~150×100×40 mm | Mesh-listener; battery-powered; ≥105 dB Level 3; 30+ days standby | **$179** | 2027-Q2 |
| **Base Station** | `WV-ALERT-BASE` | Wall-mount AC indoor ~200×150×60 mm | 4-source receiver + originator; cream aluminum; saffron strobe bar; READY display | **$349** | 2027-Q3 |
| **Counselor Pager** | `WV-ALERT-PAGER` | Wearable clip-on ~80×55×15 mm | Mesh-listener; vibrating; identity-aware ACK; saffron triangle warning | **$89** | 2027-Q3 |
| **Outdoor Pole** | `WV-ALERT-POLE` | IP68 outdoor pole-mount ~250×180×80 mm | 4-source receiver + originator; PVD charcoal-black titanium; cream rubber bumpers; saffron strobe ring; integrated solar; ≥110 dB Level 3 | **$599** | 2027-Q4 |
Hero image alignment
The hero photo (already produced) shows three of four SKUs:
- Base Station wall-mount indoor — cream aluminum chassis, circular front grille, horizontal saffron LED strobe bar across top, status display showing "READY"
- Outdoor Pole — PVD charcoal-black titanium with cream rubber corner bumpers, large saffron strobe ring around front, integrated solar panel on top, external siren, pole-mount bracket
- Counselor Pager — slate aluminum, 1.3" OLED showing "ALERT" + saffron triangle warning, vibration motor, acknowledge button with saffron ring
Cabin Unit is referenced as a sub-tier of Base Station (similar form factor, smaller, battery-powered).
Visual identity preserved across the family: saffron LED accent on every tier (Pager ring, Cabin/Base strobe, Outdoor strobe ring), neutral chassis colors (cream aluminum / PVD charcoal / slate), open mesh + serviceability vibe.
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3. The four sources
3.1 LoRa mesh (915 MHz US / 868 MHz EU)
- Semtech SX1262 radio
- Meshtastic-extension protocol with 8-byte alert_id + 30 s flood-control window
- Every node re-broadcasts (Cabin / Base / Pager / Outdoor)
- TTL=3 max hops; dedup; signed origination
- Range: ~3-8 km LoS; ~500 m through dense canopy with re-broadcast
- Zero ongoing fee; works without WanderVerse server availability
3.2 NOAA Weather Radio NWR-SAME (162.400-162.550 MHz)
- Silicon Labs Si4707 integrated NWR receiver + SAME decoder
- WB1-WB7 channel auto-search
- Per-county FIPS code filtering
- Level mapping: NOAA event_code → Level 1/2/3 (severe weather warnings → Level 2; tornado / flash flood warnings → Level 2 or Level 3 depending on user config)
- 1050 Hz alert tone detector for EAS-style attention signal
- Available on Base Station + Outdoor Pole (Cabin Unit + Pager listen via mesh re-broadcast)
3.3 Cellular LTE-M (Quectel BG95-M3)
- LTE-M (Cat-M1) primary + NB-IoT secondary + 2G fallback
- US bands 2/4/12/13/14/26/71 (covers AT&T + T-Mobile + Verizon + FirstNet)
- Receives FCC Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) via cell-broadcast (CBS) — does not require active subscription, only attached LTE-M cell
- Optional pay-as-you-go service plan for IPAWS push + remote management (~$3-8/mo via eSIM Hologram / Soracom / 1NCE)
- Available on Base Station + Outdoor Pole
3.4 WiFi 6 (ESP32-S3 builtin)
- ESP32-S3 native WiFi 6 (2.4 + 5 GHz)
- FEMA IPAWS-OPEN public feed pull (every 60 s on WiFi)
- Apple Critical Alerts / Google Public Alerts pull from paired phones via BLE companion app
- Available on Base Station + Outdoor Pole; Pager pairs with phone via BLE
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4. 3-tier alert escalation
Level 1 — Advisory (≥85 dB)
- Trigger: severe weather watches, area advisories, "be aware"
- Audible: 3 × 1.5 s pulses at ≥85 dB @ 1 m
- Visual: saffron strobe slow (1 Hz)
- Pager: gentle vibration + OLED text only
- Use case: tornado watch, severe thunderstorm watch, NOAA RWT (test) downgraded
Level 2 — Warning (≥100-105 dB)
- Trigger: tornado warning, flash flood warning, severe weather warning, evacuation alerts
- Audible: 1500 Hz square-wave per ANSI S3.41, 15 s on / 5 s off, ≥100 dB @ 1 m (Cabin/Base) or ≥105 dB (Outdoor)
- Visual: saffron strobe fast (5 Hz)
- Pager: strong vibration + OLED triangle warning + saffron LED on
- Use case: imminent severe weather, evacuation order, structure hazard
Level 3 — Emergency / max sustained (≥105-110 dB)
- Trigger: active shooter, immediate threat, "wake everyone now," 1+ ACK reduces to Level 2
- Audible: dual-tone 1500 Hz + 3500 Hz, sustained until ACK or manual clear, ≥105 dB indoor / ≥110 dB outdoor
- Visual: saffron strobe full-on
- Pager: maximum vibration + OLED triangle full saffron + ACK button cover unlatched (auto-pop)
- Acknowledge degradation: 1+ counselor ACK → Level 2; 50%+ ACK → Level 1; 100% ACK → audible silence (visual continues until manual clear)
- Use case: life-safety event requiring immediate adult response
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5. Identity-aware operation
Per Standard 0 (survivor / identity-aware modes) and the Camp Mystic context:
Counselor Pager origination lockout
- Pager firmware physically cannot originate Level 2/3 alerts on the mesh
- Pager has only: ACK button (saffron-ringed, recessed, 2 s hold) + "I'm OK" status button
- Enforcement: dual layer (firmware + secure-element role token NXP SE051)
- Even if firmware is compromised, peer nodes reject
pager-role-signed ALERT_ORIGINATE
Public-alert origination paths (the only ones)
- Base Station's keyswitch-protected panic input (physical key turn — "alarm origination key")
- Outdoor Pole's external keyswitch
- Paired hub admin via WanderNode Hub web UI (with 2FA)
- NOAA NWR / FEMA WEA / IPAWS / WiFi / Apple-Google Critical Alerts (system-originated)
Survivor-pattern override
- Survivor-pattern user can request Pager with
originate_emergency role at order time
- Requires WWP-side review + survivor-pattern verification
- Default Pager is NEVER origination-capable
Covert / quiet mode
- Base Station can be configured (admin web UI) to silence Level 1 audible (visual only) or to disable strobe
- Useful for sleep-aware adult-only environments OR DV-safehouse contexts where a visible alert is unsafe
- Cannot be globally disabled — Level 3 always fires audibly + visibly (life-safety override)
Trust-contact-only routing
- Mesh + cellular alerts route only to pre-shared trust contacts at the camp/school/care-site level
- Never to a public API, social feed, or analytics endpoint
- WanderNode Hub admin assigns trust contacts at install
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6. Architecture
6.1 Family platform (shared across all 4 tiers)
| Block | Part | Notes |
|---|
| MCU module | Raytac MDBT50Q-S3 (ESP32-S3 + WiFi 6 + BLE 5.3) | FCC modular passthrough |
| LoRa radio | Semtech SX1262 | 915/868 MHz; +22 dBm originating; +14 dBm re-broadcast |
| Saffron strobe LED | Cree XQE saffron 605 nm 1 W | >50,000 hr lifetime; family-wide visual standard |
| LED driver | TI TPS92518 multi-channel | per-LED PWM for strobe pattern |
| Secure element | NXP SE051 | role token + signed alert origination |
| Flash NOR | Macronix MX25R 16-32 MB | per-tier sized |
| Antenna LoRa | Taoglas 915/868 MHz whip | external on Outdoor + Base; internal on Cabin + Pager |
6.2 Originating tiers (Base Station + Outdoor Pole)
Add to platform:
| Block | Part | Notes |
|---|
| NOAA NWR receiver | Silicon Labs Si4707 | NEW for parts library |
| Cellular LTE-M | Quectel BG95-M3 | Reused from WanderRouter |
| eSIM module | Onomondo / Hologram-class | eSIM-on-board for cellular |
| WiFi antenna | ESP32-S3 internal + external on Outdoor | |
| Siren amp Cabin/Base | DB Unlimited XSL2812 6 W class-D piezo + horn | ≥100-105 dB |
| Siren amp Outdoor | Federal Signal AS-class horn + TI TPA3220 30 W class-D amp | ≥110 dB |
| PMIC | TI TPS65086100 | multi-rail; sustains siren + strobe + radios concurrent |
| Display Base | 2.4" IPS LCD with backlight | "READY" status; current alert info; setup wizard |
| Keyswitch | Industrial cam-lock 2-position | physical key origination + clear |
6.3 Listener tiers (Cabin Unit + Pager)
Add to platform:
| Block | Part | Notes |
|---|
| Battery Cabin | 2 × Samsung 30Q 18650 user-swappable | 30+ days standby |
| Battery Pager | 1200 mAh LiPo | 5+ days standby |
| Charge Cabin | TI BQ25180 | USB-C input |
| Charge Pager | TI BQ25180 + dock contacts | charging dock |
| Vibration motor Pager | Precision LRA C10-100 | Reused from WanderBand |
| Display Pager | 1.3" OLED 128×128 | saffron triangle warning UI |
| Display Cabin | 0.96" OLED 128×64 | status + alert text |
| ACK button (Pager only) | Alps SKRH + saffron ring + recessed cover | 2 s hold to send ACK |
6.4 Outdoor-only
| Block | Part | Notes |
|---|
| Battery | 2 × A123 ANR26650M1B LiFePO4 (cold-tolerant) | -40 to +60 °C operating |
| Solar panel | 30 W monocrystalline (Maxeon Gen III) | top-of-pole integrated |
| MPPT charger | TI BQ25798 | I²C configurable |
| Chassis | PA6-GF30 + cream rubber TPE bumpers + PVD charcoal-black titanium accent | per hero image |
| GNSS | u-blox MAX-M10S | location-aware county-polygon match |
| Pole-mount bracket | 6061-T6 anodized aluminum | 4" round + 6" square + wall variants |
| External horn | Federal Signal AS-class 110 dB | weatherproof + thermal-pad-coupled |
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7. Coverage architecture (which tier hears what)
| Source | Cabin Unit | Base Station | Pager | Outdoor Pole |
|---|
| LoRa mesh | RX-only listener | RX + originate + re-broadcast | RX-only listener (vibrate + display) | RX + originate + re-broadcast |
| NOAA Weather Radio (Si4707) | — | ✅ primary | — | ✅ primary |
| Cellular LTE-M (BG95) | — | ✅ secondary | — | ✅ secondary |
| WiFi 6 (FEMA IPAWS / Apple+Google Critical Alerts) | — | ✅ tertiary | — | ✅ tertiary |
| Apple/Google phone Critical Alert via paired BLE companion | — | ✅ via WiFi | RX via paired phone | ✅ via WiFi |
Coverage gate: every cabin must have either (a) a Cabin Unit on the LoRa mesh OR (b) line-of-sight to a Base Station / Outdoor Pole. Site-survey discipline at install. No cabin is allowed to be only a Pager — the Pager is a counselor-personal device, not a cabin device.
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8. Dual-mode (Standard 0)
Mode 1 — Standalone (no internet, no phone)
- Cabin Unit + Pager: mesh-listener works the moment the LoRa peer fires
- Base Station + Outdoor Pole: NOAA Weather Radio receiver works without internet (NOAA broadcasts continuously)
- Setup wizard runs on Base Station display (county + state + camp/school name + counselor pager pairing) — no internet required
- All 4 sources (where applicable to tier) work without account, without internet, without subscription
Mode 2 — Industry-integrated
- NOAA NWR-SAME (Si4707-approved)
- FCC WEA (Quectel BG95 cell-broadcast)
- FEMA IPAWS-OPEN public feed (CAP v1.2 XML)
- Apple Critical Alerts (via paired iPhone + companion app)
- Google Public Alerts (via paired Android + companion app)
- Bluetooth SIG qualified BLE 5.3 + Apple Find My-class accessory pairing
- Home Assistant integration via MQTT bridge (admin web UI)
- Matter — defer to v2 (Matter alert profile not yet ratified)
Mode 3 — WanderVerse-native
- WanderNode Hub integration: hub admin web UI shows real-time WanderAlert status across all nodes; assigns trust contacts; manages alert policies; provides 2FA-protected hub-admin alert origination
- WanderStation community mesh: WanderAlert can ride on existing WanderStation LoRa mesh deployments; community-mesh-aware alerts (e.g., a county-wide WanderStation deployment relays NOAA NWR alerts to all WanderAlert-equipped camps)
- WanderRouter Ultra satellite backhaul: when LTE-M + WiFi are both unavailable, an upstream WanderRouter Ultra with Iridium provides cellular-equivalent IPAWS pull
- WanderBand (counselor-worn): can pair with a WanderAlert Pager to surface alerts on the wrist watch (haptic + saffron-glow ping)
- WanderShield identity-aware data sharing: trust-contact assignments respect WanderShield's identity-aware visibility rules
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9. Compliance summary (per `COMPLIANCE.md`)
| Cert | Status | Notes |
|---|
| **UL 1971** (signaling devices for hearing-impaired) | red blocker | Required before camp/school sales |
| **ANSI S3.41** (audible emergency evacuation signal) | red blocker | Bundled with UL 1971 cert lab |
| **NOAA NWR-SAME** | yellow | Si4707 inherits; per-product reference test ~$8-12k |
| **FCC Part 15 B/C** | green | Raytac MDBT50Q-S3 + SX1262 modular passthrough |
| **FCC Part 22/24/27** (cellular) | green | Quectel BG95 module passthrough |
| **CE / UKCA** | green | Bundle with FCC test data |
| **IP68** (Outdoor Pole only) | yellow | IEC 60529 accredited cert 2027-Q3 |
| **MIL-STD-810G** (Outdoor only) | yellow | Methods 514.6 + 516.6 |
| **ASTM B117** salt spray (Outdoor only) | yellow | 500 hr / 5% NaCl |
| **UL 50E Type 4X** (Outdoor enclosure rating) | yellow | NEC code-compliance for outdoor electrical |
| **Bluetooth SIG** | green | BLE 5.3 + Apple Find My-class profile |
| **RoHS / REACH** | green | declared |
| **UL 217 / UL 268 / UL 864 / NFPA 72 fire-alarm** | NOT pursued v1 | resolved decision; see DECISIONS.md D-ALERT-013 |
Total cert v1: ~$120-180k.
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10. Manufacturing + service summary
Ambassador assembly (Standard 1)
- Tier-2 for all WanderAlert SKUs (precision + ESD-sensitive + IP68 potting on Outdoor + audible-alarm cert fixture per-unit verification)
- Per-unit Ambassador time:
- Cabin Unit: ~18 min/unit (~25 units / 8-hr day)
- Base Station: ~25 min/unit (~18 units)
- Pager: ~12 min/unit (~38 units)
- Outdoor Pole: ~35 min/unit (~13 units)
- Ambassador signature: etched aluminum tag inside service panel, paired to unit serial in WanderOS
Per-unit production tests
- 16-22 tests per unit depending on tier (see
DFM-DFA-DFT.md)
- Includes audible-alarm dB verification (calibrated mic + B&K SLM at Ambassador station)
- Helium-leak + IP68 pressure-pot for Outdoor
- Mesh interop test against reference Base + Pager
7-year parts (Standard 4)
- Sirens are long-life (mechanical drivers + horns rated >100,000 hr)
- Strobe LEDs (Cree XQE saffron) >50,000 hr
- Battery cells DIY-replaceable on Cabin (T10 Torx) + Pager (charge dock contact replacement)
- Outdoor send-back for IP68 re-cert after battery swap
- Year 8: STL + schematic + firmware-source release for community-self-repair (CC BY-SA 4.0 STLs; CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 firmware-source for cellular components)
Service plan (per `SERVICE-FLOW.md`)
- 2-year standard warranty + 5-year extended ($25-95 depending on tier)
- DIY user-serviceable parts: battery, antenna, belt clip, charging dock
- Ambassador send-back for IP68 re-cert, mainboard swap, chassis swap, firmware reflash
- Factory-only: Outdoor titanium chassis re-PVD, NOAA NWR re-cert after antenna replacement, Cospas-Sarsat-class regulatory work (none in v1)
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11. Revenue + social-impact integration
60/30/10 Community Pool flow (Standard 5)
Per canonical revenue split:
- 60% → Ambassador wages (1099 → W-2 at revenue trigger)
- 10% → PrideFund (Ambassador HYSA)
- 30% → WWP Community Pool (Layer 1 ops ≤65%, Layer 2 Ambassador-voted ≥35%)
Cellular service-plan revenue (optional) flows 70% to Community Pool / 30% to cover MVNO wholesale airtime — margin neutral until Ambassador-floor economics pencil.
Camp Mystic Memorial Fund (working name)
- Donor-sponsored Cabin Unit + Pager kits for Title-I summer camps, religious overnight camps, special-needs camps
- Match: WWP grant-matches up to 1:1 from Community Pool
- Legal structure pending counsel review (501(c)(3) sub-fund vs separate fiscal sponsorship)
- Eligibility: ACA-accredited camps + 501(c)(3) camps + Title-I-equivalent summer programs
Grant-fundable
- FEMA BRIC (pre-disaster mitigation; rural / under-resourced)
- NOAA Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador grant
- HHS ASPR Hospital Preparedness
- ACA Emergency Preparedness fund (per-camp)
- State summer-camp pools (TX, CO, NH, ME post-Camp-Mystic appropriations 2026-2027)
- Title I / IDEA-B school-safety pools
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12. Feature inventory (Stage 0 sweep)
Hardware features
- 4-source redundant alert reception (LoRa + NOAA + LTE-M + WiFi)
- 3-tier escalation (Level 1/2/3)
- ACK protocol with mesh degradation (L3→L2→L1→silence)
- Identity-aware Pager origination lockout
- Saffron LED strobe (family-wide visual standard)
- ≥100-110 dB audible siren (UL 1971 + ANSI S3.41 cert path)
- Mesh re-broadcast (every node is repeater)
- Battery-backed indoor + solar-backed outdoor
- IP68 + MIL-STD-810G + ASTM B117 (Outdoor)
- 7-year parts + open STLs
- Ambassador-assembled
- Counselor wearable (Pager) + cabin (Cabin Unit) + central origination (Base Station + Outdoor Pole)
Software features
- ESP32-S3 + WiFi 6 + BLE 5.3 + LoRa SX1262 driver stack on FreeRTOS / Zephyr
- Si4707 NOAA NWR-SAME decoder driver
- Quectel BG95 LTE-M + cell-broadcast WEA receiver
- FEMA IPAWS-OPEN CAP XML parser
- Apple/Google Critical Alerts via companion app + BLE bridge
- Mesh flooding protocol with signed origination + dedup
- Secure-element role token enforcement (NXP SE051)
- OTA via WiFi / BLE / mesh-fragment fallback
- Setup wizard on Base Station display
- Web admin UI for alert policy + roster + trust contacts
- iOS + Android companion apps (paired phone Critical Alerts pull)
- Survivor-aware language templates + customizable alert messages
- WanderOS service history per unit (Ambassador + serial + IMEI + firmware version + service events)
Operational features
- Camp / school / care-environment ready-to-ship deployment kits
- Donor-sponsored kits via Camp Mystic Memorial Fund
- Grant-pool deployment pipeline
- ACA partnership channel
- Survivor-aware advisory review (camp counselor + Texas-flood-survivor + special-needs-camp panels)
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13. Risk register
| # | Risk | Severity | Mitigation |
|---|
| 1 | UL 1971 cert delays beyond 2027-Q1 | red | Lab booking 2026-Q4; reference unit ready EVT |
| 2 | ANSI S3.41 audible cert fails (siren spectral content rejected) | red | Pre-cert in-house anechoic + B&K SLM verification before lab submission |
| 3 | Si4707 supply disrupted (sole-source SiLabs) | yellow | Alternate SDR + firmware decoder fallback |
| 4 | Camp Mystic Memorial Fund framing rejected by survivors | red | Veto rights for Texas-Flood-Survivor advisory panel; trauma-informed counsel brokering |
| 5 | Identity-aware Pager origination lockout fails security review | red | Dual-layer enforcement (firmware + secure-element role token); independent security audit |
| 6 | False alarm rate exceeds ≤1/year/device | yellow | NOAA RWT/RMT/DMO event filtering; WEA test alert filtering; quarterly review |
| 7 | Cellular eSIM MVNO terms shift mid-contract | yellow | Multi-MVNO RFQ; BYO-SIM fallback |
| 8 | Outdoor Pole IP68 + MIL-STD-810G + ASTM B117 cert fails | yellow | Pre-cert in-house pressure-pot + drop test before accredited lab |
| 9 | Engineering hire timeline slips | red | Shared engineering pool with WanderRouter + WanderBand; pipeline started 2026-Q3 |
| 10 | Camp / school customers demand UL 864 fire-alarm pedigree | yellow | v2 path open if pilot demands; v1 ships as supplemental alert system |
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14. Conflict register
Resolved per DECISIONS.md D-ALERT-001 through D-ALERT-013. Key conflicts:
- D-ALERT-006: Si4707 NEW for parts library — added at this spec session.
- D-ALERT-010: PA6-GF30 chassis (not titanium throughout per hero image — only PVD charcoal-black accent on the front face + cream rubber TPE corner bumpers; interior chassis is PA6-GF30 for cost + RF-friendliness; titanium-PVD is decorative + corrosion-resistant). Hero image alignment preserved.
- D-ALERT-013: UL 217 / UL 268 / UL 864 / NFPA 72 fire-alarm path NOT pursued — explicit non-claim in v1.
No software conflicts with existing WanderVerse specs.
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15. Marketing language gate
Words we DO use:
- "Supplemental alert system"
- "Camp / school / care-environment alert"
- "4-source redundant"
- "UL 1971 listed for hearing-impaired signaling"
- "ANSI S3.41 evacuation signal"
- "NOAA Weather Radio NWR-SAME compliant"
- "Wakes the cabin when the cellular network doesn't reach"
Words we do NOT use:
- "Fire alarm"
- "Replaces your fire alarm"
- "UL 864 system"
- "NFPA 72 system"
- "Public-safety-radio integration"
- "Camp Mystic" (in marketing — used in this spec for context; survivor advisory panel veto rights apply to all external comms)
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16. Ship discipline
- v1.0 launch: 2027-Q2 Cabin → 2027-Q3 Base + Pager → 2027-Q4 Outdoor Pole — all gated by UL 1971 + ANSI S3.41 + advisory review
- v1.1 (3 months post-ship): UX polish; companion app feature depth; first survivor-user-feedback integration
- v1.2 (6 months post-ship): county SAME database OTA pipeline mature; mesh-fragment OTA optimized; admin web UI v2
- v2 (2028-2029, conditional): UL 864 fire-alarm path if pilot demands; spoken alert messages; Matter alert profile; SIS integration
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17. Ambassador + Community Pool integration
(verbatim from _TEMPLATES/_community-pool.md + _ambassador-signature.md + _seven-year-parts.md):
How the money flows
Every sale of a WanderAlert SKU is divided three ways:
- 60% pays the Ambassador who assembled the unit — a living wage for skilled hardware-assembly work
- 10% seeds PrideFund — community-held HYSA accruing for Ambassador-voted initiatives
- 30% funds the WWP Community Pool — the 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Subject to 65/35 charter rule (Layer 1 ops ≤65%; Layer 2 Ambassador-voted ≥35%)
Ambassador signature mark
Every WanderAlert unit carries an etched aluminum tag inside the service panel:
- Ambassador ID (pseudo-random alphanumeric)
- Assembly date
- Unit serial number
- Tier-2 cert reference number (cal stamp for IP68 + audible-alarm)
At refurbishment, a second signature is added beneath the first. Provenance accumulates.
Seven-year parts
Every spare part for WanderAlert is available for 7 years from ship date, via Ambassador network, at cost + 10%. Year 8: every manufacturing file is published (STLs CC BY-SA 4.0; firmware source CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 for cellular-integrated parts; schematics + assembly instructions).
What "parts" includes:
- Mechanical assemblies (chassis, mounts, bezels, pole bracket, cable conduit, charging dock, belt clip)
- All sub-boards + modules (siren amp, strobe LED driver, NOAA receiver, cellular modem, MCU module)
- Battery modules (18650 + LiPo + LiFePO4 21700)
- Display assemblies + OLED + IPS LCD
- Sirens + horns (long-life — well past 7 years)
- Antennas (LoRa whip + NOAA blade + cellular)
What "parts" does NOT include:
- Standard fasteners (M3 screws, T10 Torx — sourceable from any aftermarket)
- USB-C cables + AC wall-warts (industry-standard)
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This spec is the source of truth for the WanderAlert family. Companion docs (DECISIONS.md, BOM-platform.csv, BOM-modules.csv, BOM-normalized.csv, CONFIGURATOR.md, COMPATIBILITY.md, SOURCING.csv, DFM-DFA-DFT.md, THERMAL-EMC.md, COMPLIANCE.md, GUIDE.md, HW-FW.md, SERVICE-FLOW.md, GATE.md, STL-OPEN-FILES/README.md, _VALIDATION-AND-SENSOR-EXPANSION.md, _COMPETITIVE-AUDIT-2026-04-24.md, _MANIFEST.md) elaborate; this spec governs.
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Radio architecture v2 — LR2021 migration (2026-04-25)
Primary radio: Semtech LR2021 (LoRa Gen 4 / LoRa Plus). Replaces previous multi-chip radio architecture (SX1262 + nRF52840 + CC2652R7 collapsed to one).
What this unlocks
- 40× throughput — 62.5 kbps → 2.6 Mbps via FLRC modulation. Enables: image snapshots over LoRa, voice / walkie-talkie, AI-edge inference output streaming, audio classification.
- Multi-PHY in one chip — LoRaWAN + Sidewalk + Meshtastic + Z-Wave + Wi-SUN + BLE + Thread/Zigbee. Single global SKU; no regional variants required.
- Direct-to-satellite (S-band 1.9–2.5 GHz NTN) — phone home from anywhere on Earth, no cell tower. Game-significant for at-risk-user use cases (DV-survivor escape from anywhere, wilderness emergency).
- -142 dBm sensitivity — best-in-class link budget (vs SX1262 -137 dBm).
Migration strategy: hybrid
This product is Tier-1 critical (life-safety / DV-survivor flagship / global-supply-chain anchor). Hybrid alt-source path retained:
- Founding-tier SKU: SX1262 + nRF52840 (proven dual-source). No FLRC voice, no satellite. Lower cost, regional-variant-required.
- Pro / Global SKU: LR2021 single-chip multi-PHY + S-band NTN. FLRC voice, satellite emergency, AI-edge inference, single global SKU.
Customer chooses at purchase. Spec tables list both with cross-references.
Cert path additions
- FCC Part 25 NTN earth-station registration — required for S-band satellite operation. Engagement budget ~$30–60k via TÜV SÜD or Element. Pro tier only.
- FCC Part 15 Subpart C — sub-GHz + 2.4 GHz emissions (existing cert covers; verify LR2021 module FCC ID propagates).
- CE / UKCA / IC / AS-NZS — international filings updated to reference LR2021 module.
Capability bullets for marketing copy
- Phone home from anywhere — direct-to-satellite, no cell tower (Pro tier)
- Multi-protocol mesh — LoRaWAN, Amazon Sidewalk, Meshtastic, Z-Wave, BLE, Thread, Wi-SUN
- Single global SKU — no US/EU regional variants
- 40× faster radio than the previous generation, in the same power envelope
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**Note (Perplexity-validated 2026-04-25):** When this doc says LR2021 supports multi-PHY in one chip, the *hardware* is multi-PHY-capable, but full protocol stacks (LoRaWAN, Amazon Sidewalk, Meshtastic, Z-Wave, Wi-SUN, BLE, Thread/Zigbee) integrate via firmware layers, not all bundled native. We ship pre-built stacks for the active set per product. See `PERPLEXITY-VALIDATION-2026-04-25.md` in `_WANDERVERSE-LIBRARY/`.