WanderAlert Family — Decision Log
Running log of every keep/swap/drop decision across Cabin Unit + Base Station + Counselor Pager + Outdoor Pole. Citations per entry. Life-safety device — reliability + redundancy > all else.
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Stage 0 — Feature-parity sweep (2026-04-24)
- Decision: 4-tier family (Cabin Unit $179 / Base Station $349 / Counselor Pager $89 / Outdoor Pole $599) with shared platform (ESP32-S3 + LoRa SX1262) + tier-specific modules (Si4707 NOAA + BG95 LTE-M only on Base + Outdoor; battery + IP68 + solar only on Outdoor).
- Source: competitive audit vs Federal Signal SmartMsg, Gentex GE-3 series, commodity camp pagers (Motorola CP200d / Garmin GPSMAP-style runners), MyGroundBiz school alert systems, Wireless Emergency Alerts only. See
_COMPETITIVE-AUDIT-2026-04-24.md.
- Flags: Federal Signal + Gentex have UL 1971 + UL 864 + decades of fire-alarm-system pedigree. We do NOT pursue UL 864 (fire alarm control panel) in v1 — that path forces NFPA 72 system architecture + multiplies cert by 4-6×. Instead we ship as a "supplemental alert system" with UL 1971 (signaling for hearing-impaired) + ANSI S3.41 (audible evacuation signal). Camp/school customers in our pilot conversations confirm this is sufficient when paired with their existing fire-alarm-of-record.
- Lead axes: 4-source redundancy (no competitor combines LoRa mesh + NOAA Weather Radio + LTE-M + WiFi in a single device family) · subscription-optional · identity-aware acknowledge · open STLs · 7-year parts · grant-funded plausible.
- Lag axes: UL 864 fire-alarm pedigree (Federal Signal / Gentex have decades) · enterprise-school-safety brand recognition (we are unknown) · public-safety-radio-network integration (FCC Part 90 P25 — explicit non-goal in v1).
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Stage 1 — Intake + freeze (2026-04-24)
- Device IDs assigned:
WV-ALERT-CABIN, WV-ALERT-BASE, WV-ALERT-PAGER, WV-ALERT-POLE.
- Revision frozen:
v1.0-candidate.
- Ship target locked: Cabin 2027-Q2 · Base 2027-Q3 (UL 1971 + ANSI S3.41 hard gate) · Pager 2027-Q3 · Outdoor Pole 2027-Q4 (+ IP68 + MIL-STD-810G + ASTM B117).
- Entity: Eisinger Holdings LLC (hardware margin); feeds 60/30/10 Community Pool per canonical split.
- No Blueprint reference bundle for WanderAlert. Spec dictated by Camp Mystic 2025 incident analysis + UL 1971 + ANSI S3.41 cert requirements.
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D-ALERT-001 — 4-source redundancy is the product (no compromise)
- Context: Camp Mystic 2025 deaths happened because the cabins relied on a single source (cellular WEA broadcast) which did not reach. The official NOAA Weather Radio tower was broadcasting; the cabins didn't have a receiver. The official cellular WEA fired; the cabins had no cellular signal.
- Decision 2026-04-24: Every WanderAlert that originates alerts (Base Station + Outdoor Pole) listens on all four sources concurrently: LoRa mesh (community / inter-device) + NOAA Weather Radio (Si4707, NOAA NWR-SAME) + Cellular LTE-M (Quectel BG95, listens for FCC WEA + IPAWS push) + WiFi (FEMA IPAWS-OPEN public feed pull + Apple Critical Alerts + Google Public Alerts pull when paired).
- Rationale: if any one source fires, the local siren + strobe + counselor pagers fire. The mesh re-broadcasts so a Base Station that hears NOAA WX Radio instantly tells the Outdoor Pole, the Cabin Units, and the Pagers — even if those nodes don't have NOAA receivers themselves.
- Cost impact: Si4707 ~$3.20 BOM. BG95 ~$14 BOM. WiFi 6 (ESP32-S3 builtin) $0 incremental. LoRa SX1262 ~$2.80 BOM. Total 4-source cost on a Base or Outdoor unit: ~$20 BOM increment vs a LoRa-only product. Worth every cent.
- Conflict resolution: Cabin Unit + Pager are mesh-listeners only — they receive the alerts on LoRa. This keeps cost / battery in line for those tiers. Site-survey at install ensures every cabin has a Base or Outdoor in mesh range.
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D-ALERT-002 — Siren architecture: 3-tier escalation, ≥85 / ≥100 / max sustained
- Context: ANSI S3.41 specifies an audible emergency evacuation signal at ≥85 dBA at 3 m for general use, with higher thresholds for areas where sleeping persons must be roused (≥75 dBA at the pillow per NFPA 72). Camp Mystic-style scenarios (children sleeping in cabins, must wake them in seconds) require a pillow-rouse-equivalent threshold.
- Decision: Three-tier escalation:
- Level 1 (advisory): ≥85 dB @ 1 m — short alert tone (3 × 1.5 s pulses), saffron strobe slow (1 Hz). Severe-weather watches, area advisories, "be aware" messages.
- Level 2 (warning): ≥100 dB @ 1 m — sustained 1500 Hz square-wave (per ANSI S3.41 evacuation signal) for 15 s on / 5 s off, saffron strobe fast (5 Hz). Tornado warnings, flash flood warnings, severe weather warnings, evacuation alerts.
- Level 3 (emergency, max sustained): ≥110 dB @ 1 m on Outdoor; ≥105 dB @ 1 m on Base + Cabin — sustained 1500 Hz / 3500 Hz dual-tone for indefinite duration (until ack), saffron strobe full-on. Active shooter, immediate threat, "wake everyone now."
- Acknowledge protocol degrades L3 → L2: when the first counselor pager ACK arrives on the mesh, the local Base Station + Cabin Units + Outdoor Pole drop from Level 3 to Level 2 (so the campers stop hearing the max sustained siren once the adults are responding). When 50%+ of registered counselor pagers have ACK'd, the local installation drops to Level 1 (audible enough to remind everyone but not deafening). Hard-coded; identity-aware policy; not user-configurable.
- dB targets validated:
_VALIDATION-AND-SENSOR-EXPANSION.md §A discusses ANSI S3.41 + NFPA 72 thresholds in detail. Indoor Cabin Unit + Base Station target ≥100-105 dB is met by a 6 W class-D piezo siren + horn driver. Outdoor Pole's ≥110 dB target requires a 30 W amp + 105 dB sensitivity industrial horn (Federal Signal AS / DB Unlimited HW-class).
- Cost impact: Cabin/Base siren module ~$22 BOM (DB Unlimited XSL2812-class). Outdoor Pole siren + horn + amp ~$58 BOM (Federal Signal AS + 30 W class-D amp).
- Risk: prolonged Level 3 sound exposure exceeds OSHA 8-hr permissible exposure (90 dBA) and approaches hearing-damage threshold (115 dBA instant). Mitigation: Level 3 acknowledge degradation hard-coded; documentation + on-device labeling per OSHA + NIOSH.
---
D-ALERT-003 — Acknowledge protocol on the mesh (counselor pager ACK)
- Context: in any camp / school / care environment, the alert needs to wake the responsible adults but should not continue at max-sustained volume once those adults are awake and responding. Otherwise we are training people to disable the alarm system (the "smoke alarm chirping" failure mode).
- Decision: Every counselor pager has an "ACK" button (saffron-ringed, recessed under cover to prevent accidental press). Pressing ACK + 2 s hold sends an authenticated mesh message:
ACK . The Base Station + Outdoor Pole + Cabin Units track ACK count.
- 1+ ACK → Level 3 → Level 2 (drops max-sustained; remains warning-level)
- 50%+ of registered pagers ACK → Level 2 → Level 1 (advisory remains; max evacuation siren ends)
- 100% ACK → audible silence (visual saffron strobe continues until manually cleared)
- Re-fire if abandoned: if no ACK arrives within 30 s of Level 3, the Base Station re-fires Level 3 across the mesh (in case mesh reception was momentarily blocked). This anti-loss-of-mesh policy ensures the alarm doesn't go silent when nodes can't hear each other.
- Manual clear: Base Station has a keyswitch CLEAR position. Outdoor Pole has a keyed mechanical CLEAR. Cabin Units cannot CLEAR (they wait for mesh CLEAR). Pagers cannot CLEAR (they only ACK).
- Cost impact: ACK button + cover + secure-element token: ~$1.50 BOM on Pager. Worth it for the trained-response value.
---
D-ALERT-004 — Mesh re-broadcast (every node is a repeater)
- Context: Camp Mystic-class environments are RF-difficult: dense canopy, terrain, distance from cabins to dining hall. A single LoRa hop may not reach. Any node-as-leaf model creates dead zones.
- Decision: Every WanderAlert node — Cabin Unit, Base Station, Outdoor Pole, Pager — re-broadcasts every alert message it hears on LoRa, exactly once per alert (deduplication by alert_id + 30 s flood-control window). This is standard mesh-flooding with ID-based dedup; same as Meshtastic FLOOD policy.
- Counselor Pagers also re-broadcast — they're walking around the camp and provide last-mile mesh coverage in unexpected places.
- Re-broadcast power is reduced to +14 dBm (vs +22 dBm originating) to limit collisions; far-mesh coverage is provided by Base Station + Outdoor Pole at +22 dBm.
- Conflict resolution: Pagers re-broadcasting alerts is fine; Pagers cannot ORIGINATE Level 2/3 alerts (D-ALERT-012). Re-broadcast is a passive forward, not an origination.
---
D-ALERT-005 — MCU choice: ESP32-S3 across the family
- Context: WanderVerse Security Trio + Bridge Mini already standardize on ESP32-S3 (Raytac MDBT50Q-S3 module). FAE relationship + FCC modular cert + community SDK.
- Decision: ESP32-S3 across all four tiers via Raytac module passthrough. WiFi 6 + BLE 5.3 builtin (used on Base + Outdoor for WiFi 4-source listener; BLE on all tiers for phone companion app pairing + mesh inter-node BLE link layer).
- Power discussion:
- Cabin Unit + Pager run on battery; ESP32-S3 deep-sleep at ~150 µA is acceptable for these use cases (Cabin: 30+ days standby on 2× 18650; Pager: 5+ days standby on 1× 1200 mAh LiPo).
- Base Station + Outdoor Pole are mains/solar — power not a constraint.
- Why not Nordic nRF52840 like WanderAway? WanderAlert tiers all have higher concurrent radio activity (LoRa always-on + WiFi listener + BLE) than WanderAway's ultra-low-power emergency beacon profile. ESP32-S3 with WiFi 6 is the right power class. Nordic was overkill on µA-standby for a product that will be on AC + solar most of its life.
- Why not Espressif ESP32-C6? ESP32-S3 has more compute headroom for concurrent radio + audio + display + secure element interactions; ESP32-S3 is the family default.
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D-ALERT-006 — NOAA Weather Radio chip: Si4707 (Silicon Labs)
- Context: NOAA Weather Radio All-Hazards (NWR) is the gold-standard local weather alert source. Si4707 is the integrated NOAA NWR-SAME receiver chip — it handles 162.400-162.550 MHz reception + SAME (Specific Area Message Encoding) decode + alert tone detection.
- Decision: Si4707 on Base Station + Outdoor Pole. Reuses Silicon Labs' NOAA-approved integrated front end + SAME decoder.
- Single source flag: Si4707 is sole-source (Silicon Labs / Skyworks). NOAA mandate keeps the chip available + supported through 2030+ per Silicon Labs roadmap.
- Alternate: discrete SDR with NOAA SAME-decoder firmware on ESP32-S3. Fallback only — +$8 BOM, more firmware risk, no NOAA-approved integrated reference. Use if Si4707 supply disrupts.
- NOAA cert path: Si4707 inherits NOAA NWR-SAME approval; per-product end-product cert requires NOAA-published reference test (~$8-12k per
COMPLIANCE.md).
- County-specific SAME codes: firmware ships with full 50-state SAME code database (~10 KB); user selects their county via setup wizard. Code updates pulled via WiFi or LTE-M when available; otherwise OTA via mesh.
- NEW for parts library: Si4707 added to
parts.db at this spec session — was not previously catalogued.
---
D-ALERT-007 — Cellular LTE-M: Quectel BG95-M3 (with NB-IoT + 2G fallback)
- Context: Cellular WEA broadcast is the primary source for FEMA Wireless Emergency Alerts. The Camp Mystic failure was that the cabins were in a cellular dead zone — a single-tower failure / coverage gap broke the chain. We can't fix coverage gaps, but we can ensure that when there IS cellular, our device receives the WEA / IPAWS push.
- Decision: Quectel BG95-M3 on Base Station + Outdoor Pole. LTE-M primary + NB-IoT + 2G fallback (2G still active in many rural US camp + school areas through 2027).
- Subscription model: eSIM (no SIM swap) is default — multi-MVNO partnership (Hologram / Soracom / 1NCE) for institutional pricing. BYO-SIM supported for camps that already have an enterprise carrier contract. Service plan optional — LoRa community mesh + NOAA WX Radio work fully without cellular service. Cellular adds the WEA / IPAWS direct-receive path.
- Cost impact: BG95 ~$14 BOM. eSIM module ~$1.50 BOM. ~$3-8/mo per device service plan via Hologram/Soracom data tier.
- FCC Part 22/24/27 cert: inherited from Quectel BG95 module FCC grant; passthrough.
---
D-ALERT-008 — Saffron LED strobe (Cree XQE saffron) family-wide
- Context: WanderVerse Security Trio + WanderDash standardized on Cree saffron LEDs as the visual accent. WanderAlert continues this — saffron ring on Pager ACK button, saffron strobe ring on Outdoor Pole, saffron horizontal strobe bar on Base Station, saffron triangle warning on Pager OLED.
- Decision: Cree XQE-color (saffron, 605 nm peak) high-power LEDs across tiers:
- Cabin Unit: 1 W saffron strobe (single LED + diffuser)
- Base Station: 6 × 1 W saffron strobe bar (horizontal across top)
- Pager: 1 saffron LED ring around ACK button (low power, indicator only)
- Outdoor Pole: 12 × 1 W saffron strobe ring around front face
- Lifetime: Cree XQE saffron at rated drive current is rated for >50,000 hr (~5.7 years continuous; far longer at typical alert duty cycles). Confirms 7-year parts commitment.
- Driver: TI TPS92518 multi-channel LED driver; supports per-LED PWM for strobe pattern programmability.
---
D-ALERT-009 — Power & charging: TI TPS65086100 PMIC + tier-specific battery + solar
- Context: four very different power profiles across the family (mains-only Base; battery indoor Cabin; wearable battery Pager; solar+battery Outdoor).
- Decision:
- Cabin Unit: 2 × 18650 user-swappable + USB-C charge from optional AC adapter; 30+ days standby on full battery in mesh-listen mode. TI BQ25180 charger + TPS63020 buck-boost.
- Base Station: 12 V DC wall-wart (UL Class 2 listed) + internal 18650 backup (10 hr standby through power outage). Smart battery management: auto-switch on AC loss, full-power on AC return.
- Pager: 1200 mAh LiPo + USB-C charge dock. 5+ days standby; 24+ hours active mesh-listen + display + occasional vibrate.
- Outdoor Pole: Integrated 30 W monocrystalline solar panel (top-of-pole) + dual 21700 LiFePO4 cells (cold-tolerant) + TI BQ25798 MPPT charge controller. Indefinite operation in ≥4 h direct sun / day; 14-day standby in worst-case overcast.
- PMIC: TI TPS65086100 on Base + Outdoor (multi-rail, configurable, supports the high concurrent draw of siren amp + strobe + radios). Cabin + Pager use simpler discrete buck-boost (TPS63020 + TPS62203).
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D-ALERT-010 — IP68 + MIL-STD-810G + ASTM B117 (Outdoor only)
- Context: Outdoor Pole is mounted in weather, sun, salt-air, freeze-thaw, possibly hurricane-zone. Must survive.
- Decision: Outdoor Pole certifies to:
- IP68 (dust-tight + submersion ≥1.5 m / 30 min) — face seal silicone O-ring + Gore PMV-001 vent + potted antenna pigtails (Ambassador Tier-2 process)
- MIL-STD-810G Method 514.6 (vibration) + 516.6 (shock) — full vibration table + 26-drop shock test
- ASTM B117 salt-spray — 500 hr / 5% NaCl mist for coastal-deployment durability claim
- UL 50E Type 4X outdoor enclosure rating — equivalent to IP68 for North American electrical-code-compliance
- Materials: PA6-GF30 chassis (glass-filled polyamide, UV-stabilized, -40 to +85 °C operating) + 6061-T6 aluminum mounting bracket (anodized) + 316 stainless steel hardware (no rusting fasteners) + cream rubber corner bumpers (per hero image — molded TPE Shore 70A).
- Cabin Unit + Base Station: indoor only; IP54 sufficient (splashing water, no dust ingress) — covers spilled drinks, accidental hose-down, etc., without the cost of full IP68.
---
D-ALERT-011 — Subscription-optional (LoRa + NOAA WX free forever)
- Context: Standard 0 + WanderAway precedent: subscription for core safety features is unacceptable. Camps + schools + Title-I districts cannot reliably afford ongoing per-device subscriptions; the product needs to work after it ships, regardless of whether the customer pays anything beyond the device.
- Decision:
- LoRa community mesh: zero subscription forever. Works whether WanderVerse exists in 10 years or not. Open Meshtastic-compatible-with-extensions protocol.
- NOAA Weather Radio: zero subscription. NOAA broadcasts NWR for free; we just receive it.
- Cellular LTE-M: OPTIONAL pay-as-you-go via eSIM. ~$3-8/mo per device for 50-200 MB / mo (alert payloads are tiny). Customer can skip; LoRa + NOAA + WiFi still cover 3 of 4 sources.
- WiFi: zero incremental fee — uses customer's existing WiFi for IPAWS-OPEN public feed pull + Apple/Google Critical Alerts pull.
- Donation channel: Camp Mystic Memorial Fund (working name) — donor-sponsored Cabin Unit + Pager kits for Title-I camps (see
_MANIFEST.md §Revenue integration).
---
D-ALERT-012 — Identity-aware Pager origination lockout (counselor cannot accidentally scare campers)
- Context: A counselor wearing a Pager should not, with one button press, broadcast a public alert that wakes 200 sleeping children. False alarms damage trust + train people to ignore the system.
- Decision: Pager firmware physically cannot originate Level 2 or Level 3 alerts on the mesh. The Pager has only:
- ACK button (saffron-ringed, recessed, 2 s hold) — sends
ACK mesh message during an active alert
- "I'm OK" button (low-key, status-only) — sends a roll-call status response during a check-in event
- NO public-alert origination button.
- Enforcement: dual layer.
1. Firmware: pager image rejects alert-origination opcodes; mesh peers reject ALERT_ORIGINATE packets signed by a pager role token. 2. Secure element (NXP SE051): each pager's role token is pager (read-only after factory program). Cannot be reflashed by user. Even if firmware is compromised, secure-element token is not, and the Base Station / Outdoor Pole reject ALERT_ORIGINATE from pager role.
- 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 (physical key turn)
- Paired hub admin via WanderNode Hub web UI (with 2FA)
- NOAA NWR / FEMA WEA / IPAWS / WiFi-discovered alerts (system-originated, not user-originated)
- Override path for survivor situations: survivor-pattern user can request a Pager with
originate_emergency role at order time (with WWP-side review and survivor-pattern verification). Default Pager is never origination-capable.
---
D-ALERT-013 — UL 217 / UL 268 / UL 864 fire-alarm path NOT pursued in v1
- Context: UL 217 (residential smoke alarm), UL 268 (commercial fire-system smoke detector), UL 864 (fire alarm control panel) and NFPA 72 fire-alarm-system architecture are an entirely separate certification universe. Pursuing them would multiply our cert burden 4-6× and force us into product categories that have decades-old incumbents (Honeywell, Notifier, Edwards, Federal Signal, Gentex).
- Decision: WanderAlert v1 is NOT a fire alarm. Marketing language explicitly states this:
- "Supplemental alert system" — yes
- "Fire alarm" — never
- "Replaces your fire alarm of record" — never
- "Works alongside your existing UL-listed fire alarm system" — yes
- What we DO claim (with cert):
- UL 1971 (signaling devices for hearing-impaired) — supports ADA-compliant alert claims for camp/school/care environments
- ANSI S3.41 (audible emergency evacuation signal) — supports evacuation-alarm cabling claims
- v2 path (deferred): if camp/school customers in pilot demand UL 864 + NFPA 72 path, we evaluate at v2 (likely 2028-2029). Adds an estimated $200-400k cert cost + product redesign for fire-alarm-control-panel architecture. Out of scope for v1.
- Camp/school sales gate: UL 1971 + ANSI S3.41 + ACA accreditation cooperation = enough for v1 sales to camps + Title-I schools + nonprofit care environments. Confirmed in pre-sale conversations with two ACA-accredited camps + one school district safety officer.
---
Stage 2 — Component selection summary (2026-04-24)
Per BOM-platform.csv + BOM-modules.csv. Highlights:
| Function | Part | Reuse status |
|---|
| MCU module (4-tier shared) | Raytac MDBT50Q-S3 (ESP32-S3) | Reused from Security Trio |
| LoRa radio | Semtech SX1262 | Reused from WanderAway + WanderRouter |
| NOAA NWR receiver | Silicon Labs Si4707 | **NEW for parts library** |
| Cellular LTE-M | Quectel BG95-M3 | Reused from WanderRouter |
| BLE | nRF52840 (BLE-only co-MCU on Pager) | Reused from WanderBand + WanderAway |
| Strobe LED | Cree XQE saffron 1 W | Reused from Security Trio + WanderDash |
| Saffron LED driver | TI TPS92518 | Reused from Security Trio |
| Siren driver Cabin/Base | DB Unlimited XSL2812 6 W class-D piezo + horn | NEW |
| Siren driver Outdoor | Federal Signal AS-class 30 W horn + class-D amp (TI TPA3220) | NEW |
| PMIC Base + Outdoor | TI TPS65086100 | NEW for parts library |
| Charger Cabin/Pager | TI BQ25180 | Reused from WanderBand |
| MPPT solar charger Outdoor | TI BQ25798 | Reused from WanderAway |
| Battery 18650 | Samsung 30Q | Reused from WanderAway |
| Battery 21700 LiFePO4 | A123 ANR26650M1B (cold-tolerant) | NEW for parts library |
| Battery LiPo Pager | 1200 mAh prismatic | Reused industry-standard |
| Display Base | 2.4" IPS LCD (status: READY) | NEW |
| Display Pager | 1.3" OLED 128×128 | Reused from WanderBand |
| Vibration motor Pager | Precision LRA C10-100 | Reused from WanderBand + WanderAway |
| Secure element | NXP SE051 | Reused from WanderBand + WanderAway + Security Trio |
| Flash NOR | Macronix MX25R 16-32 MB | Reused |
| Pole-mount bracket | 6061-T6 anodized aluminum | NEW |
| Cream rubber corner bumpers | TPE Shore 70A | NEW (per hero image) |
| PVD charcoal-black titanium chassis (Outdoor) | Custom titanium PVD anodize | NEW (per hero image) |
See BOM-platform.csv, BOM-modules.csv, BOM-normalized.csv, SOURCING.csv for full part list + sourcing.
---
Stage 2b — Configurator axes (2026-04-24)
8 axes per tier. See CONFIGURATOR.md for full matrix. Summary:
- Cabin Unit: chassis color (cream / charcoal) · siren tone (single / dual) · strobe brightness (50% / 100%) · battery (single 18650 / dual 18650 extended) · Ambassador signature
- Base Station: chassis color · cellular service plan tier · LTE-M activation (now / later) · battery backup (10 hr / 24 hr) · Ambassador signature · keyswitch type (camp / school / hospital — different key codes)
- Pager: chassis color (slate / sand / camo) · belt clip type (standard / pocket / holster) · vibration profile (gentle / normal / strong) · Ambassador signature
- Outdoor Pole: chassis color (PVD charcoal-black titanium / hi-viz orange / forest green) · pole-mount type (4" round pole / 6" square pole / wall) · solar panel size (default 30 W / 60 W extended) · cellular activation · Ambassador signature
---
Stage 3 — Compatibility (2026-04-24)
Resolved:
- LoRa 915/868 MHz + WiFi 6 (2.4 + 5 GHz) + BLE 2.4 GHz + LTE-M (band 12/13/14/26 — sub-GHz) + NOAA WX Radio (162.4-162.55 MHz) + GNSS L1 (Outdoor only — 1575 MHz) — all separate frequency bands. Antenna isolation managed via physical placement + ground-plane separation.
- ESP32-S3 + Si4707 over I²C + LoRa SX1262 over SPI + BG95 over UART: shared with per-peripheral isolation. Verified in Espressif ref designs.
- BG95 burst current (1.7 A peak during cellular TX) on Base + Outdoor: handled by AC supply; on Outdoor solar — bulk cap + battery sustains.
- TI TPS92518 LED driver + Cree XQE saffron at 700 mA / LED: thermal manageable with aluminum heat-spreader on Base + Outdoor strobe modules.
Deferred to Stage 5 (PCB layout):
- Outdoor Pole 5-antenna placement (LoRa + LTE-M + WiFi + GNSS + NOAA NWR Rx) + ground-plane isolation
- Siren amp + strobe LED driver thermal coupling on Outdoor (worst-case sustained Level 3 = 30 W siren + 12 W strobe = 42 W; thermal path to chassis)
- Audible-alarm cert fixture design + accredited-lab booking (NTS / Element / Intertek)
---
Stage 4 — Sourcing (2026-04-24, framework only)
See SOURCING.csv. Live RFQs deferred until UL 1971 cert lab engaged + engineering hire onboarded.
Critical dual-source flags:
- Si4707 NOAA chip — sole source (Silicon Labs); fallback = discrete SDR + firmware decoder
- Federal Signal AS-class horn (Outdoor) — second source = DB Unlimited HW-class
- Mallory Sonalert (alternate Cabin/Base siren) — second source = DB Unlimited XSL-class + Sonitron ST-class
- Cree XQE saffron LED — second source = OSRAM LSE65 / Lumileds LUXEON Z amber
---
Stage 5 — DFM/DFA/DFT (2026-04-24)
See DFM-DFA-DFT.md. Critical:
- Outdoor Pole IP68 + antenna pigtail potting is Ambassador Tier-2 (~25 min Ambassador time/unit).
- Audible-alarm cert fixture (anechoic chamber + calibrated mic + dB SPL meter; ~$15-25k bench setup) shared across UL 1971 + ANSI S3.41 testing.
- Ambassador throughput: Cabin 18 min · Base 25 min · Pager 12 min · Outdoor 35 min.
---
Stage 6 — Thermal/EMC (2026-04-24)
See THERMAL-EMC.md. Operating range -40 to +70 °C (Outdoor) / 0 to +50 °C (indoor tiers). LoRa + LTE-M + WiFi + NOAA NWR + GNSS coexistence handled per industry-standard SAW filtering.
---
Stage 7 — Compliance (2026-04-24)
See COMPLIANCE.md.
Cert sequencing (target):
- UL 1971 — initiated 2026-Q4, granted 2027-Q1
- ANSI S3.41 — initiated 2026-Q4, granted 2027-Q1
- FCC Part 15 + Part 22/24/27 — DVT 2027-Q2
- NOAA NWR-SAME — 2027-Q1
- IP68 + MIL-STD-810G + ASTM B117 (Outdoor only) — 2027-Q3
- CE / UKCA — bundle with FCC test data 2027-Q2
- RoHS / REACH — declared throughout
Total cert v1: ~$120-180k.
---
Stage 8 — Canonical BOM + GUIDE + STLs (2026-04-24)
Files produced. STL-OPEN-FILES/README.md documents CC BY-SA 4.0 release for every 3D-printable part:
- Wall-mount bracket (Base)
- Pole-mount adapter (Outdoor)
- Cable conduit (Outdoor)
- Cabin-unit shelf mount (Cabin)
- Pager belt clip
- Charging dock (Pager)
---
Stage 9 — HW/FW (2026-04-24)
WanderOS-Alert on FreeRTOS (Base + Outdoor — multitasking radios + audio + display + WiFi) + Zephyr (Pager + Cabin — lower complexity, better deep-sleep). Single shared firmware codebase for mesh + alert protocol + secure-element role enforcement. Per-tier driver modules. OTA discipline: signed images, A/B partitions, mesh-fragment OTA fallback for off-grid.
---
Stage 10 — Gate (2026-04-24)
See GATE.md. Stage-10 blockers: 1. UL 1971 cert granted (camp/school sales gate) 2. ANSI S3.41 cert granted (evacuation alarm marketing gate) 3. Advisory review complete (camp counselor + Texas-flood-survivor + special-needs-camp panels) 4. NOAA NWR-SAME cert 5. FCC Part 15 + Part 22/24/27 6. IP68 + MIL-STD-810G + ASTM B117 (Outdoor only) 7. Bluetooth SIG qualification
---
Grant-funding plausibility (decision context, not a commitment)
Recorded here so future grant submissions reference the same framing:
| Program | Why it fits | Range | Application timing |
|---|
| **FEMA BRIC** (Building Resilient Infrastructure & Communities) | Pre-disaster mitigation in rural / under-resourced communities; Camp-Mystic-style flash flood mitigation for camps + schools | $50k-2M | 2027 application window |
| **NOAA Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador grant** | NOAA partner OEMs receive direct support; Si4707 NOAA-receiver path is canonical | $25k-250k | 2026-Q4 |
| **HHS ASPR Hospital Preparedness Program** | Healthcare-facility emergency-comms upgrades | $100k-500k | 2027 |
| **American Camp Association Emergency Preparedness fund** | Per-camp grants for camp-safety upgrades | $5k-50k | rolling |
| **State summer-camp emergency-preparedness pools** (TX, CO, NH, ME post-Camp-Mystic appropriations 2026-2027) | Direct buy-side grants | varies by state | rolling |
| **Title I + IDEA-B school-safety pools** | District pass-through | varies | annual |
WanderAlert is NOT a grant-funded product in the sense that we depend on grants to ship — the LLC pays for v1 cert from forecast hardware revenue. Grants are an accelerator for camp/school deployment + a de-risking layer on cert investment.
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Critical open items (revalidated)
| Item | Severity | Action owner | Deadline |
|---|
| Engineering team hire (EE + FW + audible-alarm acoustic engineer; shared with WanderRouter + WanderBand pool) | 🔴 | Michael | NOW — 2026-Q3 start |
| UL 1971 cert lab engagement (Intertek / TUV SUD / Underwriters Labs direct) | 🔴 | cert team + Michael | 2026-Q4 |
| Advisory panel formation (camp counselor + Texas-flood-survivor + special-needs-camp directors) | 🔴 | Michael + WanderSafe team + trauma-informed counsel for survivor brokering | 2026-Q4 (pre-EVT) |
| Siren driver / amp dual-source RFQs | 🟡 | engineering hire | 2027-Q1 |
| Outdoor Pole IP68 + MIL-STD-810G + ASTM B117 accredited cert | 🟡 | ops | 2027-Q2 |
| eSIM MVNO contract (Hologram / Soracom / 1NCE) | 🟡 | ops | 2027-Q1 |
| Camp Mystic Memorial Fund legal structuring | 🟡 | counsel + Michael | 2027-Q1 |
| County-specific NOAA SAME code database + auto-update path | 🟢 | firmware | 2027-Q1 |
| Identity-aware Pager firmware lockout + secure-element role token | 🔴 | firmware + security review | 2027-Q1 |
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Non-goals (explicitly NOT shipping in v1)
- UL 864 fire alarm control panel — not in v1; v2 evaluation
- NFPA 72 fire alarm system architecture — never (different product category)
- P25 / FCC Part 90 public-safety-radio integration — never (different product category, different cert universe)
- Public address system (in addition to alert) — never; PA is a separate product class with different acoustic requirements + UL 2017 cert
- Surveillance camera integration — out-of-scope; if customer wants both, they buy WanderCam alongside
- Cloud audio / spoken alert messages with TTS voice — v2 candidate; v1 is tone-based + visual + text on display
- AI-routed alerts / "smart" auto-classification of NOAA messages — never (user trust requires deterministic NOAA SAME → Level mapping; no LLM in the alert decision loop)
- Subscription requirement for core safety features — never (LoRa + NOAA WX free forever)
- Public-alert origination from a Pager — never (D-ALERT-012 hard rule)
D-NN — Radio function-class adopts Semtech LR2021 (LoRa Gen 4) as primary
Date: 2026-04-25 Strategy: hybrid
What changes: Radio architecture migrates to Semtech LR2021 (LoRa Plus, multi-PHY single-chip with sub-GHz + 2.4 GHz + S-band NTN satellite). Replaces previous SX1262 + nRF52840 + CC2652R7 multi-chip approach. Throughput 40× (62.5 kbps → 2.6 Mbps via FLRC); single global SKU; -142 dBm sensitivity; multi-protocol stack covers LoRaWAN + Sidewalk + Meshtastic + Z-Wave + Wi-SUN + BLE + Thread/Zigbee.
Sole-source variance: Semtech is sole-source for LR2021. Per SOLE-SOURCE-VARIANCE-LR2021.md:
- This product is Tier-1 critical, retains hybrid alt-source path: Founding-tier ships SX1262 + nRF52840 (proven dual-source); Pro / Global SKU ships LR2021 (single-chip, satellite-capable).
- Two PCB layouts; cert burden 2× but justified by global-SKU consolidation downstream.
Rationale: Dual-source rule's intent is supply-chain resilience and pricing power, not vendor purity. Modern equivalent for radio function-class is protocol-fallback compatibility, which LR2021 provides natively across 8+ stacks. Semtech is effectively a standards body now (450M LoRa devices shipped, LoRa Alliance backing).
[rule: dual-source-variance] [rule: dual-source]
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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/`.