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 (estimate): 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: the WanderVerse company (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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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. estimated carrier data cost ~$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).
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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/`.