CircuitMess Ringo Standard Kit – Make your own mobile phone CircuitMess

DESCRIPTION

RETIRED PRODUCT – We’ve stopped stocking this product or it has been retired by the manufacturer and is no longer for sale. This page remains available for its resources and as a source of potential interest.

 

Turning consumers into creators with this neat little device, an open-source mobile phone that you can build yourself.

Mobile phones are revolutionary, they’ve changed and shaped the modern everyday lifestyle like nothing else. Nearly everybody has one and daily activities without it are unthinkable for most of us. In spite of their presence, many people don’t know what’s inside the device.

This DIY phone is a fully customizable educational device disguised in the shape of a mobile phone designed to motivate people to explore, learn and create something new in a fun and interesting way. Recommended for ages 11+, children should be able to assemble a Ringo kit with a tiny bit of help from an adult in an estimated build time of 5-6 hours.

While building the Ringo kit, you’ll learn

• how to solder properly
• what are the basic electronic components and what are their functions
• what are microcontrollers and some basics of digital electronics

After that, you’ll spend numerous hours creating your own games and apps and experimenting with hardware where you will learn

• how to program a microcontroller in C++, Python and other languages
• how a basic mobile phone works

Ringo is based on Arduino-compatible ESP32 microcontroller, making it compatible with lots of hardware expansion modules. Besides that, Ringo is also compatible with all European mobile networks.

Circuit OS is Ringos custom-made operating system built on top of FreeRTOS. Circuit OS is run on ESP32’s dual-core processor and currently provides all the basic mobile phone functionalities. CircuitMess are constantly working on releasing new bug fixes and features.

Note – This is the transparent orange version.

Note – You will need the following tools to build the kit: 

• Soldering iron
• Diagonal cutter pliers
• Phillips screwdriver
• Solder
• A piece of insulating tape or some super-glue

FEATURES

Kit Contents:

• Ringo circuit board – the mainboard that connects all the components in a uniform device that can work as a mobile phone
• Ringo casing – multiple sheets of acrylic cut with the power of lasers. They protect the innards and give Ringo this sleek look
• 128*160 full-colour TFT LCD – for playing games, displaying phone numbers and everything in between
• GSM module – a tiny module responsible for everything related to calling and texting other people
• Main microcomputer module – a dual-core processor with built-in Wi-Fi, BLE, and a charging circuit
• Sound module – a board with a DAC (digital to analog converter) chip and a headphone jack for music playback (responsible for ringtones, alarms, game sound effects)
• Amplifier module – makes loud buzzes, bleeps and bloops
• Stick-on antenna – for superb phone signal (a.k.a. send text messages while in the bathroom)
• 4GB Micro SD card– preloaded with games and apps
• A bag with other tiny electronic components such as pushbuttons and coloured button caps

Phone Specs:

Microcontroller	ESP32 with Xtensa dual-core 32-bit LX6 microprocessor, operating at 160MHz and performing at up to 600 DMIPS. 4MB of built-in flash memory + 520kB of SRAM.
Display	1.8″, 160*128px full color (RGB 16bit). 25FPS refresh rate by default, up to 50FPS. Digitally controllable backlight level.
Sound	10bit dedicated DAC (TFA9882). Multi-channel WAV playback. 2W class-D audio amp, audio jack 3.5mm, 1W speaker, software volume control.
Input	4-way analog joystick, 12-button numeric keypad, A (confirm), B (back), 4 multi-purpose addressable buttons.
Micro SD card socket	FAT and FAT32 compatible. Every console comes with a 4GB Micro SD card with MAKERphone-compatible games and apps preloaded!
Network	Built-in Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth v4.2 BR/EDR and BLE. SIM800L or SIM7600 dedicated cellular network co-processor (the thing that calls other people). Micro SIM card slot.
Battery	LiPo 3.7V 1300mAh, charged through micro USB B port. Sufficient for approximately 3 days of normal use.
RTC (real-time clock)	DS1307 Accurate I²C-Integrated RTC – this thing keeps time and takes care of alarms.
Extras	8 individually-controllable RGB LEDs mounted on the back of the phone – for signalisation and cosmetic purposes (IT GLOWS!)

 

CircuitMess OS Features:

• Lockscreen
• Main Menu
• Phone App
• Contacts App
• Settings App
• Display App
• Media App
• Alarm App
• Flashlight App
• Calculator App
• Calander App

RESOURCES

Build Guide
CircuitOS
Basics of the Ringo Phone
Adding Files, Music and Images to Ringo
Games / Apps