CircuitMess Ringo, An Educational DIY Mobile Phone
CircuitMess Ringo, An Educational DIY Mobile Phone
Please note that the color of the casings are picked randomly and it is not possible at the moment to choose a specific color.
This neat little device is an open source mobile phone that you can build yourself.
Besides that, MAKERphone is also an educational device shaped like a mobile phone compatible with all mobile networks.
Its purpose: to motivate people to explore, learn and create something new in a fun and interesting way.
Included in the package:
- Ringo circuit board - the main board 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 color 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 colored button caps
Who is this kit for?
Based on our experience, an 11-year-old kid should be able to assemble a Ringo kit with a tiny bit of help from an adult. Estimated build time: 5 hours.
Building the Ringo kit is just the beginning.
After that, you'll spend numerous hours creating your own games and apps and experimenting with hardware.
What you'll learn with Ringo
- how to solder properly
- what are the basic electronic components and what are their functions
- what are microcontrollers and some basics of digital electronics
- how to program a microcontroller in C++, Python and other
- how a basic mobile phone works
Ringo needs tools
- You'll need some basic tools and equipment for assembling your Ringo:
- regular soldering iron (nothing super expensive is required) and some solder
- diagonal cutter pliers
- regular screwdriver
- some solder
- a piece of insulating tape or some super-glue
We’ve coded a programming library with sets of commands that let you easily:
- develop in-app menus and other GUI-related content
- play and develop sound FX and background music
- draw, display and animate bitmaps
- control Ringo’s hardware (i.e. make calls, read files from SD card, flash LEDs)
Ringo has games!
Ringo is hackable
Ringo is based on Arduino-compatible ESP32 microcontroller. Therefore, it's compatible with lots of hardware expansion modules.
Ringo was meant to be hacked.
Ringo is fully customizable.
CircuitBlocks
A dedicated graphical code editor similar to Scratch or Code.org.
Getting started with coding was never easier!
CircuitOS
Circuit OS is our custom-made operating system built on top of FreeRTOS. Currently it only works on our CircuitMess Ringo DIY mobile phone, but we plan to adapt it for all of our current and future products.
Ringo has a build guide
CircuitMess World is a place for Ringo users to share their creations, exchange knowledge, and download programs made by others as well as a collection of tutorials, guides etc.
Ringo ♥ Arduino
YES, we love Arduino.
Ringo is based on Arduino-compatible ESP32 microcontroller.
Therefore, it can be programmed in Arduino IDE (based on C/C++) – the most popular programming environment for makers.