Took a bit of effort but Bitle v.01 is operational; Bitle is a self powered, standalone ESP32-based mesh relay node for @jack's bitchat, a decentralized messaging protocol; it can operate indefinitely on solar, or ~25-50 days on the battery; the case is weatherproof and meant to be installed in adverse conditions. It should extend the range of bluetooth outdoors anywhere from 300-500ft. Bitle implements the bitchat binary protocol over Bluetooth LE, establishing GATT server connections with bitchat devices and acts as an intermediate node to extend the mesh network range. Bitle handles noise protocol handshakes for secure communication, processes encrypted user messages, and forwards them through the mesh network. It's designed as a professional mesh relay that enhances bitchat's decentralized architecture by providing additional routing nodes without requiring user interaction or appearing as a peer in the messaging interface. I envisioned its utility as a ground node for remote areas, like hiking trails, camping grounds etc (hence the name Bitle - "Biddle" or "beetle") where signal may be weak and communication critical. Most importantly, although signal/wifi may be abundant, bitchat isn't really about being a failsafe to online comms - it's about choosing to communicate without centralized infrastructure; peer to peer - a device like Bitle seems instrumental to this. It should be possible to make a grid of these quite cheaply and establish an ambient mesh network that anyone can communicate through while being offline. The bulk of the size of the device is in the battery/solar/case/power board - it would be significantly smaller if it was built into a lightbulb or any plug-in device.