The LilyGo T-Embed CC1100 has similar hardware capabilities of the FlipperZero plus WiFi/bluetooth and runs the Bruce Pentest firmware all for under half the price of the flipper. The Bruce firmware works well on it but is not as polished as the flipper zero but both hardware and software are open source and easily modded.
tgsovlerkhgsel 48 minutes ago [-]
The popularity and usefulness of many devices like the Arduino and the Raspberry Pi doesn't stem from the hardware capabilities, but the "communities of scale" (lots of people use it -> it's much easier to find compatible software, hardware, guides etc.)
I would expect this to be the same for the Flipper Zero.
iraton 3 hours ago [-]
Yes i know It, but when i started It this, It didn't exist yet
boznz 2 hours ago [-]
Its sometimes fun re-inventing the wheel, at least you get to understand it all better.
cogogo 1 hours ago [-]
I’m not sure I’ll ever understand HN aggression with certain downvotes. This is the OP from Italy and likely English is not their first language. Why is this comment so bad?
netsec_burn 3 hours ago [-]
Also the Kiisu which is 1:1 with capabilities, plus a few more.
Chihuahua0633 6 hours ago [-]
Do this device and the other alternative mentioned (Capibara Zero) have the same level of software support as the Flipper Zero? I imagine the strong community behind the Flipper Zero is a big factor in its ongoing popularity.
general1726 4 hours ago [-]
It is exactly same problem like Raspberry Pi vs all other (cheaper, better) single board computers.
blacksmith_tb 2 hours ago [-]
Except the RPi competition isn't better, only cheaper, because it has terrible software; and without a big community, no support?
buzzerbetrayed 2 hours ago [-]
Totally depends on what “better” means to you and your use case.
Technetium 2 hours ago [-]
The firmware repo was archived Apr 12, 2025. I don't think it's going to be revived or be feature-competitive.
iraton 6 hours ago [-]
Exactly, the flipepr have a enormous community that help, beyond all the people that work for flipper. So in this case is no, the software support is not even remotely comparable
AtariATMHacker 2 hours ago [-]
[dead]
s-mon 1 hours ago [-]
Wondering what the hotels in Vegas around Defcon will think of it this year lol.
vsviridov 29 minutes ago [-]
FlopperOne when? :)
Neywiny 5 hours ago [-]
Not seeing it mentioned here but the big difference from a first glance is the RF capability. This is little more than a 433 MHz replay attacker. Maybe you can generate arbitrary data out, as long as it's the ook modulation. I'm sure there's a great use-case for this, but avoid any delusions of grandeur, this is very cut down.
iraton 5 hours ago [-]
yes i know that is simply a replay attack, for now i was all that i want, in the future I will see what can be done
Neywiny 4 hours ago [-]
And that's very fair but an OOK replayer is not a clone. The hardware isn't nearly the same capability. That's fine, it's just a different product entirely
thekevan 5 hours ago [-]
" Important Notice: This is just a fun project, it was started to pass the time, it is not at all professional and is not intended to be. Is not an alternative for professional device."
ASalazarMX 5 hours ago [-]
The title blurb seems to present it as a functional clone, rather than a limited copy.
"A Flipper Zero clone, but cheapest, DIY and simply Open Source, made with Arduino IDE"
Why not?
"A hobby partial Flipper Zero clone, cheaper, DIY and Open Source, made with Arduino IDE"
So it doesn't have to be clarified further down. I get that it's not that down, but the title is what will be shared and seen in web previews everywhere.
That being said, it looks very cool, and the name is fun.
Neywiny 4 hours ago [-]
That's my thinking. It's not a clone. I finally remembered the term I was looking for. It's a "demake" - a remake but worse
conradev 6 hours ago [-]
I wonder if modern smartphones could bus power one of these in a phone case. I love my Flipper, but it's a chonker and I have to charge it.
iraton 6 hours ago [-]
Yes is possible, it doesn't consume too much, but the hardware remains bulky
aitacobell 5 hours ago [-]
But does it look like a Tamagotchi?
iraton 4 hours ago [-]
In the first version i added It, probably on the initial commit you can see It, but It have a problem with the microcontroller that i use, so for now i removed it
the__alchemist 3 hours ago [-]
What is going on with the PCB? It looks like the soldered several dev boards to a big PCB. I can't think of a good reason to do this.
tgsovlerkhgsel 44 minutes ago [-]
A good reason to do it (IMO, as someone who has done it) that it's a lot faster, easier, and often cheaper than designing a fully custom board.
Not only would designing a fully custom board require a lot of error-prone effort, getting a lot of components in tiny quantities can be prohibitively expensive.
Good engineering includes optimizing for cost (monetary and non-monetary), and I'd argue that for many hobbyist one-off projects that won't be manufactured at scale, dev-boards-on-PCB is good engineering.
kennywinker 3 hours ago [-]
Some good reasons off the top of my head:
It’s easier to do pcb-layout wise. Allows you to re-use most components between board revisions, or when you’re done with the project. Probably less ewaste overall because of that.
dylan604 3 hours ago [-]
I mean, yeah, why not? You take a bunch of off the shelf boards and put them together on the PCB as is. To make a PCB with all of the components on it would not be very DIY. That's a custom board and out of scope for DIY.
the__alchemist 1 hours ago [-]
If that is a boundary one sets up for him or herself, then I question why set up that boundary? Is it an identity matter? "I'm a DIYer (maker?), not an engineer. I have have no interest in doing anything deeper." I was thrilled when I learned about the Maker movement; then disappointed after observing that so much of it is done without ambition to learn more, or become better at the craft.
dylan604 12 minutes ago [-]
Okay, have you ever tried to "become better" to the point you researched what would be needed to have a custom PCB built with all of the components on a stock Arduino and any additional shields you might use? You'll see that you will need minimum orders. You'll also have a much more difficult time creating the PCB, as you'll have create all of the traces to connect everything. The method chosen allows for off the shelf components with a much more easily created PCB with minimum traces created connecting pins from shields/LEDs/etc. These will be dirt cheap and can be order in tiny quantities.
This is also a hobby project. To custom build a PCB with all of the components brings this into the Kickstarter world of something. So the person can buy <5 PCBs to play with as hobby or attempt to fund say minimum 500-1000 pieces. From TFA: "Important Notice: This is just a fun project, it was started to pass the time, it is not at all professional and is not intended to be. Is not an alternative for professional device."
Even with the method chosen, if you think the person did not become better after making the simple PCB or any of the other coding required, you're off your rocker. Every build like this comes with mistakes and learning how to correct them.
forgetbook 6 hours ago [-]
This rocks; the idea of flipperzero phoning home is the(my) primary concern given its use case
varenc 6 hours ago [-]
It's a very dumb device. If you don't put in a separate wifi module it literally has no way to phone home.
gaudystead 6 hours ago [-]
Would you be willing to elaborate on the FZ phoning home?
bigiain 1 hours ago [-]
The FZ itself is very unlikely to even be capable of phoning home.
I do sometimes wonder how concerned I need to be about the companion app though.
5 hours ago [-]
jmole 6 hours ago [-]
What use case?
I got mine to make a backup copy of the remote controls that I'm worried about losing, which happen to be sub-GHz and infrared.
forgetbook 4 hours ago [-]
Edit for all replies: I'm coming from a place of lack of education; it's not that I know FZ is phoning home, it's that I know I wouldn't be able to tell if it was.
I know this is a hobby project, but the whole appeal of Flipper Zero is that you can get one for $200 and it instantly grants you a seat on Joe Rogan or Shawn Ryan show where you can wave it front of camera, flip a switch and say "all you base are belong to mine".
segmondy 6 hours ago [-]
nope, the whole appeal of flipper zero to me and for my friends is what you can do with it, not that you can get one for $200.
__float 5 hours ago [-]
Is it not...a bit of both? There's some dollar amount where "what you can do with it" wouldn't make up for the price, no?
0xdeadbeefbabe 4 hours ago [-]
Mr. Ryan hands out gummy bears.
iraton 6 hours ago [-]
yes, but it's not fun
5 hours ago [-]
4 hours ago [-]
anfractuosity 6 hours ago [-]
Don't suppose anyone has seen in person one of the clones of the flipper zero that are on Aliexpress?
I would expect this to be the same for the Flipper Zero.
"A Flipper Zero clone, but cheapest, DIY and simply Open Source, made with Arduino IDE"
Why not?
"A hobby partial Flipper Zero clone, cheaper, DIY and Open Source, made with Arduino IDE"
So it doesn't have to be clarified further down. I get that it's not that down, but the title is what will be shared and seen in web previews everywhere.
That being said, it looks very cool, and the name is fun.
Not only would designing a fully custom board require a lot of error-prone effort, getting a lot of components in tiny quantities can be prohibitively expensive.
Good engineering includes optimizing for cost (monetary and non-monetary), and I'd argue that for many hobbyist one-off projects that won't be manufactured at scale, dev-boards-on-PCB is good engineering.
It’s easier to do pcb-layout wise. Allows you to re-use most components between board revisions, or when you’re done with the project. Probably less ewaste overall because of that.
This is also a hobby project. To custom build a PCB with all of the components brings this into the Kickstarter world of something. So the person can buy <5 PCBs to play with as hobby or attempt to fund say minimum 500-1000 pieces. From TFA: "Important Notice: This is just a fun project, it was started to pass the time, it is not at all professional and is not intended to be. Is not an alternative for professional device."
Even with the method chosen, if you think the person did not become better after making the simple PCB or any of the other coding required, you're off your rocker. Every build like this comes with mistakes and learning how to correct them.
I do sometimes wonder how concerned I need to be about the companion app though.
I got mine to make a backup copy of the remote controls that I'm worried about losing, which happen to be sub-GHz and infrared.