1. What You Are Building Fiveo1.Altoids.Tails is a small computer and networking system designed to fit inside an Altoids-style metal tin. The finished device is intended to: Run an x86-64 operating system Create a Wi-Fi hotspot Connect other devices Provide network routing Use Bluetooth Monitor battery power Eventually monitor solar charging Automatically start Fiveo1 software Optionally run a customized Tails-based system The first goal is simple: Computer → Fiveo1 Wi-Fi → Phone connects Do not build everything at once. --- 2. Important Hardware Decision Tails is designed for x86-64 computers. Do not use a Raspberry Pi for the Tails version. A suitable small x86-64 computer should have: 64-bit Intel or AMD processor At least 4 GB RAM recommended USB ports Wi-Fi capability or a USB Wi-Fi adapter Storage of at least 8 GB for testing Tails Low enough power consumption for the planned battery Possible hardware includes small Intel-based computers and x86-64 single-board computers. Before purchasing anything, verify that the exact computer and Wi-Fi adapter work with the current Tails release. --- 3. Build Version 1 Without the Tin Do not put the electronics into the Altoids tin yet. First build everything on a table. You need: Component Purpose x86-64 computer Main computer USB storage Operating system USB Wi-Fi adapter Wireless networking Keyboard Setup Monitor Setup USB power supply Power Phone or laptop Testing The first version should use ordinary Debian Linux rather than a customized Tails system. This makes troubleshooting much easier. --- 4. First Test Connect: USB power | v x86-64 computer | +---- Monitor | +---- Keyboard | +---- Wi-Fi adapter Start the computer. Open a terminal and type: ip link Look for a wireless interface. It may be called: wlan0 or: wlp2s0 The exact name depends on the Wi-Fi hardware. --- 5. Install the Wi-Fi Software On Debian Linux: sudo apt update sudo apt install hostapd dnsmasq Two important programs are being installed. hostapd creates the Wi-Fi network. dnsmasq gives connected devices network addresses. Think of it this way: hostapd = creates Wi-Fi dnsmasq = gives devices addresses --- 6. Create the Fiveo1 Wi-Fi Network First determine the wireless interface: ip link For this example, assume it is: wlan0 Create the configuration: sudo nano /etc/hostapd/hostapd.conf Enter: interface=wlan0 driver=nl80211 ssid=Fiveo1 hw_mode=g channel=6 wpa=2 wpa_passphrase=Fiveo1Science wpa_key_mgmt=WPA-PSK rsn_pairwise=CCMP Save the file. Restart hostapd: sudo systemctl restart hostapd Check its status: sudo systemctl status hostapd --- 7. Give Fiveo1 a Network Address Run: sudo ip addr add 10.5.1.1/24 dev wlan0 Then: sudo ip link set wlan0 up The Fiveo1 computer now uses: 10.5.1.1 as the address of the Fiveo1 network. --- 8. Configure DHCP Create the configuration: sudo nano /etc/dnsmasq.conf Enter: interface=wlan0 dhcp-range=10.5.1.10,10.5.1.100,255.255.255.0,12h Restart dnsmasq: sudo systemctl restart dnsmasq Now connected devices can receive addresses. For example: Fiveo1 computer 10.5.1.1 Phone 10.5.1.10 Laptop 10.5.1.11 Tablet 10.5.1.12 --- 9. Test With Your Phone Open the phone's Wi-Fi settings. Connect to: Fiveo1 Password: Fiveo1Science The phone should receive an address such as: 10.5.1.10 At this point you have successfully created the first working Fiveo1 network. --- 10. Add Internet Access The next version uses two network connections. One connection connects Fiveo1 to the Internet. The other creates the Fiveo1 hotspot. The basic design is: Internet | Existing Wi-Fi | v Fiveo1 computer | +---- Fiveo1 Wi-Fi | +---- Phone | +---- Laptop Using two network interfaces is easier for a beginner to understand and troubleshoot. For example: wlan0 = Fiveo1 hotspot wlan1 = Internet connection Internet routing and NAT can then be configured after the basic hotspot is working. --- 11. Create the Fiveo1 Live Module The Fiveo1 Live Module is a startup program that checks the hardware and starts Fiveo1 services. Create: sudo nano /usr/local/bin/fiveo1-live Enter: #!/bin/bash echo "Starting Fiveo1 Live Module..." echo "Checking network interfaces..." ip link echo "Checking Bluetooth..." systemctl status bluetooth --no-pager echo "Checking battery..." if [ -d /sys/class/power_supply ]; then ls /sys/class/power_supply/ fi echo "Fiveo1 Live Module started." Make it executable: sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/fiveo1-live Test it: sudo /usr/local/bin/fiveo1-live --- 12. Start Fiveo1 Automatically Create: sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/fiveo1.service Enter: [Unit] Description=Fiveo1 Live Module After=network.target [Service] Type=oneshot ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/fiveo1-live RemainAfterExit=yes [Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target Then run: sudo systemctl daemon-reload Enable the service: sudo systemctl enable fiveo1.service Start it: sudo systemctl start fiveo1.service Check it: systemctl status fiveo1.service Now Fiveo1 automatically starts its module during boot. --- 13. Create Three Operating Modes The Fiveo1 software can eventually have three simple modes. Home Internet: ON Hotspot: ON Bluetooth: ON Power saving: OFF Solar monitoring: OFF Travel Internet: ON Hotspot: ON Bluetooth: ON Power saving: ON Off-Grid Internet: OFF Hotspot: ON Bluetooth: ON Power saving: MAXIMUM Solar monitoring: ON --- 14. Battery System Do not connect a bare lithium battery directly to the computer. Use a proper battery-management and charging circuit. The basic system is: Solar panel | v Charge controller | v Battery | v Voltage regulator | v Fiveo1 computer The solar panel produces electricity. The charge controller manages charging. The battery stores energy. The regulator provides the correct voltage to the computer. --- 15. Test Power Before Installing It Before putting the system into the tin, measure: Solar panel voltage Battery voltage Computer input voltage Use a multimeter. Record the measurements. Example: Measurement Example Solar panel 5.2 V Battery 3.8 V Computer input 5.0 V These are examples only. Use the specifications of your actual components. --- 16. Install Everything in the Tin Only after the electronics work should you move them into the metal enclosure. The metal tin can interfere with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth signals. A basic arrangement is: Wi-Fi antenna | | +---------+---------+ | | | x86 computer | | | | | |-------------------| | insulating layer | |-------------------| | | | battery | | | +-------------------+ If the Wi-Fi signal is weak, use an external antenna or a non-metallic enclosure. --- 17. Battery Safety Lithium batteries require careful handling. Do not: Short the battery Puncture the battery Bend or crush the battery Charge it without an appropriate charger Connect it directly to unsuitable electronics Leave an experimental charging system unattended For the first version, use a commercially designed battery pack or power bank with its own protection circuitry. --- 18. Add the Display An optional small display can show: FIVEo1 Wi-Fi: ON Clients: 2 Battery: 78% Solar: 4.8 V Mode: TRAVEL This is useful because it allows you to see what the computer is measuring. --- 19. Add Tails Last After the Linux version works, experiment with Tails. The important difference is: Fiveo1 Linux | +-- Wi-Fi hotspot +-- Routing +-- Bluetooth +-- Battery monitoring +-- Solar monitoring +-- Fiveo1 software versus: Tails | +-- Privacy-focused operating system +-- Amnesic operation +-- Tor +-- Privacy applications +-- Optional persistent storage Tails is primarily designed as a privacy-focused live operating system, not as a miniature router. Therefore, modifying Tails should be treated as a separate development project. --- 20. Recommended Development Order Follow this order: 1. Buy/test x86-64 computer 2. Install Debian 3. Verify Wi-Fi 4. Create Fiveo1 hotspot 5. Connect phone 6. Add Internet routing 7. Create Fiveo1 Live Module 8. Make Live Module start automatically 9. Add Bluetooth 10. Add battery monitoring 11. Add solar charging system 12. Test power consumption 13. Build enclosure 14. Install electronics in enclosure 15. Test again 16. Install Tails 17. Test Tails hardware compatibility 18. Begin Fiveo1 Tails customization This approach gives you a working project after almost every step. --- 21. Fifth-Grade Science Experiment Once the device works, measure how different features affect battery life. Experiment A Wi-Fi: OFF Bluetooth: OFF Display: OFF Record battery life. Experiment B Wi-Fi: ON Bluetooth: OFF Display: OFF Record battery life. Experiment C Wi-Fi: ON Bluetooth: ON Display: ON Record battery life. Record the results: Test Wi-Fi Bluetooth Display Battery Life A OFF OFF OFF ____ B ON OFF OFF ____ C ON ON ON ____ Then create a graph showing which configuration uses the most electricity. This turns Fiveo1 into a real science project involving: Electricity Energy storage Solar energy Radio communication Computers Networking Temperature Power consumption --- 22. Final Fiveo1 Design Solar Panel | v Charge Controller | v Battery | v Power Regulator | v x86-64 Computer | +---- Fiveo1 Live Module | +---- Wi-Fi | +---- Bluetooth | +---- Battery Monitor | +---- Solar Monitor | v External Wi-Fi Antenna | v Fiveo1 Wi-Fi Network | +---- Phone +---- Laptop +---- Tablet Official URLs Tails: https://tails.net/ Tails hardware requirements: https://tails.net/doc/about/requirements/ Tails installation: https://tails.net/install/ Tails customization: https://tails.net/contribute/customize/ Tails build documentation: https://tails.net/contribute/build/ Tails source code: https://gitlab.tails.boum.org/tails/tails Debian: https://www.debian.org/ Hostapd: https://w1.fi/hostapd/ Dnsmasq: https://thekelleys.org.uk/dnsmasq/doc.html