Meshtastic - Anyone Using It?

[spongella]

I heard a couple of guys on the local repeater mentioning their use of Meshtastic. It uses 915 MHz in the ISM band for passing short text messages. Requires a cellphone, a Meshtastic app, and a small xmitter/rcvr to send and receive texts. Thanks.

 

[Enix316]

I have 2 devices, a solar powered node on my roof and one that I keep with me. My local area has a few nodes in prime locations so we meshtastic users can usually communicate anywhere in town.

It's fun but really depends on having a community, otherwise it can be pretty dead/silent.

There are some mesh maps online to see if there are others around, but they can be inaccurate. If I look online at my area it only shows like 6 nodes, when in reality there are closer to 50.

I'd say get a device, try to make contact.

 

[dave3825]

It uses 915 MHz in the ISM band for passing short text messages. Requires a cellphone, a Meshtastic app, and a small xmitter/rcvr to send and receive texts.

You do not need a phone. It can be used connected to a PC or laptop as long as they power. Otherwise, a charged cell in conjunction with a powered node would be needed.

 

[K5MPH]

We have a few mesh nodes in my area,been using it for over a year now works fairly well for text messaging ........

 

[Enix316]

You do not need a phone. It can be used connected to a PC or laptop as long as they power. Otherwise, a charged cell in conjunction with a powered node would be needed.

There are even devices that look like the old blackberry phones that are all in one units, nothing else required.

 

[Project25_MASTR]

I've got a couple of the boards to play with. I don't run them on amateur radio. I won't even run them for ATAK. Simply too low power and don't pass enough data compared to other 900 MHz ISM solutions. They are the lowest cost options though.

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

I've got a couple of the boards to play with. I don't run them on amateur radio. I won't even run them for ATAK. Simply too low power and don't pass enough data compared to other 900 MHz ISM solutions. They are the lowest cost options though.

I am with you on that. There are a plethora of industrial SCADA radios on surplus that operate 900 MHz, Spread Spectrum and 10 watts. I would like to see a resurgence of the old BBS concept of distributed servers. If meshtastic works so well, a better RF and data infrastructure could do so much more. You could have a BBS at home, a BBS in the car, terminals could be tablets and phones like meshtastic.

 

[Project25_MASTR]

I am with you on that. There are a plethora of industrial SCADA radios on surplus that operate 900 MHz, Spread Spectrum and 10 watts. I would like to see a resurgence of the old BBS concept of distributed servers. If meshtastic works so well, a better RF and data infrastructure could do so much more. You could have a BBS at home, a BBS in the car, terminals could be tablets and phones like meshtastic.

For the price, there is even new stuff that is reasonable. The Heltec HaLow dongles are basically $70 each and can be configured for MESH operation or a more traditional AP/Station config. Is it as high powered or as integrated as a Meshrider? No but it's an affordable start and works just as well with other network based solutions like TAK.