I'm trying to get back into HAM after 30 years out of it. Starting with meshtastic let's me play around without spending a lot on hardware, and before I get my license back.
There are great prebuilt nodes for under $50, and as low as $20 if you build your own from parts.
I ordered a 5,000 mAh to try out. It saves me from building something similar myself. Prototyping wireless charging is hard enough as it is without taking radio interference into account.
True. Honestly most of the issues in my area are LOS. We have maybe a dozen nodes on LongFast in my town but no stable connections. Working on getting my own node up higher, but we'll see.
I think for now I've settled on a roof tripod. Specifically, the TRT60 from ROHN. It'll get me an extra 10 feet off the roof without guys and still be upgradable for later.
That really depends on the nodes you have around you. If everyone is sitting in their houses with small Keychain nodes your mesh will never reach more than a few miles. But if you add a few key nodes in high places with good antenna then each hop of the mesh can easily reach 10+ miles. Even with the default 3-hop limit I've hit a town 60 miles away from me.
The largest limitation with a lot of nodes is channel congestion. Despite the name, LongFast is still pretty slow. The more nodes you have the longer channels stay active when a message is sent. Not to mention all the telemetry packets being sent about.
My local area is nowhere near populated enough to cause an issue, but I've seen many recommendations that switching to ShortFast is the way to go when you have enough node density. It's around 10x faster so it can handle more traffic. While range is smaller the higher number of nodes in your area would help offset the drawbacks.
The issue then is you're no longer on the default setting of all factory meshtastic devices so no one visiting your area would be able to see your mesh. The only way around this I know of is if you're putting key locations on the mqtt meshmap where it shows your device's default channel. Or a smaller mesh still running LongFast that periodically broadcasts something like "This area runs ShortFast, come join us!"
Honestly it's just reluctance on my part. It's a brand new roof and I was trying to avoid drilling in it. But if I can mount a tripod on the peak it'll get me an extra 15' of height on top of whatever pole I use.
I'd love a proper tower. I'm also trying to get back into HAM after a 30-year break but I just don't have the funds at through moment 😅
Thanks! Definitely going to check them out. Most people here attach antennas to their chimney. Unfortunately the chimney on my house was removed during the last shingle job so I have no mount points left.
I'm trying to get my home node high enough for LOS to other parts of town. The house unfortunately has a full hip roof, so I can't attach anything without going through the shingles. My current setup is a pole attached to an 8' garden fence. That gets me to about 15' AGL.
Based on the homes around me I need at least 30' of height to clear their roofs. I've given up on trying to get above the trees because they're old Oaks 50'-100' high.
I keep seeing collapsing fiberglass poles online but they're advertised as a temporary setup. Anyone have recommendations for at least a semi-permanent pole or small tower?
As a high school biology teacher in Louisiana I really feel the pain of that survey. My district spends a lot of time on evolution, but it only goes so far with the kids if their parents are against it.
Buried "megaripples" — some the size of five-story buildings — are helping scientists piece together the devastation following the impact that wiped out the nonavian dinosaurs.
My home node made contact with what I think was someone flying by with a RAK module. The GPS put it at a distance of 47 miles and height of 36,000 feet, along the path airlines would take from New Orleans to Houston.
I've had contacts with more distant nodes but this one was able to confirm receipt and I got a valid traceroute back.
It sure will be nice for them to control all radio spectrum too, since all amateur and open use bands will be valued at 0$ and be immediately sold off to a corporate owner.
I think it's still a valid question if you frame it along the lines of "something useful at protests, but also in everyday peaceful life".
Meshtastic LoRa is worth looking into if you're going to protests with friends/family/cohorts. You can get a waterproof, GPS enabled, credit-card sized module with multi-day battery life and no flashing required for $35 (T1000-E). That's specifically because it can also be used when hiking, going to festivals, or just for fun.
I was just at a Mardi Gras parade and text messages couldn't go through due to network congestion from too many people. With a couple of meshtastic devices our phones could still text each other and see our GPS positions on a map. All with encryption enabled.
I've been brainstorming ways to get a permanent node on my truck for various reasons. Here's what I have so far:
Hard-wired for power. The vehicle battery is pretty large, and I have a solar-maintainer installed with enough power left over to run a node.
GPS module for tracking
External antenna (915 MHz). I already have cargo racks on the truck bed so plenty of space to attach a mount.
Unfortunately I haven't found much in the way of hardware guides. Initially I figured a 33 cm ham antenna would be perfect but haven't seen much available. For the node itself I was looking at either a heltec tracker or a Wisblock with location module. Anyone suggestions?
Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins and are crucial for maintaining optimal health. Out of the 20 different types of amino acids, there are 9 that cannot be produced in the body and these are referred to as “essential amino acids.” These essential amino acids play important roles in many...
Gray wolves are thriving at Isle Royale National Park five years after they nearly died out. Authorities airlifted 19 mainland wolves to Lake Superior park to rebuild a population that had fallen to just two, mostly because of inbreeding.
New to Mander, a Lemmy instance focused on the natural sciences.
The Science of Cooking
We’re focused on cooking and the science behind how it changes our food. Some chemistry, a little biology, whatever it takes to explore a critical aspect of everyday life.
The school year just ended but I wanted to show off what my class was able to accomplish with some cheap high school microscopes. The images below are under-leaf impressions of diocot and monocot plants which show the stomata used to control water evaporation. To avoid the preparation of slicing leaves themselves we painted a thin layer of nail polish on the underside. Peeling this dry layer off results in a mold of the leaf itself which can then be attached to a blank slide with cellophane tape.
My wife and I both have problems with gluten so we've been brewing our own GF beer for the last ~7 years. It was difficult to get started but the output is well worth the effort!
Most of them are darker brews (stouts, tripels, etc). This is one of our lighter holiday ales that came in ~8% ABV.
My wife and I both have problems with gluten so we've been brewing our own GF beer for the last ~7 years. It was difficult to get started but the output is well worth the effort!
Most of them are darker brews (stouts, tripels, etc). This is one of our lighter holiday ales that came in ~8% ABV.
Hi everyone! Excited to join Mander, and Lemmy as an extension. It feels like the golden days of internet forums but with modern twists.
I'm a chemical engineer with research focus in bioprocessing for fuels and specialty chemicals. The last year or so I've also been teaching introductory biology courses.
My interests mainly fall under natural sciences and I'm looking forward to helping grow the community. Hobby-wise there's nothing better than a nice day fishing while enjoying a home-brew beverage, then a big family meal.