JS8Call + TC2 Meshtastic BBS

[@S2Underground]

This is absolutely fantastic! Looks like a seriously powerful tool that will be VERY helpful in the future. I will definitely mention this in the next update of the GhostNet docs, and do what I can to integrate this project more. Look forward to using this myself!

[@huskermike8096]

It is really cool!

[@The_Comms_Channel]

Appreciate it! There will be more features added soon, including integrating my SkyWatch project into this to allow for aircraft alerting via Meshtastic. github.com/TheCommsChannel/SkyWatch Feel free to reach out with any suggestions or if you run into any issues.

[@DazzleCamo]

Ghostnet ftw! I love when my favorite channels intersect.

[@Scout75PortableRadio]

Your Meshtastic BBS went from amazing to revolutionary! With a few JS8Call savvy hams in the group, long distance comms can be accomplished through Meshtastic completely off grid with no need for a MQTT to link separated meshes to each other. Simply brilliant.

[@The_Comms_Channel]

Appreciate it! Thanks for the great idea on limiting who can post to the urgent bulletin.

[@briankendall1978]

I was thinking using JS8 on CB bands that link meshtastic networks. Then you could open up 2 way traffic capability.

[@prestonm4s]

Ghostnet is top tier S2 is under rated

[@BB-mq3nn]

Really cool. I like how this enables you to let unlicensed friends engage with a station deployment while camping with read only access, or lets you pipe in JS8Call news to a meshtastic network without Internet.

[@The_Comms_Channel]

Thanks! I think it will be a useful tool for many!

[@ericks1979]

Meshtastic and JS8Call on ghostnet? This is the best crossover ever.

[@The_Comms_Channel]

Agree! Thanks for the support!

[@Eightbitswide]

You've got my mind wandering this morning while watching this video: Thinking that a meshtastic to actual email might also be useful so that Meshtastic users could send messages to their family that doesn't use meshtastic.

[@lowtek42]

This is amazing! Please keep up the great work!! 👍

[@The_Comms_Channel]

Thank you! Will do!

[@keithsafford3056]

Getting me motivated to learn JS8Call and cannot wait to get my Meshtastic. Just learned FT8 and gettin into the "digital" vibe.

[@vampirelordredfang]

I feel like next will be winlink to meshtastic by winlink servers connecting to meshtastic internet nodes

[@Baelyn]

Excellent content again as usual. I am excieted about getting a BBS deployed here at my QTH this fall. I really would really be amazing to operate the BBS terminal via JS8. I am hoping that is in your pipeline. Not sure how user friendly it would be though. I will be dropping in on the github soon. 73

[@SethCohn23]

With a cheap shortwave radio, and a usb sound card/cable, a recieve only js8call setup (which is all the bbs code supports) is really easy and cheap. Maybe you can show just that, as a "super easy addon" anyone could easily add to their BBS setup, no license needed, SHTF ready.

[@MyTube4Utoo]

Dude, you're killing it! I'm 64-years-old and get all giddy like a kid on Christmas morning when I see you've dropped a video. 😆 Seriously though, this is awesome.

[@The_Comms_Channel]

Haha, thank you! 😀 I appreciate you being a subscriber. Much more to come!

[@DigiCommCafe]

I am running (trying to run) this on my windows 10 but I keep getting errors that I can't resolve. I love the idea but wondering if you have some issues in the script that gives windows problems. Help, please.

[@KD1ZML]

What does the BBS look like on the T-Deck? I'm curious to see how it looks on standalone devices with a display. The scenario would be me, a Technician, relaying JS8Call messages back to the neighborhood Meshtastic client so others without a license can see and reply to the message via the BBS amd their meshtastic devices.

[@firewolf34]

This is a great idea to improve mesh integration with pre-existing networks!! A limiting issue with Meshtastic currently is there are a lot of small meshes operating in isolation, with no way to link together without MQTT... It's great to see there's alternatives like this, which I argue is actually better than MQTT, as MQTT is global, whereas this has more of a proximity-based nature, meaning the messages in your local nodes will be more relevant to you. Side question. If a non-licensed individual from meshtastic has their message /relayed/ (like was mentioned at the end) through a licensed radio operator's HF setup, who's technically broadcasting it? The HAM or the unlicensed individual? Where is the line drawn between "my broadcast" and "their broadcast"? Couldn't any material transmitted (e.g. some comment from the internet, copied and pasted into JS8call) written by someone non-licensed, but broadcast by a HAM-licensed, technically be considered as "broadcast from a non-licensed individual by proxy", under that argument? It seems tenuous. It would be nice if non-licenseds could have their Meshtastic msgs rebroadcast by someone with a license and training.

[@The_Comms_Channel]

Thank you for the comment! I always do anything on the radio completely off the Internet.. otherwise it doesn't count in my opinion. For your side question, sadly the FCC won't allow it: Part 97.113 section (c): > (c) No station shall retransmit programs or signals emanating from any type of radio station other than an amateur station, except propagation and weather forecast information intended for use by the general public and originated from United States Government stations, and communications, including incidental music, originating on United States Government frequencies between a manned spacecraft and its associated Earth stations. Prior approval for manned spacecraft communications retransmissions must be obtained from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Such retransmissions must be for the exclusive use of amateur radio operators. Propagation, weather forecasts, and manned spacecraft communications retransmissions may not be conducted on a regular basis, but only occasionally, as an incident of normal amateur radio communications.

[@CraigLandschoot]

My js8 station in Gallatin is temporarily offline. But once I get it back up and running…. We should do some testing.

[@The_Comms_Channel]

For sure! Let me know what it's up and running!

[@ingenfare]

This is really cool tech.

[@The_Comms_Channel]

It's been a lot of fun!

[@ingenfare]

@@The_Comms_Channel we are a fair amount of users in the area (trondheim, norway) so I'm sure one of us will set this up soon:)

[@Mike-y7w]

Hi, could the Meshtastic to JS8call traffic be controlled by the node ID, so only a list of authorised nodes with callsigns. Could this solution be interfaced into packet (BPQ32) or Winlink?

[@The_Comms_Channel]

Do you mean as a way to allow licensed ham users to transmit on ham bands?

[@The_Comms_Channel]

Reread your message and I see you said Meshtastic to JS8Call. Sending is definitely possible, I was just trying to think of a good way to keep it legal and I think you have a good idea there.

[@randomzeldafan]

I wonder if you could use hf vara or similar digital mode to have two bbs nodes sync from further distances.

[@wo8e]

It would be nice to be able to use a mode that can run on a pi zero 2 so we could make an all in one gateway with a LoRa hat and small qrp radio on an HF ISM band (with reduced power, or course).. No lic needed and no worries about other nodes relaying through.

[@recom273]

When are we going to see the setup tut? I got it working last weekend, but when I tried to run as a service on boot, I lost all coms with python server interface

[@The_Comms_Channel]

Next video

[@JonathanFisherS]

I wish there was a LORA Module that could operate on GMRS frequencies. Not suggesting we do anything illegal, but with a little clarification, GMRS does allow data bursts so there is a theoretical path forward. A modest 1w-2w with LORA would be a game changer

[@stalin200000]

just connect baofeng to audio card

[@swbusby]

Since it doesn't seem to use any Meshtastic devices or features, perheps this JS8call message collector front-end should be a seperate project. I was really hoping that it used the meshtastic device on the serial port to send or receive js8call packets with the meshtastic device on 915mhz.

[@The_Comms_Channel]

That would be an interesting project. I'd be curious to see a performance comparison of JS8Call and LoRa which I'm sure you know also works beneath the noise floor.

[@TheWatchMker]

I did something similar where I receive js8call messages and then convert them on a raspberry pi and forward it over meshtastic. And vice versa. It’s still in early phases but you can learn more about it on my channel. I also posted my GitHub with all the code. It all works off grid and stock devices