Texting with Zero Cell Service? What a Meshtastic Idea! LoRa and GPS For Off-Grid Communication!!

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thank you for mentioning my channel!

[@mnemonyss]

Thank you for this, I found it quite informative!

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

Psh. Don’t mention it. I can introduce people to LoRa but you can teach them about it! Thanks for venturing over to my video!

[@kdarban]

Andreas Spiess my new favorite Hero! 😊

[@buddynoone5698]

I work in a Mine about 1000ft underground. I've been playing with these for a few months. Line of site has a phenomenal range and works amazingly well.

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

How far have you been able to communicate? Thanks for watching!

[@Grognarthebarb]

Just have to put one on every corner 😂

[@moss-ccw7971]

Nice job explaining these. Even the least techy person should be able to follow along. It was refreshing to see someone explain how these work in plain english.

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

It’s as technical as I can get! 😂 I don’t understand the internet workings well enough yet. Thanks for watching!!

[@Meshtastic]

This video is awesome. Thanks for spreading the word and the great information. Rock on!

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

Thanks! Im no expert but tried to cover the basics!

[@katelally3930]

This is the best video explaining this that I have found so far. Thank you!

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching!

[@christophervillalobos1301]

Imagine mass producing phone cases with this... completely decentralized network through a bunch of phone.

[@blbreptiles4126]

3d printing could do this!

[@blbreptiles4126]

@@mattmurphy7030 I mean for each person to print their own case

[@DeLordBishop]

Pinephone 2 ideas??

[@teacon7]

yeah but... doesn't it need 'high accuracy location data' at some point?

[@SirenaSpades]

@@teacon7 It has it's own GPS. The only thing is an 18650 battery, or some models have other power sources, which can fatten it.

[@randyguay8606]

thank you great infomation i want to learn more i will be on amazon shopping now . i look forward to more videos

[@handyguy4814]

I've been design simple case for my own phone,( you can design for yourself) its just simple box to place small li-ion battery and make it snap like a phone holder on motorcycle edit: it work perfectly well too. I used to go to the forest (for study), i gave my friend one so we can communicate. The range is more than 2 km (im on the hill of a mountain and he was on the other side). Thanks for your video, all possible because of this video. Keep up the good work sir,👏

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

I’m very happy it worked for you! This type of situation is what it was designed for!

[@offgridwanabe]

Cool little radio if I remember right they also have a low frequency internet device for data sharing

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

That could be handy! I'll have to look into it.

[@ajdu5390]

Great video! Thank you for the demo!

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

Thanks for watching!

[@kaskorraky9473]

hi. 2024 here. I have a pair of Motorola radios, they also offer texting with the respective app. 😊

[@thomasrogen3739]

If your antenna was verticle it would greatly increase range as well as an outside antenna plus an amp would make it even more better.

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

Definitely! and Directional antennas would be even better. The more you can focus and direct the radio the better.

[@ChrisShaw25]

Great video. Thanks. At 11:29 you mentioned that LoRa is open-source. It may be accurate to say that some of the development boards you can buy for Meshtastic are open-source. But the LoRa protocol itself is proprietary and patented by Semtech.

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

Thank you for the clarification and thanks for watching!

[@christhompson1348]

I have one in eastern Massachusetts. I wish more people had them!

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

I think theres another project called disaster radio that is similar but is more emergency preparedness focused. Kind of cool. Thanks for watching!

[@Knotty_Bill]

Me too, I might give some out to people nearby for increased range

[@x81reaper]

Open area or Line of sight is an incredible Range possible (50 Miles) BUT in the City an half or one Mile AND really Important !!! With the meshtastic (protocol) u've only 6 Hops !!!

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

Yep! I did a simplistic range test near my house and got about a half mile before I lost signal. That was radio to radio but it’s still significantly less range than open air. Gotta get the radios up higher! Thanks for watching!

[@davidmartinrius]

Perfect explanation, thank you!

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

Thanks for watching!!

[@sondrayork6317]

there are apps like that too, brigigfy is one such app, and the apps use the phone's onboard Bluetooth LE transceivers to communicate with each other. the problem though is that you only get a thirty-foot range for it to work as Bluetooth LE is low energy. lora would be rather fun to play with though.

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

Interesting! I haven’t heard of that app.

[@ricksters11]

Great information, definitely worth getting involved with.

[@BlueEyedColonizer]

So could you put one of the radios on a ballon to use it as a repeater between 2 other radios and maybe get real long range?

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

Absolutely! You may run into weird issues with the antennas they come with (since they typically have dead zones directly above and below the antenna) but I think you definitely could make a repeater that would extend the range. Thanks for watching!

[@вечная_мерзлота]

u need hell of a balun to get that in the air.

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

Maybe I’ll have to find out how many balloons it takes. Could be fun.

[@dougbas3980]

Thanks! 👍

[@68whiskey40]

I wonder adding a signal booster of some kind add range

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

If you go to the meshtastic website and go to the forum there were some people tinkering with amplifiers to try boosting range. More power,a directional antenna, and height are really the only options to extend range. Thanks for watching!

[@justincase1898]

i was gunna say i think the antenna is the weak link... and if its a personal mesh why not use drone antennas i bet the signal would be better with a 90 degree offset... but im a drone guy not a radio guy...

[@bara2ban]

@68whiskey, you probably mean *Repeater* to boos the range. I'm not caught up on this particular device, but understand that you can easily set one up on the hill in the area to give it a wider coverage as part of your mesh network. Essentially that's what mobile phone companies do with their towers.

[@bara2ban]

@@justincase1898, I don't understand your reasoning about antenna being weak, but as far as I know most drones are using totaly _different radio frequency_ thus needing a specific size antenna for this frequency. If you take apart your drone, that antenna probably is going to look very similar and weak, except not encased in plastic and slightly longer. As far as the _radio signal,_ it does travels on *horizontal* axis from a *vertically* placed antenna. While you still get a signal from the antenna that is not installed @ 90° from the target/source, it is however has a much weaker signal. So it is up to you to install/secure the antenna in the manner that best suits you.

[@superjeffstanton]

@@bara2ban l

[@chuckwilkins3581]

Stopped by for some info on the LoRa and was intrigued by the place called Battery Hookup. With the Lithium Cell you have in this video. How are you charging the battery ? Are you just using the micro adapter from the LoRa board to charge the battery ?

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

Yep! I just let the board do the charging through usb. It works well and the particular batteries I’m using have a BMS for protection so they’re perfect for the application. Thanks for watching!

[@stupiduser6646]

Thanks for these videos. Would limit the display of your home address. I recognized this as my home town.

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

Well, lucky you for escaping! 🤣 thanks for the suggestion, I will be more vigilant about that in the future. Thanks for watching!

[@ACrawford36]

I don't really have any knowledge on electronics and stuff like this, but recently heard about this. This is awesome. Thanks for the video. Is this all plug and play kinda stuff? Could you make a tutorial on how to do everything? I've seen some videos where people were having to solder but this looks much easier. Thanks!

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

I havent done any soldering but some of the radio kits do require it if you dont get the right one. If there is a demand for the setup, I'll do one. Thanks for watching!

[@ACrawford36]

@@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996 Awesome thanks, subscribed to hopefully see more about all this.

[@mangojango3745]

@@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996 I would like to see how to do this

[@Andrew-sv3ck]

Would there be a way to add a keyboard onto one of these and use the device to directly message? iOS user here and would love to make standalone devices that don't require pre downloading stuff onto personal devices.

[@daninwy2681]

Mark 10:40

[@k1ortia]

That,s why we use Android

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

I believe it is possible but I have not tried this myself. I know they make keyboards for these Lora boards so it may be possible, the meshtastic software may not work with a keyboard on the board though. Thanks for watching!!

[@jimmyjackson9090HVAC]

Very Cool so would this work if the grid was down ? could you use some cheep andriod phones that went hooked up?

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

Yes. The texting function works entirely within the app and the ttgo radios. I'm not sure about GPS functionality and the map though. I'm guessing those wouldn't work.

[@thorc.f1947]

Currently the app needs internet access to download map tiles. A frequent request is off line maps, if a developer wants to step in and help with that they are more than welcome to.

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

Thanks Carl! The text capability still works offline, correct?

[@justincase1898]

you could make that a ebike battery... you would just need 1p for every .5 (guessing) of an amp so just a lot of parallel batteries... Love the mesh radio idea, it would be a bit better if it was like a 3g bubble... with a false signal so no need for bluetooth... but then there are probably a bunch of fcc stuff saying you cant make a cell signal without service or any emergency stuff... that could be bad.. but cool but deadly... I'm thinking of a backpacking trip and this might be cool ad on for the kit...

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

Actually, that is why I bought these batteries. I was going to make an “emergency” or reserve battery to haul me home if I killed my main battery. While it is possible, it became very complicated with many connection/failure points so I abandoned the project. Thanks for watching!!

[@mattrowe1229]

great, all your radios are within 1 foot of each other, what if your 3- 40 or more miles away from each other, i will go check on the website to learn more, thanks

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

Agreed. It was more of a demonstration/proof of concept. For the ranges you mentioned, you will likely need either a high point to use as a repeater or directional antennas that will point the radio waves toward the other radio(s). Thanks for watching!

[@joewillj]

Do you have the files/links available for the 3D cases? If so, can you add them to your comment section? Thanks! Great Video by the way, can't wait to test them camping

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

I pulled the cases off of thingiverse, my custom cases didn’t really work out lol

[@bassemgatowani8387]

Thanks very good Can i used to be telemetry for drone

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

Hmm..... I have heard of people using them for boat races but not drones. I think its possible but I dont know if the location information is updated quickly enough to be useful. It may be good for a "find my drone" feature but realtime data probably won't work well. This is all speculation on my part though! Maybe someone smarter can chime in.

[@tomperone9338]

How do you differentiate between radios? Will the app allow you to assign names to each radio on the network? Nice introduction to this technology by the way!

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

The radios create their own ID, and you can change it to whatever name you would like. It will show up as that name in the texting function. Thank you for the compliment and thanks for watching!!

[@soaceba]

Yes but thats a threat to the system

[@raywalker4656]

Did you add the case to thingiverse, or is it available elsewhere. Great video, like the long battery life, better than alternatives that I have seen.

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

Are you talking about the midified case for the large battery? I didnt add that one but I can if you want it! Thanks for watching.

[@AdventuresInMortality]

@@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996 Yes, please add it to thingiverse!

[@Miskerest]

@@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996 I have these same LiPo packs, they are indeed awesome. I'd appreciate your .STLs!

[@woolfy02]

I have 2 t-beam v1.1 lora units that I have flashed with the mesh firmware. I have tried every firmware possible yet will not connect. (I'm lucky if I get it to setup on Bluetooth). Sometimes I can set the region, but that's it. Can't send messages to the other unit, even when Its connected to my other phone. So damn frustrating. What could I possibly be doing wrong? Is this that hard to get these things setup? Almost ready to throw them in the trash.

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

How are you flashing them? With the GUI flasher? Are the radio screens booting with meshtastic running?

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

They can be finicky to get up and running sometimes but after they are working it’s been very smooth for me

[@woolfy02]

@@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996 I had used all of the available ones but mostly the CLI version. Turns out that I needed an updated version of the APK file to get it to work. Still buggy a little but works for the most part.

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

Glad to hear you got it working. I have noticed it is best to get it working and leave it alone lol

[@jimcrawford5603]

I like your 3d printed case , I don't have a 3d printer do you offer them ????

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

The regular case or the one with the battery sleeve added?

[@jimcrawford5603]

@@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996 with board and battery , thanks

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

Email me. [e-mail]

[@ramjet4025]

What is the limit to each text message? is your GPS position automatically included in the text message? What is the App for an IPhone for using your phone to compose , receive and send?

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

I am not sure what the limit is for each text but the longer they are the slower they will be to send in general. The GPS locations are shown on a map inside the app, not in the text messages you send. For iPhones you have to download “TestFlight” then you can download the meshtastic app for iOS devices. Thanks for watching!

[@mattparker9726]

I wonder can you use an old analogue TV antenna to transmit on this frequency?

[@bara2ban]

Great answer@@mattmurphy7030.👍 Not many realize that there is a big reason behind any antenna size & shape.

[@mattparker9726]

@@mattmurphy7030 hey thanks! I had no idea!

[@dmackle3849]

@@mattmurphy7030 indeed an informative answer 🤓 Though for the not too faint at heart, who also own a drill press, a hacksaw and a thorough commitment to recycling, it’s probably not impossible to repurpose the materials from some tv antenna since the new target frequency range suggests the elements will get smaller and closer together? I’ve built channel 11 in the past but I’ve no experience with LoRa; and impedance matching and baluncing is a dark art I’ve long forgotten 🙂

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

Thank you Matt! Great explanation. Thanks for watching everyone!

[@traficdas]

How can you disable/disconnect cell pinging on the smart phone to disable cell tracking?? or use a BT enabled laptop/desktop computer instead

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

Unfortunately I don’t have an answer for you on this one. Thank you for watching though!!!

[@mannygenetics374]

what is the range on these things?? this is really cool

[@mannygenetics374]

just got to the part in the video where you actually explain range lol my bad ... too eager

[@keithgaming7027]

What would prevent someone from listening in on your mesh network? Didn't see you mention anything regarding security to prevent something like that.

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

So the radio goes to a default channel. Your initial install will be public for anyone else to see (assuming they also are on the default channel. However, there is a way to create your own channel that only the people who have your key/channel can access and participate in. The reason I didn't bring it up is because I could not get this feature to work at the time. If you hop on the meshtastic forum they may have figured this out by now, but everytime I tried to do it I could not get the two radios to "talk" to one another and had to reflash with the default channel. Thanks for watching!

[@scout4locations]

This will be good to have if or when things go crazy and the cell towers go down

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

Yea that's another use case! Thanks for watching!

[@paulbaker9277]

These radios, do they act like an open network or do you have some control as who may have access.

[@justincase1898]

Specialized transceivers basically a totally different radio... and you have to attach to it over bluetooth... so yeah maybe re-watch this cause i think it was an r/wooosh moment for you

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

Thanks Matt! I appreciate the response. It was both informative/correct as well as respectful 🙂

[@KeiranR]

Using an rtlsdr I can see your Lora msgs so don't think for a second it's secure..

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

Good to know. Thanks for watching!

[@heliummininghrvatska7737]

I got two boards, but without firmware. And after connecting to the USB, there is no port at all. What to do then?

[@heliummininghrvatska7737]

Ok, solved. Need to instal CP2102 (CP210x) windows driver, and that is all.

[@stealingfire5036]

How does this compare to the goTenna?

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

I have not used the goTenna so I cant speak on it. Hopefully a viewer out there can chime in! Thanks for watching!

[@gewissj]

Is there an open mesh network that allows global communication? Obviously it would have to be hybrid network for global communication.

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

I'm not sure about that. I would guess they exist, but I dont know for sure. Thanks for watching!

[@gewissj]

@@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996 Also I found QMesh kzbin.info/www/bejne/mIO7ap-vbcasj8U

[@stevenrogersfineart4224]

Hahaha stick one of these puppies on a drone when you want to send something and you can boost the range LOL 😆😄😂

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

Mavic mini has a 30 minute flight time! 🙂 thanks for watching!

[@tbip2001]

Why do you need your phone to have location services on? Can you use a phone without a sim or WiFi turned on so it is only sending out blutooth to the device?

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

I haven't tried it, but I think it may be possible! I would recommend trying this with the GPS capable radios so that location is determined by the radio and maybe the phone won't need location capabilities. Thanks for watching!

[@matutep1]

Hi!!! How do you change the name of the devices? I could not do it from the Meshtastic app. Instead of showing "Unknown a8f1", I want to put my name. I put my name in the field but after some seconds it changes again for the default "Unknown a8f1".

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

Eek. I’m not sure! I’ve never tried to change the name. I would hop on the meshtastic forum to see if there is an answer. Thanks for watching!

[@360boost9]

Can u like make it encrypted so it’s secure

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

Yes, it has encryption capabilities so only the people in your group can see the texts. I couldn’t get it to work correctly when I did the video but I would think they have the bugs worked out by now. Check out meshtastic.org. Thanks for watching!

[@machinemaker2248]

Instead of a phone, can it easily use a Bluetooth keyboard?

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

I don’t think so as of right now but that may be a feature in the future so that you can have standalone radios that don’t require a phone. Thanks for watching!!

[@Rev22-21]

When will audio happen?

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

Likely never. The bandwidth on these radios is too narrow. The sacrifice that is made when you have very low power consumption with very long range is in bandwidth. Without a large bandwidth, you are limited in the amount of data that can be transferred efficiently. Thanks for watching!!

[@ShrpBld78]

Is there a way to use this with the A.T.A.K. app?

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

I need to investigate this but what advantage would implementing this give to the ATAK app? I’ve never used it but have heard of it

[@jonathanavila9699]

Is there an app for iPhone? Or plans for an app

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

I believe there are plans for an IPhone app. Thanks for watching!

[@JB-ns3xo]

Does this work with Iphone

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

I believe so. You have to download TestFlight and then download meshtastic. I believe it is in beta right now

[@JNET_Reloaded]

do you need a gateway to use this or no?

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

Gateway?

[@busaramiamor]

Tha k you

[@rangewatson4971]

I would encourage folks to try this stuff out and the meshtastic team is pretty darn cool, but know that this not at all ready for prime time. I am a techie with some serious professional experience in related fields, but I feel like I have falling down a rabbit hole trying to get this set up and ready for my community, I do not think it is going to happen for me but we will see. Update: The things go to sleep and wake up randomly, I am seeing so many issues and feeling overwhelmed with just how far from complete this project is. It is all being created in folks free time, so I get it, but please be clear about the fact that it is really only in the development phase, don't prop these things up before they are ready, cause this project is not ready for primetime! :(

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

Agreed! There are improvements to be made and it wouldn’t be the primary means of comms, but maybe a secondary or tertiary if more reliable means were to be unavailable

[@hwkey88]

How can i purchase this ?

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

Meshtastic.org has links for products that will work with the project. Thanks for watching!!

[@benjaminfranklin8439]

Can i avoid broadcasting gps location if i want? Or could spoof gps location i guess. Would rather have the choice if possible.

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

Hmm. I'm not sure about this. I feel like you may be able to turn GPS off in the app but I have never tried. Ill have to research this. Thanks for watching!

[@benjaminfranklin8439]

@@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996 cool yeah let me know...also can other non affiliated people intercept those communications, or is there some sort of talk group password that keeps other people out? Thanks for your time man. I will definitely be checking this out. Im a tinkerer aswell.

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

I know the transmissions are encrypted and everyone in your group can see them. On the forum for this they were talking about making a custom channel name so that ONLY your group can see stuff. I have been using the default channel and it works, especially since you can see if additional radios join the mesh that arent yours, but you may want to check their forum to see if they have the channel selection ironed out. That would make it so that only people in your group can see things even if other radios were around using meshtastic. They would not be allowed into your mesh.

[@Humbulla93]

would it be possible to connect the wires to a steel structure e.g. fire escape stairs in my case they´re 20 meters tall, to act as a big antenna. and if so is it safe or can i be electrocuted?

[@Miskerest]

It would be safe (these operate at ~20dBm or 0.1W), but very ineffective. (In general) antennas are inversely-related to the frequency they transmit at, and these operate at quite a high frequency (915 MHz in the US, 433 EU). This is a ~20cm wavelength, making anything bigger than the standard 1/2 wavelength antenna (so 10cm) more or less useless- it would just absorb the RF energy rather than radiate it. At least, that's how I understand it. Just my 2 cents as a general-class amateur, I'd love to hear someone else with more antenna knowledge chime in.

[@Miskerest]

What it might be useful for is acting as a "ground plane" for the antenna, or a big counterpoise. This I know a bit less about, but I think counterpoises can be pretty big relative to wavelength.

[@Humbulla93]

@@Miskerest awesome thanks for the detailed answer, i think i´ve found a new project to do, also one question though, can these messages be read by a third party like law enforcement? and can someone trace it back to my antenna?

[@Miskerest]

@@Humbulla93 no, LoRa traffic is encrypted by default. Meshtastic is designed to be secure. Just make sure you're using a custom channel, as that essentially acts as your password.

[@Humbulla93]

@@Miskerest man that´s awesome thanks a lot for taking your time to answer my question. have a nice day sir. now i only need to learn how to make such cool boards. i fiddled a bit with ESP32 and blynk once but got frustrated as i couldn´t make the PWM work and the "coding-language" is too complicated for me

[@NHamel123]

What phone is that?

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

Samsung galaxy S6 lol. Thanks for watching!

[@SuperMIKevin]

What I want to know is, knowing that many different versions of these Lora boards are out there in the world. Do they connect to each other regardless of the OS/software like "meshtastic". If a different Lora board is using software that is not meshtastic, will the boards still recognize each other because it's the same radio tech?

[@Miskerest]

A meshtastic device will not, but if someone were to make a firmware that bridged the various protocols, then sort-of. But no, not out of the box.

[@SuperMIKevin]

@@Miskerest thank you! It's unfortunate that this is a problem, if they could always recognize each other then we could have relays regardless of software configuration. This is a setback in terms of creating a national open source network.

[@jay-rus4437]

Does this require an FCC radio license?

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

Not so long as you order the correct frequency for your country. Thanks for watching!

[@bara2ban]

For the *US* of *A* FCC rules are: *Without* having a radio license, you can use a CB Radio - with not more than 0.5 watt of transmitting power and the 40 channels are located between 26.965 - 27.405 MHz of frequency. OR Use the *Walkie Talkies* that use FRS/GMRS frequencies and power levels that were allocated in the USA. Otherwise, you have to *HAVE* a radio license to transmit in the land of USA.

[@jay-rus4437]

@@bara2ban ….yes, I agree. This was really a question for people to think about. Just seems like so many videos get posted and people aren’t given all of the information to make decisions with. We have seen an issue locally were a young man got himself into a difficult situation with the local FCC office because of lack of information. Unfortunately he wouldn’t listen when licensed operators tried to warn him over the radio. He thought that being caught wasn’t possible and that hiding behind a mic was equal to hiding behind a keyboard in the KZbin comment section. He later realized how incorrect that was. I am a licensed Extra Class operator. Initially I looked into some of the other non-licensed options, and didn’t think that it would cover what we were looking for. So my wife, son, and myself tested for our Tech together. Later I went back and upgraded.

[@ChrisShaw25]

@@bara2ban This is not accurate. These radios use 915 MHz in the US which is an ISM band and authorized for secondary use by spread spectrum intentional radiators. There are, of course, limits on Tx power and they must not interfere with licensed operators. But they do not require a license. Same band as wireless home phones, baby monitors, etc. See 47 CFR § 15.247 for more information.

[@jonathanleclerc2788]

@@jay-rus4437 Sorry im interested in ham radio and LoRa tech. Im a real real Noob. I Wanna start with LoRa but I cant find the law for Canada can someone point me?

[@Chretze]

Why tf does the app want to permanently see my GPS location??

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

I don’t know. They have discussed gps a few times on the forum and I know they need GPS for showing where you are on the map and stuff but I really wish it were optional. I don’t think they would require it if they didn’t have to, and also keep in mind that this project is still fairly young and is being actively worked on. Maybe they have options in the pipeline but I don’t like having to leave my location on either. Thanks for watching!!

[@Chretze]

@@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996 Thank you for your reply. I guess I'll try to contact the devs or talk to some people in their discord. When I learned about LoRa, I immediately began developing my own mesh-style communication code, but then I heard about meshtastic and it pretty much already does everything I wanted my own system to do, so now I'm experimenting with that.

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

Sorry I’m not more helpful. Most of the background stuff for these is above my understanding. I think there’s a few other radio type communication serious with these boards. Disaster radio is one I’ve heard of.

[@shayarhashim7567]

Is the messenger private i mean can people see your messages?

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

The default channel is the same for all meshtastic boards. However, if you create your own channel only the people on your channel can see your texts. I plan to do a follow up video soon and explore more features/boards. Thanks for watching!

[@WaschyNumber1]

🖖 👍

[@ancapftw9113]

forcing location information is the one thing I don't like about this. If you are using them to communicate secretly, that makes it easier to find you. Without that, they would have to triangulate your location. Plus sending more data means using more power.

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

I agree. I have not tried using the GPS enabled radios yet to see if those will operate without location enabled. One thing to point out with the GPS enabled modules is that you can have a "receiver" which will display all communications and will also allow those in your mesh to see you without having a phone. Thanks for watching!!

[@zipfelklatscher2468]

How easy can this be hacked? is it crypted or can anybody read the messages?

[@steven21736]

you can layer on encryption if its not already being used

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

The stock channel is the same for all radios so anyone to flashes it onto a radio can see your texts since they’re all on the same channel. Thanks for watching!

[@MHow1900]

Is this FCC approved for this use!

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

Yes, but verify that you are using the correct frequency. For me here in the U.S. it is 915mhz.

[@валералоновюк]

Это лучше чип Semiconductor ax8052f143 с архитектурой 8051 .. есть возможность использовать SDK самого чипа Semiconductor ax8052f143 с библиотеками XNB. Это позволяет отказаться от внешнего управляющего микроконтроллера и снизить энергопотребление устройства ...... .

[@ashtongrist]

How does it handle http?

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

Not sure, I haven't gone much past the basics I laid out in the video.

[@seanathanq]

have you heard about Helium? its actually a crypto that you earn from putting out a higher quality product like this that does the same thing, I actually just learned about it a few weeks ago

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

Interesting! Is it ethereum based?

[@seanathanq]

@@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996 to be completely honest I'm not sure, it says that it is it's own currency, a coworker has been putting out the antennas in multiple locations over the last year and has made a good amount of money from it, while bettering the systems reach, I have not had much time to look to deep into it.

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

Nice, thanks for sharing!

[@tonybrandao4681]

Lora real world range is surprisingly disappointing with these small radios, mostly because of these cheap antennas. Most real world examples I've seen with these small boards is between 1km and 3km in most real world environments (ie. not mountain to valley LOS) . I was considering this for marine, but the range isn't there.. I think a better option is the Motorola Talkabout 800 GMRS radios , they have bluetooth and an APP for non network messaging.

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

I pulled off about 1km in a neighborhood environment with a lot of trees and houses. That was with the stock antennas, so I'm sire if you tinker with antennas and placement it cluld be better, but I agree. Unless you can get one of the radios up high (30+ feet above flat ground) your range is limited. Keep in mind that GMRS radios require a license to operate unless you stay on the FRS bands. Thanks for watching!

[@edwardfletcher7790]

I think you need to do more research, people are easily getting 30-50km with $25 worth of parts. This HW also supports satellite comms using the free TinyGS SW. This is going to be an amazing resource for farming sensors and security for hiking & outdoors. You really should do some research, because your comments just make you look hopelessly ignorant.

[@jmmorgenstern7005]

The problem is mesh tastic does not have voice communications. So any? Of emergency and let's. Say your hand got injured or something guess what you're not. Going? To be able to communicate. Mesh tastic has to have a voice communications added otherwise don't even think of getting it. And go 10 on old that kind of garbage all the same thing don't even think of getting it because. The bird doesn't have voice unless you're out who knows? Where and you. Hurt? Your hand or or you get a cut. That doesn't let you text or whatever voice communications is always king so remember. A less these things broke with voice communications don't even think of buying one.

[@Free_Born]

didnt like my info huh? whatever dude.

[@cplcabs]

Hmm, not really off grid if you need Meshtastic

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

I just considered it off grid because it is independent of cellular infrastructure. It's creating its own network. Thanks for watching!

[@cplcabs]

@@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996 The problem is it needs to connect to the meshtastic servers, so reliance on the internet and a third party server, so not off grid. If it was just the "SMS", then for sure it would be off grid as it would not be using any infrastructure

[@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996]

Are you sure about that? I dont believe it needs the internet or servers. It uses the built in radio to connect and communicate with other devices. You need the internet for the initial setup of the firmware, but once you get them up and running I don't think internet is necessary. I'm going to try it out now since one of the phones I use is an old phone with only Wi-Fi for internet connection. Ill see if it works with Wi-Fi off. I'm curious now. Lol

[@jonathanleclerc2788]

@@diyrenewableenergyelectron4996 so? What did you learned from your test