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Some plastics, certainly not all.

Put your hand on the front. You can feel the vibration.

Yeah, it's not great. It's just one of those barriers of entry though to upgrade the antenna. Not only do you have to research antennas, gain, connector types, you also need to buy a cable that goes from the WisBLock to the antenna. I just appreciate this case because you literally don't need to buy anything or research anything else other than the WisBlock Meshtastic Starter kit. It's great to get started and play around with.

Big Brother has the possibility to listen. The encryption is not that great.

Idk, you probably know more than me. But it uses LoRa, so it’s long range, low power, and since 915 doesn’t require a license that’s important. Another benefit is it “blends in” to other ioT devices making it more stealthy if that’s a concern.

ISM bands. Keeps it legal in the FCC eyes

It’s off grid because it doesn’t use internet or cell towers. The phone connects to the radio via Bluetooth, then transmits directly to other nodes via radio waves.

@@mattreviewsit thanks that helps understand a little better

@@rickymcdaniel6708 You also don't need a phone. It just gives you more functionality by giving you an advanced interface. This device would be hard to use for anything other than GPS tracking by others, without a Bluetooth device. But you can add a screen and rotary dial, or a couple buttons, or even a full keyboard. Then you can use the device as a stand alone coms device. The T-Deck is the most complete standalone option at the moment. Still limited in function compared to connecting to a phone, tablet or computer though.

@flyinryanfpv8763 so it only does text and no voice audio Communications? Just trying to figure out if it's any better than my gmrs setup.

@@rickymcdaniel6708 yes sir, as of now it’s only text based communication. Although audio is being worked on actively. I have my gmrs license as well and I find this to be a great compliment to that setup. This gives me a lot more range while also acting as gps trackers, plus it’s a mesh network. So every node acts as a repeater and extends your coverage. I have 3 solar nodes setup around my area (1 on a tower at home and 2 in town on building rooftops) and I can keep track and stay in contact with my 8 year old anywhere within a 40 mile radius. My girlfriend and I also have mobile nodes setup in our vehicles with rooftop antennas. Which further extends coverage and ensures the little guy can always reach us. Messages come directly to my phone when he texts and he has a T-deck like I mentioned earlier, so he doesn’t need another device. I mainly did this to avoid needing to get him a phone at his age and this has been working great. Now anyone else in my area who’s interested can utilize the network infrastructure I’ve already setup.

Biggest thing is the battery life is far superior with the WisBlock. It’s like a week. Heltec only gets 1-2 days. It also has online flasher and cases available on printables. It’s modular so you can add whatever you want.

I was planning on selling an all in one kit with the WisBlock and everything, but that’s a good idea. I could basically sell it as an enclosure and you can add your own WisBlock and batteries. The 3D printed bracket is super cheap, idk if it makes sense not to include that, unless you’re implying you want to use the enclosure for something different?

​@@mattreviewsitI'm sorry I wasn't more clear I was speaking of the solar node you introduced at 7:20... So just the solar panel and circuit boards allow us to print enclosure to contain it all. So I was thinking just the board for the power bank the board for the solar charge controller the solar panel and The wisblock... I don't mean to disparage your existing design or anything it's just that we have a lot of different locations which will require different enclosures completely. We can break it down and remove the boards that's not a big deal but since that was the plan maybe it would save some trouble on your end. And perhaps some overall cost savings since it's just the circuit boards and nothing else... We normally don't use springs for the 18650s on outdoor projects spot welding seems to hold up longer and provide a better connection.

Yes it does. Just power it up, connect Bluetooth and your golden

Damn. That’s a use case I haven’t thought of. Genius

I think that for this case of use, is best Lorawan and TTN.

Idk if I'd even worry about a GPS, because you can just have the Meshtastic app use the GPS on your phone. If you're setting up a stationary solar node, you can just set a static location in the app. The only application I feel like it's really needed to have on-board GPS is either a tracker node, or a dedicated mobile node on a vehicle. Maybe there are some other use cases I'm not thinking of?

@@mattreviewsit I'm thinking along the lines of lost hiker scenario.

@@tomgarciaaz In that case, wouldn't the hiker have their phone? Or are you saying just as a redundancy in case the phone battery dies?

@@mattreviewsit I'm using one for putting on r/c aircraft and rovers- it will help me find a lost model and also will be a node on the mesh to get distant contacts with the extra altitude. Every OTHER unit I have, yeah I've realized the GPS is kinda pointless and I'm turning it off next time I update the firmware.

@@mattreviewsit With or without phone. Both are possible.

I agree, much love towards @pdxlocs for the beautiful design.