The Idiots Guide To Meshtastic - Long Range Comms!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 พ.ค. 2024
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This Is an idiots guide to Meshtastic, a great off grid communication system that utilises radio.
Its great for keeping in touch, making long range contacts and ideal for emergency situations where there is no cell coverage .
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Ulefone Handset:
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/ @andykirby
The Comms Channel
/ @the_comms_channel l - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
Follow These 10 Tips To Be A Meshtastic Pro!
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WHAT MY ROCK IS TELING ME WHAT.. Oo meshhy
I've been living under a rock...
Hmm. An iMessage reaches anyone with an Apple device, or an enabled Windows device, anywhere in the world within a second or so, if they have any kind of internet connection. You don't need an aerial or any coax either. And you can send text, video, audio, images, documents handwriting and drawings. Android devices will likely have a similar equivalent. So what are the real advantages of Meshtastic?
@@RWBHere "if they have any kind of internet connection" - grid down, power down, cell phone down.. this can still work to communicate
I must have been living under a rock as Meshtastic is all new to me !
Same here
You and me both. 🙂
Me too! 😆
why do you live under a rock mate? get an apartment
Yeah, I think this is pretty niche to fall into the "under a rock" category. 😉But I'm very happy to be out from under the rock I didn't know existed!
I like idiots guides, they make people down the pub think I'm clever.
You and me both
Drop in a MOSFET here an 18650 and BMS you're now an engineer. Lingo is key.
@@SimEon-jt3srif you know what MOSFET stands for, you are officially a nerd.
You should sign up for neural link mate👍🏻✌🏻😉
What are they sending just messages, or like radio (musicc), or like CB radio
Yup I've been living under a rock, lots here in Wales!
I prefer the sheep
I’m in Wales and really didn’t understand what Andy Kirby was disgusting on his channel.
With around 30 people in my city of 1.5 million using these, we still struggled to send messages at any range over a mile. Its way different in dense urban areas with lots of things in the way than what a lot of these videos let on. LoRA largely relies on line-of-sight.
I’m in a Dutch town of about 160.000 inhabitants and there’s nobody using the mesh. Nice to play with but I don’t see this taking off tbh. Which is sad bcs it’s great tech
it appears alarm systems, some thermostats, and a few other devices use these freq as well.
@@duanenavarre7234 The frequency is used for LORA solutions such as IoT devices, sensors etc. Meshtastic just uses the same frequency. The Things Network does also. That's the radiopart anyone can use.
So you could fix this if you had someone put these on the roof of buildings?
@@nerminc.1713 you can create a gateway, yes. High up is best
This looks very interesting - an affordable new hobby for tech heads. But the question remains: why ??? What do participants talk about, to what purpose ?????. Back in the early 1980s my sister got obsessed with CB. She had a bedroom transmitter, spending hours every night on it. I never really knew who she was talking to, or about what. But one night when we had the serious coastal floods, the amateur CB network proved valuable in coordinating help in the local community.
it's geared at black outs or if the net is down, eg due to cyber attack, or if you're blocked or out of devices.
Very high chance of losing internet cell service in the near future.
This would enable communications- getting information/ news, etc.
Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, 2004, blew away fire and police radio, and cell, everything. A tall concrete building was used to implement 802.11 wifi locally, and jump 50 miles dish to dish. Atheros, madwifi, voip put shelters online with families elsewhere. 911, DC MD VA cell was shut off for hours by the perps, the anthraxers of Russell Welch, Leahy, Daschle, to influence government like Mena vs Welch.
Isn’t it obvious that we’re headed for a massive tech crash?
Your sister is very smart.
The advice from Ringway Manchester in this video to avoid velvet bottoms is the kind of excellent tip that all viewers would do well to heed.
Now I understand what Andy Kirby has been talking about.
Thank you for making this production.
I joined the local amateur radio enthusiast's group a year ago and they havent heard about meshtastic.
I can't wait to get started. This is what I've been looking for after many years of searching.
Thanks for this. 👍
Only in your universe everyone knows about this gadget. Living under a rock... :D
Great video! I'm glad to see you getting into Meshtastic and appreciate the shout-out!
Guys go and check this guys videos!!
Me too 😊, ✋️
Yes!!! AMAZING channel 😁
@@andykirby Cheers! Yours as well! Love seeing how much fun you're having with it! 🎉
@@RingwayManchestersubbed. Appreciate you gents
6:30 FWIW: The power bank's cells shown seem to be Samsung 3.7v 5000mAh 21700 li-ion, which would suggest the 48h claimed runtime roughly equates to an average power draw of 2x3.7Vx5A = 37Wh / 48h = 0.77W
Which isn't much at all, if you needed to mount a unit in a poorly accessible place, you could definitely run that off a ~5-15W solar panel(depending on location) 🤔
Thank you for the math!
Hi Lewis. My friend at work and I got our first of two Meshtastic kits today. Two of the Heltec 32 v3's with antenna and the little case like you have two of on this video. The kit of two Lilygo LoRa will be the two we put out in the wild. Now the fun begins 😊. 73 my friend
Ok.... the challenge is on.
We have to get a node path set up so you and Andy Kirby can send each other a message
Meshtastic will be amazed and all the groups can celebrate a real achievement
This might not work well in super remote countries like Iceland (where there are areas with no population in any direction for up to hundreds of km). But in countries like Denmark and Germany, where density is good. This is a great backup communication path if the mobile network ever goes out. Since this is not centralized and runs in small power and transmission strength. Wish they allowed use for this at lower frequencies (for better range), but maybe that is going to happen in the future.
Even more so here in overcrowded England. I used to use packet ax25 on VHF on 6/4/2/70. This sounds good for a community prepper network
Several members of the Genesis Radio Group have these up and running around Bury and Prestwich. Got my first contact, recently, on the stock aerial. Distance was just over 1km with it just sitting on an upstairs room windowsill.
Thank you. Please keep this content coming!
Love the enthusiastic name of those 18650 lithium batteries. Is it a promise or a threat??? 😂
They were actually pretty popular in the tactical flashlight crowd for a while because they were pretty cheap, at least that's where I remember them from. That and folks that build DIY powerwalls. Still though, the old Samsung and Sony 18650s I have from old laptop pack pulls are still the most dependable ones I've got at least.
judging by the claimed mah rating i am gonna go with threat.
@@UD503J "Tactical flashlight"? oof.
@@UD503J They are most certainly not popular in the powerwall community or any group/community . they are unpredictable , with zero quality control, making it INCREADIBLY RISKY to use in a pack with other cells, they are outright unsafe to use.
They are exactly as dodgy and fake as you think they are.
Absolutely brilliant guide rog! Loved it, gonna watch it again!😁
Thanks N
Great stuff , i quite fancy trying these out .👍👍
Thank you for making this guide just for me!
My first exposure to the system and your explanation is really clear and informative, thankyou.
Glad it was helpful!
Great video. The VervainNet nodes are mine, 01 being fixed and 02 being portable. Unfortunately I was out when you messaged, will hopefully get another chance to try soon. Great to see more and more nodes coming online 💯
Oh great!! Catch you soon
Very timely video. Much appreciated 😀👍
If you dont mind may i ask what makes it timely? I'm one of the "under a rock" guys.
@@thesaurusrext ... for me as I've been getting a lot of offers (and some queries) about Meshtastic. I originally discounted it as I was expecting it would need huge hyping to get enough nodes to be useful, but seemingly not.
Thanks for this, Josh over Ham Radio Crash Course was streaming about this very tech last night.
I've just come across meshtastic in the last week, and already built up a nice shopping list of parts to play with
Very informative. Thank you!
This is awesome! The emergency abilities of this could be life-saving in a communications black out. now, if we could broadcast our own video and digital data over a public wireless network, we would be set! 😊
You already can with mesh wifi systems.
@@dezman2003 The whole Habana in Cuba it's set out this way! I don't see why we can't do the same and start sharing among us 😉
@@dezman2003Look who would use 100 routers for a mesh?
@@xanderplayz3446 Not sure what your point is. You don't use only routers for a mesh network. What are you babbling about?
dont think the bandwith is anywhere near to media transmission
It looks like packet radio, Amateur radio operators have been doing this for years only we can legally run more power, these appear to be part 15 low power devices. I may have to play with this to see how well it works.
Good video by the way. Very well done.
this is just the video i was looking for! i am very much also an idiot and ive been curious about meshtastic for awhile now but i didnt know a ton about it. am gonna get a mesh going ASAP now.
Very interesting. I’ll have to try these out In Australia. We are using them at work for wireless comms for water meters and electricity meters.
I like to use LL195 cables for short runs as it’s easier to move around than LMR400.
Hi Lewis, great video. I picked up your chat the other day, I was 0KAY (or 0K-1) on the mesh. Unfortunately, I'd gone to work, but it was fun to see all the picked up Meshtastic nodes when I got home (and the chat you had with the chap in Horwich with a colinear I think it was).
Hey Trystan! Great to hear from you! I’ll keep an eye out for you again
I played with Meshtastic about half a year ago here in the south western corner of Germany. Didn't see any other stations then, neither on 70cm HAM nor 868MHz ISM. Testing with my own nodes the ranges and mesh routing looked impressive though. Might try again when I find the time.
Keep me posted
I have my 2 868MHz nodes up and running. Noone else seen.
@@thes764 what distance do you reckon you can see with them? There's a map on "technicallyrural" which shows a lot of nodes in Germany but not many in the southwest, and very few in France. There's only 3 or 4 here in Ireland but I'm tempted to try it out anyway...
@@batlin Can't find the link with map, can you provide, please?
Was planning to set one up in München and another in Stuttgart. Good to know there are more enthusiasts here.
There seems to be a lot of us under a large rock, this looks interesting and will give it a go, it reminds me of my packet radio tnc and nodes back in the 90's
Ordered one
Very interesting Lewis. I think one of these might have to end up at my repeater site 🙂
Hi! Thanks a lot for this. Helped me a lot.
I think the key is to build a network. I purchased a couple extra for friends. I am building a few antenna for 915 MHz and will be testing them out thoroughly. Eugene/Springfield Oregon.❤
Many thanks for the guide! Apparently I've been living under a rock ))))) This thing is so cool! IIRC each antenna connection reduced dB gain by about 2dB, which is a lot.
I started the hobby in the Netherlands, hopefully one day a nice reception possible with the UK
Very informative. Thanks very much. Using a paraboloid will extend the range even longer; surplus satellite-tv dish, but only to certain direction naturally.
3:49 - they used the old "Winamp" logo as symbol for flashing haha!😊
Please note that that there regulatory laws for allowed transmit power from the antenna, called e.r.p. (effective radiated power) so when you use a high gain antenna, like some of the monsters you showed, you're way, way, WAY above the allowed e.r.p. If you then start to interfere with existing services, it's very easy for the regulator to triangle your now super strong signal and slapping you with a fine that can be hefty depending on what you're interfering with.
No that is incorrect.
@@shanerorko8076How so. I'm trying to understand.
@@napsam71 Understand what?
@@shanerorko8076 How that is not correct.
Ok now this looks so fun, and also when SHTF you could still communicate even if cell towers are down, LORAD is super cool
Excellent tutorial 👍
Excellent. Andy made me aware of this, and I've so got to get into this year. My plan is one for portable, and a node in my flat.
73 M7TUD
thats my plan as well but stoke is a bit quiet at moment
Cool video. Thanks Lewis.
this is awesome. Definitely gonna look more into this. Alternative communications could be crucial.
Rock dweller here. I grew up with parent's who were missionaries to Haiti. This was before cell phones. To communicate, they got into Ham radio. Giant tower installed on the side of my house, and licenses. Crazy to see how obsolete ham has become. And I hope it stays that way but who knows.
Comparing this and ham radio is like comparing apples and elephants.
This is a license free low power radio system that can be built out but only operates in a small window of radio bands and while nice, does have substantial limitations.
HAM radio while requiring a license is basically being able to do everything Meshtastic does but faster and across a huge range of frequencies / bands with power levels that can be in excess of 1kW.
Meshtastic is like a cordless home phone, ham radio is like a true cellular phone.
@@vaughanweather sorry I feel like I wasn’t clear. I’m just blown away by the tech shown in your video. I was sharing a story to demonstrate how crazy technology has progressed, and how ham has become so unnecessary at this time. Again I could have been more clear.
Ham radio is very active, a long way from obsolete.
never heard of it and I absolutely love it. Already have 2 solar panels on my terrace with a small battery and an inverter. If I add this Im really ready for the apocalypse 😄😄
I've never come across this before, but definitely want to learn more!
I'll be investing in some boards to experiment
Good to see you get onboard mate!
Thank you, that was really good!!
This could revitalise Ham radio and it’s got that mode of operation that is reminiscent of CB radio.
Greetings from the rock that I've been living under. 🤪
This is certainly something for me to explore at some point, especially with it not being tied to any mobile network. 🙂
Me in chat: Hey guys I just set up this node
Others: Oh cool!
Others: I just set up my node it’s working perfectly!
Me: Oh cool another node!
Others: God this radio is so good!
Me: yeah, these nodes are really powerful.
Others: I love radios
Me: yeah I love radios too
Others: hey guys I just set up a new node!
Me: Oh cool, a new node!
Others: damn these nodes are so good
Me: So what are you guys doing on Friday?
……..
……..
crickets chirping…..
……
Others: On Friday after work, I’ll set 3 new nodes up so we can talk to each other better.
Me: …
Thank you SO much for this! I've been seeing Meshtastic videos around a lot lately, but everyone is over this idiot's head - this is perfect, thanks again!
Brilliant vlog 👍
Great work. Missed your videos
I going to try a few of these. There isn't many in my area (none at all within range). Partly just to do it partly to try and contribute to a network. I work 29 miles from home and I could probably deploy one roughly half way so could use for work to home.
My push right now is for times my daughter doesn't have service and we can't telegram. But planning on going to the eclipse here in the us. It may actually be useful since we may be out of cell network and it can get very crazy busy on the path of totality. Might prove useful for us or someone else.
This makes you realize how much is going on under the hood with data transfer and texting etc, i feel like you could build in some intelligence to lora/bluetooth meshing to create a backup communication system that would work without cell towers or satellites, maybe you have lots of little hidden solar powered nodes to bridge gaps between users
I'm another one who's been living under a rock. This looks really useful and interesting, though!
Also, great apologies for being that person, but given some of your implied concerns about privacy on the channel, maybe you should consider suggesting that folks use Firefox instead of those other browsers.
I have resisted until now, but the TH-cam crowd has worn me down (I'm looking at you in particular, Andy!). One Heltec ordered from AliExpress as of two days ago!
You should deffo get two to play with just incase!
@@TheKendalCrew One at a time, one at a time. Just like my collection of Baofengs and Quanshengs...
😂
Great video. This product is the way of the future. Whether it be a zombie apocalypse or war, it’ll be useful to find friends, family and allies 😂
This looks like cool tech! If I liked talking to people, I'd get it.
Can we have Meshtastic on a Flipper Zero . Both use ESP 32 ?(ask Andy ) Love the show 👍🏻👌🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Very interesting. I’m about to buy one. Located in West-Belgium.
I have two nodes so far up and running in West Yorkshire, just waiting on delivery of an 868mhz 8dBi omni antenna from Supaerials for the pole.
Long Range, Low Power TX/RX. You can choose only one. Either it is to have long range but that requires high transmit power or low power at the expense of short range. The idea of this device is quite interesting, but it can't be called Long Range Comms but rather Local Range Comms. A better solution would be to implement such a system on the CB band. Then there is no problem with range because a 5W transmitter can have a range of hundreds of kilometers, and fewer devices are needed to create a network covering a large area that will meet the definition of Long Range Comms. In the case of this device, it is impossible to build a network that runs through large agricultural or forest areas, because there will be no space to install repeaters.
Bah humbug! I bought a Digirig when that was the rage and made no contacts. I got into Meshtastic with the same result. These techie things just seem to be trendy and not a lot of people use them where I live, and then there is some new tech to replace it. Much of this relies on LoS, which doesn't work in many areas.
I got the Motorola walkie talkies about 3 months ago and thought hopping would already be a thing, glad there's something out there for it
Cheers mate👍🏻✌🏻
So, second time through this great video!
I was on the Heltec website and saw LoRa Gateways and LoRa Concentrators - can you give a brief description of what those do in your third Meshtastic video??
I've been looking to get a set of 4 of these to use in some areas with no cell reception out of country. Little nervous about the buy in with it, but I think I'll get its value worth.
Thanks for the video. There is a MacOS version too!
Thank you sir! been thinking about investing in a few of these nodes.
i'll finally know what s2 is on about now!
Same!
6800mah 18650 lmao Good one...
I guess I have, been living under a rock. I have never herd of your little tiny radio or the youtube channles you mentioned in the first 20 seconds of your video.
I am interested in getting my ham license though.
If this turns out to be a low powered ham radio, I guess I'm interested.
😃fantastic technology, for remote areas, or in case of emergency, the very expensive goTenna or beartooth Project Lantern etc comes to mind
I might put up a repeater in my little town. I’m new to this but it would be fun to see how far I can get a signal. My area is flat flat flat. With the ability to install a solar powered repeater at 35-40 feet(10-12 meters) that should be impressive.
This is so cool! I wonder if I could use this to make some sort of MMO....
Great video, but I'm struggling with what real life applications this has. I'm going to grab a board anyway, as I'd like to see what it can do. Just curious what people are using them for.
Thanks for the video! Wasn't aware of LoRa before, looks like it could be quite useful!
Would I right in saying that I could have a portable device on me whilst out hiking that I could send signals to my car with, which when fitted with a longer reaching antenna, could potentially send signals home, either by itself or via the mesh?
I need a way to convince the wife I haven't fallen off a cliff when I am out and about! 😂
Over in Halifax with a recently purchased Heltec v3, seeing no actively at all which is disappointing (not even sure everything is working properly).
Upgraded the antenna to a Paradar in the hope that would help but still nothing. Any tips?
I am surprised I did not heard about this before. It screams for utilisation in many areas. Does it have open source software ? It would be great to connect mini keyboard and skip the phone. It would be great for preppers in case the network went down. But phones have short battery life.
That's terrific. Now we're all idiots 😂
What is this???? This looks interesting. Just randomly popped in my recommended. Subbed!!
yeah I bought this box with a rasp pi and a lora hat. it was a coiple hundred bucks and I did it a couple years ago. I am just remembering about it lol. I remember hearing about lora and wanting to create my network system for emergency uses.
Looks like a good way to establish COMMS for disaster recovery or search and rescue operations.
Hurry make the next video! 🙌🏼
I’ve lost most of my EE knowledge from college. But can I hook up some sort of amplifier if want to extend the connection using a coaxial with reasonable quality?
Where did you get the mag mount from ?
I assume it has a SMA connecter on the base and on the end of the lead.
My Heltec board arrived today, but haven't seen any other nodes yet in Birmingham. Have a second one coming and an external antenna I'm going to mount on my roof soon hopefully.
At worst, you can contact yourself...
You know, I am something of an idiot myself!
You and me both brother
Plus 1 me 😂
Would it be possible to set up a proxy on a fixed end, like at home, that would pick up messages from the field and forward it to devices that were on Wi-Fi, for example? Or is it reliable enough that you can just leave it on and when you're in Bluetooth range it just works? Does it save messages that you may have missed?
Use case: live in off grid area, wanna communicate with home when away, but it's impractical for family members to have to be tethered.
How would you architect this ?
I'm not an idiot, but this was brilliant! Thank you. 🙂
Checked the mesh map and noted I'm located in a 'hole' south of Manchester so have set up a node here.
When you put a node up in the loft, do you talk to that node directly from your phone via bluetooth, or do you hop via another node in your radio shack?
I've just received my two Heltecs from Aliexpress yesterday, all flashed up & can see a dozen nodes already :) I'm G4PHL
I had 2 old modules with esp32 and sx1278 433mhz. I am surprised with the range with suboptimal antennas and placement(So far it works for my short dog walk.). I ordered heltec v3 one with 868mhz radio, will see if I can find anyone's mesh.
Excellent video but I think Radio to Radio and CB Radio is still very strong,... I just started General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) here in USA & with a