Thank you for the info ! Excellent video. Can you please link the green box case for the device ? I am looking for such a case where I can install ISM band antenna.
This needs to be made for folding phones. With the normal app interface on the front screen and when unfolded in your chest rig shows extra details and controls with the dual screen
Awesome! I was waiting for this video! Quick question - If I want to add repeaters to my mesh network for my group of ATAK-Meshtastic guys, what setting do I have to set them to? Should they be set to "REPEATER" or should they also be "TAK"? Cheers!
@@Meshtastic Cheers, thanks! Btw you guys are doing absolutely phenomenal work and I just wanted to thank you. When I first heard about LoRa and bought my first ESP32 boards years ago I immediately wanted to build some kind of mesh chat network but I knew I could never get a proper product off the ground because I'm really not much of a programmer. And then I heard about you guys and now the project is so far beyond everything I could have wanted from it and more. Seriously impressive stuff guys!
They are aHeltec Wireless Tracker and a Heltec V3 in TonyG cases. You can search "meshtastic" on Printables to find his cases. He has build guides for them for the different devices.
Question: Say you have 2 friends, and you have connection to one, but not the other, but your friend has a connection to both you and that other friend. As a result of the mesh, would you be able to see both of their positions on the ATAK map since technically you should be able to reach that other friend by way of a bounce through your other friend, or do you have to have direct contact? Another example that comes to mind is setting up a repeater node, and having 2 people who are connected indirectly via that repeater, would they still appear on your ATAK map and be available for messaging?
That's the whole idea of Meshtastic, yes. Your Client relays the information as you shout "I am Knights House Games, I have this position and that data, repeat 3 (standard, up to 7 maximum - but 3 is enough!) times!" And then it is a sophisticated form of chinese whisper ...
@@miller_de I know thats the general theory of the Meshtastic system, I am just wondering if that carries over to the ATAK map and messaging system as well through the plugin
@@knightshousegames As it uses Meshtastic ... yes. Meshtastic is just you "network". Nothing else. How it works isn't important as long as info will be received by anyone.
Question, I see a lot of modded software/firmware whatever you’d like to call it for the quansheng uv-k5(8) handheld radio. Since Meshtastic allows for transmission around the 433 frequency, is it possible to flash a handheld radio with Meshtastic?
Followed all the steps and am able to succesfully broadcast markers between devices. Chat and live position sharing doesnt work tho. Any ideas? Thanks. Would love more in depth info on the integration with ATAK, since its my specific usecase for SAR. Could "non-live" voice communication in by sending audio files become a possibility?
You can join the discord and post your issue in our #atak channel for further assistance. The great folks there should be able to get your squared away. We'll have more videos on ATAK in the near future. There's already very limited support for audio messages via Meshtastic. See here: meshtastic.org/docs/configuration/module/audio/ One of our developers recently purchased some hardware for this and has plans to make a video on it in the near future as well.
Photo sharing is very difficult due to the limited bandwidth that LoRa offers. However, there has been some success in using Meshtastic to send an image from point to point, but not over the mesh. See here: github.com/landandair/Meshtastic_File_Transfer
I have 3 meshtastic devices updated and communicating in the meshtastic app, when I pull up atak and load the plugin I get the green Meshtastic Icon but I still cant send messages within the atak app. Any ideas? All the devices are set as the TAK currently from Client. Still nothing. Thanks in advance.
I got mine set up with atak, and 3 nodes. They message and show location of the different devices. When anything else sends the node its attached to gets a fatal error #11 and has to be reset. Any icons, points etc cause this. I was just wondering if this is normal with where the development is at or if I am doing something wrong.
The Meshtastic ATAK plugin only utilizes the Meshtastic device's GPS to display the device's location on the ATAK map. The ATAK user's location is shown based on their phone's internal GPS.
ATAK (or CivTAK) is an app to communicate and coordinate with other people in the field. Originally developed for the US Military, it is used by many people across the globe. From Law Enforcement, Fire Fighters, to Airsoft Players. ATAK is a very powerful tool that allows you to integrate a lot of different capabilities into one app.
@@EDDSkitz lmao well gravy seals are definitely a thing. Relatively fit guys even use this for airsoft, and others fantasize about using it in some sort of murderous cw nonsense scenario but can't run a mile in 10 minutes over flat terrain without a pack.
Or it could be used for communicating with family when the power is out and the cell service is down. You can also add sensors to see different data from far off locations without having to go there physically. (I.e. water levels in a live stock feeder)
Excited for marker support. This is one thing that plugins like HAMMER and Plugnix have over Meshtastic when it comes to sending data between EUDs over radio.
The plugin is signed by the TPP (the US government's third-party pipeline), not the TPC (TAK Product Center), which is the signing authority for "official" plugins. As a result, a red shield icon is displayed in the ATAK plugin menu when viewing loaded plugins. However, this does not affect the plugin's functionality.
LoRa is separate from WiFi and Bluetooth. Connection with your devices via the client apps on your phone is typically done via BLE, but esp32 also has WiFi support. But packets are sent out over the mesh via LoRa.
There's no official plugin for WinTak. You can check out OpenTAKServer, there's a recent addition called the "TAK Meshtastic Gateway" which apparently supports ATAK, WinTAK, and iTAK. Looks like a neat project, but just know that is not affiliated with Meshtastic.
I don't get it. what is TAC? What is ATAC? What value does it add to Meshtastic, as this video only shows sending text messages, which Meshtastic already provides out of the box. Is it relevant for people outside of the USA (I guess ATAC is US American because of the domain name shown)?
ATAK is a suite of software that allows for collaboration over geography, the Meshtastic plugin allows Mesh information to integrate into it. For more information on ATAK check out www.civtak.org/atak-about/ and for the Meshtastic plugin meshtastic.org/docs/software/integrations/integrations-atak-plugin/
Would have been so nice of people to START a video with a one-sentence description of what it is they will be talking about, but...well...I guess I'm too naieve. 🤔
What I meant was "ATAK". I vaguely remember hearing about it before, but the video would have been so much more accessible if you'd have added: "the Android smartphone geospatial infrastructure and situational awareness app". I might be a n00b for not knowing what ATAK was, but if you want Meshtastic to grow there are probably thousands of people like me who might be interested in starting with the right accessible videos.@@Meshtastic
Good video but the whole challenge is totally missed. No Meshtastic or plugin even shown on the plugin screen. Import, no joy. Listing, no joy. My S8 plugin screen blank. S20 shows some. Another video shows import method, also doesn't work. Another user disaster!
Sounds like you're having issues specific to your setup. If you'd like assistance, you're welcome to join our Discord and ask for help in the #atak channel. Or you can even join the ATAK discord and ask for help in the #lora-meshtastic channel.
We're not aware of any native Win-Tak integrations. But there are options like OpenTAKServer which you could integrate to Win-Tak and likely achieve what you are looking for.
All of this all of the time please. Thank you.
Does new plug also have the position feature or tracker features also? very good work thanks
Excellent.
Thank you for the info ! Excellent video. Can you please link the green box case for the device ? I am looking for such a case where I can install ISM band antenna.
Search "Meshtastic" on Printables and look for TonyG. He has numerous case options available for the majority of supported hardware.
This needs to be made for folding phones. With the normal app interface on the front screen and when unfolded in your chest rig shows extra details and controls with the dual screen
Meshtastic is just feeding/receiving info from ATAK. Anything more would be something ATAK would implement.
Awesome! I was waiting for this video!
Quick question - If I want to add repeaters to my mesh network for my group of ATAK-Meshtastic guys, what setting do I have to set them to?
Should they be set to "REPEATER" or should they also be "TAK"?
Cheers!
Repeaters will rebroadcast TAK packets as well, so that should work fine.
@@Meshtastic Cheers, thanks!
Btw you guys are doing absolutely phenomenal work and I just wanted to thank you.
When I first heard about LoRa and bought my first ESP32 boards years ago I immediately wanted to build some kind of mesh chat network but I knew I could never get a proper product off the ground because I'm really not much of a programmer.
And then I heard about you guys and now the project is so far beyond everything I could have wanted from it and more.
Seriously impressive stuff guys!
@@MeshtasticWill a client device also rebroadcast the TAK packets from TAK devices?
Are the 2 OD Green devices build components listed on a forum somewhere?
They are aHeltec Wireless Tracker and a Heltec V3 in TonyG cases. You can search "meshtastic" on Printables to find his cases. He has build guides for them for the different devices.
@@Meshtastic Thank you so much for the valuable information!!! 🙏🏻🙇🏻♂
Can we expect a wintak plug in for meshtastic nodes? I've been looking around and there doesn't seem to be any support for it.
Unlikely at this time.
Thanks for this huge effort!
I've had a difficult time getting location sharing working this way. Everything else seems to work like chat and basic COT sharing. Any advice?
Me too
Sorry to hear that! If you join the discord you can ask in our #atak channel for assistance, they'll get you squared away.
Question: Say you have 2 friends, and you have connection to one, but not the other, but your friend has a connection to both you and that other friend. As a result of the mesh, would you be able to see both of their positions on the ATAK map since technically you should be able to reach that other friend by way of a bounce through your other friend, or do you have to have direct contact?
Another example that comes to mind is setting up a repeater node, and having 2 people who are connected indirectly via that repeater, would they still appear on your ATAK map and be available for messaging?
That's the whole idea of Meshtastic, yes. Your Client relays the information as you shout "I am Knights House Games, I have this position and that data, repeat 3 (standard, up to 7 maximum - but 3 is enough!) times!" And then it is a sophisticated form of chinese whisper ...
@@miller_de I know thats the general theory of the Meshtastic system, I am just wondering if that carries over to the ATAK map and messaging system as well through the plugin
@@knightshousegames As it uses Meshtastic ... yes.
Meshtastic is just you "network". Nothing else. How it works isn't important as long as info will be received by anyone.
Very cool. I'm loving Meshtastic. Thanks.
Hello, I followed all the steps but when I go to load the plug in in fails.
Join the discord and post in our #atak channel. There should be someone there to help get you squared away.
I’ve gotta try this. I’m curious, it’s not an issue if some are in client mode while some are in atak mode? They’ll still all mesh and communicate?
Yes, they will still mesh.
Question, I see a lot of modded software/firmware whatever you’d like to call it for the quansheng uv-k5(8) handheld radio. Since Meshtastic allows for transmission around the 433 frequency, is it possible to flash a handheld radio with Meshtastic?
No, they do not have a compatible MCU or Radio for Meshtastic.
So what role should we set our radios to? TAK? Are their disadvantages to this role as far as making contact with other "outside" nodes?
Yes, you will want to use either TAK or TAK TRACKER depending on the use. There are no disadvantages.
Please get markers working 😢 Thanks for the plug-in though!!
This is great!
What device is that on the far right and what's that case?
Thanks in advance
Meshtatic Swarm Node on Etsy.
Followed all the steps and am able to succesfully broadcast markers between devices. Chat and live position sharing doesnt work tho. Any ideas? Thanks. Would love more in depth info on the integration with ATAK, since its my specific usecase for SAR. Could "non-live" voice communication in by sending audio files become a possibility?
You can join the discord and post your issue in our #atak channel for further assistance. The great folks there should be able to get your squared away.
We'll have more videos on ATAK in the near future.
There's already very limited support for audio messages via Meshtastic. See here: meshtastic.org/docs/configuration/module/audio/
One of our developers recently purchased some hardware for this and has plans to make a video on it in the near future as well.
Great job ! Is it work with photo sharing ?
Is it work with atak server and how to do that ?
Photo sharing is very difficult due to the limited bandwidth that LoRa offers. However, there has been some success in using Meshtastic to send an image from point to point, but not over the mesh. See here: github.com/landandair/Meshtastic_File_Transfer
Can these be used to see the position of the device on the map?
I have 3 meshtastic devices updated and communicating in the meshtastic app, when I pull up atak and load the plugin I get the green Meshtastic Icon but I still cant send messages within the atak app. Any ideas? All the devices are set as the TAK currently from Client. Still nothing. Thanks in advance.
I would recommend you join the discord and post your question in the #atak channel and someone could help troubleshoot your issue with you.
Can you use atack over meshtastic repeaters
I got mine set up with atak, and 3 nodes. They message and show location of the different devices. When anything else sends the node its attached to gets a fatal error #11 and has to be reset. Any icons, points etc cause this. I was just wondering if this is normal with where the development is at or if I am doing something wrong.
I'd recommend getting a serial log when it crashes and sharing that in our discord.
Great work! Can you do same video about Standalone TAK Tracker ?
We'll have a vide on it in the near future!
Does this share the tbeam or meshtastic device gps data once it finds satellites or only atak forwarder does that ?
The Meshtastic ATAK plugin only utilizes the Meshtastic device's GPS to display the device's location on the ATAK map. The ATAK user's location is shown based on their phone's internal GPS.
Can I do the atak over wifi or Bluetooth?
Will this allow me to see the position of the two devices on the same map in atak if both are part of the same squad?
You should be able to see any Meshtastic device with one of the recent updates. Check the release history for notes.
Does it also support sharing of CoT points?
Did you ever find an answer? I need to know
@@johntack1049 it works with the ATAK Forwarder, idk about this plugin
By "CoT points" I'm assuming means markers (our equivalent of waypoints)? If so, then yes. They're not optimized though
Can the plugin send the PLI of the mesh device as well? Looking to slap it on a drone and having a redundant way to track it in ATAK
If you use a standalone tracker device which is equipped with GPS, yes. You can use the "TAK TRACKER" role. We'll have a video on that role soon.
How can I check which firmware version my Heltec is running?
You can see in the iOS app on the node details page, in the Android app on the connection page, or using `--info` with the CLI.
Could you please link to the antennas you are using?
You can find them here: meshtastic.org/docs/hardware/antennas/
Is there a version of atak similar programs that aren't gov run?
Possibly, but whether they're useful/usable is another thing. A lot of "alternatives" still use TAK Server on the backend too.
Type of android phone and case in use in video ? Thanks!
The phone is a Galaxy Note 10+ but not sure about the case. Just something purchased from eBay years ago.
Is there a video explaining what ATAK is? I had a look and it seems to be made for the Gravy Seals crowd from what popped up :P
ATAK (or CivTAK) is an app to communicate and coordinate with other people in the field. Originally developed for the US Military, it is used by many people across the globe. From Law Enforcement, Fire Fighters, to Airsoft Players. ATAK is a very powerful tool that allows you to integrate a lot of different capabilities into one app.
th-cam.com/video/WXuQERL_e8M/w-d-xo.htmlsi=RnV4mEPAYcJ5uT4J
Cringe attempt at being funny... you probably never leave your basement.
@@EDDSkitz lmao well gravy seals are definitely a thing. Relatively fit guys even use this for airsoft, and others fantasize about using it in some sort of murderous cw nonsense scenario but can't run a mile in 10 minutes over flat terrain without a pack.
Or it could be used for communicating with family when the power is out and the cell service is down. You can also add sensors to see different data from far off locations without having to go there physically. (I.e. water levels in a live stock feeder)
Excited for marker support. This is one thing that plugins like HAMMER and Plugnix have over Meshtastic when it comes to sending data between EUDs over radio.
What case is that on the heltec at top left of video?
TonyG/Tropho case. You can find it on Printables.
Will this plugin also send location data? or for now only text? Thanks
Yes, PLI is sent as well.
Thanks! I love these radios!
has this worked with ITAK?
No iTAK support.
is the chat atak to atak or can the messages be viewed on mesh also ?
ATAK to ATAK only currently. Not sure if that will change or not.
Does it matter that ATAK says the plug-in is not officially signed?
The plugin is signed by the TPP (the US government's third-party pipeline), not the TPC (TAK Product Center), which is the signing authority for "official" plugins. As a result, a red shield icon is displayed in the ATAK plugin menu when viewing loaded plugins. However, this does not affect the plugin's functionality.
@@Meshtastic Excellent! Thank you for the info.
tdeck stand alone map download would be cool
Is it possible to make the rak6031 standalone?
Yes, there are several folks that use that device as a standalone communicator. A good example of this would be the "Meshenger".
HI Ben Tanks much I knew how but there id nothing better than to hear the latest gjidance with alpha release bug alpha is like s good beta
why do some claim that only 1 certain version of atak works with meshtastic? Or has that issue been resolved.
You should be able to use 4.10.0, 5.0.0, or 5.1.0. You do need to download from Tak.gov though.
@@Meshtastic Ok thanks so much for the tip.
So the playstore version doesnt work even if it has the right number on it?
👍👍😊😊
Have you seen the new analog chip sets that are using capacitors for processing to digital? Interesting for radio tech and software defined radios.
Thank you!! Great video, and fantastic explanation!!
Will Meshtastic work with ITAK?
Sorry, there is no iTAK support.
Great work and thank you !
Thanks for all the hard work
Are you using WiFi on Lora or Bluetooth?
LoRa is separate from WiFi and Bluetooth. Connection with your devices via the client apps on your phone is typically done via BLE, but esp32 also has WiFi support. But packets are sent out over the mesh via LoRa.
@@Meshtastic so your using bluetooth.
@@Meshtastic so, your using bluetooth setting to connect to atak, not wifi setting. That's where my confusion was.
Where are the case designs? This is heltec v3?
You can find them on Printables. Search for "Meshtastic" and look for "TonyG". He has cases for most of our supported hardware.
I didn't find it on the Google play store
ATAK needs to be downloaded from tak.gov, the plugin can be downloaded from github.com/meshtastic/ATAK-Plugin/releases
My bad, I thought you were saying that the plug-in was on the atak website.
Thx🎉🎉🎉🎉❤❤❤❤
Go is great, though unfortunately it isn’t quite as performant as Rust.
Will this work with iTAK as well?
No, there's no support for iTAK.
@@Meshtastic we need ITAK support
Unfortunately, it's not possible.
Does this work with the iOS version?
Not currently, it is being explored but no guarantees.
@@Meshtastic thanks
Awesome!!!!
Run ATAK and run wireshark.
Will this work with iOS?
No, ATAK is Android only. There is no iTAK support currently.
No plugin for wintak?
There's no official plugin for WinTak. You can check out OpenTAKServer, there's a recent addition called the "TAK Meshtastic Gateway" which apparently supports ATAK, WinTAK, and iTAK. Looks like a neat project, but just know that is not affiliated with Meshtastic.
@@Meshtastic Is there any chances for you to work on and official plugin for wintak or not? Just to know if I Need to focus on something else.
That's not something we're exploring currently.
@@Meshtastic ouch
This project may be of interest to you
github.com/brian7704/TAK_Meshtastic_Gateway
THANK TOU I LOVE YOU
@@pfgoffical2746 gay
I don't get it. what is TAC? What is ATAC?
What value does it add to Meshtastic, as this video only shows sending text messages, which Meshtastic already provides out of the box.
Is it relevant for people outside of the USA (I guess ATAC is US American because of the domain name shown)?
ATAK is a suite of software that allows for collaboration over geography, the Meshtastic plugin allows Mesh information to integrate into it. For more information on ATAK check out www.civtak.org/atak-about/ and for the Meshtastic plugin meshtastic.org/docs/software/integrations/integrations-atak-plugin/
Fern Strategic Easter Egg 👀👀
Would have been so nice of people to START a video with a one-sentence description of what it is they will be talking about, but...well...I guess I'm too naieve. 🤔
The opening sentence states what the video will be about. Is there something more specific you had in mind? We're happy to hear constructive feedback.
What I meant was "ATAK". I vaguely remember hearing about it before, but the video would have been so much more accessible if you'd have added: "the Android smartphone geospatial infrastructure and situational awareness app". I might be a n00b for not knowing what ATAK was, but if you want Meshtastic to grow there are probably thousands of people like me who might be interested in starting with the right accessible videos.@@Meshtastic
Thanks for the feedback.
@@Meshtastichandled like a true gentleman
Good video but the whole challenge is totally missed. No Meshtastic or plugin even shown on the plugin screen. Import, no joy. Listing, no joy. My S8 plugin screen blank. S20 shows some. Another video shows import method, also doesn't work. Another user disaster!
Sounds like you're having issues specific to your setup. If you'd like assistance, you're welcome to join our Discord and ask for help in the #atak channel. Or you can even join the ATAK discord and ask for help in the #lora-meshtastic channel.
Oh you’re a lefty. Word.
Awesome. Is there a way to connect a computer running Win-TAK and a meshtastic LoRA device to an existing meshtastic mesh-net?
We're not aware of any native Win-Tak integrations. But there are options like OpenTAKServer which you could integrate to Win-Tak and likely achieve what you are looking for.