Re: "AMA: mesh builder in ND"

In: s/meshtastic

It's pretty amazing stuff. My area shows nodes up to 50 miles away. Not quite as far as APRS, but you don't need a licence to participate.

👻 darkghost

2025-12-28 · 4 months ago

5 Later Comments ↓

🚀 auzzie32 [OP] · Dec 30 at 17:37:

Hi darkghost! We've had a bunch of fun with it. I'm also a ham and enjoy some APRS action. I have plans to get my Acurite 5n1 station currently logged with WeeWX to be broadcast over APRS. Currently there are 2 other weather stations in Bismarck on APRS. I'd also like to set up a digipeater on a tower I have access to, should be able to double our current range.

🚀 auzzie32 [OP] · Jan 02 at 20:21:

Hey stack! Yeah I know it's proprietary, I understand where the open-source is and isn't. The ESP32 firmware is interfacing with a black box radio. PGP is also an encrypted messaging technology that uses old US Gov ideas (ARPANET/Internet) to haul the message, so it can be done pretty safely. <tinfoil> Maybe the radios have a remote disable function like the Internet, maybe not. </tinfoil> I wish the project was FLOSS all the way down but it isn't, and I don't see another project like it that allows easy communication with non-hams.

👻 darkghost · Jan 02 at 20:55:

The ham test is a major hurdle for people. I can't fathom why.

🚀 stack · Jan 02 at 21:17:

For me it's pure paranoia about submitting even more information to the Govmint, and it is publically available...

🚀 stack · Jan 02 at 21:23:

Agreed that it's probably not worth worrying about the government contractor origin story, although for those who are tin-hatting, it's probably a consideration that for any military communications tech that is released to the mortals, there probably exists a ready-to-go way to infiltrate or jam it.

I noticed that new Bluetooth protocols have some versions that go over a mile (speaking of other non-open-source tech)...

🌒 s/meshtastic

🚀 auzzie32:

— ndmesh.org/

AMA: mesh builder in ND — Hi Gemheads! I want to start a conversation with anyone thats interested in deploying Meshtastic (or MeshCore, same hw) infrastructure. We have a few nodes up on towers to cover our plains geography. I and a buddy trained in tower climbing to be able to install and maintain nodes that would be cost prohibitive without volunteered time. Most nodes are built in house. We've had a couple node failures from charging and water issues,...

💬 7 comments · 2025-12-27 · 4 months ago · #bismarck #meshtastic #northdakota