This Massively Increased My Meshtastic Range! 

Hey all, it's Stu from Rivington. I had a great time chatting to a group of people including Jim and the Lighthouses culminating in about 40 new node contacts. I'll definitely be doing it again in the future but plan on trying a Yagi and also a 433mhz node.

These Meshtastic adventures of yours are fantastic, Lewis.

Hi Lewis, good stuff, many thanks. Our radio club 'Wirral Amateur Radio Society' G3NWR, has been operating from Bidston for many years, when there have been special event oportunities using GB2BHL. All from inside the lighthouse ,with the very kind permission of it's present owner who lives actually onsite. Again many thanks.

These Meshtastic adventures are exciting, going to try and get a mesh started here in my corner of the US - Oregon and the PNW! Keep the videos coming!

This reminds me of when I got my Radio Amateurs License back in 1980. I used to ping the repeater and listen in to random calls. A few months later my set was nicked from my TR7 (police said that whoever stole it thought it was a CB set) and I never replaced it. Meshtastic reminds me of the same scenario, lot of enthusiasts sending 'Hello world" messages to each other just to see who is the furthest away. 👍

I have 8 nodes strewn out around my city with 10 more coming. I’m naming them all Kyle except 1. I named 1 Lewis.

I'm getting a couple heltec radios soon over in Minneapolis (usa). I imagine I'll have to work quite hard to get contacts here. Your videos make me quite envious, although maybe there's a meshtastic community around me that I just don't know about

I wonder how feasible it would be to make solar powered nodes to deploy around an area? Have the radio. electric bits, and a battery and for night time power inside a weather proof housing with a decent antenna and a big enough solar panel to power the device and keep the battery topped off so it could be running 24/7. It would be really cool to set up a handful of these "stations" around the community and a proper mesh system.

I'll see about getting a node added in the Hope Valley, Peak District, UK. That should link Manchester with Sheffield....hopefully.

Great footage as always. Thanks Lewis for the effort you put in !

Nice Beluga spotting at the 4:55 mark, rare bird that one

Well, Andy & Lewis have me intrigued. I am in the Catskill's of NY at 1700 feet above sea level with a clean opening to Boston & New Jersey as well as NYC. There are hardly any people where I am but I might be the bridge to my East & South East were I to install at least one device. In March or April once its no longer like Siberia here I'll give it a go & see what comes out if it.

2 pints of lager and a packet of crisps, please!

Thank You for great content and historical tour of the surrounding area.

This was great. I love the way you put it together too I'm going to have to try one in the states. In my non existent free time.

It was me replying from Irby but my Heltec had reset and lost the node name lol Also my mate in Greasby with the original 1st Bender case!

When I hear “Wirral” I think HMHB…😂👍

I love this channel. Lewis always shares great views of England. I feel like I take a mini vacation, when I watch. Always learning something new about Ham Radio, and even some interesting history! 😊

Got mine just a day ago... going to make it work soon! Who knows, someday we'll make contact from Holland to UK!

Great video yet again, thank you! - I really like your style, radio stuff mixed with interesting facts about the environment, fascinating lighthouses. Wouldn't you want to live in that observatory? As an avgeek it was worth watching for the Beluga alone. Gotta get a Meshtastic device, even though I am very pessimistic here in Lapland (commuting between Sweden and Finland) I doubt I get much out of it... Cheers! 👍😎

Thanks RM for the Informative Trip and the History Lesson. Great Video. Take Care and Radio On****

Hi Lewis, Great Video, Nice to see some of these node locations, fascinating, I see you on my mesh dashboard this morning :-)

I just got a node last week thanks to yours videos and now you make a video in Wirral where im based! Seems to be quite a few of us locals, need to replace my included antenna!

good work fella. I'm getting hooked now. I have one of the first NanoVNA's from when I was messing about with 2m70cm, WiFi, and ADSB antennas. Working on a Meshtastic J-Pole made from an SMA pigtail idea now lol. I best get a device on order then.

I really need to get into Meshtastic and both set up a node at home where I'm about 350ft ASL and have a great takeoff across the West Midlands. It will share the same location as my GB7EZ repeater. It will also be good fun to have one in the back of my car with a small Yagi to take out when I'm portable. Another great video, Lewis - thanks!

Great luck with getting that Beluga! We don''t really see them in the US that much, and I'm not near anywhere the Dreamlifters usually fly.

Great videos! Thank you. I hope to see England one day It is beautiful there.

I moved away from Liverpool 15 years ago and seeing that skyline with fiddlers ferry and the old Runcorn bridge makes me feel like I'm nearly home. It was a shit hole, but it was my shit hole❤😂

I envy you all. Nothing like this in North Texas yet.

Amazing video and adventure, wish I could have came along! proper inspiring stuff 😊

great view from always ringway. i like the vlog style of you filming the drive in your car and then the music and video of the area around the castle. good stuff ❤️

Another fantastic video Lewis - meshtastic certainly seems to taking off! The drone shots really add to it.

Great stuff Lewis. It took just 2 days to get my Heltecs from Amazon 😊 just wish there were a few other nodes in the wilds of North Yorkshire!

Great effort on the video Lewis, well chuffed to see my little node on the tv screen.

Great video Lewis, I will have to get out and about and do some portable tests when my 868 boards finally get here.

You make soo good drone piotures Lewis! Beatiful to look at! ; The best from LB1NH in Oslo Norway! 🙂

I’d love to visit Halton Castle one of these days. I’d love to visit anywhere in the UK.

Superb! Cheers!

Got my Mashtastic Lora setup today. Not a single node in my location, Carlisle. Looked at buying another online, 868 boards sold out everywhere. Hopefully I will find one or someone will setup another in Carlisle. Btw, tried to join your Facebook group..

Brilliant video Lewis! I see starter kits are available for very little money here in Switzerland. Now watching your idiot's guide... All the best, Rob

At those distances, you'd be fine with a well tuned omni. You're isolating the signal quite a bit with that yaggi and actually reducing your mesh coverage. But the fun is always the journey! Great videos!

I have some Meshtastic kit on order. Great video thanks.

Great vlog/production, you're really stirring up the interest for Meshtastic. I'm hoping to have one set up in Sheffield soon. I'm the highest house on my hill so hopefully I'll get some good coverage. My ADS-B receiver nearly covers the whole of the UK so I'm hoping to mount my LoRa antenna up on the same pole 🤞

Nice work again Lewis👌

Really nice video mate, good cinematography, great content, really high production values, I’m jealous! Keep up the good work!

Now, tap into the Lora Sats and play with us big boys :) Great video btw

I am fascinated by this new LoRa/ Meshtastic format. I not sure of LoRa's presence over here in West Coast Canada. But I learned that LoRa is a thing here too. I may build my own 800 MHz Yagi to use with my RTL-SDR to see or hear telltale signs of LoRa signals.

Absolutely fantastic. What a great place for a radio club. Meshtastic never ceases to amaze. And that pub sounds great too. 73 M7TUD

Interesting video Lewis. Used to work in Runcorn and have climbed that hill to the castle many times.

A Meshtastic Adventure! WOOT!

5:55 I was assuming it was turned into a pub, too. 😂

I went out in the car for first time Sunday with my tdeck. Picked up a couple of nodes 40 miles away across Lyme bay. This with a paradar 5.5 omni. I was pretty high though on abbotsbury hill.

Could this really turn into modern day CB? First node seen today which wasn't my own. Maybe I'll build some 868MHz antenna next weekend. Enjoy watching your adventures on Meshtastic! 73!

great content as ever. Almost line of sight for me to Bidston, but not quite! Based towards Chester, nothing on the T-Echo but looking to put up a repeater soon.

I'd love to get some nodes up here as well. Very cool!

interesting and simple to use, my FPV race drone uses lora protocol for long range control on 868Mhz with up to 1 watt power if I so chose it although Im sure that wouldn't be legal

I would use a Clover leaf antenna omni 360° directional antenna Vertical and horizontal (radio propagation) Both are supported

One of your best!

My pal goes up there quite often, for scanner listening...

Do you know, is there a way to get a node to bridge the various transmission modes? It would be helpful for starting hops on "VERY_LONG_SLOW" because you're way out and then having the closer "city nodes" take over on "LONG_FAST" when the mesh is tighter knit...

just got into LoRa/Meshtastic today and still learning and looking what model to buy. But regarding your video: with the small form factor of Transceiver, what about a small helium ballon if you can't afford a light house ;-) that should also work just fine on your own property and should be legal as of my knowledge

Aaah I got stu up rivi also first time I've had any contacts from home.

Interesting stuff. I’ve seen a few videos before. It seems the area is hilly as per where I am, you need to think about bouncing signals hill top to hill top or other high vantage point. From the highest hills here it’s possible to see for many miles in every direction. There’s a monument on one of them and this can be seen from most of the low points surrounding. There’s also 2 transmitting towers up there which I believe are tetra. I assume there’s no real reason why it wouldn’t be possible to get signals across the Severn, between England & wales….and ultimately with high vantage points, across the English Channel into France. In a similar way, maybe have an antenna on the Isle of Wight which could be seen from a great % of the south coast….in the same way freeview tv is broadcasting from there to the south of England.

Just had a couple of boards delivered, some point over the next couple of weeks I shall experiment with them a little, then one of them gets waterproof housing, decent antenna, solar power supply and gets to live at the top of my mobile phone mast :)

Majestic!

I wonder if you could end up adding a garden light solar panel or two lol for a high clandestine take off....remote station

This is so cool, I wish Meshtastic was active at all in ZL. I check around every few months, and there just seems to be zero interest in it.

Interesting video thanks for sharing

I Would Use Clover leaf antenna More Omi 360° and omi Horizontal & Vertical Both propagation

Would you mind telling me what the music is called in the first half of this video? Used to hear it a lot in youtube videos but never actually discovered the track. Also i love your usage of dnb on this channel, fits the rf genre well me thinks.

You say theres a link to meshtastic in the description, but theses not :) Also whats the link to the Facebook page dedicated to these ?

Love the video Lewis! - James

As soon as i saw the thumbnail i instantly thought Leasowe. Did you visit the green hut cafe for a brew? Wirral amateur radio club used to operate from lighthouse(not sure it they still do)

I'm looking for a cheap meshtastic but can't find anything! Aliexpress is out the question as they deliver in April-May time. I was thinking why not put a Heltec on a drone with a small Li-Po battery? It's quite light.

cant help but notice But We in UK Can also use 433MHz & 868MHz both ARE UK license free be handy Setting up Duel Band Nodes (Bridge nodes)

Maan i rly cant wait to get my radios

Hoping to get into it soon

Oh i love whwre iive, Wallasey Village and its surrounding places of Beauty! Love seeing the footage every time you visit. You'll no dount see my base relay, WLV, It can see yours. 73 Sean de 2E0SYA

Nice video. Is this china Yagi really a proper choice? I doubt it, there aren't good Yagi for 868mhz available at Ali. A logper antenna would be more suitable when using a LTE antenna. I did 53km today with a small 3d printed moxon antenna line of sight. 150km shouldn't be a problem for lora with sf9.

Sort of looks like how I would imagine VanDraven House. Kinda, Sorta, definitely not as ominous.

Like the music

What about meshtastic from a drone with a 4G capable device ? To move « anywhere fast » would it be great or stupid with limited drone range ?

Is there a map of meshtastic nodes? I'd love to get one, but don't completely understand the use cases and I'm not sure if there are nodes near me..

Can a node be connected to the wifi so can connect the app with phone. Could put a node in the loft

Where did you get the multiple element LoRa Yagi?

I have watched many videos about meshtastic. A freind asked me about the software used to communicate through the mesh. I told him it is text only, no picture or voip, and ONLY using the specific mesh text software. Am I correct? And can private chat groups be setup or is it all a public chat?

Have you tried attaching a device to a drone and sending it up to test the range?

your description doesn't have a link to what meshtastic is :(

Does mesh apps for deactivated smart phone work? Has anyone tried this method? What's were your results? Thanks

So w ho is selling these devices in the US?

Put your node on your drone. I bet you’d get more contacts.

meh. setup a node in germany (ruhr area, Essen) - but no single client or other node around. (having a good spot ontop a hill, in a high-rise building, so coverage should not be a problem) -- i guess meshtastic is as dead as packet radio and CB... :/

Did you change the power of the radio? I thought it’s only 25mw not 100mw as you said.

I still don’t understand what it is. Even though I watched your video explaining it 🤦‍♀️ Looks fun though

Anyone in Derbyshire setting up a node?

Lost cause; Poulsbo, Washington Latitude: 47° 44' 9.35" N Longitude: -122° 38' 47.54" W

How do you log your stations / contacts?

👏👏👏👏👏💯🔝

cant even buy the hardware, its all out of stock and not available to ship to new zealand. i doubt the meshtastic project will take off when hardware supply chain is a cluster to say the least.....

Im sorry but i dont get the reson to buy one of these (i do know that its a hobby and everyone can do with their money what they want) because the only thing i see is people saying reciving and "testing" so you can't do much with them