TOTAL OFF GRID COMMS!!! 

If you look at some of the Meshtastic videos they are a couple of years old now, but in the past few months this space seems to have seen incredible growth in the interest of this technology and the deployment of nodes by the general population. I'm sure in 12/18 months there will be almost complete coverage in most areas. Please remember in order to help the Meshtastic Network grow and establish solid infrastructure, try and keep the node on 247, and leave it in the default 'Long Fast' mode, this is the mode that will be compatible with 99% of other nodes on the network

Decentralized messaging is the future. I'm sure we're on the bleeding edge of a new revolution. In years to come we'll all be saying, "do you remember when we used Meshtastic... how far we've come along since then!"

Another SMS off grid message method is the Rattlegram APP. It compresses 85 character SMS you type on your phone APP into a compressed audio file. You can press PTT on your Ham radio then hit transmit on your phone app which transmits the SMS as a compressed audio file (think military type burst transmission) across the radio frequency to other persons radio on same frequency (or a scanner listener) and message is decoded by their phone APP. Lots of features for a free app. Was developed for ARES ham disaster use. Works with any FM VHF or UHF radio transceivers. Compression method also is playable and decodable from youtube videos

Andy, did testing this this last weekend... easily made some 20+ mile hops with that little 7 dollar 915MHz LoRa Antenna Omni 5dbi off amazon from hilltops. Now getting ready to deploy some "oops I lost it" higher elevation overlooks.

Experiment with grounding the mesh unit by a small grounding wire off of the outer brass of sma antenna brass. It seems to help extend range . Kinda like the old tiger tail off of a HT.

Very practical and useable in the real world, LOVE THIS

Maybe try increasing the max hop setting in the software if u can’t reach him from home… long shot but worth a look mate. Jason.

Some thoughts. 1) Presumably changing the owner name frequently will significantly impact the life of the flash? But would be useful in an emergency / disaster situation. 2) I'm wondering if the problem with distance is because people are setting nodes to router mode when they aren't in that great a location? Meshtastic's algorithm update video says that the updated algorithm is designed to repeat the message by nodes that are furthest away from the original source - so that it has a greater chance of travelling some distance, BUT routers will always be preferred first. So if routers are picking up the message and rebroadcasting it reducing the hop count, but they aren't in locations to significantly extend the mesh - then they will reduce the distance the message can travel?

Sounds like an issue we had to deal with when we spoke g-wisp. The problem is that a node is randomly sending, but doesn't form a path. You have to string information of the node path and power within their ranges. The map, then has a look up which is usually controlled by a server, that returns the path. The bus route types tend to be the unreliable, and can be congested, the more users the worse it becomes. 'playing tag with your twin in the house of a million mirrors'. I ended up building a system and back bone to deal with this, Cisco now use it for their network coms. Can't see these devices being able to handle the data tagging to be able to do it. As the hop list, could be long, so would the route. Imagine driving lands end to John's groat . You would have to hop most towns and villages, each maybe 4 times. Each would have to be tagged to route the message. I think the un should tag specific data,like in- internet, mq- MQTT, ro- unmanned repeater and so on. I think this video demonstrates that this doesn't work. See if it did work, the node behind him would have been able to get to him regardless of your distance, I think you should have tried with another user...

I was having same issues with 2 of my units (Heltec Lora 32 V3). I was able to send and other stations away from home would copy, but the other one at home didn't. Both units were paired with separate devices, one unit (mine) was serving as base and configured on MQTT and the other unit was paired to a phone through bluetooth.

Thank you for this video. There are many Meshtastic and LoRa videos but this video shows how it works with a real example and that is what I was wanting to see. I already understand RF propagation, antennas, and the general technical aspects but wanted to see the app and the hardware in actual use. My sister is 3 miles east and my brother is 3 miles west and I'm thinking of creating a Meshtastic emergency comm system. They aren't hams, so it needs to be simple. If I provide the central repeater, this could work.

Andy, I spotted your Happy Monday node around lunchtime today while driving from north of London, and M7CGM too.

came back to your channel after a while, I remember when you had around 9-10K subs, now you've gotten so big! Proud to see it man , keep the good videos coming 🙌

Love this stuff

I completely agree with you with the status. I think it should be something that they should work into it. The thing I think they should do the most is a status when devices are powered off. So before a device is powered off, it sends out a shutdown/offline message letting you know all devices on the network that device is now off and then when it's back on It sends out a online. Because sometimes I can't figure out if a device in my network is having a problem or did it just power off due to loss of battery or user turning it off?.

Really like you’re videos Andy 👍🏼

4:24 My favorite part the response 🎉 Also really like the mini car and the minimal "for me" Iam new to radio ecosystem and everything you do or talk about I wanna know everything 🤩 but so much to learn and test... Questions 01: Can, Meshtastic DEV or COMMUNITY can upgrade the App to allow messaging updates and notifications like "WhatsApp messaging type" so user can view live updates and may be error plus the type of error , how identi identify the error... ??? Question 02: Can we build a ESP23 with lor module add-on + screen ... a diy solution with solar capability? Question 03: On the market in 2024 witch device you recommend budget starter? Thank you for sharing so much information and knowledge with us and Happy new year 🎉🎆🎉

I appreciate your videos so much! I am always happy to see, that there is another enthusiast with an Echo, FT-5, AND a TWIZY 😂👍🏻 I often use THIS setup, too! Cheers mate 🍻 Thanks for your videos!!!

Andy. Love these videos. I’ve just bought a T-echo and set it up in Gtr Manchester. There aren’t enough users at yet but it did crackle into life for a few hours on Saturday! Android app looks way better than my iOS one but hopefully more people around Manc will start to buy in!

Love the Twizy ! LoL

What is that little vehicle!! That’d be perfect for the farm

Great job. Ya'll need more friends to place more nodes.

Have u tried to send up a drone with this device attached to send short texts at intervals? I think it would be a game changer.

I love your keyboard, what is it and where can I get one from?

Wanting to get a T-echo, but at £120 it's just too much at the moment for something that wouldn't get used. Due to the fact there is nothing around here (checked with my Heltec Lora V3 board).

Beside messaging, can you send IP data through a direct link between 2 nodes

Hi Andy, I am now the proud owner of 3x Heltec V3 boards with another 2x to be delivered later this week along with some of the smaller whip Paradar antennas. However, I have not tried any other boards, mainly due to availability. Since you are the proud owner of a number of different setups, it would be good to hear your opinion on how the different boards would compare when connected to the same antenna type. I have read that the SX1262 based TX has a slightly higher power (500mW) than the Lilygo T-Beam TX, but then I hear that the T-Beam has a greater range, but that is when the Heltec V3 uses the stock antenna that is not great and the T-Beam uses an outdoor +8.5dB antenna! So, it is quite hard to know how to compare the two boards! Any thoughts would be appreciated.... BTW, these are a great series of videos, and I really seem to have caught this bug. I hope to have 5x setups (one solar) up and running in the next week or so.

I’ve been trying to find the radio to purchase one. I can’t find it anywhere. I’m in the US.

This stuff is so cool! I'd love to know if there are any nodes in my area. Is it possible to use an SDR to confirm this?

Heya, I've just got into this from watching your videos. I have a HelTec device and am based in Coventry. Not got much around here yet but I'm hoping to see it grow at some point. Think I've got an issue like you mentioned last video as the antenna is the bad type and it was sent with it so I'm wondering if this could be an issue, do you know where I'd get a better antenna from? I'm on LongFast 868mhtz and keep my node on 24/7 as much as possible. Thanks for all your videos buddy. keep up the good work. we all need these in our homes, not relying on the goverment connected networks for communication.

Where did the get the T-Echo? It seems to be sold out everywhere!

Could it be the hop setting? Default is 3 so if there are 4 or more nodes in between, it will not go through? Correct me if I'm wrong.

I’m late to the party on this (this was the first I’ve heard about it!) but if I understand it correctly… while I get that currently there is nowhere near enough bandwidth to support it, I am wondering if a few hardware revisions down the line such a system would be able to carry voice? So we’d essentially get an entirely off grid version of Network Radio/zello? That would be pretty awesome 😎

I have 10 nodes. All are named Kyle except 2. Those I call Andy and Lewis.

Is there a place where guys like myself (no DYI, no kits, not assembling, no soldering - bad eyes and bad hands) can by and "ready out of the box" a meshtastic/lora radio usable in the USA? Thank you!

A great idea like a profile 20:34 that you have digitally be read

Interestingly, the node that reports as 4.9km from you is actually 8.5km based on its GPS. Yet the one in the center of london is bang on. The node from Bristol is about 12km off. I wonder if thats because it hasnt refreshed since you were closer to it?

Which frequency version of the meshtastic firmware is everyone using in the UK?

what distance was this to your mate over the meshtastic?

*Can you tell me the make of your mobile phone. Looking for quality video/audio recording.*

So if i wanted to text a couple of hundred mile in a rule area would this work? Without internet?

I envision that One day a meshtastic device will be integrated into the radio itself . On another note I see on certain Quansheng firmware it has a messege function that can be used on other frequencies

why dont you use the 433Mhz version? is there any reason before I set one up also discord link says invalid or expired

What about an android e-ink tablet

How do you keep your phone from attaching via bluetooth to more than one lora device at a time? Without a solution to this problem, I can't keep my phone from hogging all the available lora devices to itself from all other cell phones in the same room or area.

Do you need an amateur radio call sign to use meshtastic 🤔

i live 30 secs from a mast, what would be the best node to put up?

🥧 for dinner 🍽

Independent communications, like CB and amateur radio are handy tools to have in a cupboard. Probably why I've always had a Thunderpole T-2000 tucked away for when regular communications goes tits up and it's likely to when we least expect it and heavily rely on it without a viable alternative. Smartphone communications rely on many factors to provide a stable cellular service with total coverage. It doesn't take much to cause a cascading failure of the existing infrastructure. Anybody got their ears on the 19, come back? 😉😆

Is the pixelation, when recording the tablet's screen, intentional or is this some RU-vid voodoo ?

Cottage Pie?

💙👊😎

868MHZ ? HOW MUCH RF OUTPUT ? 25mW ?>

This is very odd, looked at you like/dislike ratio and it was +25 vs -90 so basically just writing to say i like you content. we a far away and also trying to start a community (or close up the gaps)

The net could be better.

How do you get so may pages (dots on the bottom) . I only have three of them on my T-echo..

Your audio is low on the handheld because its not close enough to your mouth.

if it's an android tablet or an iphone tablet, one that has either wifi, bluetooth, or cellular connectivity, then it's not "totally" off-grid....