Meshtastic: An open source, off-grid, decentralized, mesh network

Meshtastic: An open source, off-grid, decentralized, mesh network
meshtastic.org

Similarly, for everything that you transmit packets towards another specific node, 99% of your RF signal is going in azimuth directions that you don't want and don't need, but because it's an omni it goes everywhere. Raising the noise floor for all other nearby nodes of similar hardware configuration.

I would encourage people who want to do something like this on a very tight budget to look into the designed for purpose point-to-point (primarily parabolic reflector based) 802.11ac/ax based radio systems that exist to form L2 ethernet bridges between two locations. And some newer very low cost 24 GHz and 60 GHz based stuff also designed for exclusively line-of-sight (and line-of-fresnel-zone-clearance) point-to-point bridges.

LoRA stuff is also much better if have fixed-link needs between two spots in bands far below the typical 2.4 or 5.x GHz, working in VHF/UHF-like bands (or generally anywhere below 1300 MHz), and can point a few yagi-uda or dipole type antennas at each other instead of having two omnidirectional antennas talk to each other.

If you have sites which are not mobile and do not move around or change location relative to each other, and you want better link reliability and data rates, I would strongly encourage people to look into using just about anything else that isn't an omni to form network links between nodes.

randomly chosen example in 5 seconds of googling, note gain pattern in one specific direction:

https://www.elprocus.com/design-of-yagi-uda-antenna/

One of the cool things being done with LoRA-type chipsets and RF modules these days is ExpressLRS, which implements a serial UART bridge between remote controller and UAV (or unmanned boat, ground vehicle, etc) for link between human and onboard flight controller. Evolution of the same general idea as TBS Crossfire for RC applications.

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=expresslr...

In crowded places like college campuses, we could run campus IM on it for instance