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I'm Getting into Mesh Networks (Meshtastic, MeshCore, and Reticulum)

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Re: I'm Getting into Mesh Networks (Meshtastic, MeshCore, and Reticulum)

#101

Post by MiracleRabbit »

brk wrote: post #97
rta5 wrote: post #91

I started experimenting with meshtastic in December last year, but so far it has been a really quiet network, so I'm not seeing the congestion problems the author highlights. According to meshmap there should be a node ~2 miles from my house but I don't reliably see it. I don't see the next closest at 4.3 miles either. For some reason I saw the next furthest (~8.4 miles) for a few days, but it has since disappeared.…

I ran some Meshtastic nodes for a while, same overall experience. Rarely saw nearby nodes, never communicated anything more than a basic "HELLO"/"ACK" kind of thing. It's a neat idea for things like a distributed sensor network on your own property, or other IoT kinds of comms. It's not a practical platform for human to human comms, especially in a disaster scenario.

For sensor stuff use LoRaWAN + Mirotik Basestation + Chirpstack

Re: I'm Getting into Mesh Networks (Meshtastic, MeshCore, and Reticulum)

#102

Post by Steltek »

raffael_de wrote: post #89
rcarmo wrote: post #56

I’ve spent my entire career in telco and networking and loved the rise of Wi-Fi (which we used spectacularly over long distances when the spectrum was clear to show off my mates in 3G/microwave backhaul), and have been keeping up with LoRA and related stuff (got a few HelTec boards), but all the recent meshtastic/core/etc. stuff feels a bit like the early wardriving community (and CB radio): fun, full of ideas, but w…

> but without enough structure (or mass appeal) to take off I think the most important requirement for a mesh technology to take off is a purpose that is practically relevant right now. Let's assume the mesh network exists - now what? Now you can send messages to other nerds but ... what do you even want to send as a message? That's why ham radio basically bottomed out at contests, Morse code challenges and exchangin…

Off-grid messaging is helpful for my family (skiing, camping, hiking). They have zero interest in ham radio but a funny looking messaging app isn't a problem. Regular walkies talkies (FRS, GMRS) don't relay/hop, work asynchronously, or transmit GPS positions.

Re: I'm Getting into Mesh Networks (Meshtastic, MeshCore, and Reticulum)

#103

Post by kgwxd »

Just to throw in my experience, got 2 RAK19007 after the last HN post. Mostly just for me and my kid to play with. He took an interest in Flipper Zero recently and Mestastic seems like a fun expansion on that interest. In the Western NY area, about a week up and running, devices just sitting on my desk, I've got a node list of 215, and I've communicated with people from Rochester to Canada.

Re: I'm Getting into Mesh Networks (Meshtastic, MeshCore, and Reticulum)

#104

Post by alnwlsn »

sehugg wrote: post #81
alnwlsn wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's pretty hard to imagine anyone "getting serious" with these tiny radios designed for reading gas meters and weather stations and using that to build some kind of off-grid alternate Internet. I'd almost have more faith on dragging out all the old acoustic coupler modems and building a city-wide string-and-tin-can telephone network. Of course they are not useless. My hiking/camping friends put together a fun orient…

I tried to compile something and the Pi ran out of memory I think your beef is not with Meshtastic, but with the distro/compiler, and I am going to bet you're compiling C++ with clang.

I don't know man, I was just trying to follow the official build instructions. If that's not Meshtastic I don't know what is.

The (lack of) reliability in the network is the main issue with it though, but that's already been covered elsewhere in this thread.

Re: I'm Getting into Mesh Networks (Meshtastic, MeshCore, and Reticulum)

#105

Post by halfmatthalfcat »

rcarmo wrote: post #56

I’ve spent my entire career in telco and networking and loved the rise of Wi-Fi (which we used spectacularly over long distances when the spectrum was clear to show off my mates in 3G/microwave backhaul), and have been keeping up with LoRA and related stuff (got a few HelTec boards), but all the recent meshtastic/core/etc. stuff feels a bit like the early wardriving community (and CB radio): fun, full of ideas, but w…

LoRA can work but there needs to be a backbone, either terrestrially via towers with repeaters or LEO constellations. Everything else is doomed to fail.

Re: I'm Getting into Mesh Networks (Meshtastic, MeshCore, and Reticulum)

#106

Post by halfmatthalfcat »

moontear wrote: post #76

I really like LoRa and its range, but unfortunately the hardware is much more expensive than e.g. Zigbee or WiFi devices. Would love a LoRaWAN router but they run around ~80€/80$ and just for playing around with it it is a bit much.

You can build one with an SX1302/SX1250 and an STM MC for cheap.

Re: I'm Getting into Mesh Networks (Meshtastic, MeshCore, and Reticulum)

#107

Post by MomsAVoxell »

brk wrote: post #83
smlacy wrote: post #30

IMHO this article misses a couple really important points. First, if the mesh can use Internet or other transports then it will, and it will be built out in a way where these become a necessity. If all you want is a silly new way to text your friends, then something like reticulum will be ok. But if you want a serious solution for emergency response and free communication -- free as in "no one can stop me or control…

The meshcore software, and the common hardware being used, are both comically weak for anything that approaches usage at scale, especially in an emergency situation. The range is extremely limited, and the throughput gets really bad if your packets have to travel more than a few hops. These two factors alone combine to write this off as nothing more than a toy pretty much from the start. There are already unlicensed…

Well, someone is a negative nelly.

>comically weak

This has been said about every interchange technology, ever. Doesn’t matter, still EOF’ed.

>trying to position mesh* as a scalable and reliable transport of any kind.

.. well, scale is a matter of one thing: location, location, location ...

>range

.. is an end-user value decision, as in, you might think its too slow for your browsing needs, but there are a thousand applications that will use the bandwidth offered to the average user, at the average users own personal speed, according to the needs of the average user.

Just like in the good ol’ days of soggy noodle internetworking, the current zeitgeist apropos mesh-based local low-power radio technology, is entirely ruled by the user.

Case in point: some friends and I have deployed our own small Meshtastic network, and we use it exclusively to organize our social network. This particular use case isn’t particularly ‘easily’ exploitable by third parties, since we have some modicum of encryption - but it certainly supports our need here and now in a big city - but, more importantly some of us will take the little lovely boxes with them when they go sailing next week, and our range will be significantly extended for the purpose …

>Meshcore nodes are not solar powered by default, and the same solar power concept can be utilized for any other kind of radio transceiver/protocol.

If you need solar, build a meshcore node with solar.

Nay-saying like this is as old as the hills, there’s nothing special about it, everyone does it…

Re: I'm Getting into Mesh Networks (Meshtastic, MeshCore, and Reticulum)

#108

Post by tardedmeme »

rcarmo wrote: post #64
tardedmeme wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe it's called ham radio

CB stands for Citizen's Band, and was the moniker back in the Usenet days. Yes, I know I am dating myself here.

Yes, and ham radio is the international emergency mesh. CB radio isn't.

Re: I'm Getting into Mesh Networks (Meshtastic, MeshCore, and Reticulum)

#109

Post by tardedmeme »

raffael_de wrote: post #89
rcarmo wrote: post #56

I’ve spent my entire career in telco and networking and loved the rise of Wi-Fi (which we used spectacularly over long distances when the spectrum was clear to show off my mates in 3G/microwave backhaul), and have been keeping up with LoRA and related stuff (got a few HelTec boards), but all the recent meshtastic/core/etc. stuff feels a bit like the early wardriving community (and CB radio): fun, full of ideas, but w…

> but without enough structure (or mass appeal) to take off I think the most important requirement for a mesh technology to take off is a purpose that is practically relevant right now. Let's assume the mesh network exists - now what? Now you can send messages to other nerds but ... what do you even want to send as a message? That's why ham radio basically bottomed out at contests, Morse code challenges and exchangin…

It's the same problem with things like Geminispace, or hobbyist phone networks. The only thing Gemini users have in common is hating what the internet has become. The only thing TandmX users have in common is some interest in phones or phone systems.

But on the other hand, isn't it also true of the Internet?

Re: I'm Getting into Mesh Networks (Meshtastic, MeshCore, and Reticulum)

#110

Post by PaulHoule »

giwook wrote: post #17
robotswantdata wrote: post #13

Set up solar nodes last weekend. 200 miles of range now. Nerds, mad ideas. Good times.

What do you need 200 miles of range for?

Personally I find it very satisfying to get long near-line-of-site performance in VHF and up. That could be reaching a repeater 100+ miles away on two meters with a handheld and a tape measure yagi

https://www.jpole-antenna.com/2017/02/07/build-it-2-meter-ta...

or talking to somebody with a bigger station 300+ miles away because of a tropospheric duct or just getting into the WiFi at the hospital from the other side of the lake.

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