So, I’ve been watching a few intros on meshtastic, just to get the basics down, but I believe my situation requires a proper long term plan. Basically, I live practictally in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by mountains, and there are unlikely to be any other meshtastic nodes around, so I will probably need a setup that is partially based on repeaters,
I’m thinking something like this, where my entry into the ordeal is done in multiple stages. It is my understanding that diving into meshtastic quickly becomes an addiction and a hunt for more nodes, and I don’t see this as a problem in itself, I just want to figure out what to expect in terms of neighboring nodes.
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Simple handheld device. Nothing fancy. Something simple and cheap to bring with me when I’m traveling. While I doubt I’ll be able to see any nodes at home, I travel often, so it would still be usable and hopefully fun to toy around with.
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Semi-permanent car install for longer range. Partially as a repeater for my handheld radio, and partially to log and see where I can find “neighbors”. As a lot of the aforementioned travel is done by car, I think this is a viable strategy in preparation for step 3.
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Installing a solar powered repeater on a nearby mountain. So, if I find out that I do have other radios not too far away, I think it’s safe to say that I will need a repeater or two on one of the mountains that surround me. We’re talking solar panels, and something that can run basically unattended. Long range is key here.
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If the above work and I end up linking to a larger pool of nodes, then I might go for something fancier at home.
How much does this strategy make sense?
UPDATE: A wisblock starter kit is now on its way. Should enable me to do some research and data collection, and I’ll go from there. I’m willing to bet that I need to hike this 1200m summit nearby this summer, tho.
Have you had a look at meshmap.net? People voluntarily add themselves to the MQTT server and have their locations put on the map with some ambiguity. And you can at least see if anybody is voluntarily adding themselves and they are close to you.
Just because you don’t find anybody on that map doesn’t mean there’s not anybody close. It just means that they haven’t volunteered to put themselves on the map. For example, in my area, I generally see between 9 and 15 nodes, and yet only two of them are on the map. So if you just relied on the map, you would think it’s way more dead than it actually is.
There are a couple of mapped ones “nearby”. Two hours drive, and a couple of mountain ranges in between. I should be able to reach them with a mountaintop repeater. I’ll see what else is nearby (if anything) and plan from there, ince my pocket unit arrives.