Category: Field Gear

(Continued from Part 4. This concludes the article.) There are a lot of different complicated characteristics in the LoRa radio configuration that can be changed that impact range and transfer speed, so Meshtastic has defined a number of preset configurations so you don’t need to mess with the technical details. The first word of the preset defines range, and the second defines bandwidth, with ‘Long Fast’ being the default. I strongly recommend that you stick with the ‘Long Fast’ preset until you gain more experience with Meshtastic, so make sure the ‘Modem Preset’ field says ‘Long Fast’. Once you’ve selected …

(Continued from Part 3.) Flashing I’ve covered a lot of details regarding how Meshtastic works, so let’s walk through an example of configuring an actual device to see how it all applies. Note that one of the results of Meshtastic currently being primarily a hobbyist activity is that there are multiple ways of doing things. For example, you can connect a Meshtastic device to a PC via serial (over USB) or Bluetooth, you can manage the device from a PC using an Internet-based web interface, a locally hosted web interface or a Command Line Interface (CLI), you can update the …

(Continued from Part 2.) Charging In regards to charging, most Meshtastic devices have a built-in USB-C port for charging the internal battery (except for the T1000-E mentioned above). The USB-C port can also be used to connect to the device to a computer for upgrading the firmware or managing the device via a web browser. Compact Comms Above is a picture of several Meshtastic devices to give you an idea of their sizes:

(Continued from Part 1.) Meshtastic provides native integration with GPS satellite data for location information. Many Meshtastic devices come with a hardware GPS receiver built in, and the Meshtastic app has the ability to share GPS data from a paired cell phone if it’s not built into the device. There is usually a shortcut in many Meshtastic devices for immediately sending your location information to other users in the event of an emergency. The Meshtastic phone app has the ability to download local copies of some maps so you can pinpoint other people’s locations. I realize that many people don’t …

Unless you’re a completely isolated loner, communications are going to play a critical role in both short-term and long-term disaster scenarios. Being able to effectively exchange information with family, friends and community members in both short-term as well as long-term disaster scenarios can literally mean the difference between surviving or going the way of The Dodo. There have been dozens of articles on SurvivalBlog about the use of radios for voice communications, and having appropriate radios and communications plans should definitely be considered a critical part of any preparedness plan. However, there’s another form of communications that should be considered …

Land-line analog telephone service was ubiquitous in most of the 20th Century. This hardware is now commonly Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS).  This was our primary means of communication. It was simple, robust, and reliable. A few users still have landline service, although most landline service has migrated to digital means over a public Internet connection, with a modem at the user’s residence converting the digital data back to analog and providing ringer voltage to operate the bell. A lot of these telephones and associated equipment still exist, and are sitting in basements and attics. They could be easily pressed …