#US - Minneapolis/St. Paul Metro

1 messages · Page 4 of 1

quaint marlin
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It will still function as a repeater, effectively. The default behavior of clients is to repeat mesh traffic. It will just count as a Hop. You may want to up your hops to 7 on all devices, at least (again) until your area mesh situation is better known.

quaint marlin
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BTW got a 7.5mi contact to my home node from the mendota bridge near the airport! Not the first time I've hit that one, maybe I should think about plopping a node on it.

robust flax
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Go try the buildings we discussed

quaint marlin
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already back home, gotta take my cat to a vet appt - I may have an hour or to do more goofing around afterward

robust flax
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Poor kittah

quaint marlin
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met up w lucas though, and that's two discord members in a row that Ive met and NOT murdered.

robust flax
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Or haven't been murdered

wide umbra
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He was a little stabby but otherwise gentle

quaint marlin
dreamy sapphire
quaint marlin
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i'm more the garrote type

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plastic bag in a pinch

dreamy sapphire
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I had one of those mall ninja shit chainsaw garottes that could cut down a small tree in a few seconds as a teen

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Did as advertised, cut down a 2" tree in 10 seconds. Immediately broke on the second tree

quaint marlin
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lol

dreamy sapphire
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But hey, worked as advertised

quaint marlin
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cuts down exactly one (1) tree!

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so choose well

dreamy sapphire
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Holes for sma and that usb-c adapter are drilled

robust flax
wide umbra
dreamy sapphire
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it'll eventually be my rak cyberdeck but for the interim while parts are designed and ordered it's just a mostly empty box

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for this trip it'll house the bandit nano that I'm borrowing from Brew and I'll be doing rangetests up in superior nat forest

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if I can get a few miles in the woods, it'll do dozens on an open lake which is the final iteration. Gotta make them easy enough for the old uncles to use on the fishing adventures

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Now where the heck did I put that usb adapter

fading torrent
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Does anyone in here have a node named "Savage Tofu" with the short name CURD?

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Getting a signal to it in chicago but its on the map south of Minneapolis

robust flax
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He's logged into the chicago mqtt. I'm in the area but haven't been able to reach him.

wide umbra
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Backpack mounted station g2 baby letsgo

20240806_223950.jpg
quaint marlin
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careful you'll poke somebody's eye out with that much power!

quaint marlin
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also if you're at defcon make sure you're always paired to the device when it's on, or change the PIN to fixed instead of random. If you were un-paired someone could easily pair to it, get your channel QR, and enjoy full access to your encryption keys 😄

junior cosmos
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KVOKEV I just seen your node by work!

somber ocean
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Also saw a new node "Deimos A140" near 694 & Lexington Ave

fading torrent
robust flax
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Very weird.

robust flax
fading torrent
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Maybe he’s on vacation in Chicago or something and he left fixed location on lol

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That’s my only and best guess

robust flax
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Possibly

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I've never picked him up

wanton moth
quaint marlin
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pics or it didn't happen!

ripe vector
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Today I learned there’s a discord for metastatic right in my back yard. Good to finally see some nodes around here

dreamy sapphire
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it's long fart!

ripe vector
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The best kind.
Damn I’ve been missing out. Here I thought I was the only degenerate in msp trying to stick nodes in places they shouldn’t belong

robust flax
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about time

robust flax
quaint marlin
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Welcome to dork club

ripe vector
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I only have one permanent one up at my house. But I’ve got a couple raks in my desk drawer just waiting to be mounted

robust flax
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IF you put one up on the south side of dredd scott on the light pole to the east cool things will happen

quaint marlin
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Where ya at?

robust flax
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south bloomington

ripe vector
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I’m like a half mile from dredd scott

quaint marlin
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Ok, yeah we have at least one other guy working that area

robust flax
quaint marlin
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Lucas has nodes near 494/portland ithink

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Did you pick up my random pings this evening?

ripe vector
quaint marlin
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I think that car is DT Pilot G2

robust flax
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car2 was relayed thru my stuff

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brew you should reprogram roseville and see what happens

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i think not only is it not giving the info it's not passing it either

quaint marlin
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Im gonna redo those both soon. The last parts for the big dawg will be here in a few days

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I can change the channels on them sooner though

robust flax
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yeah just to test put LF back to 0

quaint marlin
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Im just gonna do lf and admin and leave the rest off

robust flax
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nice

quaint marlin
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Rv2 will have a hardware gps soon which should help a lot

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And a 4w pa and 40” 8.5dbi stick

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I might try and take that existing antenna down temporarily to mount mine to the top of it

robust flax
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i think you should use that antenna

quaint marlin
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Put the node indoors?

robust flax
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if it passes

quaint marlin
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The cables to the antenna are run inside

robust flax
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yeah, and they probably end in an N connector

quaint marlin
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And they are like 100ft

robust flax
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you can unscrew it from the antenna

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and plug on there

quaint marlin
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What are the chances its tuned to ism?

robust flax
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it's either 433 or 930

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more than likely it's hi-paging

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930

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bring your vna

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could be tuned for both

quaint marlin
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If youve got the hardware to test it, i can get ya up there. Theres a 20ft wall ladder to get up to the top

robust flax
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Farty did that go thru?

ripe vector
robust flax
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nice.. no idea why chats don't show up on the webapp

ripe vector
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The node you have at the 35 split is total money

robust flax
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who?

ripe vector
robust flax
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i just see a ghost icon

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spooky

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the river valley and south of 494 will be well covered. i'm trying to get over the ridge and i have a shot up there not sure how far i can propgate from there tho

ripe vector
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I could put rooftop nodes on cedar and 62… 26th and lyndale.. and near lake nokomis. Not sure how well they’ll propagate though

robust flax
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give me some adressed and heights and i'll show you

ripe vector
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I work downtown. I’m just trying to find a way to the top of the IDS

robust flax
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it's a broadcast location it's pretty well locked down

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you would be better off on a PHA building

ripe vector
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I have access to most floors in us bank plaza. Was thinking something out of sight above the ceiling tile by a corner window

robust flax
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why not the roof?

ripe vector
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I don’t personally have access but maybe could find someone who does

robust flax
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it would be blocked to the south but would open the north right up

ripe vector
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Yep. South is mostly blocked unfortunately

robust flax
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anything is better but as far as in the building with those coated windows i'm not sure what would get out

ripe vector
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Yeah I rarely pick anything up through the windows.

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I could do second story roof nodes at these spots :

44.89413° N, 93.25405° W

44.90014° N, 93.25528° W

44.96091° N, 93.28748° W

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I don’t think any will propagate incredibly well

dreamy sapphire
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run them through heywhatsthat and you get a general idea of how well a node will perform

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assuming your elevation is set right

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I dont believe that site takes buildings into account though

robust flax
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the one north of the airport might be valuble

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there's a guy at 62/35w already

ripe vector
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Also need some advice on what the consensus is for a node build. Winter nukes Lion batteries. And I heard the raks bad a voltage conversion unless going direct USBc

dreamy sapphire
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that'd be @quaint marlin territory, he's our node maestro

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but I believe lots of 18650s in parallel are the secret ingredient, since each one only has to put out a tiny amount of amperage the temperature matters much less

robust flax
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an mppt controller extra wh's and some hope should be gtg

dreamy sapphire
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an ammo can full of 18650s in parallel you dont even need to worry about winter solar

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it'll just last the whole winter

robust flax
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oof

ripe vector
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All my ammo cans are full of ammo. I’d have to go buy more

dreamy sapphire
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you dont just buy them at harbor freight because they're there?

ripe vector
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I’ll start with a couple sleds of 18650s. And particular manufacturer or go-to seller?

robust flax
dreamy sapphire
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I have Molicel P28As from 18650batterystore

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for my vape, but still solid batteries

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VTC4s are also a solid go-to

quaint marlin
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Mornin!

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Any solar node will do just fine with 4 18650's or 3 21700's year round, no matter the temps.

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I assume you're not going to do a non-solar node unless it's indoors?

ripe vector
quaint marlin
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You don't even need the crazy ultra-low-temp ones that are made for flashlights. We're never pulling the kind of current (or putting the kind of current back) that the fancy batteries need to account for temps.

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Just put enough mah's in there and you'll be fine. I've had several nodes outdoors now since January with various battery setups and they are all just fine, completely exposed to the elements (in a weatherproof project box of course)

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If you are willing to put a few extra $'s into a node, just get a Voltaic Systems V50. It handles all the charge controlling, USB output, node comes back to life automatically if mah's ever cause it to shut down (which it won't)

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I'm actually running the amplified node on RV2 with a V25, which is the equivalent of 2 18650's

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and it's powering the node AND the amp.

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if you're not familiar with these, they are "always on" battery packs made for solar applications and long-term uptime like time-lapse photography.

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They're not cheap but they are bulletproof

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They avoid the only real downside to standard batteries and charging setups, which is that Wisblocks (RAK4631) if they run out of juice completely, need to have their button physically pressed to come back to life. However that is not true if it is plugged in via USB. Via USB it just comes back to life automatically when there is enough voltage. Great for hard-to-reach nodes if they have so-so solar coverage.

ripe vector
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So power via usb is the way to go

quaint marlin
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IMO

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You could quite likely rig up your own raw-cell-based system that uses USB as the output if you wanted to go that route.

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I haven't seen anyone do that yet but everyone's EE/solder skills are different.

ripe vector
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Something like this work?

quaint marlin
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I believe some people use (or even repurpose/resell) those or something like it.

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Its main advantage is that you can just run a cable through a cable gland into the node enclosure instead of chopping a hole and gluing the panel on. IMO it's not the way to go.

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those soshine panels are pretty powerful and reliable, and proven to stand up to weather

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and you can series two together if you need more juice

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the other advantage of the setup you linked though is that you don't need to f around with battery holders and soldering, etc....which is a legit concern for some.

robust flax
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The power comes thru the wisblock the same way from the power input and the USB...

quaint marlin
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that may be true, but it's been shown many times over about the wake-up functionality.

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something about the board's circuit logic or some sort of non-MT firmware setting make it so that USB power is more resilient for solar applications. That said, you do lose the battery percentage metric.

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that sucks but it's not the end of the world. I've never checked in on any of my voltaics and had it any less than all 4 lights out of 4.

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Something you can do is use both. THat way if the Voltaic pack ever does fully lose power it switches over to the other battery, and you DO get the voltage metric all of the sudden, which can clue you in as the admin that the voltaic is either empty or having a problem.

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I've seen some people do that as a redundancy measure.

ripe vector
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I like that idea

quaint marlin
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that said I've never seen a voltaic have a problem of any sort. They seem to very much be a "you get what you pay for" product.

ripe vector
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This 10min build just sits and blasts ghost all day. I’ll get it on the roof soon, but I have elevation to the north

image0.jpg
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For some reason this spot a few blocks from me seems to be the highest elevation spot in Bloomington. Any benefit to getting a node there?

44.82520° N, 93.34375° W

Seems like I could hit parts of St. Paul and mpls from there

dreamy sapphire
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Plug it into heywhatsthat

junior cosmos
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The long fart has arrived!

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Dude I’m late to the party I see lol

robust flax
ripe vector
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Har far north can you get with yours?

junior cosmos
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169 and valley view road not getting any acks.

robust flax
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Yeah there's nothing there

quaint marlin
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oh I needed a negative for the longitude

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that's my defacto height I put in there because that's as high as I can reach with the pole basket

dreamy sapphire
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About to hit Superior, and then through Duluth. Wonder if I'll hit any nodes on the way, didnt see any in meshmap

quaint marlin
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You'll probably get something in the duluth area if I had to guess

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BTW -- DigiKlaus came to town today BIG time... 3 big boxes on the porch. Already went through it all, about to start some building!

wide umbra
quaint marlin
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zero, I opened it all in the basement 😄

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the enclosure and final batteries for the RV2 node... all that's left is the panel which should arrive tomorrow

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first order of biz - HQ G2 has a GPS on it now.. time to configure.

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I have no idea how to tell if it's working or not

quaint marlin
quaint marlin
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BTW signal in roseville is good enough that my friend who lives in a bowl over by lake mccaron gets acks outdoors with the t-echo stock antenna now!

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I didn't think it was possible to get an ack ANYWHERE with that antenna

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alright right now LF is my only channel...so it's primary and it's set to include position/timestamp/etc

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sending out some pings to see what happens

junior cosmos
somber ocean
junior cosmos
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This is what I picked up down southwest of the loop today.

IMG_4679.png
quaint marlin
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Definitely sending some sort of coordinates from my car now finally

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At least I show up on my own node map

robust flax
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You showed up on mesh map right away too

wide umbra
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some pretty solid node names popping up at defcon. a sampling:

tempFileForShare_20240808-145533.jpg
robust flax
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Of course they are heltecs

junior cosmos
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right

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and Lucas there flexing his meshtastic strength!

robust flax
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I mean Lucas isn't showing it's his name either...

quaint marlin
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His name is PIN = 123456

wide umbra
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Here's mine @robust flax

Screenshot_20240808_213517_Meshtastic.jpg
quaint marlin
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Is that someone here?

somber ocean
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That is me. I live in Centerville, but sometimes bring my T-Echo with me when running errands or driving to work in Golden Valley.

viral pebble
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I'm going to be in Roseville tomorrow, at the Free Geek Twin Cities "retro tech expo". if I can muster it in the limited time I have I intend to hook up a siemens T100 teleprinter to meshtastic. lol

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sorry for the spam, but info is here

1.png
robust flax
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Let me know so I can spam the ascii on the printer

viral pebble
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it only supports ITA2 🤡

robust flax
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I would think you could draw better with that as needed

viral pebble
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I found some RTTY "art" from 300 years ago and what I tried was too wide for it

quaint marlin
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FWIW -- there is a general vibe going on with the smarter-than-me folks to not update your nodes past firmware 2.3.13 -- I am agreeing with those folks and freezing all my nodes on that firmware until whatever fuckery has been going on is very fixed.

robust flax
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2.4.x A or bust

viral pebble
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What kind of fuckery?

robust flax
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Chat gpt code/ updates

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Everything is broke

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It's all coming out at comic con Vegas this week once the nerds lose all their shmeckinkles and flurbos on fast women and hookers they will give us the update

viral pebble
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I am too drunk to read that rn

robust flax
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Ah, another atendee

quaint marlin
spark glen
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Crap, out of popcorn

robust flax
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Store is still open..

quaint marlin
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I misread that as "sore" is still open.. and I was like ew.

viral pebble
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Someone slip some chatgpt slop past the quality gates?

robust flax
quaint marlin
viral pebble
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The quality level is essentially at best on par with the best contractor you can bring in for two weeks. That’s not an endorsement

quaint marlin
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I'm not against it for prototyping something totally new, but once the POC exists, write the damn thing from scratch.

junior cosmos
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I have had tons of problems on 2.3.15 and have since reverted everything back to 2.3.13. Problem is I don’t have that saved for anything other than the rak units.

robust flax
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If only there was a repository..

ripe vector
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My node just randomly blasted these out last night..?

image0.jpg
junior cosmos
# robust flax If only there was a repository..

Wait I haven’t checked but do they keep the old releases up on GitHub so you can just add them to the flasher yourself? I know some projects don’t which would mean I have to get platformio setup for mesh which isn’t the biggest deal just MORE TIME which I’m already super short on.

quaint marlin
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who is this

ripe vector
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Fed honey pot. Their methods are evolving

robust flax
spark glen
quaint marlin
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node install disguise activated

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hard hat in under back

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and she's up

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Hopefully I've just created a decent bridge between St. Paul and Inver Grove Heights and some of the southwestern suburbs. I don't think it will be a miracle node but it should help

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Correction, Southeast

robust flax
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The city doesn't work on Saturday...

quaint marlin
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I'm a contractor

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anyhoo it was 100% uneventful.

robust flax
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Always is

quaint marlin
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if anyone sees Remote 11 (WB) 15k (R11) pop up, that's on 52 near Butler.

viral pebble
quaint marlin
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boom!

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I forgot to re-set the GPS coords so I'll have to zip back out there and do that in a bit.

robust flax
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Looking better boys

Screenshot_20240810_130422_Chrome.jpg
quaint marlin
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that relies on mqqt right?

robust flax
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Eh, someone but otherwise no

quaint marlin
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does that meshmap.net domain not have a friggin SSL cert?!

junior cosmos
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Lmao ssl is still so hard though!

quaint marlin
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oh I see... if you don't specifically put https in you get the http site which freaks out chrome AND apparently centurylink

junior cosmos
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lol they don’t have the redirect which also makes me wonder but maybe there is an actual reason if http being used for something else.

robust flax
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Chinese spy things they are collecting node info to haxor your iot toster

quaint marlin
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most of my nodes are now using a more standard channel lineup with long fast as primary

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hopefully that'll help propagation

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also my two most used g2s have GPS as well and the new beast will

quaint marlin
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They are playing the really long game

quaint marlin
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oh and I set GPS statis positions on a few other nodes I have up around the area, which hopefully also will help

viral pebble
quaint marlin
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By the way, anybody using the Twin Cities mesh as it is right now should probably turn their hops up to seven or you will miss replies from messages even in long fast

viral pebble
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Way ahead of you lol

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Space ghost has some reach huh. Picked you up from 35 on the way into the metro

robust flax
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👀

viral pebble
robust flax
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Well, you're not posting your aitsoft stuff!

quaint marlin
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have you modified any of those pocket nodes to work on deagle mags?

quaint marlin
quaint marlin
quaint marlin
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Has anyone picked up Remote 11 (WB) 15k?

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that's the one I popped onto a highway sign on 52 sorta near Holman Field

viral pebble
quaint marlin
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T-Deck sucking is sorta a self-fulfilling prophecy/ouroboros of technology. The platform sucks so nobody works on it.... so the platform sucks...so nobody works on it....

junior cosmos
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How’s the g2 solar setup coming @quaint marlin

quaint marlin
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did you see my posts from today's mockups?

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shit's gonna be REAL

junior cosmos
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I did not what prismatic cells are you using also what solar panel? Thing looks like a beauty imo.

robust flax
robust flax
robust flax
quaint marlin
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Yeah I set coords around 3:30 today

quaint marlin
# junior cosmos I did not what prismatic cells are you using also what solar panel? Thing looks...

four of these:
https://batteryhookup.com/products/new-3-2v-25ah-lifepo4-topband-navitas-prismatic

Battery Hookup
NEW Topband 3.2v 25ah Lifepo4 Prismatic - Low Inventory

Here are new Topband 3.2v 25ah prismatic lifepo4 cells. Only a few left in stock at the moment. All cells have been 3rd party verified and tested to meet strict and consistent standards.   Cell Specifications Nominal Voltage: Chemistry: Full Charge Voltage: Full Discharge Voltage: Capacity: Max Continuous Charge: AMax

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charge controller (for now) is this:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NPDWZJ7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Renogy 10 Amp 12V/24V PWM Negative Ground Solar Charge Controller C...

PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation) charge controllers are an essential component of solar power systems, as they help to regulate the amount of energy that is transferred from the solar panels to the battery. The Renogy Wanderer PWM Charge Controller constantly monitors the battery voltage and adjusts ...

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antenna:
https://store.rokland.com/collections/802-11ah-wi-fi-halow/products/8-dbi-n-male-omni-outdoor-helium-915-mhz-antenna-large-profile-40-for-rak-miner-2-nebra-sensecap-m1-bobcat-hotspots

Rokland
8.5 dBi N-Male Omni Outdoor Helium 915 MHz Antenna (Large Profile 40")

New for 2022, Rokland introduces our large profile tuned 8.5 dBi 915 MHz 40" fiberglass antenna with N-male connector and U-bolt bracket mount. This is certified and designed for outdoor environments and is weatherproof. See photos for mounting instructions.Important note: this is different from our low profile 8 dBi a

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@robust flax wants to use the antenna that's already attached to the building. I agree but not on the first iteration. I've got a 4 year lease.

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it's probably going to be the biggest of the big boy nodes out there (perhaps in the world?) even though it's not on like THE BEST EVER spot, it's still pretty decent.

robust flax
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It's pretty OK

quaint marlin
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a glowing review!

junior cosmos
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I agree use the antenna on the building!

quaint marlin
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I mean there's a building 5 or 6 blocks away that's several stories taller

junior cosmos
quaint marlin
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I think I bought the last 25W one

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My thought on the existing building antenna -- let's build another node to test it out.

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I have plenty of wisblocks and panels and whatnot

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building owner isn't going to know or care if I've got more than one node up there

robust flax
quaint marlin
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as it is, I'll need you to look at it in person to see if it's even something that can be rigged up

robust flax
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Adequately sufficient... that's what I'm looking for

quaint marlin
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any of the folks from this group are welcome to accompany me to the roof to see what it's all about

junior cosmos
quaint marlin
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I'm definitely going to need an extra set of hands to install the big dawg node

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damn thing is 15lbs at least all-told

robust flax
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I mean if the antenna works for what we need and it doesn't end up getting used it might be re-appropreated to another facility

junior cosmos
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I’d be down to check it out.

quaint marlin
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maybe we can just keep adding more and more pipe to the mast until it's like 30ft higher than it was 😄

robust flax
quaint marlin
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don't worry I'll bring enough guns for everyone

robust flax
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Out there lookin like the node pimp

quaint marlin
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off-topic - man getting signal out to Inver Grove Heights is a fuckin TASK

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I'm like halfway there.

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I guess it's got "heights" in the name for a reason

robust flax
quaint marlin
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I am very open to suggestions on locations to get 494/52 covered

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I can probably throw 2 more nodes at it

robust flax
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I mean I can design it. If you want.. not sure I can guarantee what it will take

quaint marlin
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I'm just not quite sure what direction(s) I need to go in order to get up to the top of that hill

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I'll start scouting upward, or see if I have to go around from the sides

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it'd probably be a little easier if I could start out there and work back inward. My friend's house of course has vicious HOA rules, so I have to get creative

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though I think I found a potential spot to connect it all. Just gotta find a place to plop a magnet node

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that highway 10 bluff is insane

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plus this node would cover the SSP Rod & Gun club, where I spend a decent chunk of time

placid linden
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Maybe talk to a ham radio club about getting a node on a repeater tower? There are a couple of dozen or more of those scattered around the metro.

quaint marlin
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We've got a couple folks attempting that route. I'm personally unlikely to go that direction as I'm not a ham or in any radio clubs etc.

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BTW welcome

robust flax
quaint marlin
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RV2 has shit the bed, I think. I'll have to go up there tomorrow and check it out.

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Either the V25 couldn't handle the increased traffic load or the AirBuddy (1W amp) died. I couldn't even get a response out of it from a couple blocks away in plain sight

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the big node is so close to being built that I may just let it sit up there until I deploy, which I am hoping will be this week.

robust flax
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Well, it's worth looking at. Shouldn't be a traffic issue

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It would be a great day to go up there

quaint marlin
#

Looking at my schedule I probably can't get on the roof until Friday believe it or not.

#

the life of a freelancer is rarely open in the AM 😦

#

I could try after hours and try my hand with the travelers' hook.

#

but knowing that my next "normal" time to get on the roof is Friday will help me get the real node built out.

#

I have one piece that I need to actually fabricate in some way, an internal shelf for the batteries.

#

I'm just gonna get a thin piece of aluminum or steel and bend it with a vise, and drill a couple holes in it to meet with the threaded inserts on the enclosure.

robust flax
quaint marlin
#

some sort of an L beam

#

I would only bend it if I had to

#

and honestly I'm probably just gonna wrap those prismatic cells in painters tape to keep them as one unit.

#

I don't see a reason to do anything more than that unless I were to use some sort of velcro strap.

#

I am reticent to use zip ties, I'd rather just use tape

robust flax
#

Just make sure to Insulate the terminals from that nice case. That's the wrong kinda smokeshow buddy

quaint marlin
#

how should I insulate the tips of the termainals? Just dab some hot glue?

robust flax
#

Since it's in a steel case and it's gonna be susceptible to the direct shorting.I would use some sort of heartbarrier like plastic and attach it.Well, maybe with some tape so it doesn't come off.And it doesn't move unless you need to get into the terminals and open it up

#

Maybe you have some coro plast election signs laying around or something

quaint marlin
quaint marlin
robust flax
#

If you where actually cool you would 3d print something lmao

quaint marlin
#

I'm not cool enough to own a 3d printer, I gotta farm that out to you guys

#

I'd love to have someone print a shelf/box for them. It would just need to be heat resistant since it's gonna be up there exposed to the hot sun.

#

I can design the box, I just need to take some measurements.

#

it'll be sorta big, so that may mean not everyone's printer will be able to handle it. I'll get measurements and design it ASAP, it's a good idea.

quaint marlin
#

Oh BTW I reached out via email to the Ham Tower Trailers guy today, which I believe a couple folks in this channel have suggested.

#

I didn't suggest anything specific, just "hi, any interest in helping build out meshtastic?" type stuff.

#

also I think I'm gonna rename my car G2 to "Routers ONLY on towers plz" (or something suitable to fit the max character length) so that when I drive around maybe some of these router people will pick that up and at least get the message in some way before we have an automated system for it.

viral pebble
#

🇺🇸 ROUTER role is WOKE 🇺🇸

robust flax
#

I do wonder if ghost 2 should be a router..

quaint marlin
#

I would think a router should have a real GPS and good coverage map, and honestly those would be the only requirements.

quaint marlin
robust flax
#

Gps! Gasp..

quaint marlin
#

I know....

#

@junior cosmos is gonna be over the moon!

#

Tim at Ham Trailers replied, here's what he said:


I am interested in trying meshtastic and maybe even doing some testing with it. But at the moment I have no equipment for it.  Other than tower trailers to maybe lift something up with.    

Maybe we could do one of the hams in the park events and do a range test or something.```
viral pebble
#

Seems like he thought he’d have to do all the hard work

quaint marlin
#

I mean to be fair, I don't really know if portable towers are a net gain to the mesh.

#

They'd be great while they're up, but I mean they're just as tall as streetlights...so....

#

put permanent nodes up on streetlights.

#

it's sorta like the balloon nodes... it's neat but really just a novelty

#

and an annoyance while it's actually in the air 😄

viral pebble
#

Right, turns out it sucks when your paths change faster than an two packets can be exchanged

#

It’s a lot more enjoyable when you’re the only weirdo with nodes around 😄

robust flax
#

I still think a teatherd baloon...

ripe vector
#

Meshtastic Hindenburg

quaint marlin
#

it would be SO EASY for me to just toss a spare wisblock in here and have it be a client_mute that would be the "DON'T BE A ROUTER" node. Could just run a cheap antenna out the bottom of the enclosure for it.

#

could run it off the USB output on the charge controller 😄

dreamy sapphire
#

Survived camping but didnt get any good range data at all

spark glen
#

Officially in (over) MN, 30 mins from MSP. Looking forward to trying out this SuperMesh you folks have been setting up over here.

dreamy sapphire
#

Flying in?

spark glen
#

Yes, North Loop for the week

dreamy sapphire
#

I've only got my 'home' and pocket nodes in blaine, most of the mesh is around St Paul and north of it

robust flax
dreamy sapphire
#

ngl I havent actually seen any of brews or your nodes in my adventures around the cities

#

except the meetup with brew when I found his car node ofc

robust flax
#

Ngl the coverage in the north metro makes me sad

dreamy sapphire
#

the blaine coverage is also sad. I honestly dont know if my setup is poor, yeti wurks guys setup is poor, or he just keeps it off most of the time

#

I get more reliable coverage from communters passing by on 10

robust flax
#

I'm guessing it's not as good as he thinks it is..

#

Ymmv

#

If I was slinging the shit I'd be a bit more involved

quaint marlin
#

i was just out there by the spot you were looking at @dreamy sapphire by 10 where the HyVee is.

#

I was sending out pings and I got an ACK somewhere out there

dreamy sapphire
#

I sent you a message

#

I'm alpk

quaint marlin
#

my car can be an alligator with the G2 in it

#

but also I was driving an going fast, so when you're on the move like that, if coverage is spotty it's really easy/likely to drive into a blind spot

dreamy sapphire
#

yeah I got a few messages and got one message out to you

quaint marlin
#

I have to assume it was a node that I already knew about because it didn't discover a new node

#

I still have that HOA-proof node ready for ya

dreamy sapphire
#

oh bitchin

#

yeah I just got home from my trip and got no data, the rain was horrendous

quaint marlin
#

that will hopefully help at least get SOME more coverage out in blaine

dreamy sapphire
#

literally broke the screen tent

quaint marlin
#

oof

spark glen
#

@quaint marlin, what's the name/ID of the one you put up next to Loose Wiles?

quaint marlin
#

that one's not up yet. I'm gonna TRY and do this weekend but it's up to my buddy who has the keys.

dreamy sapphire
#

if there wasnt rain, I was gonna have the bandit set up on a hill and walk to the lake and see if we get signal to base camp

#

but there was 20mph wind with huge gusts, raining sideways, 50 degrees

quaint marlin
#

yeah bandit's are probably not very water resistant

#

sounds like a great camping trip!

dreamy sapphire
#

it's in a peliclone, but my pocket nodes arent rainproof

#

we didnt even get to the lake lol

#

it's like mother nature herself was evicting us

spark glen
quaint marlin
#

yep.... I think right after I started planning that one out I got covid and got behind on a bunch of work crap

#

There is a node in downtown in some sort of a tall building near 9th and portland, but we don't know who it is yet or what side of the building they're on

robust flax
#

There's another one in north 150'agl

quaint marlin
#

Off-chance anyone available Friday AM to help me install NodeZilla on the roof in Roseville? @robust flax may be able to but I figured I'd ask here in case anyone definitely has the spare hour. Actual install shouldn't be too bad, maybe 10-15 minutes.

#

it's gotta be somewhere between 9am-11am

#

it involves being on top of a tall building with no railings, climbing a 20 foot straight-up ladder, hoisting a bucket or two on a rope, and the actual node install.

#

oh and you will also get wet, because the roof will still be wet from the rain on Thursday most likely.

dreamy sapphire
#

I'd have to check my calendar, but maybe actually

ripe vector
#

I’ll be driving to and from blaine Friday am. If it lines up maybe I can swing by on my way back

quaint marlin
#

it will be an interesting time, something that unless you are someone like @robust flax who does this kind of thing for a living, you probably have never experienced

dreamy sapphire
#

I used to run cat6 through warehouse ceilings if that counts

quaint marlin
#

as long as you don't have a fear of heights it's not a big deal. It's only 70 or so feet off the ground, and the spot I'm installing, if you fall you only fall like 20 feet so you'd most likely live.

#

I know, I'm making it sound REALLY enticing

dreamy sapphire
#

nah I've put a ladder on a scissor lift

#

you REALLY should not be doing that btw

#

but I'm being roped into building a roof this weekend so we'll see what my friday ends up looking like

quaint marlin
#

You can just tell them you already fell off/been on one roof this week and you've reached your limit.

quaint marlin
dreamy sapphire
#

height is might, but I dont violate osha anymore

#

not on the worksite anyway, they can fork over the cash for safety

quaint marlin
#

I'll bring a box of donuts

#

timing-wise, the only catch is that we have to start before 11am, because that's when the building maintenance guy with the key to the roof leaves for the day. Once he opens the door we can just keep it open til we leave.

quaint marlin
#

Does anyone local here (or not-always local like @junior cosmos ) want to test out a Bandit Nano car node package that i've put together? You don't have to buy anything, just plug it in, hang it on your car window, and try it out to see how it works.

junior cosmos
#

So in the iOS app I picked up the yeti works techo south of his node I usually pick up shows a rough propagation pattern but I doubt it’s actually like that honestly.

IMG_4710.png
quaint marlin
#

I've got a charger arriving tomorrow to make it a full package, once that's in, we can meet up and you can give this thing a whirl

quaint marlin
#

mk1 is a solar node

#

it's funny, I was going to put a node at my buddy's house in Blaine until I realized he lives like 3 blocks from where the Yetiwurks one is.

junior cosmos
#

Yeah idk doesn’t seem like yeti has Blaine covered as well as he thinks. Or maybe it’s just the spots he cares about which I guess is fair.

quaint marlin
#

clearly he hasn't hit the "fuck, this is harder than I expected" wall yet

#

I remember being SUPER hyped about how easy it was gonna be to cover the metro because every node (according to several youtubers) had like a 2-4 mile range...

wide umbra
quaint marlin
#

then I found HeyWhatsThat, and that shattered those expectations... then I found out how optimistic HWT's maps are compared to reality....

viral pebble
#

line of sight is a fuck.

#

also, radiation patterns. why can't I pick up my node a block from my house when I'm walking around? I got a big ass antenna after all.

nova wigeon
#

I just left a T-Deck on top of a silo at work to see what happens. Line of sight to downtown Minneapolis but in an otherwise kinda boring area so I'm not sure if I'll get much.

dreamy sapphire
#

that might be the cheapest enclosure I've seen by far

nova wigeon
#

Yeah, I couldn't find a decent one in my parts bin, and couldn't get any of my small solar panels to work, so I said F it.

#

I'm only leaving it up there for a couple days, the T-deck battery dies immediately if it sees more than a few nodes 😛

dreamy sapphire
#

yeah I've noticed my pocket nodes are dying faster as I build more pocket nodes

nova wigeon
#

T-deck worked for days in my house with nothing to talk to. I brought it to a convention with dozens of nodes and it was dead in 30min.

dreamy sapphire
#

the bandit nano I'm borrowing sucks battery on a good day

#

pretty sure it'd suck down a 10000mah battery in an afternoon at opensauce

#

but man it screams, such a powerful radio

junior cosmos
# nova wigeon

Haha I seen your node pop up at work and while I was over northside on 2nd st.

dreamy sapphire
#

driving down to shoreview/arden to pick up some dinner, hope I see some nodes out there

dreamy sapphire
#

Got Brew for a second as he drove past and gave me a link to the rest of the net for a bit, but he had moved on by the time I saw

robust flax
robust flax
#

Also, sorry for stealing your node

#

Prime opportunity popped up

dreamy sapphire
#

I got one ack off before I hit dead zone again. Back home now with nobody to talk to

wide umbra
#

I have ghost 2 in my list now hmmm

quaint marlin
quaint marlin
#

we've got so much coverage in St Paul right now that you may not need anything but a t-deck if you're in frogtown, midway, north end, east side.... etc

#

If anyone sees R6 pop up, holler!

quaint marlin
dreamy sapphire
nova wigeon
quaint marlin
robust flax
dreamy sapphire
#

Lol gottem

#

I think a hoa buster would be a popular design, depends on the houses. Mine has the rare flat spot on the roof and thats not super common

quaint marlin
dreamy sapphire
#

I eyed the lilygo offerings for a long time but I'm glad I went wisblock

#

If I got a t-echo I think it'd end up like my banglejs2

robust flax
#

lilgo is cool with the sensors

quaint marlin
dreamy sapphire
#

Hmm

#

I may not have a brain

#

But gentlemen, I have an idea

#

We get some of these invisibility cloak wall shield thingies, wrap an entire building with it, and the lora waves simply pass through

maxresdefault_2.jpg
#

Microwaves are just weird light after all

#

(this is not legal or science advice, I am not a lawyer or a scientist)

quaint marlin
#

everyone who tries things is a scientist, isn't that how it works?!

#

@dreamy sapphire did you do a ping on longfast recently?

dreamy sapphire
#

I sent some pings and might have hit your office

#

That was about an hour ago probably

quaint marlin
#

it got all the way to the HQ... yeah it was like 6:30

#

I just noticed it

dreamy sapphire
#

Yeah I was getting some davannis in shoreview

quaint marlin
#

I'm suspicious that the other roseville node came back up, or is coming back up periodically

#

I think I may have too small of a battery on it for the amount of traffic it can see and deal with

#

so perhaps the wisblock is getting juice, but the AirBuddy can't get enough, so the wisblock is mute.

#

I won't know until I get back up there on Friday

#

hopefully that should not be a problem with the new guy, R6, as it has 15000mah and a big panel.

#

the wildcard there is that it's got an AirBuddy in it... so it's sorta expirmental. Not many (if any) have put that into this enclosure in the wild, if at all.

dreamy sapphire
#

For SCIENCE

wide umbra
quaint marlin
#

it still lives on my window sill, and is ready for its next kamikaze mission

robust flax
#

Sent him to the cop shop for funsies

quaint marlin
#

without giving up any crucial info, the same address happens to exist in both cities, and I mapped out the wrong one and went "welp, this node is never coming back" and named it appropriately

robust flax
quaint marlin
#

it was prepared to die

robust flax
#

Better than you thought

quaint marlin
#

ok now meshmap.net will not even let me get to it...sheesh

#

after a chrome update... guess I gotta find out how to get past sketchy SSL certs

quaint marlin
#

firefox has no problem with it... chrome acts as though going there will tear a hole in the space-time continuum

dreamy sapphire
quaint marlin
#

Gettin' the word out:

#

three nodes in one house all on route mode

viral pebble
#

All with 🇺🇸 in the names lmao

dreamy sapphire
quaint marlin
#

that's sorta where I got the stereotype

#

booo, it's still showing 13%

#

we'll see what happens overnight.

robust flax
quaint marlin
#

nevermind... wehooper just explained that the one I put in there is expected to give strange battery readings

#

the one I put in that build is more likely to reboot properly if the battery actually gets too low (which it should not)

#

but the side effect is erratic battery readings

#

I have another one he made from different components that will not handle ultra-low voltage, but WILL provide accurate stats... that one @dreamy sapphire will get 😄

#

actually I probably can't amplify his node anymore, so we shall see.

dreamy sapphire
#

😄

robust flax
#

I mean you can get plenty of range stock

quaint marlin
#

True.

quaint marlin
#

!!! they changed from router-client to client !!!

#

at least, one of them did. If the others stay I will assume all the DM's didn't go through and I'll re-send with a slight re-word of when to use Router-Client.

quaint marlin
#

trying my luck again...

viral pebble
quaint marlin
#

if you update the firmware yeah. I suspect a lot of people don't ever do that.

#

and I'm not 100% sure that the role is REMOVED, just depreciated. I don't think it will force you out of the role if you've got it selected.

dreamy sapphire
#

Router client was a mistake

quaint marlin
#

t-beams are a particular pain to update (IMO) Because of the micro USB connection and that so many micro USB cables are charge-only.

#

my t-beam is in a rokland 3dp case and I seriously have to try like 3 or 4 times every time just to get the cable in, and before that i had to go through like 8 or 10 cables before i finally found one that would actually push the firmware to it.

wide umbra
#

One of my most prized possessions these days is an old HTC micro USB cable because it freaking works

viral pebble
#

I have one for my elektron model:samples that is a nice women, chunky gray cable and it's easy to spot. hate micro tho

dreamy sapphire
#

If anyone is near blaine and has a more powerful recieve than transmit and can hear all the noise I'm making but I cant hear them yelling to shut up: sorry

quaint marlin
#

I haven't picked anything up in roseville

junior cosmos
#

It’s growing!

quaint marlin
#

yeah we need smaller dots on the map

quaint marlin
#

ze beast is ready for deployment tomorrow

#

If any of you are still willing/able to help out, I'd love to coordinate sooner rather than later.

#

I am likely capable of doing it solo but having at least one assistant would be clutch.

robust flax
#

I have a 10a tomorrow but, if things go poorly and you still are there i will be up after for suere

quaint marlin
#

I'm gonna try and time it so that I get there around 10:30 so that I can get on the roof and bring all my stuff up before the maintenance guy leaves for the day. He won't mind if I use a doorstop to keep going up after he lets me in.

robust flax
#

perfect. my deal will be 2 ways pita or really quick and i will be in burnsville so it won't take me too long to get up there

quaint marlin
#

I don't think things should go poorly, I've been up there before and know what I'm getting into. The only thing(s) I'm sketch about are keeping the node itself in place while I attach the pole mounts to it, because it's pretty heavy, but I'm sure I can invent a way.

#

I think I've got all the tools planned and packed that I could possibly need.

robust flax
#

i was saying for me but, either way

quaint marlin
#

I think the only way this install could go south is if I manage to drop the node off the edge (which is an actual possibility, though remote)

#

I'm not counting myself falling as "going south"

robust flax
#

if you're worried about that just make a paracord loop and hook it around it so if things go south it can only fall that 1-2 ' and your safe from punching holds in the under roof

quaint marlin
#

that makes sens. Paracord it is.

#

the node is already active, though hooked up to a dummy load.

robust flax
#

how is it doing with the battery?

quaint marlin
#

I applied the paste/goop this morning, no issues

#

tested the solar, no issues

quaint marlin
#

the firmware is all configured (as a client for now, I may switch to router once we can finally get the OTHER FIVE ROUTERS OFF THE MESH) and tested out

dreamy sapphire
#

oh shit is it thursday already

#

damn this week flew by

#

unfortunately I've been roped into building a roof this weekend, can't help with deploying The Beast™️

quaint marlin
#

Roofing isn't so bad. It's not fun for your ankles, depending on the pitch of it.

dreamy sapphire
#

never done a roof, how bad could it be?

#

we've got an army of half skilled carpenters

#

it'll get done

nova wigeon
#

Dumb question, are we all on LongFast or is there an MSP channel going? I left my silo node on LongFast on Tuesday and might try to retrieve it tomorrow and see what it did.

#

I'm trying to find more time to assemble and use some of my Mesh stuff, too many projects going on 😅

dreamy sapphire
#

I dont know of any encrypted channel, LongFast is all I know

#

there is msh/US/MN on MQTT though

nova wigeon
#

I haven't even looked into MQTT yet. Seems fun but I'd like to get the basics figured out first

dreamy sapphire
#

it's just a little bandaid that keeps islanded meshers from giving up on the project tbh

#

it's way more fun via radio only, but talking to someone is necessary when you start out

nova wigeon
#

Yeah, that seems to be the main complaint / question. When I tell my friends about Meshtastic they either ask A: "but what is it for" or B: "Do you have to build your own hardware?"

dreamy sapphire
#

have to? you mean get to surely

#

building hardware is the fun part

quaint marlin
#

and don't get the (relatively false) impression that Meshtastic is a chat room... it's really a temporary messaging system, almost like that one site years ago where nothing was ever saved, maybe that was SnapChat before it became yet another social media platform.

nova wigeon
#

And I still don't understand it enough to answer those. I kind of get the impression the two use cases are novelty and hardcore apocalypse prepping 😆

quaint marlin
dreamy sapphire
#

I personally do a lot of camping and fishing and it's prime for something like the BWCA or Voyageur Nat park

quaint marlin
#

good for hiking and stuff with a party

dreamy sapphire
#

or salmon fishing on lake superior

nova wigeon
#

I should see how far it works underground in sandstone

dreamy sapphire
#

I believe some farmers really like it for sending data from the fields, but yeah it's a very niche thing and imo will be entirely supplanted by starlink cell provider within 10 years

quaint marlin
#

you can do some pretty cool stuff with it using hardware modules too, like permiter alarm systems using lidar, etc

nova wigeon
#

I see it more like CB or ham radio. Or everyone and their dog having a Baofeng these days. It would have been a lot of fun when I lived in Alaska

dreamy sapphire
#

I bet meshtastic would slap if you had a hunting cabin

#

and a big tower

nova wigeon
#

Commercial fishing would have been great. Open water and everyone has a tall mast. And we were all trying to share fishing report with just our friends. I saw all kinds of VHF radio shenanigans come and go... codebooks, scramblers, secret illegal frequencies, and then the guys who spent all day codebreaking and scanning. It was like Cold War espionage for who could catch a couple more fish 😛

dreamy sapphire
#

that sounds fun as hell actually

nova wigeon
#

We still had 1G and 2G cell phones if they worked at all, and of course a couple guys bought the "special" radio scanners from Europe that could eavesdrop on analog calls.

quaint marlin
#

@nova wigeon I'm the guy in your youtube comments that is always threatening to leave a meshtastic node at your door (I live like a mile from you) - offer still stands, you've at least got a mast on your place! 😄

#

I have seen that there are several people in the comments that are local to the cities that are interested in MT but (like a lot if not MOST new MT people) find a big, empty space full of nobody.

nova wigeon
#

I actually have a couple nodes I need to use, @worldly summit gave me one at Open Sauce and I bought some Heltecs intending to stick one in my Cyberdeck. The free time factor is my main problem 😢

#

I am also easily distracted by shiny things and keep jumping between projects.

quaint marlin
#

Would the city allow you to put a 60ft tower up? or would that go at sandland?

quaint marlin
#

@ripe vector @robust flax quick schedule adjustment - I just got a call that I can get my cat into the vet for scans early tomorrow (12) so I am gonna try and do the node install at 9:30 not 10:30

viral pebble
#

hah I didn't even notice it was saveitforparts that posted the silo pic the other day

dreamy sapphire
#

we're all saveitforparts simps here

#

I thought of his train car when I went across some abandoned rail lines up north last weekend

viral pebble
#

I'm not gonna @ him cause I already bragged in the comments about being the one that restored the IMSAI 8080 in his video about FGTC

dreamy sapphire
#

fgtc my beloved

nova wigeon
dreamy sapphire
#

one of the better things I did was have my old work donate a ton of old desktops instead of getting them ewasted

#

FGTC loved that

viral pebble
#

oh yeah that's their jam. when I lived up there still I volunteered at least 1-2 times a month in the retro area. still try to get up there and help with "homework" every so often, like the IMSAI. they have a discord too, if anyone wants that link lmk

worldly summit
quaint marlin
random mantle
#

I was in Chicago last week for a few days and the position wasn't updating.

quaint marlin
#

In a few hours, I'm going to be doing an interview with the current head of Austin Mesh that will probably end up on youtube or perhaps just their website.

#

No guarantees as to whether I'll be sober or not (no, I will not) but it should be fun!

#

Mostly just asking questions about doing urban mesh deployments, how to talk with building owners, etc.

#

Obviously I'm gonna give shout outs to the MSP mesh crew. Not by name unless you want that, but I obviously am going to stress that it's a communal effort.

fading torrent
random mantle
#

My son and I were staying at the Hyatt downtown. We were on the 31st floor facing east, so that probably helped with range a bit 😁

robust flax
#

Well you should be getting connectivity to most of everything now via ghost meet
Mesh 2. Let me know how that looks down there

random mantle
#

I'm hearing you, but it doesn't look like you're hearing me. I may need to up my antenna placement game

dreamy sapphire
#

may I suggest the humble 1W amplifier?

robust flax
#

Horrible bandaid

quaint marlin
#

So there's a nonstop, soaking drizzle rain going on at the moment. However it looks like there is a break coming up, so I'm going to Yolo it and head up right now

robust flax
#

Well be careful that rubber gets slick and so do those layers

quaint marlin
#

Well ain't that a bitch, the pipe is a little too big for the bolts that I have to mount pretty much everything

#

Modern problems require modern solutions

dreamy sapphire
#

hey, if it works it works

quaint marlin
robust flax
#

Nice work!

#

Howmany sites has it picked up

quaint marlin
#

i had leave, too rainy to use y phone for more than a second

#

No doubt, I'm going to have to go back up there and make some tweaks in a week or two, everything seems pretty solid but I'm not super happy with how the antenna is mounted so I'll probably adjust how that works

#

At least right now I can trace route to it lol

#

I used damn near an entire role of 3M extreme weather tape to make sure the antenna cable can't blow around or shake things loose

#

I also used some Velcro strapping, the same stuff I used to create the battery pack

#

The hardest part was getting the giant bucket full of stuff up the ladder by myself. Everything else was just mechanical problem-solving instead of physical problem-solving lol

wide umbra
#

slide that bish up as high as you can on the pole

quaint marlin
#

That pole is actually some sort of a cover for an old antenna. It's not made of metal so I didn't want to clamp onto it

#

Believe it or not that antenna may end up being the antenna for this node. Space ghost thinks it's actually a 900 MHz or 915 antenna

#

and I can tracert it from home too. woot!

#

it can even talk with the other new node that went up!

dreamy sapphire
#

Who runs Roseville 12.8k?

quaint marlin
#

that's my office node over off 35W and County D/37th

dreamy sapphire
#

I get the occasional link to them, but not sure what through

quaint marlin
#

I'm gonna beef that one up soon as well, so you may be able to use it as a link to the rest of the city

dreamy sapphire
#

I hear it and remote 6 (wb + ab) on occasion. No tracert when I catch it so lets fiddle with the bandit and use that

#

I had it powered off for some pocket testing and forgot to plug it back into the wall

quaint marlin
#

R6 has some good position, but I'd be surprised if you were reaching it directly

dreamy sapphire
#

R6 was a hop away but until I can see it again I cant see the path

quaint marlin
#

oh yeah you should be able to see it pretty regularly with RV2 back up

#

because RV2 and R6 can see each other

#

They're about 4.5mi from each other but both good elevation and strong nodes

dreamy sapphire
#

Yeah now I'm very confident the hoa buster will get me linked up to your grid

quaint marlin
#

My two furthest-apart nodes are 10.3mi from each other and they get through to each other without hesitation (when things are working correctly)

dreamy sapphire
#

Then I'll be happy to spin up a bbs

dreamy sapphire
#

Alright, phat antenna put on the bandit. Heres hoping I can reach the city now

quaint marlin
#

i'm currently offline for lunch so i won't see any chatter

#

putting that thing up was physically tiring, sorta like working on a car when you haven't for a while.

quaint marlin
robust flax
dreamy sapphire
#

Ah, its the damn turkey in the yard thats whats stealing my signal

quaint marlin
# wide umbra slide that bish up as high as you can on the pole

I think next trip up there I'll consider bringing a ladder and mounting the antenna further up the pole, or at least looking into it. I am not particularly fond of standing on the very very ledge of a tall building and then ON A LADDER on top of that... osha would not be happy about that.

junior cosmos
nova wigeon
#

I just turned on my T-Deck and got R6 in my garage. More than it seems to have picked up on that silo in the North suburbs

#

Still have no idea what any of the T-deck's interface means, I'll go hunt up the experimental firmware and see if that's any more user friendly

quaint marlin
#

It's basically good for sending messages to the main channel and about nothing else.

#

R6 is pretty close to you, but that thing's got some reach.

viral pebble
#

I think the easiest thign to do is either use platformio in vscode or install the cli platformio tools and build it from the repo, though I think someone posted a link to the nightlies for the shiny interface somewhere

quaint marlin
#

it's basically a glorified repeater.

viral pebble
#

so I guess that's probably a lot easier

#

it's definitely better but it it's still not as full featured as the phone app of course

quaint marlin
#

It's funny that you picked up R6, especially indoors - check out the HeyWhatsThat coverage map:

#

That said, HWT is not the gospel... things can bounce around and give coverage to areas that it doesn't show will be covered

nova wigeon
#

Yep, that's close all right!

quaint marlin
nova wigeon
#

I still find the T-Deck and the app to be somewhat opaque and confusing. I've apparently joined Remote 6, Sanctum, Oasis, and Haven, but the deck shows different things than the app. Looks like I can also see Roseville 2, KE0EXC-1, and DT Office, I assume those are via other nodes.

quaint marlin
#

Roseville 2 just went up today, you can see the story of it by scrolling up a bit in this room

nova wigeon
#

Very cool that there's more going on now... when I first turned on the T-deck in May it saw absolutely nothing around here.

#

I'm inspired to find a working mini solar panel and real enclosure for one of my nodes. Or a few nodes. If they'll work totally remote with no bluetooth nearby then I'll just put one permanently on the work silo.

quaint marlin
#

Oh, and we here in St Paul are having to deal with a house or apartment in frogtown that has 4 or 5 nodes (the ones with american flags in the name) that are all set to be routers.....

#

I'm consistently trying to contact them to ask them to set them to Client mode... but they are basically mesh poison when routers.

dreamy sapphire
quaint marlin
#

Wait until you see what's coming up soon. I just had a conversation today that is gonna put nodes in different area codes....

#

Blaine is gonna be 100% covered if I had to guess

nova wigeon
#

Cool, I'm looking forward to the sweet spot where it's actually useful and fun, before the door-to-door roofers start using it for spam 😄

viral pebble
#

it'll be nice when there's enough coverage/activity in places where you'll actually need to use non-default channels

dreamy sapphire
#

damn, finally caught the R6 telemetry packet but still cant traceroute

#

must be just barely getting a signal through every once in a while

quaint marlin
#

it's like 2 blocks from the state capitol, so that you're picking it up is pretty great

#

Spaceghost hit me up the other day and was like "hey check this out, I can get on this roof today" so I totally yolo'd it and we threw a node up on a 5 story condo's elevator stack. An HOAbuster, no less.

#

it's actually the one I was gonna give to you, so yours will be different

#

but it's got insane reach

#

the funny thing is, he only DM'd me the street address and number, but didn't say "ave" or "st"

#

so I gmap'd it and I hung out at the downtown mpls juvie hall for like 30 minutes going "where is this guy" -- turns out it was the same address in St Paul but with "street" instead of "avenue"

wide umbra
#

I'm somehow hitting a bunch of ppl now via my g2 sitting in a windowsill. Appears to be a bunch of mqtt too, but not from me. Trying to make sense of the network path here

quaint marlin
#

good luck with that

#

BTW - had a video interview with Austin Mesh last night, just got posted to youtube.

#

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvA8ZDPPHW4

YouTube
Austin Mesh
From Idea to Installation: How to Grow a Mesh Network in Your City

In this interview, we dive deep into the process of growing a mesh network, featuring expert insights from Saint Paul, Minnesota. Whether you’re just starting with Meshtastic or looking to expand your existing network, this video offers practical advice on identifying key locations for nodes, engaging with property owners, and overcoming common ...

▶ Play video
wide umbra
#

I'm seeing RV2 via 2 hops lol

quaint marlin
#

nice!

wide umbra
#

The node I'm directly talking through isn't posting a location so trying to get em to answer back

quaint marlin
#

which node?

wide umbra
#

Haven / f8cc

quaint marlin
#

you'll never get a response

#

they are like 2 miles from me, it's the house with 5 nodes and 4 are routers

wide umbra
#

I was worried about that given the flag

#

Well either way, my g2 is literally sitting on the ledge in the window and I'm getting somewhere

robust flax
#

I'm hitting 2600 in one hop no idea how tho

quaint marlin
#

I'll drive over there soon and just send some DMs where I KNOW it got to them

wide umbra
quaint marlin
#

Because Lucas is outside your house, drinking from the garden hose

wide umbra
#

camo'd and everything

20240816_192954.jpg
quaint marlin
#

dat ghuille suit doe

wide umbra
#

Who wore it better?

#

Do we know who jss2 is?

#

That's an industrial spot with some opportunities for a high mounting spot, guessing that's how we are connecting @robust flax

quaint marlin
#

I sorta thought that was someone in here? Maybe I'm wrong.

robust flax
#

Well whenever I get get over to church that should be pretty OK

wide umbra
#

I thought the plot was okay but not amazing there? It's a high spot but also LOS sheltered out in a few directions?

robust flax
#

it is, but should help your genral area.

wide umbra
#

The more of the backbone that we can have controlled by ppl in here the better too. Association/engagement means reliability

#

Only a matter of time until he jumps in this server

robust flax
#

some day

wide umbra
#

I'm only poking him every few hours

robust flax
#

time to increase the pressue

quaint marlin
#

POKE HARDER!

robust flax
#

Hmm you must hear that often

#

#isitinyet

#

#justthetip

wide umbra
#

Topical given Vince Vaughn just got his Hollywood star lol

robust flax
#

Ooh

quaint marlin
grand lance
quaint marlin
#

I would have said "WHY" to a Vince Vaughn star, but he was excellent in True Detective season 2, which was much-maligned for no good reason

quaint marlin
wide umbra
#

The hostile takeover continues, @quaint marlin just doesn't realize it yet

quaint marlin
wide umbra
#

I actually lol'd at that one. Getting looks from the wife

quaint marlin
#

Check out the stats from the RV2 node:

image.png
#

those channel utilization stats are like nothing I've ever seen

wide umbra
#

25% utilization wow

quaint marlin
#

wehooper thinks it may be interference from the other radio devices on the roof with me

#

the voltage is also not correct but that should be inconsequential

#

all that said, this is probably the most powerful node in the metro so it's possible it's just picking up tons of shit

grand lance
quaint marlin
#

I shouldn't say probably, I can say with some degree of confidence it's the most powerful node in the metro

#

and if you look at that pasted graphic there are large chunks of time that are just... not there. I have no idea if that's my home node not picking up the metrics, or if they're not being sent? I have no idea.

#

3pm to 7:45pm, no info...

#

the node went up right at 11:44am, that's when I (very quickly) disconnected the dummy load and connected the antenna

quaint marlin
robust flax
#

Let it cook. Nothing on the roof is in the 900 band. But I am hearing it all over so that's picking a bunch up

quaint marlin
#

so it's got a ridiculous amount of battery and solar... but nothing to my knowledge has been done like it.

quaint marlin
robust flax
#

The utl on ghost2gets up there too from what I saw but android doesn't show the stats like that so see what that has if you can

quaint marlin
#

I have about as much faith in the macos app as I have in.. well let's just say other things that some people don't belive in.

#

You literally cannot take what you see in the macos app as truth unless you quit and re-launch it several times

#

if you've had it open more than a few hours it basically shits the bed silently and rolls around in it

ripe vector
robust flax
#

It will last just dandy

dreamy sapphire
#

unless there's something in between me and RV2 without set location, I think I'm hitting all the way to roseville

quaint marlin
#

yeah as long as the solar panel is charging the batteries, which it did in my tests, it ought to do just fine

#

25W panel should be able to charge that thang pretty quickly

ripe vector
#

Gonna order a G2 to mess around with

quaint marlin
robust flax
quaint marlin
#

if they have them in stock, then just get one and nevermind 😄

#

if they are out of stock, my spare is in play

ripe vector
wide umbra
quaint marlin
#

ha! I meant FOR SCIENCE!

quaint marlin
#

If i were trying to make a profit off meshtastic i would have already starved to death twice 🤣

ripe vector
#

Money < Meshtastic gizmos

wide umbra
#

Lmk if anyone experienced a disturbance in the force their topology as I have the g2 battery charging so it's power output has dropped

quaint marlin
#

Yeah i got sad for no reason, but now i know why.

robust flax
#

More beer

random mantle
#

a second heltec and a new rak were delivered today. Was test fitting the heltec in a case I printed earlier and connected the pigtail to the pcb. Realized I wanted to reorient things, tried to disconnect the pigtail, and managed to break the connector off the pcb. 🆒

dreamy sapphire
random mantle
#

so we'll see if I can resolder a surface mount connector right next to the oled. at least it's only $30 at stake, right? 🥲

grand lance
#

Not that I've done it, but some people find it's less finicky to just solder the pigtail directly to the spot where the connector was. Rather than try to solder a surface mount. Though I imagine stripping the tiny coax the pigtail is made of without damaging it is no simple task either...

viral pebble
#

At least with the pigtail connector I wonder if you can just lay the iron top of the connector itself to heat it up enough to remove it

dreamy sapphire
#

I wonder if I cant traceroute because the house full of routers is eating hops

somber ocean
#

I just received my first message here in Centerville "rv1 updates". Not sure where this is in Roseville, but Rosedale Mall is 11 miles from my home. I tried getting a message out, but no luck, only getting "max retransmission reached". Also, I'm now seeing lots of nodes in my app; Adobe, Roseville 12.8K, Sanctum, Meshtastic 652F, Meshtastic 1100, Roseville 2 (G2), Haven, Remote 6 (WB+AB) 15K., Meshtastic 22C3, DT Office... and a whole bunch more

#

FYI. I have a modest setup. A Lilygo T-Echo and a Gizont 915 MHz 17cm whip antenna, which is currently on my 2nd level deck with a good line-of-sight south.

quaint marlin
#

that was me i was on my office roof doing updates

#

that RV1 node needed some updates but i just did them and now you should have some intermittent connectivity

#

we're working on getting coverage in the more northern burbs and that will help even more

#

that RV1 node should show up on the mesh map now

somber ocean
#

Nice work! I can see both RV1 and RV2 in my mesh map now. Lots of new nodes popping up in my map

quaint marlin
#

Yup, sometimes it just takes a "gateway" to get a bunch of nodes to pop up

#

BTW if anyone is looking for a ready-made solar wisblock node running on a Voltaic V25, I just took a testing node down and it's ready to rock, all it needs is a place to live.

#

it would likely make a great balcony node, the higher the better of course, but it's also got all the hardware already installed to attach to any size pole.

#

Is anyone here KC0BBK ?

random mantle
robust flax
#

I havn't seen the new node pop up yet ( gasp)

random mantle
#

I still need to put it in the case and stuff first. Might be a bit

#

just wanted to give it a quick test before I got it all glued up

nova wigeon
#

Is there a best practices guide for settings on an unattended solar node? Like # of hops, neighbor info, etc? And is that different for a private network vs something that's just supposed to be a LongFast repeater in a tall place? I'm still finding a lot of the details confusing.

#

I think I've found enough parts to make a decent solar node, and I think my panel and battery will keep up with the power use of one of my devices. I'll stick it back on that silo at work near Brooklyn Center once I have it all put together.

quaint marlin
#

Radio settings, it depends. If you've got space on top of a silo, map out the coverage in a site like HeyWhatsThat and if it's big, consider setting the Device Mode to Router or Repeater.

#

You should be on Long Fast radio setting (or you won't be able to talk to the other radios on Long Fast), and if you're a repeater or router, hops don't matter. If you're set up to be Client (which is also OK) then I'd max the hops out to 7. So far we've had the best luck with setting hops to 7 (max)

#

Ensure that you've set a static GPS location within the Position settings, that helps the mesh figure out when to route to you since it knows where you are, even if there's no actual GPS receiver on the device.

#

Lastly, do not use an ESP32-based device in a solar node. They are too power-hungry to reliably outlast long periods of less light. Use a nRF52-based device like a T-Echo or WisBlock. If you need a WisBlock I have one I'd gladly donate to the cause of a silo-based node

viral pebble
#

does the firmware really take gps coords into account for routing? the algorithm document doesn't mention it

quaint marlin
#

I had always assumed it did (and it would make sense if it did...) but maybe it doesn't? All I know is that when I started including positions on my static nodes they started being more effective.

#

if anything, having a position set does help map out coverage so it's good for something.

viral pebble
#

I tried poking around in the source to see but that is a whole afternoon

#

the algo is interesting in that it's essentially a modified APRS mesh algorithm

quaint marlin
#

also... there are silos in Brooklyn Center??

viral pebble
#

there's a big rail yard across the river. (I used to live in BC)

quaint marlin
#

Say you chose "Long Slow" you are no longer going to pick up, or be picked up by, radios set to use Long Fast.

#

Your device (handheld or solar) does not NEED to have the LongFast chat room itself to function, but there are metrics that get passed along to the rest of the mesh using that channel, so it's best to leave that channel as the Primary ("0") channel.

#

You can then have other private channels that are encrypted, up to 6 or 7 more I think? Honestly any more than one or two is probably overkill. You can also have a channel called "admin" that is encrypted that will allow you to administer nodes that have that channel and also use the same encryption key.

#

The way I set up channels is (in order):

  • LongFast (no encryption)
  • admin (uses key)
  • Private (uses key)
  • RangeTest (no encryption)
#

for an unattended node I would just use LongFast and admin, as there's no reason for the unattended node to participate in those channels. Even in Client mode, It will still repeat all traffic using Long Fast radio setting.

viral pebble
#

and that is why bad routers suck

#

I did my duty and yelled at someone in Eden Prairie about running in router_client when they clearly didn't have the antenna placement for it

quaint marlin
#

I've been trying to refine the canned message I send out in hopes that it will get read. Here it currently is:
Greetings! If your Meshtastic device is usually at ground level (not on a tower, chimney, pole, etc) please set its Device Mode to “Client”. It saves battery and improves the range of the entire mesh. Thanks!

viral pebble
#

Haha I was just straight up sending DMs to the node. But canned to default is probably better because if it’s not their primary they probably won’t see it

quaint marlin
#

I was doing DMs as well

wide umbra
#

Add "BOOBS" or similar at the start. Need that primal attention grabber lol

quaint marlin
#

the house a few miles from me with 4 routers in it, they are all at like 25-35% channel utilization

#

and they're ESP32's so they are probably lasting about 3 hours on a battery

quaint marlin
#

Just drove out to Eagan and got abzoluely zero new nodes. Boooo

#

However, Eagan is pretty hilly so it may be a tough place to do mesh.

nova wigeon
#

St. Paul Axman has a bunch of these guys, not sure if they're powerful enough for a node, but I bought one to try.

AP1GczM3Zv4cTK4qjqTImXNsUvzAOIZUjrfTkzWf7x0HtDI3p1GIiCHBLoikgww705-h1253-s-no-gm.png
nova wigeon
viral pebble
robust flax
quaint marlin
#

there has always been an interest in the lawn-light nodes, and it's a good idea in theory. In practice, the nodes need to be of course higher up off the ground to cover any more than a block or three.

#

There's even a how-to on turning those into nodes. The issues are the afore-mentioned altitude (which of course nobody is saying that just because it has a lawn spike means it has to go into the ground) ... and then the issue of real-world application. I've not heard any anecdotal evidence of the lawn light nodes really helping to get a mesh better covered. It's more of a "hey, these exist, they could be turned into a node" - and that's totally true.

#

all that said, you can never go wrong spending money at ax-man.

nova wigeon
#

Ax-Man is great, every time I go in there I find something I didn't know existed, and have no idea how to use, but I desperately need it 😆

dreamy sapphire
#

I just picked up a portable CRT because it was 5 bucks

heady marsh
viral pebble
#

people must be taking nodes on planes all the time now. picking up Roseville 2 (G2) as of a few minutes ago, 128 miles away

heady marsh
quaint marlin
#

Picking up @junior cosmos 's T-Beam reporting from Isanti... I assume that's a GPS-stuck issue?

nova wigeon
junior cosmos
viral pebble
#

this is what United says 🙂

Screenshot_2024-08-19_at_9.59.32_AM.png
robust flax
#

Shh.. rules aren't laws

viral pebble
#

I would simply stop if they told me to stop 🙂

dreamy sapphire
#

Attempted fuzzy skin, but I think my petg settings arent quite there

20240819_102254.jpg
quaint marlin
#

nice!

#

ichi just installed his test rig yesterday

quaint marlin
dreamy sapphire
#

Yeah I want to get it perfectly dialed in, good fuzzy skin can look fabulous

#

From blegh to production quality

junior cosmos
#

The bandit nano car node works pretty well actually. Now I need to figure out how to better cable manage it so its not just draped across my back seats to the window.

nova wigeon
#

I have turned to the dark side of unsupported pre-release firmware... slightly buggy but it suddenly makes the T-deck not trash!

image.png
quaint marlin
#

I have 3 T-decks that I've been waiting to give to friends, but I won't until this firmware has been officially released.

nova wigeon
#

Although I'm not 100% if I have it configured correctly. I may be spamming encrypted messages on LongFast

#

Or maybe not sending anything at all. I need to see if I can get another node working so I can check

quaint marlin
#

If you're outdoors I should be able to hear you on LongFast

#

ok does anyone know what this big golf-course-looking thing is over by Larpentur and McKnight?

image.png
#

There's a reservoir next to it on Hoyt and Winthrop, and the whole area has some pretty great altitude for an east-side coverage node

#

It sorta looks like it used to be a golf course but now it's not

nova wigeon
#

Weird, streetview makes it look kind of abandoned

#

(I just sent a test from the T-Deck BTW)

quaint marlin
#

it is sorta abandoned if you drive by as well

#

I did not get a message - do you get mine that I am sending right now?

nova wigeon
#

Ramsey GIS says that's owned by the Port Authority, which usually takes over abandoned industrial land for redevelopment

quaint marlin
#

there's a very high spot on that land, 1060 above sea level

#

and there are streetlights surrounding the place that are perfect for my streetlight nodes

#

even a 1070 spot

#

the coverage map from the streetlight on the corner:

nova wigeon
quaint marlin
#

ooooh yeah, you need to set that.

#

no wonder you're not getting any traffic

#

you need to connect via BLE to the andoid app and set the radio settings on that thang

#

if the t-deck says UNSET, it is not gonna work.

#

to my knowledge there's no way to set it via the device, though there may be with the UI firmware? My understanding is that is not built into it yet.

nova wigeon
#

Just got it to set region and turn off encryption key on LongFast. I sent another test from my roof.

quaint marlin
#

not seeing it, I sent a test as well

nova wigeon
quaint marlin
#

Hmm, I don't see a mention of the 400 foot public-use antenna mast... must need to submit my plans 😄

nova wigeon
quaint marlin
#

I suspect your device is still misconfigured in some small way. I suppose it's possible that you're in a dark spot of coverage but you should also be seeing other nodes in the area, I have a big one not that far from you.

nova wigeon
#

I've been seeing between 8-11 nodes on it, no messages though.

quaint marlin
#

are you seeing one called R6?

#

Remote 6 (WB+AB) 15k

nova wigeon
#

They did say this firware is super buggy and ureliable, so 🤷‍♂️

quaint marlin
#

true

#

according to the coverage map you are actually in a block-wide area of un-covered space...

#

barely.... but I'd think you should at least get sporadic coverage

nova wigeon
#

It looks like it's currently set to "LONG FAST" FrequencySlot 20 (906.88MHz), Channel "LongFast", nothing set for a key, Device Role is Client. Under chats I do have an asterisk by the channel: "*LongFast"

quaint marlin
#

hmmm

#

not sure what the star is about

#

hopefully it's not in the name.

#

If you're able to set an encryption key, set it to AQ==

#

that's the default key

dreamy sapphire
#

if all else fails theres always serial and using linux native to push settings one by one

quaint marlin
#

I have a soccer game in WSP this evening, I'll drive by and do a coverage test.

#

I mean it'll be a G2 so it's pretty likely to pick up signal but I can test it with a t-deck just for fun

nova wigeon
#

I left it on the roof with a little 2W solar panel, will see if ever picks anything up

#

It was originally set to AQ==, I deleted that since it didn't seem to be picking anything up. I can add it back in.

quaint marlin
#

Do add it back in. I think the key needs to match

#

I have a big solar node that you would be welcome to put on your roof.

#

I mean it's not a monster, just much bigger than a t-deck, and made to survive outside

dreamy sapphire
#

not a monster, still a unit

quaint marlin
#

it's a chonky boi

#

4 18650's, external MicroUSB (a little overkill), vent, large BLE antenna

#

will run for a month or more without sun (or covered in snow)

nova wigeon
#

I could give it a shot, DM'd you

dreamy sapphire
#

@junior cosmos do you commute to the cities? I keep getting a ping from Roseville at like, 7 or so but only then

junior cosmos
#

So I’m literally hoping on 610 west from south bound 65.

dreamy sapphire
#

yup, bet you drive right by my house

#

Base Camp and AL Pockets are mine

junior cosmos
#

Yeah usually when I pick them up. Even though I picked them up ALOT sooner with this bandit car node I’m testing.

dreamy sapphire
#

First multihop traceroute

Screenshot_20240819_160318_Meshtastic.png
quaint marlin
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just got another delta flight passenger (or pilot?) landing at MSP from bismarck right now

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I assume it's a pilot not a passenger, as every time I see one of those pings they are a similar format

wide umbra
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I've gotten that exact flight before so I'd bet it's a pilot

quaint marlin
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just seems like something a pilot would do 😄

dreamy sapphire
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I got them too

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No nodeinfo though

junior cosmos
quaint marlin
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there's no accounting for light-speed 😄

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chances are whoever processed the fact that there was radio signal first was the 2nd step in the trace

dreamy sapphire
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Just random chance, I also saw both directly at times

robust flax
junior cosmos
sour cedar
dreamy sapphire
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sweeet

sour cedar
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If you see me running around my radio is called Neibert. I'm based up in Mounds View.

quaint marlin
# sour cedar That was me!

So are you a pilot or a passenger, and are you timing those messages or did you find a way to put real-time altitude info into your messages?

sour cedar
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I was a passenger. Nothing was automated.

dreamy sapphire
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Ah, you're the guy near my house that I couldnt get a lock on

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I kept seeing you on meshmap but couldnt get a ping

sour cedar
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Where are you and what is your node name?

dreamy sapphire
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10 and 65, currently I have Base Camp and AL Pocket 1/2

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used to have AL dev and some other random names because I just had a single board

sour cedar
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Gotcha. I've seen you here and there.

dreamy sapphire
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yeah not sure why I couldnt get a radio ping, I assume your node was just offline whenever I was in the area

sour cedar
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I do have a solar node up on top of the house, are you able to hit that one? "NeibRepeab"

dreamy sapphire
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I havent seen it, is it longfast and default key?

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according to liamcottle it's around

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also a router client, can you set that as a client? routerclient is deprecated