US Nebraska

[gilded tide]

I don't want to say it would be the silver bullet, but I think if I flipped NOMA or PAP to core, it would help. I DID find a duplexer..... and it's tuned up. MAYBE next Friday I can get into NOMA and add meshcore to that site.

(lots of weather dependent stuff.......)

[spiral plume]

do you get any repeats?

[tawdry compass]

Tes

Yes

[spiral plume]

though which repeater?

[tawdry compass]

My own

Super-X

[spiral plume]

haha, I am in the same boat. Where is your repeater? mine is on 120th and L

[tawdry compass]

I am near 192nd & dodge. new repeater is Merlin. (flashed the G2). I have one real contact. (ZK-1)

OK, I had my first meshcore conversation. whoop, whoop. node is ZK-1, near 120th & L

[spiral plume]

that guy is a d-bag

[tawdry compass]

Really? Oh well. it's a first contact anyways. lol

[spiral plume]

it’s me - lol

[tawdry compass]

Yeah, that guy really is a D-Bag. 🤣

[spiral plume]

looks like our traffic is going through each of our repeaters.

[tawdry compass]

So, it does work.

Do you see me on the map?

[tawdry compass]

I can almost imagine the end of crap-tastic!

Some of the world's shitty-est code, written by legends-in-their-own-minds.

[pure panther]

I need a meshcore one like PAP, that one opened me up to the rest of them pretty well, after that one turned on I could see regular pings from the rest of Omaha

You guys see the app has a built in map based signal range/coverage thing?

[spiral plume]

I have not seen the signal ratings and pulsing nodes on the map with the meshcore app.

[peak badger]

LOL

[pure panther]

Nah like this stuff

[tawdry compass]

I don't see your repeater in the list.

[spiral plume]

yeah, I did not see a way to configure adverts when I commissioned the repeater

[tawdry compass]

The is a place if you log into the repeater

It's under "extra tools".

[spiral plume]

i tried to log in and it says it fails. 😭

[tawdry compass]

Bummer. maybe try USB web interface

well, at least we have a mesh of 2. 4 counting repeaters. lol

[spiral plume]

this is all i see

[tawdry compass]

set a password

Then you can select "manage" from your companion node

[gilded tide]

I did catch one "group chat" message, but no details on it in the rx log

[tawdry compass]

I saw a valley node on the internet map

I do think we accomplished a small thing, at least. Maybe a start.

[gilded tide]

I had manually pushed a postion previously. There is no gps/map integration. No one is running an observer in teh metro, so no live map updates.

[quasi beacon]

Alright guys, I'm joining the meshcore fun... good thing I have plenty of spare hardware. 😄

[peak badger]

I still haven't seen anything on the public channel. Do I have to do anything special?

[tawdry compass]

So, this distance from me to ZK-1 is like ~ 7 miles. I think it is just direct from my repeater to his. That's surprising.

another newbie vid: https://youtu.be/tXoAhebQc0c?si=JF1vlWnfOgnR-phZ

[spiral plume]

I only changed the region to Canada/US and renamed my node. What is your locale?

[tawdry compass]

remember to send lots of adverts

[narrow ledge]

Yay!

[tawdry compass]

I'm pretty surprised by the range. If the distance is correct, It appears to be an improvement on **!@#tastic.

[narrow ledge]

God save the king!

Twist my arm and I’ll swap out the Loess Hills stealth MT for MC.

Still not hearing anything downtown. 🤨

[tawdry compass]

Why not? how much effort would it be?

[pure panther]

I just changed my home repeater to auto broadcast every 3 hours, still unlikely it'll leave the valley here.

I did find a better location for a repeater, downside is it's in a park and the only thing there is light poles, idk the likelihood of it staying on one long term if I put it there lol might be suitable for test things at least

[empty vault]

Did anyone in Lincoln switch to MC?

[narrow ledge]

Not much. I’d just swap out the entire system. Requires a site visit, a short hike, and a screwdriver.

[narrow ledge]

I suppose at some point I could find a way to install both MT and MC devices. But that would be less stealthy.

I have nothing against MT. One just has to accept that it’s often hit or miss. It’s fun to see the telemetry from all over town. It’s easy to get into for casual users, since it ships with hardware. But it can be frustrating when you want to actually use it and it doesn’t work. Maybe a non-default mesh like MF could work. Maybe the Omaha metro area is just too big and busy for MT. I’m willing to switch some radios over to MC for a while. I do think it has promise either way it’s dedicated routing, and the room server idea seems cool.

[tawdry compass]

Yeah, It's worth a try, anyways. Not sure how to use the room server, yet.

[narrow ledge]

Give it a try if you have an extra device. It's a separate firmware image.You can't BLE to it. You do the basic config with USB, but once it's on the air, you can config it by remoting admin from your companion. You can also set it to repeat, but I read that it's not as fully functional as a repeater. But still, it's nice that it can serve as a repeater.

[tawdry compass]

I did put one up, just not sure what it does yet. lol

[narrow ledge]

Fair enough. The info about it is a little lacking. Did you try posting a message and then logging back into read it?

[tawdry compass]

yep.

[young vortex]

I don't think so. I'm watching this thread to stay up to date as I am in Lincoln. Going to leave one of my nodes on MF to see if I can pick anything up.

[narrow ledge]

Here's what Meshsense looks like right now with LH02 being reconfigured to use MF. You can ignore my nodes downtown and LH02, as they are reporting to Meshsense, but aren't talking with the western nodes. I kinda feel guilty about moving it to MC since it would leave a hole in the MT mesh (unless I can get two radios out there).

[quasi beacon]

So I set up "AMC repeater" and "AMC T1000" last night... I don't think I've reached anyone yet, even though I've had multiple messages with "heard 2 repeats", so someone else must have a repeater in range.

[quasi beacon]

yeah, tough call. I suppose the good thing is if you want to try it out on MC for awhile, nothing's permanent

I've been tinkering with meshtastic for a few years now, but it's gotten so unreliable lately, I'm game to try something else.

[narrow ledge]

Yeah, it's a mixed bag. On one hand, it's great to look at telemetry and say, "Wow, look at all those nodes!" But if they can't reliably communicate, then what's the point? Maybe an alt-mesh like MediumFast would work? I dunno. But I like the routing hype of MC.

[quasi beacon]

Although I'm off to a bad start with MC. had trouble reconnecting to the T1000 after going out of bluetooth range. and some wierd stuff with completed missing my repeater from spots that I know should have been a strong signal.

[quasi beacon]

Yeah exactly! I'm constantly seeing partial conversations on meshtastic.

Maybe the infrastructure just isn't built out enough, but feels like we should be able to do better.

Man, such limited functionality of the T1000 on Meshcore. On meshtastic it can be used pretty effectively as a GPS tracker and "beeper". Works well to give to the kids running around the neighborhood

But I guess the simplicity of meshcore with a focus on messaging reliability is what they were going for.

[peak badger]

This.

[peak badger]

Mostly, messages run out of hops

[tawdry compass]

did you set it up to send adverts?

[quasi beacon]

Done it manually numerous times on both devices.

[tawdry compass]

You can configure the repeater to auto send.

[quasi beacon]

Oh, I missed that. Will check it out

Anyone else having bluetooth connection reliability issues with MC? Never had problems like this with the T1000e's on meshtastic.

[spiral plume]

rak is okay with bluetooth. Although the app disconnects after a while and I cannot get notifications of new messages.

I am using iOS

Also, the iOS app doesn’t seem to support piping in the GPS when the rak has no onboard gps.

[quasi beacon]

I like that the flood adverts can only be set to a minimum of 3 hours. In a crowded mesh the regular updates end up adding a lot of traffic.

[tawdry compass]

Yeah. No worries about crowding, just yet, I venture. 😆

ZK-1 and I are talking direct, from 7 miles apart.

[narrow ledge]

Ok. MT LH02 has been reconfigured as a MC repeater. I’m disappointed that it doesn’t seem to be able to see my rooftop repeater downtown. It’s pretty much line of sight and traces in MT always went well. I do have a Heltec V4 coming today that I might put up on my roof in place of DT16. It’s not as high as the other rooftop location, but has access to power and without as many obstructions.

[narrow ledge]

That’s awesome!

[tawdry compass]

Yup. core seems to not be a joke, at least at this small sample.

[quasi beacon]

yeah that's strange... just the reduced link budget you think? How solid of a connection was it on LF meshtastic?

[quasi beacon]

how was this connection on meshtastic LF?

[tawdry compass]

LF??

[spiral plume]

Long Fast… maybe

[tawdry compass]

Do you have a MT node?

[quasi beacon]

Yeah, default long fast. If there aren't any routing/collision issues, it theoretically should have quite a bit better range than the default MC lora settings.

[spiral plume]

Old Millard was the ZK-3 meshtastic LF node - before it switch to meshcore

[narrow ledge]

I was able to log into room server from the hills. Two hops. But it’s very intermittent. Still not seeing any other traffic outside of my devices.

[tawdry compass]

I do remember the ZK-3 node.

But I don't think ClinchSparkleBiscuit and I have conversed on MT, so no reference sadly.

[tawdry compass]

Yeah, total lack of traffic must count for a lot here..

[quasi beacon]

That's disappointing. If it's not a good connection now, it won't get any better as more users come on.

[young kernel]

I have two companions set up on west side, but they likely have pretty limited range with the current hardware and require manual adverts, so discovery between nodes may be a challenge.

[tawdry compass]

All I can say is my connection to ZK-1 has been flawless so far.

[young kernel]

Haven't figured out how to use GPIO pins for serial communication in MC, which is a very attractive feature of meshtastic.

[quasi beacon]

Looks like the link budget for MT long-fast is 153db. MC default radio setting is 149db. Doesn't sound like much, but that's a big difference on the log scale! @narrow ledge , how was LH02 performing on medium-fast? This is a link budget of 148db so should be very close to MC.

[quasi beacon]

Yeah, meshtastic has a ton more features for sure.

[narrow ledge]

I had a decent link between my home nodes and LH02 on MF. Not perfect but good enough.

[tawdry compass]

Yep, tons more features.

[narrow ledge]

I’ve considered an antenna upgrade for LH. Makes it less stealthy but sometimes it doesn’t seem that stealthy anyway.

[gilded tide]

Link budgets are..... anyway. A budget is something that happens on paper. It relies on some real factors (receiver sensitivity, system gain/loss).

When you start talking longfast, using presets, the SF is 11 and the bw is 250khz. (coding rate is the same for all we will show here - 4/5.) There is a difference in symbos, but that's largely irrelevant.

For reference, the preset MC is SF 7 and 62.5khz.

More reference. When band width is halved, signal level is doubled (increased by 3db.) Likewise, doubling the bandwidth halves the signal (-3db.) The same occurs (roughly) for Spreading Factor. Increasing the SF by 1 doubles the bits per chirp and decreasing by 1 halves the bits per chirp. This is why when comparing MC SF7 62.5 to MT MF SF9 bw 250khz, we have very similar link budgets. Halving the 250 to 62.5 is 2 steps, and reducing the SF by 2 produces a wash. They are effectively the same.

When looking at an SX1262 chip, they only provide some specs, not all. i.e., they provide SF 7 and 12. At SF12 and 250khz, the "best" receiver sensitivity is -134. So how does this relate to link budgeting? You have to know where to start. Receiver sensitivity, transmit power, system gain/loss, and free space path loss. We'll ignore terrestrial impacts (clutter, reflections, etc.)

Oh... and noise. This is the biggie in our area. There is a LOT of ISM in Omaha. I've measured base noise levels at -62 in some locations. And THIS is why MC chose a narrower width in comparison to MT.

It's difficult to escape other users. So we simply pick a spot and move on. There is a commercial Lora presence, among other users. That entity transmits from concentrators on 909.375, which is MT slot 30, on a 500khz channel.

[quasi beacon]

Yeah fair, the "budget" number doesn't have a lot of meaning in the real world. But comparing the different settings as a gauge of signal strength seems useful. What are your thoughts on MC's strategy of running the narrow BW and lower SF?

[gilded tide]

By choosing narrower channels, we get increased noise rejection, as well as increased SNR by using the narrower channel.

[quasi beacon]

Ahh, you just answered the question I was asking. 😂

[gilded tide]

So even if another user is there, as long as they are running a wider channel, we "cut" through (in most cases.)

[peak badger]

I'm also in U.S.A.

[peak badger]

Jk. 156/Dodge

I added the "Public" channel. Do I need to configure that channel at all?

I'm still keeping most my nodes on MT. I'm leaning toward the reliability issues here having more to do with terrain than MT itself. Roads and businesses are on peaks and ridges. Houses are in draws and valleys. Makes LOS harder to accomplish. MT is also better for using a tracker.

[tawdry compass]

Don't really need to configure anything on the public channel. It's a good thing to send adverts out so as to "discover" other nodes.

[peak badger]

I sent a few just now.

[gilded tide]

There have been some nice comparison posts made, but it really comes back to..... Meshtastic is great for adhoc, mobile use cases. Where there is infrastructure and fixed assets, Meshcore is better. When someone mentions tracker, that's usually in a tactical context, so Meshtastic would be the choice.

[peak badger]

Look for NPC

[peak badger]

Agreed. Matt is smort. He should be team captain.

[gilded tide]

I do snort a lot 😄

[tawdry compass]

I only wish I was smort. Prolly was dropped on my head as a baby. 😁

[gilded tide]

Naw ya don't... smort = smelly and short

[peak badger]

Smort = small snort

[tawdry compass]

OK, so unless ZK-1 is really just a guy sitting in a car down the block from me, core is worth investigation. Even if you have had a snort or two.

But I defer to the team captain, of course.

[gilded tide]

No monarchy here lol. It's every man for himself.

[peak badger]

What about non-binary transabled clowns?

[gilded tide]

Not to kick the can down the road... but I'm trying to fit in a visit to NOMA on Friday. If that happens, there will be NOMA on both MT and MC.

[peak badger]

Just kidding. They were always on their own.

[gilded tide]

I'm still disappointed that you aren't hearing Valley

[quasi beacon]

That will be a great comparison! So with the duplexer, both units hear everything the same but it's essentially a switch when either is TX'ing?

[tawdry compass]

Yeah, mee too. I think I need the better antenna. I will rob Roci.

[gilded tide]

No, they can concurrently operate.

Think of having a tee and both connected to the same antenna. The duplexer allows that, but without one transmitter frying the others receiver (literally frying.)

[quasi beacon]

So the non-transmitting radio can still receive while the other is transmitting?

[gilded tide]

correct

in receive only applications, you can simply split the line (tee)(observing appropriate signal losses, etc.). When one or more transmitters is involved, then you need to protect the other ports. A duplexer allows two ports to be connected to the same line. The frequency spacing and power levels drives the type, complexity, and cost, of a duplexer.

[peak badger]

Matt sounds like he knows what he's talking about

[gilded tide]

I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express.....

[narrow ledge]

I think this will be a beg deal. Fingers crossed!

[peak badger]

I just shitpost on the internet and do no different in person.

[gilded tide]

Same. WYSIWYG

[tawdry compass]

OK, my core router an a G2 is now on my best and highest antenna. hoping for better results

[gilded tide]

it somewhat concerns me that someone created that emoji

[quasi beacon]

Is this with the Yagi? I sometimes would see that direct from my home node. I'm interested to see if this makes it to Bellevue.

[peak badger]

It's the Meshtastshit

[peak badger]

ROCI?

[tawdry compass]

Nope, it's on the vertical. Yagi is in the closet. I might as well put that one up as well.

[quasi beacon]

Oh, well maybe that's what I was seeing recently. Kind of wish I hadn't cleared nodedb on both devices, could have checked the signal history.

[tawdry compass]

Roci is a meshtastic node

[peak badger]

So it didn't "transition"

[tawdry compass]

I could swear you are in my backyard!

[spiral plume]

I feel bad talking about meshcore on this discord.

[tawdry compass]

Nope, I pulled a G2 out of a drawer.

[peak badger]

@gilded tide Can you get (a) node(s) on the Gretna water tower?

[gilded tide]

Gretna is not friendly to non-paying tenants. (They aren't firendly to paying either)

FWIW, most water towers in the metro are "not friendly."

[peak badger]

That's poopie of them

[gilded tide]

If they entertained 1% of the people that come knocking, every one of them would look like a dandelion.

[tawdry compass]

OK, sending flood adverts like a demon.

[gilded tide]

And while we're "on topic".... if anyone gets the idea to make a solar node to hang on "a tower".... be aware that there are already cases where people are facing some hefty fines. (Delivery by drone in one case)

(not meshtastic specifically)

[spiral plume]

after 911, I believe water sources became a spot of higher security.

[gilded tide]

Don't lose sleep over it. The reality, is that any idiot with a pipe wrench can inject foreign material into the water system.

If people were really concerned, our world would be very different.

[spiral plume]

no, just saying they have increased site access security.

[gilded tide]

Some do. Some have the same gate combos they had 20 years ago. I can also show you how to enter, through the gate, in less than 30 seconds... leaving the lock intact.

[quasi beacon]

I'm curious to hear more about this. The "drone delivery" thought had crossed my mind. 😂

[spiral plume]

They think somebody will open the hatch on a water tower and sprinkle in anthrax

[gilded tide]

Big fences and barbed wire... defeated with a 9/16 socket....

[gilded tide]

Spoiler. You don't have to open the hatch to do this.

[tawdry compass]

Glad I have RO available.

[spiral plume]

great, came for the meshtastic and now I am on Amazon looking for micron water filtration

[tawdry compass]

Did I say I'm a solar freak??

This how I remote camp. 2kw solar array.

[gilded tide]

Isn't that "glamping"?

[narrow ledge]

https://tenor.com/view/side-eye-gif-3425669563334334864

https://tenor.com/view/side-eye-gif-3425669563334334864

https://tenor.com/view/side-eye-gif-3425669563334334864

[peak badger]

That's a mobile command center.

[narrow ledge]

Oops. Didn’t mean to send that 3 times.

[tawdry compass]

Yup, I might even get Matt's attention. lol

[narrow ledge]

Just noticed you can change the TX power settings. The G2 was at the default. I set it to 30. Not sure what the max is.

[gilded tide]

G2's go to 36

[tawdry compass]

Max is actually 19

[gilded tide]

Comment - Meshtastic doesn't use "actual" dbm values. argggh. I haven't been able to deduce if Meshcore does.

[tawdry compass]

https://wiki.uniteng.com/en/meshtastic/station-g2

[gilded tide]

Supposedly... setting "30" in MT is "full" power. I once measured this though, and 30 was.... 30 (1w)

[tawdry compass]

Yeah.

[gilded tide]

I think you have to flip to HAM mode to go above 30 (which would fit legally)

[tawdry compass]

The doc's say the setting for 1 watt is 16, I think. could be wrong, but you would know better

My electronics and RF knowledge only goes so far.....

[gilded tide]

I know at one point the mapping was changed. Can't remember if that was in the 2.4ish days....

[narrow ledge]

What would be the higher power settings for the V4? It just came by courier so I’ll be playing with that soon.

[gilded tide]

28

[gilded tide]

If people get "scared" about discussing MC here.... https://discord.com/channels/1343693475589263471/1439732912672211024

[pure panther]

Any of you guys have a recommendation of a good outdoor antenna that the weather here won't wreck? I've been using one that's probably not "made" for outside but I've just been waterproofing it lol

That being said the 130mph winds we seem to be getting every summer would probably not be the best for most anything

[spiral plume]

I have 2 rokland 5.8dB ones that have held up for the better part of 3 years. I have not swept them with an analyzer, but they seem to work ok.

[pure panther]

Noted, thx

[peak badger]

The Alfa antennas are good. I defer to the captain, though. @gilded tide

[spiral plume]

Now I must mention that the roklands are 32 inches in length and I do not support them with the N connector. I have the antenna clamped to a mast with the mesh enclosure hanging from the N connector as it has minimal weight and wind drag.

[pure panther]

Interesting, a buddy of mine mentioned Rak wireless had a couple of thiers half off, and it got me thinking I might benefit from something longer than 6 inches lmao

I've heard good things about the rocklands though

[peak badger]

That's what she said.

[tawdry compass]

I have had one of the above, for the last 2 years. and lots of others.

[spiral plume]

yeah, they aren’t bad, sometimes vendors
get sneaky though and relabel the 868Mhz tuned ones as 915Mhz - and the average consumer is non-the-wiser.

[tawdry compass]

I also have a lower gain Yagi that does pretty good also.

[tawdry compass]

Thats what an antenna analyzer is for.

The rokland stuff usually tests OK

[spiral plume]

yeah, but not everyone has access to those. I had several email exchanges with smiley antenna about GMRS antennas that were not tuned properly. But… everyone swears by them.

[tawdry compass]

Yeah.

I think Matt would be the guy to ask about antenna's. I have built my share, but I'm no expert by any measure.

[quasi beacon]

@narrow ledge , I was too lazy to 3d print something today, so dropped some magnets in this little case and cut a slot in the lid. 😂 Cruising around and pinging my router at home, I'm noticing a significant loss in performance compared to long fast on Meshtastic. Can't reach from spots that would normally have a solid signal.

[narrow ledge]

Oh dang. I’m a dummy. I was bench testing my new Heltec V4 without a LoRa antenna! The V4 has an Ipex connector for the 2.4 GHz, s d I wasn’t thinking and just put my LoRa antenna on the first connector I saw. I hope I didn’t fry it.

[quasi beacon]

That's something I would do! I'm sure it's fine if it wasn't running too long like that.

[narrow ledge]

Nice. Every Heltec comes with a versatile case. 😁

[spiral plume]

just curious, what is everyone’s intended purpose for getting on the mesh? Personally, i like the idea of backup communications in the event
of a city-wide isp or wireless outtage. I want to get my family all connected just in case.

[peak badger]

Finally received messages on the secret MC sub chat

[pure panther]

I liked the concept of it, I decided this year I'd self host as much of my life as I could, set up my own servers for local storage and streaming as well as immich for photos and swapped to Linux on the PC. When I found meshtastic I was just curious if it was even possible to self host a messaging system, like the whole thing from point a to b. And while I don't see it replacing messaging, it's still something I like tinkering with

Just didn't like not owning anything and having no control over what I do with stuff, meshtastic let's me host my own thing, even if no one else was on it, my nodes would still work just fine

[peak badger]

Ad hoc backup, secure comms.

[tawdry compass]

So, at least something is getting out. I can see AMC nodes and repeater on the map.

[tawdry compass]

I am kind of a radio hobbyist first, with a secondary interest in grid-down comms.

[peak badger]

I don't think my messages are being received. I also have my node indoors. Not really trying.

[tawdry compass]

Do you have a repeater with an outside antenna?

[narrow ledge]

Yay! Finally! I still haven't heard anything. I wonder which radio I was using there. I was trying a G2, and now switched out to V4.

[narrow ledge]

Can you tap on the message to reveal the repeat details?

[empty vault]

Mine is testing for deploying at events outside cell coverage

[narrow ledge]

I’m a nerd. I’ve been fascinated with all forms of communication, including homing pigeons, languages (even Esperanto and ASL). I love tinkering with equipment and making things talk together. I use two way radios on RAGBRAI (and other rides, camping, etc) and took Meshtastic with me this year.

[young kernel]

After tinkering with 433MHz and nRF24L01 radios for DIY MCU projects, I started looking at LoRa to increase range. Meshtastic seems like an interesting "DIYer" way of experimenting with transmitting data from low-power sensors deployed in the wild.

[empty vault]

Are you me? I'm working on the exact same thing, and switched to Linux this year too. Thanks Microsoft for the push 👉😎👉

[hushed knot]

Loving seeing the MC testing. The room server idea seems very interesting to me as someone more remote. Seems it would make it easier in my area to get messages out here.

[narrow ledge]

Yeah! It’s kind of like a public (or private) chat that persists. I think up to 32 messages.

[narrow ledge]

Just flashed a V3 and am running “Downtown Room”.

[hushed knot]

Going to flash an 1000e tonight or tomorrow with MC. I’ll be in Omaha Tuesday to head to Chicago for a few days so perfect chance to check out both cities from a MC standpoint.

[pure panther]

Microsoft for sure gave me a good push lol, I just put grapheneOS on my phone too lol

[narrow ledge]

ec is probably one of my reiesters in the roof. 1a is probably Loess Hills.

[empty vault]

Damnit I was reading about grapheneOS a few hours ago. Lol

Although I bet the ven diagram of people who use Linux and people who use grapheneOS is close to a circle

[pure panther]

You should check out this thing called meshtastic, its pretty cool too xD

[narrow ledge]

Can you give me the contact for Old Millard? I’ll see if I can path it out from my nodes.

For example, Loess Hills looks like this.

meshcore://1101a21accae6f33d31882a0454340d428e9300f9b261c9b74071a02420611e0a14476cf731a692d7653174c2041d2aa20b0f2fee48b1d1d673653066fcac95303cb815abce5572bf538c1943ba460ae3432c9a282c8bf14bd185342e54db52535348688a2e30892683d7602a25149fa4c6f6573732048696c6c7320434231

[spiral plume]

meshcore://11001c249745a7a788d70dea210141270bf84959058fb496cb94bc178f88eed2bb95538b1a695645d20a71a7e58e032fd572f387074801822f065bc3acf395183971a4d608a84ac63acac86123430d7996a5b92fbbec93ff58e1a8a8aead00340e8eb08373049264c57402068f45fa4f6c64204d696c6c617264

[gilded tide]

No captain here. And I'm not one to ask about "short" antennas.

[pure panther]

how long is not short? lmao

[gilded tide]

If ya'll haven't caught my inuendo... I don't often dabble in "little" antennas. It's just a thing. I do have various means of sweeping and analyzing, if someone wants to know how theirs "looks" in the band. I don't do gain measurements.

[spiral plume]

It’s not about the length, its about the girth on the axial radiation lobe pattern.

[narrow ledge]

Yay! My first wild message received!

[gilded tide]

Ohhh, that connector in the middle of the board is the wifi. And unless you make some board changes, it isn't active.

[peak badger]

Nope.

[tawdry compass]

Yey!

[gilded tide]

hahaha, probably 30" at least!

[gilded tide]

LMAO.... except, in general, the "longer" the stick, the thinner the girth.....

[pure panther]

yeah 30 isn't bad for a stationary node

any stand outs you know of near that size?

[narrow ledge]

Cool. I imported it. Can you send me your companion ZK-1 contact?

Is one of you Mule? 🤔

[quasi beacon]

Is everyone loading their MC nodes on the web map? Mine are on there. You can add them from there to your contact list.

I'm really hoping I find something wrong with my repeater setup. Otherwise, the performance I'm seeing out of it so far is pretty disappointing.

[tawdry compass]

Hobby antenna analyzers are pretty inexpensive and not too difficult to use. At least for what these folks want to do. Heck, I think you can get a nanovna for $50

[peak badger]

100% that's Rocinante

[tawdry compass]

Mule is one of my companion nodes!

You got me!

[gilded tide]

Wishing "Super-X" was a repeater... I am all but line of sight to that.

[narrow ledge]

Add me and I’ll see if I can build a path to you.

[peak badger]

Add me. I don't know what I'm doing.

[tawdry compass]

Super-X is connected to the Merlin repeater. I'll keep sending adverts

Merlin meshcore repeater

[narrow ledge]

Maybe this works. Copy and paste into contacts.

meshcore://110078bbc59a26c97b2afc2f30d300ef9dfdb988b05ce7d00f69b81d89e5cdfae8401b981a6928989e4ed2a31772db4b4247339a34adc4d2ec0ffa8552757511fe2e18ea25a979caf5051d4023d086600a80701d20eeaa67371e8304bcc591136af0a8d9a20891bc8a75025b1c48fa526564205832

[gilded tide]

I just heard mule in valley

[tawdry compass]

A repeater called mead just showed up

Weird shit is going on

[gilded tide]

lol, that is me prepping another g2 to go to the Mead site (that is off for Meshtastic as it is a G2)

FWIW.... according to "the guys".... the G2 deaf issue isn't present in Meshcore

also... observe the power settings from pre mt 2.4.... https://wiki.uniteng.com/en/meshtastic/station-g2#lora-power-amplifier

[tawdry compass]

That's fantastic news!

[gilded tide]

Ahem.... and... to recap for the new folks... the Mead site is "halfway" between Omaha and Lincoln... and the antenna is way on up there.

This is the current receive... the lines are direct. I will add that THERE IS NO PHYSICAL antenna connection to the G2. This receive signal is air gapped. So just think what it will look like connected!

[tawdry compass]

I have a farm near Yutan, mead is just down the road

[gilded tide]

And it's nodedb shows 218 nodes....

Granted.. some of those are flyovers....

[tawdry compass]

Not sure what I am looking at

[peak badger]

So CB should be able (theoretically) to talk to Wahoo, Ashland, Valley, etc?

[narrow ledge]

@tawdry compass I got two messages from you on public.

[narrow ledge]

Can you a few adverts?

[tawdry compass]

Yes

[gilded tide]

MEAD to NOMA is 26 miles. MEAD to PAP is 22.

[gilded tide]

Yes indeed

I have a Fremont node is the works as well. NOMA and MEAD should be direct.

A Manley node is also in the works.

[spiral plume]

all your nodes are manly

[tawdry compass]

Is this a meshcore net?

[gilded tide]

Well...... it "was" meshtastic. Though I've always had "reservations" on a "well connected" MT network.

Now that it looks like we're more than casually entertaining MC instead....

I've had MEAD offline for a long time. With MC being in play, the deaf issues aren't there, so I can turn it up.

[tawdry compass]

OK. I'll just ease back and enjoy the popcorn.

Crank it up!

My MC repeater is a G2

[tawdry compass]

I've been sending a few adverts

[quasi beacon]

How does this G2 have such good RX with no physical connection?? Excited to see if this can bridge OMA to Lincoln. Are you still going to try MT with a good connection at this site, or just go straight to MC?

[peak badger]

So is the inconsistency with MT due to software, firmware, hardware, or environment?

Is everyone jumping ship to MC? Or just testing the waters?

[peak badger]

The people want to know.

[peak badger]

Same.

[narrow ledge]

I’m experimenting with pathing. Looks useful. If I know what repeaters you can see, I might be able to create a path.

[quasi beacon]

Personally I'm just dipping my toe in. I still like the idea of MT for plenty of use cases.

[peak badger]

Same.

[tawdry compass]

That's all me

[pure panther]

From a practicality standpoint I think it has more usefulness as I could for example route around a bad node, or an outdated node long into the future.

I think each has thier use though, depending on what you want to do

[narrow ledge]

Can you share your contact ?

[tawdry compass]

Mule & Super-X are my companion nodes. Merlin is my MC repeater.

[narrow ledge]

@tawdry compass Do you know if Merlin repeater can see any other repeaters?

[tawdry compass]

Merlin can see the Mead repeater and ZK-1's repeater

[peak badger]

I can only see Bob, but he can't see me. So far MT is working better.

[tawdry compass]

But ZK-1 won't send the advert, but Merlin sends

[narrow ledge]

I’ve been playing with python and thought about setting up a way that I could remote control my home automation using Meshtastic. It is designed with IoT stuff in mind.

[peak badger]

Smort.

[tawdry compass]

well, I going to keep trying for a couple of days. I sure have a great connection with ZK-1

[peak badger]

I received a message on the pubic channel from zk1 to red. No adverts

[tawdry compass]

I like the "Delivered" message notification in MC

[peak badger]

Ah. I was going to ask. Mine all only say sent.

[quasi beacon]

WIth G2's at elevated locations, do you think the receivers are just overloading from too much noise? Maybe the air gap is actually helping? When I first started messing with radios years ago, I noticed a UV5R worked fine with the stock antenna but had major RX problems when connected to a "better" external antenna. According to the interweb, the cheap radios receivers weren't up to the task of processing all the extra incoming RF. Wonder if that's the case with most of this cheap lora hardware?

[narrow ledge]

Mule: can you share your advert here?

Here’s mine:

meshcore://110078bbc59a26c97b2afc2f30d300ef9dfdb988b05ce7d00f69b81d89e5cdfae840a8aa1a69c626af0a146fbe918c3df06127d4a5dff848e15e7d94818097280baf5e088c4deb9666c002626ce7f91cdea83cf2fe0b4baa61e5817663b6fc062b8f2c49630791bc8a75025b1c48fa526564205832

[narrow ledge]

@tawdry compass Still exploring path to you.

[pure panther]

Anyone else notice significant battery reduction using MC vs MT? Maybe I just had a setting weird on my meshtastic originally

Like at my current draw it'll go almost a week without a charge if it continues the way it's going

[quasi beacon]

Which device? On my T1000e the battery usage seems to be a bit lower. GPS is off by default which helps. Also there's a lot less TX activity (no regular telemetry updates or rebroadcasting those updates from other nodes.)

[pure panther]

Wio tracker L1

I'd usually make it just over two days on a charge, now it just sips power, maybe the GPS was the main draw.

[quasi beacon]

Yeah, gps takes a lot.

[gilded tide]

Really you can't see MEAD though... since it's on my desk on a dumm load. It's adverting through Valley (repeater).

[tawdry compass]

Not sure how to do that yet.

[tawdry compass]

meshcore://1100c7b981f4e494a27ecae39de455f61bb73b561d48222ea0b6116e0a5eb6401a24ee211b6915b8659e43b5ec500aec9ca0df8927e93d857a3e72298d5d22189fb825b50a6e38217bc5eb554b6941ee0819ce5a4387f9866c1917ffad3be12e6dc3b7e4cb0491dfb17502ac0744fa4d756c65

[gilded tide]

No. The issue is the AGC and how Meshtastic code supports it (i.e., it doesn't.) The guy who wrote the MC code apparently understands hardware better and implemented appropriate code. Thus, MT was written at a VERY basic hardware support level. This is also why you can't use Lora concentrators with Meshtastic.

(And you can't use them with MC... yet.)

[spiral plume]

yeah, my rak companion seems to be more power hungry.

[tawdry compass]

My QR code

I think the best setup for MC to start would be a companion node and a repeater node, with the repeater being either with an outside antenna, or outside with an antenna.

It really does seem to work well that way

[gilded tide]

The RAk4631 I have here at my desk seems to be running the same. Since I flashed my office to MC, it's used about 6% in 45 hours. I previously charged it once a week whether it needed it or not.

[tawdry compass]

My mule companion node is a RAK4631 and I have the same experience.

[peak badger]

What is a concentrator and why is that important?

[peak badger]

That's how I run MT also. Mobile node and base station.

[gilded tide]

A proper lora concentrator listens to multiple channels simultaneously, rather than 1 channel. In it's designed purpose, lora was meant for telemetry from bazillions of devices, thus listening to the "entire" allocated band was desirable. It will also (usually) decode "all" the bandwidths and spreading factors. That means it can hear two simultaneous devices on the same center frequency if they are using different SF.

Also remember that by design, that communication was ONE way.

[peak badger]

So for repeater purposes, multiple channels could opperate in a wide area without causing congestion?

[gilded tide]

The ability to send an "insignificant" amount of data "out" from a concetrator was also there, but the goal was 99%+ receive.

[gilded tide]

ehhh.... it wasn't intended to be repeated. lora was more for collection.

[peak badger]

collecting.... telemetry? my passwords!?

[gilded tide]

YES!!!!! hahahahaha

[peak badger]

Jokes on them. they're either 1234567 or 7654321

[tawdry compass]

I'm checking in with the Austin Mesh, who were performing a big MC test Sunday.

[peak badger]

I honestly read that as checking in with the Autism mesh.

[gilded tide]

Have you been checked recently? 😉

[tawdry compass]

I resemble that remark.

[peak badger]

Yes. The needle broke.

[gilded tide]

I'm "on the spectrum" somewhere

[tawdry compass]

Idiot Savant I am. Sam

[peak badger]

I have never seen a Yoda Dr. Seuss crossover joke till today.

[tawdry compass]

🤣

[peak badger]

So for Meshtastic. What could make it more reliable?

Firmware, software, hardware, or environment?

[tawdry compass]

Ditch it entirely.

[peak badger]

Obviously elvation helps. Congestion is good, to a point.

I like it for reasons. Not ready to ditch.

[tawdry compass]

Well, it's almost useless for the intended purpose here.

[peak badger]

I don't know what you mean by "the" intended purpose.

It works as a mobile ad hoc network.

[tawdry compass]

But I am leaving both MT AND MC up, for the time being.

[peak badger]

And encrypted mobile comms

[spiral plume]

personally, i am still on trial period on MC. Still too early to conclude anything. I think with some more nodes i can get a better grasp on if it is a better suited for the omaha use case.

[tawdry compass]

Exactly.

[narrow ledge]

My understanding is that routing through repeaters is done by sending the first two characters of the public key. Any repeater that matches will repeat. You can build a path manually by listing out the hops using the first two characters, even if the repeater is unknown to you.

For example, I am trying to reach @tawdry compass by using the path: 9a,1a,1c,bc (My Downtown Room in repeater mode, Loess Hills, Old Millard, Merlin)

[peak badger]

I'm trying to reach bob with 1.e4 e5

[spiral plume]

the manual routing is pure 🔥

[peak badger]

The problem is after knight c6 no one will send bobs

[tawdry compass]

My connection to you is pretty darn good, though. Better than most.

[peak badger]

How do we get the MT devs to incorporate manual routing?

[spiral plume]

I think it was always good, but meshtastic thought it knew a better route.

[narrow ledge]

@tawdry compass : Does Mule see Old Millard directly? Or via Merlin?

[tawdry compass]

Via Merlin

[hushed knot]

My understanding is MC exists because MT devs where less then open to other contributors or suggests. MeshCore dev I believe tried to work with them first before building MeshCore.

[spiral plume]

Honestly, I have no idea. They do flood routing as a fundamental way of passing messages. Meshcore does discovered path through an initial flood route, then only uses that path.

[gilded tide]

It was designed as an ad hoc platform. Ad hoc isn't designed to "go big/wide."

[narrow ledge]

Like you said, the emphasis was on collection. MT is great for "Here's some data you might be interested in, but you might not get it, but we'll try again next time. Have a nice day!"

[gilded tide]

This isn't the designed puprose of MT. It all but defeats what they built it for.

[peak badger]

Lizzo was

[peak badger]

I wish for the trackers, the data would be sent more than one attempt if not confirmed like a DM

[gilded tide]

Go easy... most of us are oldies here....

[peak badger]

#metoo

[gilded tide]

And when someone of my vintage reads that... it has an entirely different meaning than the people who use it. The fact that "they" don't understand their message was subverted.... well...

I did explain that to a couple of women that were assaulted. They were oblivious as to the "pound" symbol.

[peak badger]

I think using "pound me too" is ironic and hilarious.

[spiral plume]

I have heard that:
Meshtastic is good for small groups of mobile users - always moving around
Meshcore is good for small to large networks where repeaters never move.

[peak badger]

So for some of us who use trackers and have friends (who aren't on discord) using MT for ad hoc netowrking, MC wouldn't likely be a good replacement.

[gilded tide]

"Today" I'd agree.

[tawdry compass]

I think if you want usable, area wide comms, MT isn't the answer.

[gilded tide]

If, however, your trackers span more than a few miles, you might feel differently.

[tawdry compass]

Yeppers!

[gilded tide]

And wher "we" talk about grid down comms, normally, that is RELIABLE comms. MT is fire and forget. That leaves a LOT to be desired.

[peak badger]

Agree there.

[spiral plume]

Did my message go through?
Meshtastic: “Dude…. maybe”
Meshcore: “YES!, if you wanna know how, get a pen and paper handy”

[peak badger]

Distance is definitely an issue.

[gilded tide]

It's aking to this "don't go to the dump - zombies!"

Sent via MT.... no one knows... but when Bobby's clothes are discovered years later at the dump, you know he didn't get your message.

[narrow ledge]

I like that infrastructure could be established for the purpose of bridging locations. Since you can path things out, imagine a remote node with a directional antenna, and maybe with a peer repeater that can provide a local footprint.

[narrow ledge]

Not sure yet how to exclude repeaters (or bad actors) one is not interested in repeating.

[tawdry compass]

I think we just need one or two repeaters in strategic locations, in order to determine MC's potential.

[hushed knot]

Since MC can send over significantly more repeaters/nodes it seems like there is value in mediocre repeaters to expand the area of reach though? Obviously higher/strategic is ideal.

[gilded tide]

Right. AND.... it's not flooding EVERY. SINGLE. MESSAGE. to every node on the network within the hop count.

That alone is a massive improvement.

[peak badger]

Can MC do tracking and ATAK?

[open tartan]

Any repeater is a "good" repeater 🙂

[open tartan]

tracking: Yes. ATAK: no.

telemetry is a pull in MC, vs. a push in MT

[narrow ledge]

Here's a repeater ID cheatsheet:
Downtown Room: 9a
Loess Hills: 1a
Old Millard: 1c
Merlin: bc
AMC: 1b
Downtown 16: 80
Downtown Sinkhole: ec

[narrow ledge]

Likely best path to me (Red X2) is via: Loess Hills (1a), Downtown Room (9a)

[tawdry compass]

Have you found a path to me yet?

[open tartan]

any repeater that's running 1.10 and latest version of Liam's meshcore app, there's a new repeater discovery mechanism that's available

I like to call it "CQ mode" - a method of quicker discover of local RF infrastructure and users - not a lot of good documentation on it yet

freshly rolled out over the past few days

[tawdry compass]

Please show us howto use

[open tartan]

it's in Tools

can't make screenshots at the moment, maybe will have time later this afternoon

[tawdry compass]

tools in the companion app, or on the repeater?

[open tartan]

companion app

[tawdry compass]

I have 1.10 and I don't see that

[open tartan]

do you see "discover nearby nodes" under tools?

[tawdry compass]

OK, got it!

[open tartan]

below Rx log

this is brand new functionality, not sure how stable or reliable it is yet, we're waiting to hear real-world feedback

[narrow ledge]

This is what I've tried:

9a,1a,1c,bc (My Downtown Room in repeater mode, Loess Hills, Old Millard, Merlin)

Can you confirm that Mule sees Merlin and Merlin sees Old Millard? You can try the manual path tracing, but your companion needs to be able to hear the last repeater. I suppose you could path it back the way it came.

[narrow ledge]

I'm not 100% Old Millard and Loess Hills ever see each other. It's an assumption, though I thought I saw it once.

[open tartan]

it's considered a best practice to explicitly choose the same path back - it's something that's not really intuitive currently. The trace won't complete if you can't hear the final repeater in the chain. Think of it as an "out-and-back"

[narrow ledge]

Thanks. I'll try some more probing.

[tawdry compass]

Well, Merlin is mules's repeater, it's outside my window. And my message path to ZK-1 goes thru merlin to the 1c repeater.

But I can't hit ZK-1, at the moment. first time for that.

[spiral plume]

that is because I am at work with my node - outta range

[tawdry compass]

OK. can you advertise your repeater when you are home? thanks.

Merlins Id has now changed after a reboot. It's b3 now

[spiral plume]

it is set to advert every 3 hours

[narrow ledge]

@open tartan What's the general thought about repeater proliferation? Is it best focus on strategic paths, or the more the merrier? A little of both? Do they get along well?

[tawdry compass]

Weird how it doesn't show up in my contacts.

[peak badger]

So is LH02 on MC instead of MT now?

[narrow ledge]

Yes. And I’m kinda sad about it. It was really working to tie in eastern nodes. I might see if I can both out there.

[narrow ledge]

Do they change with every reboot? Or was it a reflash?

[tawdry compass]

It was a reboot. I don't know if they change every time

[peak badger]

I'm also sad about it.

[tawdry compass]

Well, I am going to leave all of my MT and MC nodes up for the time being. Lot of reasons to continue testing MC. It's only been 1 day for me.

[tawdry compass]

Maybe we need both, MC for reliable comms, and MT for mobile devices and ATACK. idk.

[peak badger]

I think Rob is on to something here. He should be team captain.

[narrow ledge]

Sure. They do different things. The things they have in common (ie: messaging) are done very differently. It's exciting to put up a MT node and see that map fill in stations (with telemetry) all over town, and the occasional fly-over. Tracking is fun, too. I like to do that when I am out biking. But its frustrating when you try to actually message someone or have a group chat and the messaging just barely works. I am excited to see if we can build any good cross-town paths with MC as a few more good repeaters come online.

[tawdry compass]

Just way too early in the experiment to know yet.

[spiral plume]

Golden Gate repeater is up now on Meshcore

[pure panther]

i agree with this, for a messaging system to work it needs to be reliable, if its not i might tie notes to random birds in the hopes it gets to the correct person

like yeah it might get there eventually but still lol

even more emphasis when its an actual emergency situation, getting imported stuff to the right person could cost lives or hinder response times on things that matter.

[peak badger]

MT is reliable on a small scale. The issues I've seen have more to do with terrain preventing signals from reaching the long range antenna infrastructure nodes (muchas gracias Matt and Scott)

[open tartan]

Sorry, super busy at the dayjob today. The more repeaters the better. Best path is choosen during initial flood.

[peak badger]

I'll be interested to see if tracking is more reliable on MC than MT

[peak badger]

That's why people carry air horns and bear mace.

[open tartan]

the general way MC meshes are designed are mountaintop repeaters for distance, and neighborhood repeaters for local fill-ins

[tawdry compass]

Golden Gate appeared in my contacts

[peak badger]

As all meshes should be.

[open tartan]

current thinking is mountaintops should have a longer txdelay (set at the repeater config), and neighborhood repeaters have a shorter txdelay.

let the local repeaters talk first, then the big footprint repeaters talk after that

just helps to reduce RF collisions

it'll still work if those considerations aren't made

even on the pacific northwest where there's hundreds of repeaters and clients, linked across hundreds of miles, even with flood messages on public and other channels, airtime is low enough were collissions aren't an issue

MC is rolling out the functionality of regionally-targeting messages on channels

[peak badger]

MC would be more attractive with a TAK plug in.

[open tartan]

to help reduce the inevitable airtime issues that will come up when messages can reliably pass between many tens of repeaters across vast geographical areass

I haven't used TAK personally yet, but have the impression it's a little chatty with airtime

[peak badger]

Not meant for large networks, of course.

[gilded tide]

How tak is used is wholly dependent on..... what it is being used for.

[peak badger]

I knew matt was going to say something smart.

[open tartan]

it's super easy to spam flood currently though, a misconfigured plugin could easily eat into RF airtime

[peak badger]

Do you know if the TAK tracker functions differently than the regular tracker on MT?

[spiral plume]

Downtown 16 advert just came through to me in papillion

[narrow ledge]

I just replaced it with a G2. New ID is 28.

[tawdry compass]

and my connection to ZK-1 is now restored. Mule->Merlin->Golden Gate->ZK-1

[spiral plume]

still waiting for golden gate to pickup a ‘old millard’ advert

I can log into millard through golden gate, but my connection keeps getting busted up.

my intention was to send an advert manually from Old Millard

[spiral plume]

dayum, Merlin is direct to Golden Gate?

[narrow ledge]

What’s the ID for Golden Gate?

[tawdry compass]

Yup!

[narrow ledge]

It’s 67. Don’t tell the kids. 😹

[spiral plume]

I saw that. ah jeez

[tawdry compass]

what the heck is the symbolism for 67? Furries or something?? Haha

[peak badger]

Nothing. it means literally nothing.

[quasi beacon]

Started as a reference to height of a basketball player... Now, no meaning whatsoever. 😂

[narrow ledge]

I’ve tried pathing out to 67 via 28 and also by 1a. No luck yet.

[quasi beacon]

I think something is off with my repeater. I've yet to pick up anything. Saw redx on the t1000 yesterday which apparently hopped in without AMC repeater. I can ping it fine in the house with the T1000 but even a block or 2 away becomes unreliable.

[tawdry compass]

I think I need a 50 foot tower. lol

[quasi beacon]

I'm missing the old EBT tree, although this week would have been a bunch of climbing. 😂

[tawdry compass]

I have a mfg extendable pole that can go to 30'. But my neighbors and HOA already have me marked for insanity. 😆

[narrow ledge]

Matt can probably loan you a tower.

[tawdry compass]

I might just drag the long portable pole out and put the repeater antenna on it this afternoon.

[pure panther]

Me literally, it's how I get my magnet node up and down from my parents barn lol

Be careful, they smash your hand if you don't watch where you put them, I found that out the other day the hard way

[narrow ledge]

Just talked to a someone on MT downtown and invited them to join or MC test. They said they might as they had some extra radios to play with.

[quasi beacon]

Rebooted a couple times while testing, and my repeater seems to be working now.

[quasi beacon]

You're running ZK1 right? Do you mind sending an advert? I can't figure out how to add you from the public chat.

[tawdry compass]

Bummer.

[spiral plume]

are these numbers good, bad, 67?

[tawdry compass]

I still can't see old Millard on the map, or in contacts

[spiral plume]

maybe she need a reboot or 2 later after work

These 1 hop remote admin sessions do not work well.

[pure panther]

Is it set to flood advertise? Not sure if that'd be the issue or not

[spiral plume]

it was set to every 3 hours

also I have manually sent adverts a couple times this morning

[quasi beacon]

I still haven't gotten those. I might have spoken too soon about my router working. 😬

[pure panther]

the real question is... should i fly a node on a kite. Kites are cool, nodes are cool, kite nodes must also be cool?

[quasi beacon]

Very cool indeed, and @narrow ledge already beat you to it. 😂 He's done a few kite Meshtastic experiments that worked really well.

[narrow ledge]

Yep! I've done one, as did Tony R. I'm not sure if he's on the Discord.

[quasi beacon]

Might be weird on MC though, with the whole route path thing and only having a kite in the air temporarily.

[narrow ledge]

Agreed. I think an airborne node is a classic case for MT ad-hoc flexibility.

[narrow ledge]

It might work with MC in a case like a coastal environment where the wind blows steady and predictable for a long while.

[junior blaze]

Hi, new kid here who DM'd Redd on MT today...

[narrow ledge]

Oh, hey! Thanks for joining us! We've got a pretty vibrant mesh community here in the O-Metro area, and we use this Discord to learn, share, and coordinate efforts to improve the mesh.

[narrow ledge]

Meshtastic is great, but we're also exploring MeshCore. They do different things, and both are fun and useful. If you want to try MC, just flash a companion unit at the mimimum, and then a repeater help fill in the network. Unlike MT, MC is "the more the merrier" with repeaters.

[junior blaze]

Thanks, Scott. My brother and I have been on the mesh here for about a year, but have a diff primary & LF secondary.

[narrow ledge]

Cool. A few of us tested an alternative MediumFast mesh this weekend with mixed results.

[junior blaze]

I have a solar rak on a building roof (with owner permission) on 144 & Dodge since June (~LSR). Would be happy to switch to MF for testing.

[peak badger]

Maybe that's what the Chinese were trying to do with that balloon a few years ago.

[peak badger]

Oh, you run alpha-delta

[peak badger]

Smort. Same

[peak badger]

Your nodes are super helpful connecting around West O

[junior blaze]

I don't run alpha, delta. Linden solar rak and trying to move chalco solar rak to a higher location

[pure panther]

Saw red X and downtown 16 on MC around 1:40 today

[autumn flint]

Hello all. New here. Just trying to catch up on the history. I like what is happening with all the new testing.

[narrow ledge]

Welcome!

[peak badger]

Ah.

[narrow ledge]

What's your location? Do you have any indication of the path taken?

[open tartan]

how so?

[spiral plume]

As in, I get logged on, then it times out.

[hushed knot]

Not Omaha metro but a Syracuse MC temp repeater has been setup so at least there is a beacon out there for my fellow small town Mesh enthusiasts to spot. 🤣

Hope to get it in a more ideal location this weekend for some testing.

I dream of some ideal farm repeater locations.

[pure panther]

Near 72nd and Giles, it was likely direct, I don't have any other repeaters except that one

[spiral plume]

when I drive around all I see are mesh node locations - its a sickness

[narrow ledge]

Introducing OmaMesh.net. (http://omamesh.net). We can use this as an easy way to get folks to find us. Future updates might include some dashboards, maps, how-to, blog, etc. Let me know if you'd like to participate. This is intended to be a community driven effort. I'm not in charge. Just paying the bill. 🙂

[pure panther]

I know on MT I would hear from that end of town semi regularly, but I could never get messages out that way.

[junior blaze]

Are some still on MF, or switched back to LF?

[open tartan]

That’s usually indicative of one or more of the hops being marginal link quality. The login auth ack message is short, but the return packet with all of the repeater status information is much longer. Longer messages require a better quality link.

[narrow ledge]

I switched my MF testing modes to MeshCore. I still think there’s value in exploring and non-default (but still public) MT mesh.

[junior blaze]

Thanks. I will set up a spare node with MeshCore and test it near Chalco.

[spiral plume]

join us! one of us, one of us, one of us

[hushed knot]

There is a very small village with a water tower that I’ve been very tempted to ask next time I’m at their offices.

[spiral plume]

The worse that can happen is they say no

[gilded tide]

If you do, please please please, be cognizant of "industry" practices... don't just slap a plastic box on something. A lot of volunteer orgs have burned a lot of great locations by not using "appropriate" gear.

While MT/MC is a "low cost" "decentralized" thing, tossing a $100 box in key locations can get us and others banned.

AND... it's a small community. Those folks talk to each other... word travels fast.

[hushed knot]

And all of that is why I’m still educating myself before asking them in any official capacity. 🙂

My realistic hope is lots of farmers around here have finally got high speed internet over the past ~2 years and now have antenna towers they don’t use for anything now that they can use streaming services. I want to slap solar nodes on all of those.

[spiral plume]

I managed to sneak a node in a key location. Got up there and back down in 15 minutes - I was pretty proud of myself. I had to return to the node to make an update, then it happened. I heard a voice say “What are you doing up there and what is that giant pole and box thing?” I had to play it cool, what was I gonna say to get outta this situation. So I just settled on telling the truth of what I was doing. “I am putting up a mesh node, is that cool” … I got the reply “I guess so”. To this day I can get my wife to yawn on command whenever I say the magic word “Meshtastic” 🪄

[junior blaze]

A loving cup! Gooba gabba!

[peak badger]

Jokes on them. I'm tossing a $37 box on the side of a van.

[peak badger]

You need to invest in a hard hat, reflective vest, and metal clip board. Say you're checking on emergency communications equipment

[peak badger]

Also, where about?

[spiral plume]

my roof

[peak badger]

LOL

@tawdry compass you're Mule on MC right?

[tawdry compass]

Ya

[quasi beacon]

Can we get a pic of your giant pole? Your wife might not be interested, but we are. 😉

[open tartan]

looks pretty meshy out there

[tawdry compass]

Direct to Mule?? OK, exactly how high is your antenna and how big is your amp???

Holy smokes!

[peak badger]

I receive from you on MC but my messages aren't going out

I set up 2 MC nodes. MT is much more intuitive to set up multiple nodes, distribute to multiple users and go with a functioning ad hoc network.

[tawdry compass]

Yeah.

[peak badger]

GPS/telemetry/map functionality is more intuitive on MT

[tawdry compass]

Yes, it's a much more mature product. But it has a boatload of problems.

[peak badger]

Even with problems, my usecase I'm not switching.

[tawdry compass]

All I can about right now, is will my messages get through. If MC can offer that, It's interesting to me.

[tawdry compass]

That's great, you do you. we are just testing an alternative.

[peak badger]

It may be a viable alternative. Someday.

[tawdry compass]

and I have and will continue to have both

[peak badger]

Just not for me yet

[tawdry compass]

Waaay to early to say that

[peak badger]

I said yet

[tawdry compass]

That's really OK

[spiral plume]

hey hey you 2, there’s plenty of hops to go around for everyone

[tawdry compass]

It's day 2 of a test. just a test.

[peak badger]

That's what I told my friend when he said all the nodes disappeared

[tawdry compass]

It's just a test. Only a test. Don't you just love science?? lol

[peak badger]

I told him I tried it out and it SUCKED

[tawdry compass]

Oh, well. I'm keeping all of my MC and Mt stuff going, just for fun.

[peak badger]

I'm going to pray that LHO2 detransitions or gets resurrected as bisexual

I mean bi-platform

Meshtasticore

[narrow ledge]

Mmmm. Beer. 🍺

[spiral plume]

this 👆

[tawdry compass]

I have been known to make beer

[gilded tide]

Between LH02, NOMA, and PAP, that's the "big" cross town nodes. Once I swap NOMA and PAP, MT will be "local"

[peak badger]

Wait, you're swapping NOMA & PAP to MC only? No dual systems?

[gilded tide]

I may run NOMA dual.

I have the parts to do so. But MT has always irked me. MC has the feature set that I want.

[narrow ledge]

Definitely worth a try. Nothing is permanent, though I recognize swapping out your systems is different that most of us casual hobbiests. It could be great!

[gilded tide]

And for everyone else, Scott knows a lot more of the backstory for my sites.

I'm in places where I have to protect me AND others. That means a completely different level of install. Tight pass filters, ingress suppression, solid shield feedline, IM studies, etc. Even though this is "ISM," I still have to play nice.

Both NOMA and PAP have been "sitting" for a longgg time, waiting for MT to mature. And here we are, they get turned up and then we change the OS lol.

While I've been watching MC, the 1.10 release really cleaned up.

I use TAK with a couple of agencies. MT isn't on their radar, but Harris based MANNET is. What people do with MT is "cute" in comparison.

[tawdry compass]

Reliable message delivery interests me quite a bit. Otherwise, it's just a toy.

[gilded tide]

Exactly. That's what I want. Reliability is the top requirement.

[narrow ledge]

I don’t expect it to help much, but tomorrow I’ll install a MC node at my desk inside a particularly tall downtown building. I can’t get it on top, outside, or near a window, but as a MT node, it did help at times. Fingers crossed this will help MC.

[quasi beacon]

Random question, how long would your nodes at these sites continue running in an extended power outage scenario?

[peak badger]

I'm just trying to send my friends naughty messages.

[gilded tide]

NOMA and PAP have 120 hours of fuel on site and any time there is an expectation that the gen will run for even 12 hours, a fuel order goes out. These particular sites are "priority" restoration with OPPD. There is no higher priority in the metro. Same for fuel. There is also roughly 8 hours of DC/UPS on these as well.

[peak badger]

What military units and SWAT do with MANET and ATAK is what's interesting

[gilded tide]

Since 1997, the only power "outages" have been planned. Since devices like these don't have any redundancy, you get what you get lol.

There has been one instance of gen running for 90 hours.

[narrow ledge]

Loess Hills and Sinkhole are solar, so unlimited runtime, in theory. But it’s all consumer grade gear, so there’s that. 😁

[gilded tide]

I wish I could toss a cheapo solar node at these locations!

[narrow ledge]

I’ll trade you a $10 panel for your diesel genset.

[gilded tide]

You probably don't want to pay for the oil change!

[narrow ledge]

I’ve changed the oil on a marine diesel. You could argue it’s harder because you have to pump the oil out and up, instead of letting gravity do the work. Still kinda of expensive, though. And I have no where to put the generator, anyway. Kinda make it less stealthy. 😆

[gilded tide]

Sailboats suck haha

Boats in general do.. not picking on sail 😉

[peak badger]

If it floats flies or..

[pure panther]

Hey @gilded tide you're like a genius in radios right?

Is there any way at all even slightly feasible to harden radios against solar storms or emp that wouldn't completely ruin the functionality of the device itself?

Like you can Faraday bag electronics, but I can't think of a way you could even accomplish that shy of just having backups when it's over and done with

[tawdry compass]

There are cots solutions for that. Various fusing/breakers for antennas, as well as the aforementioned faraday cage stuff. Hard to know how effective and serious the testing is.

All of my ham stuff has at least some kind of protection.

[gilded tide]

Hardening... infers you want to keep it "running" and make it resistant to "stuff"

[spiral plume]

Just invest in lots of ammo, you’ll need that after an emp regardless of having a working radio or not

[gilded tide]

First. The "radio" itself... it almost always "soft". Short of putting it in a cage or bag, it's just there.

[narrow ledge]

Most boats suck, but sailboats blow.

[tawdry compass]

Yes, they do.

[gilded tide]

You have to define your requirement(s). If someone pops a device "above" the midwest, or ground bursts something within say 20 miles, then likely, only things completely protected (bagged/caged) will "survive/be usable."

[tawdry compass]

When the first executive jets became available, they used to refer to them as blowjobs.

[gilded tide]

Short of that, and short of a direct lightning strike, protecting becomes a lot easier.

EMP and lightning are quite similar. EMP has a faster rise time, but lightning has a repetitive pattern that can cause more damage.

When the nay sayers talk about Carrington level events, the key to remember, is that if you have less than "500 feet" of wire in the sky, even that length isn't long enough to induce adequate voltage to affect any widely available radio.

[stoic quail]

Do I need another RAK and run core next to my MT node?
Lol

[narrow ledge]

Yes. 😎

[stoic quail]

👍

[narrow ledge]

So ZK-1 and I were chatting on the side. I was able to path out messages to him pretty consistently, but I got no ACKs or replies from him. I suspect it was my G2 in high power being heard but not hearing. Still pretty cool.

[tawdry compass]

I've seen talk that small electronics won't be damaged.

[gilded tide]

Lightning on the other hand, is lightning. I've repaired, tossed, surveyed, and gawked, at the resulting damage. I've seen "million dollar" protection schemes that did prevent fire, but stuff still got fried. Conversely, I've seen a cb locale where the lightning "hit" the tower, yet all that stuff was perfectly fine. A telephone, answering machine, and door bell, didn't exist anymore. So why did the phone stuff get fried? Difference of potential.

[peak badger]

I wouldn't say "need" so much as "nerd" to radio across Omaha in the near future

[gilded tide]

As Bob mentions, "small" stuff generally isn't impacted by EMP unless it's "really close." Lightning fries stuff better than McDonalds.

The doom and gloom of "all electronics will be destroyed" is just that... doom and gloom. It's interesting that "electronics" to measure detonations, unless in physical destruction proximity, typically survive.

[peak badger]

That's why I only key up on 10w BaoFeng radios.

[narrow ledge]

I’ve noticed that keying up UHF near my kitchen GFCI outlets will trip them.

[peak badger]

I lied.

But now we know

[tawdry compass]

1kw of RF does lots of cool stuff.

[gilded tide]

So, why is EMP pitched to be the eveil monster? Electricity. Power lines are LONG and do generate differences in potential. As that voltage rises, it fries stuff. If you disconnect from the grid, or have protection (SPD type 1), you can mitigate that. The inductance of the line from transformer to house is generally adequate to limit the difference of potential to less than a few thousand volts.

Coax (cable tv), phone (if you still have copper), are also vectors.

The phone line can be the worst. The wire is so small, that the difference in potential is significant.

[narrow ledge]

Ok, boomer. What’s a phone line? 🤪

[peak badger]

I'm more worried about my county assessor trying screw me out of MORE tax dollars than I am about an EMP

[gilded tide]

hahaha, the assessor should never know!

[gilded tide]

Interestingly... a G2 at 33dbm... turns one of my led lights on and off each time it chirps.

[quasi beacon]

@narrow ledge , how long has Downtown 16 repeater been running? I saw an advert about 20 minutes ago right after setting up a different repeater. Not sure if that was a coincidence or if my other device has an issue.

[narrow ledge]

About 9.5 hours.

[quasi beacon]

Thanks, either something is messed up with the original AMC repeater, or I just got really lucky catching this one. You mind sending another advert or message?

Nice, just got 2 adverts... seems solid. Dumb question, any way to see the signal strength at the repeater?

[narrow ledge]

Ok. Just did a few flood adverts.

[narrow ledge]

Cool. I’ll try to path out some DMs to you

[quasi beacon]

Hmmm, in the admin mode, "neighbors" pulls your node up with "-17" at the end, I'm wondering if that's the SNR?

[quasi beacon]

I received it, doesn't look like my response made it back to you

[narrow ledge]

Are you seeing repeater 28, or via AMC 1b,

[quasi beacon]

28

1b is unplugged. AMC Repeater 2 is in its place

I saw your messages 2 through 4

none of my responses are going through though

I was seeing your adverts direct at this repeater

hey I just saw Mule! Yeah, my old repeater was definitely borked

[tawdry compass]

I can now ping the Old Millard repeater, one out of three attempts. Progress.

[narrow ledge]

Ok. I sent a few DMs via 80,ec,28,50

[quasi beacon]

I'm seeing all your messages... even without the 50. seems to be flooding

[narrow ledge]

Interesting. I’m not getting any ACKs. I think the G2 at 28 on high power is sending better than it can hear.

Try reversing the path

[quasi beacon]

Nothing seems to be going through. Also tried manually setting the path through 50 and 28, no luck.

[peak badger]

Weird. I'm not seeing any adverts on meshtastic.

[gilded tide]

Yea, keep in mind, that the G2s dwarf everyone else. The v4 is the only other "28" out there. Then it falls to 22s. So you can have an easy 6db asymmetry. The LNA is pointless in town, that extra 4db is useless.

[tawdry compass]

Just got a DM from AMC! 💥

[gilded tide]

I'm still left out in Valley 🙁

I thought Bob was my ticket, but I must have been getting in via someone else.

Maybe once I flip NOMA I can get in that way.

[quasi beacon]

I'm shocked at how well this is working without a really good infrastructure node running MC yet

[tawdry compass]

Bummer on that Matt. Gotta fix it.

[gilded tide]

Hoping to get there Friday.

[tawdry compass]

I'll try my highest pole tomorrow. Worth a try, anyways.

It's alive!🧐

[quasi beacon]

I spoke too soon, just had a couple message fail. 😂 But at least I know they didn't deliver!

[tawdry compass]

So have I, just keep trying for a couple attempts, anyways

Just delivered a message to Red X2!

2 hops

[tawdry compass]

That was me!

[pure panther]

Ty Matt

[tawdry compass]

Hope I don't get a lightning damage demo tonight!

[pure panther]

I should get me one of those great big 50 foot masts lmfao, maybe it'd clear the valley here

[tawdry compass]

Interesting path from amc

[spiral plume]

morning bob

[tawdry compass]

Not Mesh, but using ALOR winlink server to send my email this morning via NVIS HF.

[spiral plume]

NVIS, at this hour?

[tawdry compass]

insomnia.

[spiral plume]

what is your band?

[tawdry compass]

NVIS == Near vertical incidence skywave

40meters

[spiral plume]

never delved into nvis, but I hear it is persnickity about freq and atmospheric condish

rocking a dipole?

[tawdry compass]

Yaa, it is. Could also be groundwave at this hour, but the station is ALOR, like 15 miles distance

EFHW

in a V config

It's Matts

Works really well, most of the time.

[spiral plume]

I had fun with OLIVIA on fldigi - magic mode.

[tawdry compass]

Never did OLIVIA, as far as I can remember.

I have used Contestia. On FLDIGI

[open tartan]

Sometimes messages are delivered, but you just didn’t get a delivery ack. In the app, you can set it to double ack - it provides better delivery acknowledgment to the sender

Delivery ack packets are small, not a big airtime use

[tawdry compass]

Yaa, I set that, seemed like a good idea

[tawdry compass]

What radio(s) do you rock?

[gilded tide]

NVIS 24x7

I support FEMA region 7 (IA, MO, KS, NE) and there are NVIS based nets multiple times a day. 4-7MHz. Reliability is near 100%. Even during the big todo last week, the nets ran while amateurs complained. Amateurs are not the self proclaimed experts they believe themselves to be.

[gilded tide]

Typical prop at 7am local, yellow is 4MHz.

If you didn't know Bob, this RMS uses a horizontal loop optimized for NVIS.

[tawdry compass]

Nope. They are not.

[tawdry compass]

No, I was unaware. Interesting.

[tawdry compass]

I am pretty much forced to use NVIS, as I live under HOA control. No permanent antenna's allowed. So I use black wire through my low trees. It's invisible to the Karen's. I have an amp, but almost never use it. It collects dust.

[spiral plume]

So how do you know if you are truly getting NVIS propagation? Also, are there beacons or propagation reports you look at to choose your operating frequency? Just curious.

[gilded tide]

I have the "ultimate" HOA. She rules with an iron fist. Everything is "under roof." I dream of the day where we have trees that I can put up real wire.

[spiral plume]

I had a xiegu G90, but sold it - lost my antenna tree in a storm.

[gilded tide]

How do you know if you are getting NVIS?.... When you are sub 20 miles, it's tough. It could be groundwave, though when using horizontal, that is reduced. At 20-300, if you have "strong" signal, it's almost always NVIS. Additionally, if you have an antenna deployed for NVIS (i.e., not a vertical), and you have good comms in the 20-300 range, it's almost guaranteed.

[tawdry compass]

I am a wire guy from way back. Built a bunch. I have a farm with monster tree's where I used to test stuff.

[gilded tide]

Without some angle of arrival gear, you can't tell "scientifically"

[tawdry compass]

That's my understanding as well. My antenna is in a inverted V config, both ends are less than 6' above the ground. Feed point is like 4' . peak of V is like 10'

[gilded tide]

If you could do 80m, I bet your connection would be better than 40 (at 630am)

[tawdry compass]

I can do 80.

[gilded tide]

Give the 80m channel a try sometime

[tawdry compass]

Okies, yeah, 40 can be slow.

[gilded tide]

And if you are really ambitious, I'll enable a 60m ch for you to play with.

[tawdry compass]

Naaa, 60 is weird. lol

[gilded tide]

60 is the cats meow!

(well, not the 5 channels hams have), but in general

[tawdry compass]

Never even messed with it.

[gilded tide]

It is the 6m of hf

[tawdry compass]

Magic band! I have done that!

used to do a 160 net, when I lived at the farm

built a 40m EDZ that could do all bands.

[tawdry compass]

did you get that email from N3PAY?

[gilded tide]

"that" email?

[tawdry compass]

winlink email from N3PAY. asking for tips on winlink Wednesday.

We were CC'd

[gilded tide]

lol, I do good to check WL on a weekly basis.

[narrow ledge]

I live in a 750 square foot condo in an urban high rise. My antenna options are limited. I put away my HF gear last year, but I had some success with a G90 and a mag loop in my window. I worked 48 states and several countries, mostly with VaraAC, packet, and other digital modes. Mostly 20m, 40m and some 10m.

[gilded tide]

Mag loops FTW!

[tawdry compass]

48 states on a window Mag loop? well done. My digital time is mostly JS8. I have played a bit with VarAC, but never made many contacts. Maybe I should revisit.

[tawdry compass]

If you have only a little room, maybe you could try a vertical.

[spiral plume]

Truth be told, I really didn’t get too excited about HF - it was a time suck away from my family.

And the contest weekends were annoying AF.

[tawdry compass]

I never did much contesting. Not my thing. But I still love HF. I enjoy world comms.

[junior blaze]

I am working downtown today, hoping to break into MC

[tawdry compass]

I just don't play radio on contest days.

[spiral plume]

Is Merlin a G2?

[peak badger]

SHOCK

(I mean about the amateurs)

[narrow ledge]

Could you please go to Advert (and advert OTA), but also copy to clipboard and share that here?

[tawdry compass]

Yes, I don't know if it's configured correctly, though. seems to work.

[spiral plume]

Can you see what the adjacent
node signal strength is from old millard? I don’t seem to be getting out on public

[junior blaze]

meshcore://1100a6fb38d7169047daf331088d8ad00676afa3fd2fef8c8b25bdd25a1bf150eff623871c69b6befa9fc114b598983ecd085043d3acf2e1621a622a8300ff54b7975074ddd53020e13d909e41aa0d858d5af8c0374066d03f6c2b0616d8d0346d7414e4320b8154696d6d6f

[tawdry compass]

It times out when I run a trace, and also when I ping it.

I just sent a dm, and it delivered to ZK-1

[spiral plume]

yeah, I got it, but you never hear my responses

[tawdry compass]

What's up with that, do you suppose?

Should I reboot the repeater?

Is my G2 deaf?

[spiral plume]

It’s not you it’s me

[narrow ledge]

I set up a repeater at my desk. It’s very compromised either way very intermittent connectivity. I might be able to make some minor adjustments.

Here’s the contact if you want to go hunting for it.

meshcore://1100f6bac9eeb5bdf44db49f5ab7a5ef8eb2b699ce161e7c5f976390c0e55917e2aa00a24466703c7e56db2c3960100c6d4853f114b09faf19c8a000e20c9903f5c0f9dd1ea2c7790cf8dc4a1ef761b2ea1fa6f53981b92888c222f0b629e9738f0d5cd2590392be927502641d48fa446f646765

[open tartan]

Station G2 is known to be deaf in high RF environments unless there's a cavity/bandpass filter on the feedline

[tawdry compass]

Yeah, we have had extensive discussions on the matter.

[open tartan]

I was surprised how bad it really is, and what a pronounced difference it made

[tawdry compass]

Matt is the resident authority on that matter.

[narrow ledge]

Looks like Loess Hills heard a repeater I’m not tracking on overnight. Does anyone know what B3 is? Not seeing it in the internet map.

[tawdry compass]

It has been said that the problem is not present in meshcore

[open tartan]

what's not?

[tawdry compass]

The deafness

Of the G2

[tawdry compass]

Merlin is B3

[open tartan]

I don't have any metrics comparing and contrasting deafness on MC vs. MT, but I have personal experience with noise floor going from -60dB to -100dB with a bandpass inline

on MC

[tawdry compass]

Matt would be the guy to ask

[open tartan]

to be fair, there's a nearby P25 trunk system operating on 870MHz closeby

that's certianly not doing me any favors lol

[narrow ledge]

If the G2 is deaf on MC like it is on MT then I’ll be replacing my repeater with a Heltec V4.

[open tartan]

It would be very interesting to see real-world SNR comparison between the two meshes

against known "remote" target nodes, using otherwise identical hardware and antenna systems

of course that's presuming both mesh software are using the same methods of measuring SNR

which is probably a very false assumption

[tawdry compass]

Pretty sure Matt would have all that data. He's a pro.

[open tartan]

sweet!

[pure panther]

Who's is sinkhole lol

[tawdry compass]

I think it's Scott

[pure panther]

Ah I see, popped up this morning

[narrow ledge]

Awesome! That’s promising. Can you route to it?

[pure panther]

I can't seem to ping it, but I can see a room opened up when I originally heard from it, downtown room (omamesh)

I'm not sure how rooms work, I've not played around with them yet

[narrow ledge]

Cool! Try to connect to the room. The password is hello. Then post a message. If you are direct to sinkhole (ec) then you’d use that in the path. If you want trace the path, put the two digit ID for pyro, ec,80,ec, two digit for pyro

[pure panther]

Can't connect unfortunately, today I'll try and put up a second repeater, we'll see if that does any better.

[junior blaze]

I got your Hi from Redx2 and good morning on public, but my replies fail.

[pure panther]

Also heard a good morning from Redx2

[narrow ledge]

This traffic is promising.

Pyro: can you share your text advert here?

[pure panther]

meshcore://1100b50a81b06054d4a165fa7f090cad0d2601cbd225e83c039863c83b85072a42470e9a1c693d5e4f3e3ececc3d5858fabf908b3654502a41bdde93a48c63e1246e628f0b16e9129945276464f4ea549b8b302e88db0e5a86870a088f2328f7f19027002008815079726f6d616e69616333383134

This one?

[hushed knot]

Same here but I’m buried in Eppley.

[narrow ledge]

Can you send the one for your repeater?

[junior blaze]

I am on 16th and Dodge

[junior blaze]

I think I could just yell some messages to Scott.🤣

[tawdry compass]

OK, I now have my antenna for the repeater Merlin on my best pole. It's a couple feet higher, and probably wont help, but I feel like I did as least something. Haha

[pure panther]

Glad to see that repeater clears the valley, woot

[tawdry compass]

sounds like the austin mesh experiment with MC is going well for them.

[pure panther]

That's good

[junior blaze]

Pyro, were you able to join Downtown Room? hello is not letting me in...

[pure panther]

No I have not had any luck, I tried with and without caps

[tawdry compass]

From Austin Mesh:

They must have a large mesh there.

[junior blaze]

Same. Also tried direct and hopping thru ec

[spiral plume]

bad power outtage downtown. Civic Center is dark

[narrow ledge]

Hmm. Try blanking it out. No password.

[narrow ledge]

Hmm. Try blanking it out. No password.

[junior blaze]

Failed direct and thru ec .. incorrect psw or room unreachable.

[narrow ledge]

Timmo: do you see repeater Dodge. It’s not consistently seeing other repeaters.

[pure panther]

Same situation for me, I don't know if that repeater is one I can communicate with

[narrow ledge]

Probably no path.

[junior blaze]

Been a while, I will walk my node out to the flowerpots

[tawdry compass]

The local news is talking about a west Omaha power outage. lol

[pure panther]

I heard golden gate on my carry, it's in the direction my home repeater cant see

[junior blaze]

No power at fnb/doubletree for a few hours...

[narrow ledge]

Power out at DGX and on traffic lights in the area. I think power is on at my condo, though. I can see lights off my ring doorbell and my Amazon devices are online. Headed home for lunch to check. And eat. And maybe a nap.

[spiral plume]

Power line was cut at 20th & Farnam.

[tawdry compass]

https://youtu.be/iaFltojJrAc?si=j9MTqHdvSW-8JLa5

[spiral plume]

Has anyone had any luck with trace routes on meshcore?

[pure panther]

I've not figured them out, or how the dB works either I don't think meshtastic has the same number setup on those, but I could be misremembering

[narrow ledge]

Yes! Best part, in my opinion. You can path out manual traces to probe the network.

[spiral plume]

i think the dB is the signal strength above the noise floor. so 3db is 2x as strong as the noisefloor, 6dB is 4x and so on

[spiral plume]

I always get ‘no response’ maybe I am in a hole

[narrow ledge]

Still on at Sinkhole MeshCore HQ. Though that particular repeater is solar.

[narrow ledge]

Can you see any repeaters?

[spiral plume]

I am right next to Golden Gate. I am waiting for it to update its zero hop node list

[narrow ledge]

Can you see Old Millard?

[spiral plume]

Not directly from my companion, but golden gate and old millard are within reach of eachother

One ‘bad’ thing about MC, the companion nodes do not relay traffic.

[tawdry compass]

I was having luck with traces yesterday, not so much today.

[spiral plume]

maybe we are trying at the exact same time 🤣

I am gonna need a really
long christmas stocking in case Santa wants to stuff a 8dB gain lora antenna in there. I’ve been on the nice node list this year. 🤞

[tawdry compass]

Higher the gain, the narrower the beam

We need towers

[spiral plume]

as long as that beam is omni aimed at the horizon, I am game.

[tawdry compass]

Another solution is Multiple Yagi's pointed in different directions. Multiple repeaters, of course.

I could have one yagi pointed at valley, and another at Old Millard.

[spiral plume]

I wonder if a diplexer could be used. 🤔

update: wrong application for a diplexer after doing some research

[tawdry compass]

That's a question for Matt. But I don't think so.

[spiral plume]

not to be confused with duplexer

[tawdry compass]

Yas

[spiral plume]

might need to be spaced accordingly so the phases don’t cancel each other out on the active elements

[junior blaze]

I plan on changing ~LSR to MC repeater. On a 4 story roof on 144 & dodge, may help...

[tawdry compass]

Or different spaced elements on the yagis

[tawdry compass]

Do it now!

[junior blaze]

🤣 I may pull it tonight and reflash it.

[tawdry compass]

Unfortunately, I have only one good Yagi.

[junior blaze]

I feel bad for MT, but they will always have Garmin to help out

[junior blaze]

I can't even get my MC client to send, might need some tips on setting up the repeater...

[tawdry compass]

I think we owe it to the community to find a better way to communicate.

[junior blaze]

Agreed. I can donate some time and hardware.

[quasi beacon]

Is LSR the node name? I don't see it on my list.

[quasi beacon]

I had some problems with a Rak repeater. Replaced it with a tbeam that seems to be working better. No idea what the issue was.

[junior blaze]

Yes. ~LSR has a private primary and LongFast is secondary, but it passes all local. Can probably see it on meshsense global map

[narrow ledge]

Is HyprCoreGo on here? Looks like they came into downtown via Loess Hills. Managed to get a few ACKs

[hushed knot]

That was me from Eppley this morning.

Should have planned for more time to hang out on the roof of the parking garage this morning.

[narrow ledge]

It’s all fun and games until security shows up. 🤦🏻‍♂️

[hushed knot]

I had that thought as I was holding up my t1000e

[spiral plume]

alright, I finally ponied up $7.99 to buy the repeater mgmt. feature to support the devs.

[narrow ledge]

Same! I’ll spend that on a good beer. I was going in repeaters enough that the nag message finally got me. 😎

[stoic quail]

You guys been busy! Lol.
My mesh corps node arrives tomorrow. 🤓

[spiral plume]

New tool in app update 2 days ago:

[tawdry compass]

Is it worth the $?

[pure panther]

Just more convenient, I think of it more as a support the devs than a functionality booster thing imo

[spiral plume]

plus I’ve spent 5 minutes of my life watching that clock tick down. 5 minutes I will never get back.

[pure panther]

I did pay for it, but I will throw money at stuff I find useful regardless lol

If it's worth using then it's worth paying for

[spiral plume]

The way I see it, $7.99 is a license to piss and moan about meshcore bugs - lol.

I’m a tax paying constituent now

[narrow ledge]

It’s only $8. A drop in the bucket compared to all the radios I’ve purchased thinking “just one more should solve my problems.”

It encourages the devs.

[spiral plume]

plus, this is all good cheap fun. waaay cheaper than the movies or dave & busters

[autumn flint]

I just set up a MC client on one of my heltec v3 with the tiny 2dbi antenna and then I set up another as a room with repeat on. Very easy to do but I have not reached any contacts from my office yet.

[spiral plume]

you gotta wait for those adverts to roll in.

[junior blaze]

I will try to send an advert from the roof when I get my node here soon

[tawdry compass]

So, yesterday I could trace and ping Old Millard and today nothing. What happened? It was direct to Mule, not even thru Merlin.

[spiral plume]

I dunno. I will check it when I get home. Maybe Matt’s buzzards pooped all over it.

[pure panther]

Nice going Matt, keep his birds away from my nodes guys, I don't want them to work less than they already do 😂

[junior blaze]

Taking ~LSR down now. Hope to have it back up as MC repeater in a day or 2

[pure panther]

I saw NOMA pop up just now

[tawdry compass]

There was some gloom and doom talk on MT last night, related to our testing. But you already know that.

[tawdry compass]

On core?

[pure panther]

Yep

[tawdry compass]

Salvation is upon us! all hail the grand poobah!

[pure panther]

Question regarding core, if I add a person under the channels tab, does it just save it there? Or does it make some new thing?

[tawdry compass]

Here's a video on the build of a dual yagi station. https://youtu.be/Dx7HYiACw2k?si=e8JlvVVa5EBdhE-Q

[spiral plume]

I’m scared. The thumbnail is scary looking.

[pure panther]

Nah that looks neater than my WiFi setup right now lmao

[tawdry compass]

Anyways, a "diplexer" is for the reverse situation. Two radios on one antenna. Won't work with two antenna's on one radio. (or so I believe). Ya gotta use two radio's and two antenna's.

I;m certain Matt will correct me if I'm mistaken.

[open tartan]

Keep in mind that the in-app purchase goes to the app developer. The app is just one part of MeshCore, and is independent of the firmware, independent of the flasher site. There will be additional apps that “works with” the meshcore framework and infrastructure.

[narrow ledge]

The mesh is starting to fill in! Just put up repeater F0 at my girlfriend’s place near Elmwood park. Immediate started talking to @pure panther

[junior blaze]

Mine and jonsey's mom and dad live about 3 blocks from busybee!

[narrow ledge]

Cool. I’ve removed BZYB from service and replaced with MC. Seems to be working well. Nice 2-3 hop connection the Pyro.

[spiral plume]

must be getting serious if your nodes are moving in.

[narrow ledge]

🌮

I don’t mind chatter on the public channel. It’s kinda what this is all about. But I could see folks setting up private channels or hashtag channels for dedicated topics. I made one called #testchannel but not sure if I have to share the key, or if the channel key is a hash of the name.

[spiral plume]

can you make a taco channel also?

[narrow ledge]

Matt is teasing us.

[narrow ledge]

Just tried. No emoji. No capital letters.

[tawdry compass]

🌮

[spiral plume]

🌮

Meshcore certainly has more adjustment knobs than meshtastic. If I move to a different place in the city, I have to ‘reset path’ on some repeaters to gain access.

mainly just Old Millard and Golden Gate, for those who do not know, those are biscuit property.

[tawdry compass]

I guess once it knows the path it goes direct

[pure panther]

Anyone know if there's a store and repeat messages thing like MT has on MC?

[spiral plume]

That may be the ‘room server’

[narrow ledge]

Room server could be fun. I’m surprised one server cannot host multiple rooms, like channels. And I think the limit is just a couple dozen messages. Doesn’t seem like it would take too much memory to have more messages or rooms per server.

[narrow ledge]

This is promising! LH heard NOMA’s test fire at a decent level.

[tawdry compass]

Haven't seen NOMA yet.

Old millard now has a taco icon. lol

[narrow ledge]

I think it was just a power up test at NOMA. Haven’t seen it since.

Oh, there it is again!

[gilded tide]

I see there is a LOT of chatter today

[narrow ledge]

Are you teasing us? Spill!

[spiral plume]

The cats outta the bag on NOMA (signal strength from old millard)

[gilded tide]

First, the ugly. There is a NASTY spur coming off some colocated equipment on 910.51. This is rendering NOMA completely deaf. I can't filter it out.

[gilded tide]

I see you are hearing MEAD.... that's interesting....

[spiral plume]

can we move to a different freq?

[gilded tide]

Given where I think that the signal is coming from, I don't expect the owner will do anything - nor do they have to.

We can move, but that creates potentially other issues.

[narrow ledge]

It’s got a power switch, doesn’t it. 😁

[gilded tide]

This is one site.... if we move every time... hahahaa

[spiral plume]

anything for noma

[gilded tide]

There are other locations. I have an alternate in the area... that's just a tad harder to frequent. I don't run anything else there because it's literally a once per year visit.

For now, NOMA is a v4 running 27dbm.

I'm going to whip up a rather stiff filter and see if I can at least make it usable.

[narrow ledge]

Thanks for your efforts!

[gilded tide]

As a point of refernce, NOMA has not decoded ANYTHNG. So you may hear it, but it isn't hearing you.

If anyone gets stats out of it, please le me know.

[narrow ledge]

Do you have guest telemetry turned on?

[gilded tide]

if it wants a password.... use "password"

[spiral plume]

lol - everyone and their mom are trying to log in now

[narrow ledge]

Remind me to change the combination on my luggage.

[pure panther]

ive just been leaving my guest passes on my repeaters blank, if anyone wants to see zero hops or whatever, just hit enter and it'll let you in. Can't admin from that pass but might give useful info.

[spiral plume]

Spaceballs!

[gilded tide]

I did see a thread where someone is doing "more" with a room server on a pi

Scrolling backwards... Bob posted a link to a "super node" video. Filters. Sigh. Does anyone want me to shred the video?

I'm going to anyway....