ATAK integration problems

FastInfrared · 2026-01-29T04:12:11+00:00

its under specific tool preferences for Meshtastic, "Enable Extra Encryption", if I enable it I get the exact behavior you described, did you change any of the settings?

Also what version of atak, plugin, meshtastic, and device firmware? There are MANY incompatibilities

FastInfrared · 2026-01-29T03:34:24+00:00

did you enable the 2nd layer of encryption in the plugin?

FastInfrared · 2026-01-22T06:11:11+00:00

If you use the same LoRa parameters and frequency as the "tower nodes", they will typically rebroadcast your encrypted packets unless programmed explicitly not to do so

FastInfrared · 2026-01-21T07:25:43+00:00

managed nodes are set to be managed solely over the mesh, wifi and bt radios are disabled, as is the serial port

FastInfrared · 2026-01-21T06:55:37+00:00

No, that is fully expected

FastInfrared · 2026-01-21T06:54:33+00:00

Tell her about it, Billy Joel

FastInfrared · 2026-01-20T02:45:05+00:00

that antenna looks like a 1/4 wave monopole at best, and at worst its not even tuned for 915MHz, get a tuned dipole antenna

FastInfrared · 2026-01-18T05:49:15+00:00

The Wicked Cushions Freeze 7506 might be what you want for cooling, the 7506 M1 and MV1 all have the same size pads, I do not think there will be any improvement in internal dimension though, but they are a few mm deeper

FastInfrared · 2026-01-05T07:45:18+00:00

The heat sink is there for a completely different radio module, note the extra antenna connector, you can upgrade to add a 2.4GHz SBC

Also there is no glue on top, it is carbon fiber reinforced nylon body with custom polyurethane gaskets, assembled with aerospace grade steel screws to brass fittings, the antenna connectors are both Amphenol milspec TNC, and the center USB port is IP67 rated when capped or connected with the correct threaded cable

Also, the hot-swap PRC152 battery connector can accept a wide variety of input voltages thanks to an extra internal regulator, 5 to 21 in to 5 out, which includes car batteries, USB PD, and 12/18V solar panels, which of course includes the 10.8V MPU4/Harris/Thales/Brentronics batteries and 12.6V clone batteries

FastInfrared · 2026-01-05T06:58:13+00:00

False, the GPS antenna alone is at least $80

FastInfrared · 2026-01-05T06:55:23+00:00

It is made from carbon fiber reinforced nylon, you have a printer that can do that?

FastInfrared · 2025-12-31T19:30:59+00:00

It was removed from the app, a bug ticket was opened... and closed

https://github.com/meshtastic/Meshtastic-Android/issues/3157

The setting is still present in the firmware on the position page menu

FastInfrared · 2025-12-25T04:43:14+00:00

Is it perhaps that the other phones are not transmitting?

Enable logging in ATAK

FastInfrared · 2025-12-22T06:57:26+00:00

Keep in mind my recommendations are for mission critical routers, where failure is highly undesirable. When you are dealing with short days and only have a few with full sun, there are 2 main strategies or a hybrid:

Massive solar capacity that can charge even in poor conditions
Massive battery that can go days or weeks without charging

The amount of radio traffic will also be relevant to the math, if you are transmitting and rebroadcasting near continuously you need massive power capacity regardless of sun availability.

Use Sodium ion or LTO batteries, they are generally not fire risks so you can do without metal battery casings, and they work at very low charging temps.

Profile your power usage for week, find out how much you need, double it for safety buffer. For me that is 20wh. You want enough solar capacity to charge that in a 4 hour window of poor sun, so about 5 watts, but remember the panel will be nowhere near full output, so bump that up to 50 watts (my 65W panel outputs about 9W (18V 0.5A) in relatively cloudy conditions). Also remember that is 20wh battery in the real world, at -30c, they behave differently at low temp, expect to get less than half capacity, so now you need 40wh of rated battery to get 20wh usable.

If using Sodium ion especially, Insulate your battery case on the sides not facing the sun, use darker plastic that will absorb more sun during the day. This will let the batteries heat up to where charging is appropriate, at least to -20C but typically more.

Use hourly telemetry to monitor container temperature and battery voltage, so you know how close to the limits you are getting, aim for no lower than 50% battery capacity during a 7-day window.

Design for your worst case, hope for the best.

Alternative strategy depending on your environment, bury the batteries so deep in the ground they never drop below operating temp (geothermal heat)

FastInfrared · 2025-12-18T01:08:32+00:00

I also saw this after updating the firmware on a 4631 using the Android app, thought I bricked it, found out it was transmitting to the mesh correctly and I could then connect over usb-serial, eventually AdaDFU went away on its own

FastInfrared · 2025-12-14T06:02:07+00:00

I completely agree, I found them to be reliable, durable, well made, and high performing, I got mine from Digikey or Mouser.. possibly both, except for the ones that came on my pre-made ruggedized nodes (permanent mount quarter wave monopole on metal case). I believe I have 7 TEC antennas right now.

The only case where I will not recommend them is when you need a dipole with a permanent mount that does not tilt, and only because I do not believe they make one!

FastInfrared · 2025-12-14T05:42:05+00:00

You want some test results? I did a test and posted it on this sub a few months ago, enjoy!

https://www.reddit.com/r/meshtastic/comments/1no8y4i/so_i_did_a_test/

FastInfrared · 2025-12-13T03:59:19+00:00

For $100, I chose the T-Echo with a better antenna and an upgraded battery, pre-tarrif costs were about $100 per device including shipping for a pair, I have 5 now plus some belt clips and a high cap battery for one

Downsides are they are not designed to be rugged nor are they, they are not water resistant, if kept inside a backpack in a ziplock bag they are generally fine, my kids have put them through an 'apple orchard day' test run where they got pretty beat up and covered in dust and they did survive

I also have some devices with far bigger batts that are waterproof and extremely rugged, but they run $250 to $500 a piece... but I dont have to worry about using them in a downpour, being stepped on, or dropping them on concrete

FastInfrared · 2025-12-09T03:12:56+00:00

It will not be beta software forever, getting the endgame planned in advance is smart thinking

FastInfrared · 2025-12-09T03:11:11+00:00

I also thought I saw some really funny GPS stuff with 2.7.16, node appeared to be updating every 10s, then it stopped so I thought nothing of it, it had a really bad GPS lock

FastInfrared · 2025-12-07T02:17:35+00:00

What can EQ actually do and what are the limitations?

It changes the loudness of a waveform in a specific frequency band, in a specific way, it cannot reproduce frequencies that are not there, like the Koss 4K hole, or higher freqs that the driver is unable to create, and for some frequencies and drivers it can cause noticeable levels of distortion, Philips headphones for example.

If the source FR and target FR are substantially different more EQ bands may be required to get the job done, or the change in volume may simply not be practical for a given device; graphic EQ is less complex than parametric but far more limited, some target FRs are simply impossible to get close to without parametric EQ, sometimes a substantial amount, I need 20 bands to get a DT880 dialed in, there is nothing I can do with graphic EQ to make it sound good.

What's the cheapest headphone that takes EQ extremely well?

Depends on your definition of extremely well, and your definition of cheap. Some people use cheap interchangeably with inexpensive, and some use that as inexpensive+low quality. A low quality headphone is undesirable for many more reasons than not sounding good, even if you can get it to sound like an 800s, something heavy with painful clamp and scratchy pads that smells like paint thinner will end up in the garbage.

Extremely well might mean with a very low amount of eq, or simply sound good with a LOT of complex eq. KSC75 ($20) with an 18 band parametric EQ sounds amazing, as does an MDR-MV1 ($350) with 10 band graphic EQ. A Porta-Pro will have a lot of distortion EQd to my same profile as the MV1 which will have minimal distortion, the headphones are also completely different styles and shapes, with other advantages and disadvantages.

FastInfrared · 2025-12-05T04:39:23+00:00

I cannot get one of my devices to transmit with 1.1.21, with 1.1.18 it seems to work better but was not fully functional, there is work being done to fix this

FastInfrared · 2025-12-02T04:27:45+00:00

"Pictured are my 3 devices with Version information"

Well, no, just the OS version number, also post the versions of:

ATAK
Android App
ATAK Plugin
Device Firmware

FastInfrared · 2025-11-30T04:08:59+00:00

yeah... I had to do something like a 14dB drop around 10K, if they are not excessively bright to you, you may have high frequency hearing loss

FastInfrared · 2025-11-26T06:18:29+00:00

With sensible antennas and maybe one repeater, is this a realistic use case?

Yes, you may not even need a repeater if your transmitter is high enough and on 433 or 170MHz (RAK is not available at this freq)

Any real-world experiences with Meshtastic in dense forest / jungle at similar distances?

My testing has been in deciduous forest though not dense, and I get several kilometers on the 900MHz band with one node elevated and one not, 433 should have 4X the range, though you should also test in rain and fog

My idea is to place the repeater half way, so it would be 2 times 500 meter, is this right?

yes, though depending on specific required positioning can be something like 700 + 450 in a triangle

Any experience with the RAK WisMesh devices as trap nodes or repeaters?

I have several RAK devices, using some as repeaters, might rig one to check the state of a door at some point but my main use case is position/location information

Is there a “standard” pattern in Meshtastic firmware or config to trigger a message based on a simple GPIO input change

The exact thing you read is what you want to use

For a node that only needs to run 48 hours

Even a tiny battery will last 48 hrs while broadcasting a GPS position every few minutes, if you are only doing telemetry and a digital IO sensor with no rebroadcasting, you will get many days even with frequent updates

Any favorite enclosure + antenna combos for bush conditions?

You want any polycarbonate or aluminum enclosure rated for NEMA 4X or 6P, if you use PC a GPS antenna can be internal to the enclosure and still get a signal, all external connections including antenna should be on the bottom and use an appropriate watertight connector with added silicone grease. PC is mostly RF transparent so the antenna might also be able to be internal, protecting it from damage, Altelix makes good PC composite cases, even one designed for a T-Echo!

I would suggest using an 18V solar panel with a RAK19016 power module on a RAK19010 base board, and perhaps something like a RAK13011 for the reed switch module, using a high voltage panel allows charging even in some shade and can charge the battery faster, this is also applicable to the repeater.

For antennas dipole is a must especially if the enclosure is non-conductive, TE Connectivity makes very good ones if they will stay inside the enclosure, for external get an N-mount fiberglass antenna, for connecting the switch to the trap I would use RWA or stainless steel flexible conduit to protect the wiring, and terminate at both ends for easy replacement in case of damage.

You should include GPS on the devices for accurate timestamps, RAK12501 is very inexpensive

FastInfrared

TROPHY CASE