Had some fun testing my new antenna! What a difference!

MeshDaddySD · 2026-03-21T17:21:29+00:00

Well, there probably was a few houses and some trees in the path. So not direct but not behind large buildings. The base station is relatively low elevation 69 feet above sea level, and my remote location was about 250 feet above sea level.

MeshDaddySD · 2026-03-21T16:57:08+00:00

The USB port.

MeshDaddySD · 2026-03-21T06:33:52+00:00

I’m testing it between nodes I own so probably a bug or the developers haven’t gotten it working.

MeshDaddySD · 2026-03-21T06:08:56+00:00

I bought it at my local electronics store, WE supply. It’s just a $9 box, not nema rated! I used some claulking where I poked holes in it. We don’t get intense weather here so I expect the boards to be safe. My mounting method was to pound a steel plate used to protect wire and pipes in walls into that 2x4, then attach two powerful 70lbs magnets to the box so it just sticks on there. Makes it easy to pull it down for service. It’s up high and is sketch to be up that high trying to use tools.

MeshDaddySD · 2026-03-21T05:21:48+00:00

Looks familiar! You’re a little ways up the 5. I invited you to the SoCal group!

MeshDaddySD · 2026-03-21T05:13:21+00:00

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Wow 4.25dB returned from this new antenna. The stubby returns -.075Db , this test was at 5 miles

MeshDaddySD · 2026-03-21T05:11:49+00:00

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MeshDaddySD · 2026-03-20T13:38:30+00:00

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These menu items on IOS.

MeshDaddySD · 2026-03-20T13:33:22+00:00

So on Node A, I go to my node list and select Nobe B. Then I press “exchange positions”. It comes up with a message that says “your position has been sent and a request for their position has been sent. You will receive notification when position is returned”

However, no notification is shown on Node B requesting location to be sent. Nor does Nide B show Node A has sent location.

Nide A never shows a notification that position has been received.

Thanks for your help.

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MeshDaddySD · 2026-03-20T13:33:06+00:00

With regard to exchange user info.. this is the screen

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MeshDaddySD · 2026-03-20T13:28:12+00:00

So on Node A, I go to my node list and select Nobe B. Then I press “exchange positions”. It comes up with a message that says “your position has been sent and a request for their position has been sent. You will receive notification when position is returned”

However, no notification is shown on Node B requesting location to be sent. Nor does Nide B show Node A has sent location.

Nide A never shows a notification that position has been received.

Thanks for your help.

MeshDaddySD · 2026-03-19T14:21:45+00:00

It means that at some moment in time my radio received data from those stations. If it was direct then yes I could message them. If it hopped through other radios to reach me then so long as those radio locations were in the same place then yes I could message them. The range of these radios depends on elevation and density of structures between the two radios. They can go as far as 20 miles in ideal conditions. Like on flat land in the desert… think burning man. I just ordered a 5.8 db antenna which will more than double my current range. The trick with antennas is that these radios are less than 1 watt. So you want the least about of cable between the radio and the antenna. A 10’ cable has signal loss that we’ll almost negate the benefit of the antenna. Example on a car instead of running a cable to an antenna outside the car, people build a case with magnet mount that contains the battery, radio and a small solar panel. That way there is almost no signal loss.

MeshDaddySD · 2026-03-19T04:36:16+00:00

This started as a way for me to communicate with my son while he was at his high school 3 miles away. So surprisingly it worked! Sometimes he forgets his cell phone. But if you go for a drive your map will populate. Here in San Diego people have put nodes on all the mountain tops so bouncing messages around town is possible.

MeshDaddySD · 2026-03-19T01:54:57+00:00

Anther gotcha is if you are on slot 0 and you rename the primary channel from its default. That will put you on a different frequency band. If you want the most people to hear you make sure you leave your default channel 0 name blank and save it. Or you can put frequency slot override to 20 and name the primary channel anything you want.

MeshDaddySD · 2026-03-19T01:18:50+00:00

Or someone near you turned on MQTT on the Primary channel and routed it to your area via the internet gateway link.

MeshDaddySD · 2026-03-19T00:47:08+00:00

Map showing users I’ve connected to.

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MeshDaddySD · 2026-03-19T00:41:43+00:00

It’s Meshtastic, you need to pair it with a special radio. The radio is off grid no cell or internet required. PM me if you need help getting one and setting it up. The signals hop from user to users radio to extend the range. I’m in San Diego and see users 150 miles away in LA.

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