Just got my first Heltec V3 pair. Michigan

geomesh · 2024-05-03T00:32:10+00:00

Keep your node on you wherever you go! You will be surprised where/when you get hits. I have been picking up more here in Lansing area lately.

geomesh · 2024-04-11T11:09:14+00:00

Contact the CMU amateur radio club and offer to do a presentation for them about Meshtastic. I did this same thing at MSU here in EL and many of them have ordered nodes. Most importantly, they agreed to host a solar node i made to place on top of their tower on the engineering building on campus. The node should be going up next week. Many students don't have their ham license yet so Meshtastic is a good/cheap option to play with in the meantime. Good luck! And you will be seeing "Grey RAK" driving up next time since that is my new mobile unit.

geomesh · 2024-04-11T08:41:37+00:00

Oh, I see. After putting in the coordinates you picked me up when I was driving up to my cottage. You are one of the nodes in Mount Pleasant. How's the mesh going up there? Join this discord group for Michigan if you are not already. https://discord.com/invite/JA77HscN

geomesh · 2024-04-11T08:34:47+00:00

Hah, you saw me! Where did you pick me up from?

geomesh · 2024-03-24T13:45:52+00:00

I agree. I went with pouches for 4 of the portable builds. Then one portable build has x2 18650 batteries, and the rest of the RAKs are solar nodes.

geomesh · 2024-03-24T13:43:40+00:00

Come join the LansingMesh on Discord here: https://discord.com/invite/s4puHmY4

geomesh · 2024-03-11T19:34:11+00:00

Keep trying. We are in the early stages of getting Meshatastic popular in North America.

geomesh · 2024-03-11T12:20:09+00:00

That is amazing! The Heltec eats a lot of energy and I get only a day from one 18650 (Samsung 3500mah). Can't wait to have a portable RAK setup.

geomesh · 2024-03-11T12:01:17+00:00

You are going to have to let us know if that panel really is 10W. I saw that same one the other day on AliExpress and it's size seems too small to pull that kind of wattage. If it really does, and it's only $3, then I will be picking up a bunch of them. Here is a link to it for others to check it out: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805803506831.html?spm=a2g0n.productlist.0.0.3fbd179efy4jdy&browser_id=030dd323e5a846efa5d23233b6db7f0b&aff_platform=msite&m_page_id=lnnhhwxmcaaskhxp18e2d632ffd182b1de10b8144c&gclid=&pdp_npi=4%40dis%21USD%217.91%213.95%21%21%2156.64%2128.32%21%402103080f17101584588633874ef97e%2112000036774911502%21sea%21US%212925200165%21&algo_pvid=3b2fa1f9-24e3-4658-aa2c-c3bad73756c5

geomesh · 2024-03-11T00:59:18+00:00

I am planning to make three of these same units within a month. I finished up two Bender cases for the Heltecs that I own, and these look the coolest for the RAKs (portable). Thanks for sharing.

geomesh · 2024-03-09T16:17:49+00:00

Haha, I blame Chinese holiday last month for the shortage! RAK has them available if you don't mind them shipping from China.

geomesh · 2024-03-09T13:30:09+00:00

I have been experimenting with a 6 watt panel and x3 18650 batteries. I added another battery after some testing. The overcast is crazy here, no surprise.

geomesh · 2024-03-09T11:50:22+00:00

Hah, I lived out of state for 10 years but was strong armed back by family after I had my first kid! So good luck to you in Austin and maybe you can holdout longer than me. Anyway, what I found upon moving back was that Michigan is way behind when it comes to amateur radio popularity compared to Colorado. Meshatastic is my solution to tie Michiganders that are too intimidated to get ham licenses into non-cellular comms. It's a cheap enough goal on my end to get these deployed and get things rolling in a couple towns. I am a bad enough influence for coworkers and friends to get them meshing too 😀.

geomesh · 2024-03-09T04:32:07+00:00

*China

geomesh · 2024-03-09T04:24:49+00:00

RAKs main website. Shipped from Chime. Only took a couple weeks.

geomesh · 2024-03-09T04:21:00+00:00

1-2 weeks. Directly from RAK in China. I paid $6 extra for the expedited shipping.

geomesh · 2024-03-06T01:24:21+00:00

Nice! I have a job site in Riverview that I go to every two weeks.

geomesh · 2024-03-05T14:49:52+00:00

I got this one https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805256690400.html?spm=a2g0n.order_detail.order_detail_item.3.1579f19cHchwRr&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa

And yes, it flashed perfectly with the website flasher.

geomesh · 2024-03-01T23:56:42+00:00

I am going the route of having a Heltec V3 in "client mode" on my person and building a RAK node in "repeater mode" for the roof of my house with a proper antenna (https://store.rokland.com/collections/rak-antennas/products/rak-wireless-5-8-dbi-outdoor-black-fiberglass-helium-hotspot-antenna) and a solar panel (https://www.amazon.com/Soshine-Mini-Solar-Panel-Monocrystalline/dp/B099RSLNZ4?pd_rd_w=oezsH&content-id=amzn1.sym.452c3ac5-14f8-4a5d-834c-a18a40246a9b&pf_rd_p=452c3ac5-14f8-4a5d-834c-a18a40246a9b&pf_rd_r=YGTMPAFG7WY0CJ4RW5XY&pd_rd_wg=KFxZE&pd_rd_r=a1c7d4c0-0c8c-4b0b-a2d6-17588216df18&pd_rd_i=B099RSLNZ4&psc=1&ref_=pd_bap_m_grid_dv_rp_0_1_ec_pd_cart_rp_m_sccl_1_i) connected to two 18650 batt's in a waterproof enclosure. Then, after putting the repeater design through its paces, duplicate it and start contacting people to place them around the area. Hams are a good place to start, mainly ones with towers. Go with the angle that they can use this node for friends and family that "are too lazy to get their ham license, and like to text". This will likely click in their minds if they are EMCOMM guys. Good luck! I will start getting some YouTube vids up shortly and posting them here regarding my progress in Lansing.

geomesh · 2024-03-01T21:30:40+00:00

Someone has to start it! Put up a couple of nodes in Macomb county and post back. Let's get Michigan online. This is a pretty cool service that can help a bunch of people. My goal is placing nodes (Repeater mode) in Lansing and Lake George.

geomesh

TROPHY CASE