mesh: first day with a meshtastic device

I got the first node in today, the Heltec T114 handheld. A few mistakes understanding how all the parts go in the case but on the 5th try or so it came together (literally).

I fired it up, flashed the firmware with the online flasher. Only works in Chromium-based browsers; luckily I keep chromium installed as a backup.

first impressions

The little radios are terrific. The firmware is (barely) beta but it works. The official software around them (phone and web) is fairly wonky. Behaves in unpredictable ways, ungoogleable messages and errors, etc.

I was surprised how many nodes I can see with the freebie craptenna; I saw ~50 right away and this evening it’s up to 88. The muzi upgrade should arrive in the next day or so, along with the Heltec V3 nodes that will be testing mules.

configuration

I set the T114 up a few times, factory erased once, and flashed I think a total of 3x. I’ve read the relevant docs but I guess ‘m determined to make my own mistakes.

use

HTML thumbnail link: The first message I saw come through was from ~50mi away, all LoRa (I checked to make sure it wasn’t MQTT). I think it was a 2-hop path if I remember correctly, likely going through a node at 7,000ft outside Santa Fe. In the screenshot the two in the upper right are Santa Fe and the hordes at the bottom are in Albuquerque. So there must be line of sight (LOS) from the high SF nodes to ABQ.

Right now I’m directly in touch with three nodes in SF, including both of the elevated ones in the pic. The situation is fluid so it’s hard to get screencaps that all match.

next steps

When the two-pack of V3 come in I’ll be able to verify my comms are going in/out the way I think they are. I’ve already defined a private channel so others won’t be subjected to it. :-)