#meshtastic gang, I’ve been wanting a private off grid messenger since the days of gotenna and I think I’m about to jump in
I don’t want to dive in too deep a rabbit hole, just fairly simple messaging radios I can give friends/family. Looking at these two options so far, let me know if you have tips etc
I’m not an expert by any means, but Simon at https://muzi.works has some nice products. He also returns emails if you are newbie with annoying questions! lol.
Nice I’ll check the options there as well. Appreciate it
WisMesh Pocket is my favorite. I have a few of both of those.
I found that one very tempting, it seems to have a good size battery. Can’t tell from the pictures but I assume from the name it would be easily pocketable when walking around? Or even clipped with a carabiner would likely be fine
It's pretty robust. It has some weight to it for sure. The T-Echo is lighter and has a much smaller battery. I don't think either is really pocket-friendly. The WisMesh is easier to rig up to a bag or strap. It's more walkie-talkie shaped.
That’s helpful thanks. I also noticed those flexible antennas offered on the product pages, is that something you’d recommend?
If it's permanent, get a big one with low-loss cable. For walking around, I use the Rokland 2.5 dBi 8" antennas. They're tuned really well and the range is probably as good as it's going to get. They're thin and light, so they don't strain that SMA connector. In the end, though, altitude trumps antenna every time.
🤙🏻 thanks for the advice my friend, think I’ll be giving these a shot soon
Hi, I've been tinkering around with Meshtastic nodes and I would recommend going with the types of devices you are looking at. I have been using the Raspberry Pi Pico based nodes and they're super cool, but not super user friendly
I kinda figured as much, I enjoy tinkering with RPi’s but I’d like something more reliable. Also when troubleshooting the only thing I hate more than networking is printers
Great starters there
Also Heltec V3 is a simple starter board just to have a play with. ~$25 or so.
Thanks I’ll take a look 🤙🏻
I have both and they work well. The hardware on the Rak is better than Lily. Either way, you're going to want to replace the antenna to ensure decent performance.
