LORA ((Meshtastic network))

[daylen]

I'm not sure if this is what you meant but you don't need to know anyone using Meshtastic, you use other nodes automatically, that's just how it works. Communication is encrypted over nodes so is secure. There are maps of node locations - https://meshmap.net/

Even on its own though with a reasonable antenna you can get a few km in a built up area and much more in countryside.

As for the smartphone, you don't need one. The example given was using an app to manage messages. This makes it much easier to get messages onto the device and see them from it. But, you can do this in a number of ways - that's the beauty of this sort of tech is that it's very customisable with some tinkering if there's nothing available to purchase. I've not done it but I've seen people connecting displays and keyboards directly to effectively make a LoRa self contained SMS device. There may these available to buy also but I've not checked.

Hope that helps.

[Yorkshire Andy]

I'm not sure if this is what you meant but you don't need to know anyone using Meshtastic, you use other nodes automatically, that's just how it works. Communication is encrypted over nodes so is secure. There are maps of node locations - https://meshmap.net/

Even on its own though with a reasonable antenna you can get a few km in a built up area and much more in countryside.

As for the smartphone, you don't need one. The example given was using an app to manage messages. This makes it much easier to get messages onto the device and see them from it. But, you can do this in a number of ways - that's the beauty of this sort of tech is that it's very customisable with some tinkering if there's nothing available to purchase. I've not done it but I've seen people connecting displays and keyboards directly to effectively make a LoRa self contained SMS device. There may these available to buy also but I've not checked.

Hope that helps.

You can get the

T-DECK LILYGO

But regardless they do need to be set up I need to find a hit of time to refresh and update the software on both of mine when I get half an hour to myself

[PPrep]

Thanks to you all for your suggestions on this matter.

I've been on Youtube and from what I can tell, it's a 2 step process using a PC. This applies to the Lilygo T Deck. Whether it works with bare - board kit, I don't know. I would like a self - contained device with keyboard such as the T Deck for use in the field. But it's expensive at over £80 on eBay or Amazon for one complete unit. It's reported to be slightly fiddly to use.

1. Flash the LoRa device: Flasher.meshtastic.org
2. Set up: Client.meshtastic.org

On the face of it, this looks straightforward, but needs ESP32 compatible kit. I've never done a ROM flash, but have flashed bootable memory sticks for installing Windows, and more recently, Linux distros. It's said that a chrome compatible browser such as Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge is required for browser compatibility. I found this seems true; with Firefox a warning came up saying browser incompatible. Not wanting to use spyware, including Windows, I installed Chromium (essentially de - Googled Chrome) in Linux Mint and found that the Meshtastic websites appear to work, but haven't been tried with actual LoRa kit because I don't possess any.

Some people have issues with finding drivers for the USB-to-UART chip of which there are several variants. This seems rather hit and miss.Has anyone had problems with this? There are various sources of drivers for Linux, Windows and Mac.

Please let me know if all this makes sense?

Will the above procedure work with bare - board kit or other makes of LoRa kit? Flexibility on my part may be constructive.

Is there a cheaper alternative to paying over £80 for the T Deck or similar device? It needs to be self - contained; no smartphone, wifi or Bluetooth.

Maybe I'm making much of this, but I don't want to spend a lot of money and find the kit can't be made to work or has hidden problems. But I'm very interested.

[daylen]

Seems to make sense. In terms of cheaper alternatives, I'm afraid I can't help there other than to suggest full on DIY versions or, I know you said you don't want to use a phone, but might it be possible to use an Android tablet (or phone without SIM card just as a tablet) ? This would allow you to use the Meshtastic apps and reduce cost quite a bit.

[PPrep]

Seems to make sense. In terms of cheaper alternatives, I'm afraid I can't help there other than to suggest full on DIY versions or, I know you said you don't want to use a phone, but might it be possible to use an Android tablet (or phone without SIM card just as a tablet) ? This would allow you to use the Meshtastic apps and reduce cost quite a bit.

Thank you; a great idea. My problems are that the Meshtastic app requires Android 5 Lollipop, and my tablets are older than this (KitKat 4.4) and I don't use smart technology or wifi.

However, can I use a wired connection if I buy a cheap tablet from ebay? If so, do I need Google Play and maybe other Google apps to help the Meshtastic app to work? The reason I ask this is that I normally root my tablets and clear all Google apps because I don't want their spyware. I may have to compromise here, maybe use a dedicated tablet.

Could I do a wired connection to a PC and use Meshtastic in a similar way to using Android, to send and receive texts? This is in addition to using a PC to set up the node.

In the meantime, I'll look into full - on DIY versions. I can solder and do electronics wiring, construction and assembly. The problem with Youtube videos is, although I greatly respect the effort put in to make them, not many go from A to Z. One needs to watch several and hope the dots can be connected to get the complete picture.