Genuinely impressed with #meshtastic thus far. I've got a pair of ThinkNode M2s, and the antennas that come with them are literally bits of printed circuit board, and yet they've managed to get a surprising bit of range (maybe 300m) out of them with suboptimal placement and no special care.
I can see that with a real antenna and an elevated position they'd go quite well.
Whatever stroke of luck that was giving my #meshtastic node access to the rest of the mesh is gone. Until yesterday there was an otherwise silent node out there that was forwarding packets to and from mine.
I'm now anxiously awaiting my new antenna to arrive, because it feels wrong for my tiny radio child to be cut off from its friends.
ā¦and the battery that comes with the M2 board is *almost* enough to power it through the night. It would probably be fine in summer.
Luckily batteries are pretty inexpensive as well.
Aha, looks like I need Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) doodad for charging off a solar cell, and I doubt my $10 panel already has one integrated.
If I understand correctly, an MPPT doodad lowers the current draw from the panel to maintain enough voltage to charge; otherwise the battery charger can try to draw too much, which drops the voltage, and one gets nowhere.
A random blog post recommends a CN3791, which are only a few dollars, so I shall continue investigating
I've been trying to understand how antennas work, and it's all deep eldritch shit. Make sure your antenna is an exact fraction of the length of the silent whispers you wish to hear from the void. Make sure the antenna has a solid plane to bounce the whispers off, but somehow you can get away with just a couple of wires that suggests where a solid plane would go. Make sure your cable isn't a cursed length, which attracts unwanted attention.
RF engineers are heckin' magicians.
I really feel like #meshtastic would be an awesome thing to get high schools on board with, even if just informally.
If most schools had a node on a high building they'd mesh really well. Students could create their own channels, giving them a resistant, capitalism-free way of communicating as individuals and groups. Advertisers and social media bans can piss off, as students can create and manage their own networks.
Yesterday a new node showed up on #meshtastic with a huge amount of signal.
After some quick introductions it turns out we live in the same street. That got me invited to a group of radio nerds, and I'm going to a build day tomorrow to expand our local mesh.
This is how normal people make friends as adults, right?
For anyone wondering how this went, I now have a cozy mesh with some of my neighbours, and one of them gave me an electric spinning wheel.
I'm thinking of trying to get a #meshtastic node placed in our local library, because it's in-line with their mission of "connecting the community".
Okay, my tiny little Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) board arrived. I'm assuming my discount solar panel doesn't do MPPT by itself because while it will top-up a battery fine, it won't charge a depleted one.
This makes sense. A depleted battery is charged with a constant current, and if the charger tries to pull too much current it dips the voltage on the panel and nothing happens.
With MPPT the panel should just provide as much current as it can without a dip.
Of course, I didn't order the little battery cables and connectors to go with my board, so I might have to get creative, but the plan is:
USB Solar panel -> MPPT charger -> Salvaged laptop battery -> LoRa board.
I need to harvest a USB cable, because that's the form factor that my solar panel gives me, and I want you to all stand witness.
I am using a cable from the Box Of Dead Cables.
That right. This damaged cable that's been kicking around for an indefinite period of time is finally getting repurposed.
@pjf
That's a tough gig.
I'd be interested to hear if you succeed with that.
@pjf <whine> why doesn't this happen to meeeeee </whine>
What suburb are you in? I wonder if I can even see you, maybe better chance you have a powerful node near you now? š¤
@pjf ooh, very good point. I was thinking this might be like the peppers in the '80s... but then recent events here in LA came to mind.
Get them kids going! Oh, and maybe have them read Little Brother.
Paging @StefanEJones, this notion seems at least your-wheelhouse-adjacent?
@pjf my (yr12) kid and their bff were deeply intrigued by both meshtastic and CB when their school banned cellphones.
Schools in this country will never touch a tech they canāt censor, alas.
Remember when CB radios in cars were the knees of the bees?
People would be talking about SWR like they were a descendant of Marconi!
@pbone @pjf The KrakenRF direction finding SDR requires you to place five antennas in a perfect pentagram on the roof of your car, then drive around to locate an evil transmitter (encircling the transmitter is not technically required, but can be satisfying.) Once enough chanting has occurred, the Kraken will guide you to the summoning point where you can bring the demon scourge into the sunlight.
@Unixbigot : But it will work better if I have a MPPT module?
My understanding is the lipo chargers will try to use constant current up to a point, but if the panel is small or underperforming (I expect mine is both), then trying to draw that much current will tank the voltage, leaving it insufficient to charge the cell.
If my panel was large and good, I wouldn't expect any issues; the cell's own protection circuit can handle it.
Am I understanding correctly?
@psa @neoluddite @pjf a friend collects the disposable vapes to harvest batteries. Amazing how many of them have charging circuits, but no exposed power socket.
Actually, did, or least not for much longer. They were banned in NZ last month.
In a bit of better news, the UK also recently banned them.
@yakmoose : It *is* magical, but I'm in a built up area, so while I can see a node or two, it's not reliable, and most of the mesh isn't visible. I'm sure a better location would do waaaay better, but I don't have easy access to one.
Plus antennas are cheap.
Paul Fenwick
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