AI6YR BenSomeone using #meshtastic on a plane.
Muro deGrizecoWhat is your Meshtastic device?
@murodegrizeco Bought a $25 HELTEC V3 just to see what this whole thing is all about, LOL. Not sure it does anything different from APRS, except it's non-ham bands and possibly smaller.
Chris Wolff 
Wait, so… if I get an amateur radio license, it opens up more mesh networks that are (legally) unavailable otherwise?
Zimmie@Christian_Freiherr_von_Wolff @ai6yr @murodegrizeco Well, an amateur radio license … and some relatively exotic hardware such as a Mobilinkd TNC:
There are software implementations if you want to throw a computer at the problem. These handle only the data modulation and need a separate radio. There are lots of cheap radios out of China (look for Baofeng, Anytone, and Radioddity). The extremely cheap ones are relatively low-quality, but cheap enough you don’t feel too bad about outgrowing them.
There are also plenty of radio which support APRS internally, though they tend to cost >$200.
@bob_zim @Christian_Freiherr_von_Wolff @murodegrizeco I was referring to the Meshtastic stuff, if you are licensed you can transmit on additional frequencies.
@ai6yr @Christian_Freiherr_von_Wolff @murodegrizeco As in running the Meshtastic protocol over ham bands rather than LoRa? I don’t think I’ve heard of that being done. Interesting.
@bob_zim @Christian_Freiherr_von_Wolff @murodegrizeco
Up to 10W ham radio bands, also we are on 433Mhz, so less interference
@ai6yr @Christian_Freiherr_von_Wolff @murodegrizeco Nice! Can’t act as a relay for unlicensed traffic, so it’s a totally separate network. Still, seems like a great way to get coverage in more rural environs.