~nJan 20

I never applied for an amateur radio license because I didn't like the idea of appearing on an official list of "skilled" people. Until now that was a theoretical fear. One I wasn't even sure if it was warranted or just me being overly cautious.

In Belarus things escalated quickly. Radio amateurs - usually recognized as men of goodwill - have been declared enemies of the state and publicly shamed and indicted for high treason.

https://steanlab.medium.com/mayday-389f5713fee4

Show threadcosJan 20
@nblr I think modern ad-hoc mesh networks such as Meshtastic would be a great alternative today. They are dirt cheap, anyone can have them and encryption is decent.
Show threadOzzie D, NP-hard  Jan 20
@cos @nblr Ad-hoc mesh networks are growing by leaps and bounds. In my area (Boston) #meshcore has proven stable, and capable of forwarding messages long distances. But I fear the moment it starts to be used for emergency comms, the fascists will criminalize use of the unlicensed bands. Not as easy to ID the owner of any radio, it's true!
Show threadF4GRX Sébastien

@ozdreaming @cos @nblr not easy to ID? It is MANDATORY for hams to transmit their ID every 5-10 min

Identifying the location of a transmitter is trivial with triangulation and such locations could be used as missile/drone target, of course.

Jan 20 at 5:03pmWeb
Show threadOzzie D, NP-hard  Jan 20
@f4grx your point about triangulating any transmitter is a good one. But this is a tangent about ad-hoc LoRa mesh networks using unregulated bands, where registration and ID transmission are not mandated (unlike ham radio). At least not yet, in the US.
@cos @nblr
Show threadF4GRX SébastienJan 20
@ozdreaming @cos @nblr meshtastic packets are not e2e encrypted of course, so listening to a node is almost equivalent to identification, even if indirect via a pseudonym. The actual band changes nothing, if you transmit, you cant hide.
Show threadOzzie D, NP-hard  Jan 20
@f4grx @cos @nblr Meshcore supports encrypted direct messages, FYI. But I don't have a lot of trust in its encryption implementation, encryption doesn't apply to group channel chat, and leaky metadata is always a problem. This is all just for fun. Right? Until it's not.
Show threadcosJan 21
@f4grx @ozdreaming @nblr actually Meshtastic messages and channels can be E2EE with AES256-CTR. Key management is manual, but if you got keys setup correctly it should be quite safe. I'm not an encryption expert bug I've understood AES256-CTR is considered good.
Show threadF4GRX SébastienJan 21
@cos @ozdreaming @nblr I picked up a wio e5 mini but it's not supported by meshtastic. I'm waiting for a sx1262 module to use on a pi pico.
Show threadTedJan 21

@f4grx
I have been wondering if that means we should be looking into laser comms or something.

But also you can transmit in the move - it's just a burst from a device in your pocket. It's not the bulk of older radio gear. And you can leave a relay node somewhere you don't own.

@ozdreaming @cos @nblr