I've been thinking a lot about the #meshtastic scalability problem of linear meshes, like the one in the image.

For context: A can't reach F because the default 3-hop limit. Increasing this number would help, but only until the mesh expands. A large city with a similar 'linear layout' wouldn't make it with just 7 hops.

Fortunately, since 2.7.18, the zero-hop rule applies to mutually fav'd CLIENT_BASE nodes as well, so that's the answer!

https://github.com/meshtastic/firmware/pull/9168

Thanks @alec for the hint!

#meshtastic community planners, I need your advice.

Suppose a msg originates from the CLIENT_MUTE in the east.
A) If the node on the hill (northwest) were a CLIENT, the msg would run out of hops and wouldn't reach the southern-most CLIENT_MUTE.
B) If it were a ROUTER, it would cancel retransmissions along the path.

In A, I could increase the hop limit to 7, but that would just delay the problem, happening again once the mesh grows and the problem repeats.

What would you do in this situation?

I could finally find some time to get to one of the tallest points in the region, and install a camouflaged #meshtastic node in a tree, on a hill 120 meters above the town.

I was so thrilled and anxious that I forgot to take a photo 🥹 So here's at least an image from Wikipedia depicting the tree species that's hosting the farthest-reaching node in all Araçoiaba da Serra (Brazil): the "cambará tree" (Moquiniastrum polymorphum)

Vendor: "our solar charger bundles a state-of-the-art charge controller"

The charge controller:

I was rummaging through an electronics box that had been untouched for 40 years, and found (among a sea of leaked capacitors) this plastic case. I belive it was destined for some DIY electronics project that never came to be.

I'm thinking of making it more "#mesh-y". Any ideas? (Non-#meshtastic / #meshcore ideas are welcome too!) Maybe turning it into a desktop node with a LED sign for showing new messages...

I started looking into #meshtastic to solve a practical problem: giving my parents and in-laws, who happen to live in the same rural area, a way to text each other. Phone connectivity often fails them, so having an off-grid way to exchange quick messages would be great!

Despite the short distance, the two houses are separated by a dense, tall, (and wet) patch of rainforest. For a moment I thought it would be a no go. But I did an experiment with a T-Echo and a Heltec V4 and got a +4 dB SNR! 🎉