Would love to see something like this for Bluetooth/wifi. Maybe Wifi Aware will be that.
I think local-first networking is going to be an important part of local-first apps.
Can a wifi mesh with no internet connection be made between different routers / access points?
Really I am wondering if people cooperating by operating wifi areas t could expand quickly in more populated places.
Perhaps the trick would be to run them all the wifi networks fully open?
Yeah basically how does one create a city wide mesh with a few hundred people involved?
It is intentionally designed for longer range, with lower datarates, with lower power consumption. It's in the name. "LOng RAnge".
Not to be too annoying but "Radio like LoRa" reads to me as "microwave" which includes "WiFi" which is plausibly something you use for file transfer all the time. So some more clarification would be helpful.
As for files, not possible out of the box for most people, but tools like ATAK-Civ can make use of 'data packages' and send them over radio. I've used it to successfully send memes and map files in testing.
so for example you can use esp32 lora node not only for lora low bandwidth comms but also high speed wifi transfers, for example pictures of intruders !
no just joking.
You can read between the lines here.
Have folks ever tired to even communicate with the devs? They are the most toxic group of individuals that I have ever encountered. Saying that they act like children is insulting to little kids.
I believe the most important is to keep an option to be able to setup gateways between the different networks and if possible the messaging systems.
Like for example yggdrasil, tor, I2P dn42 and the clearnet are interconnected. What is really cool.
It was something like this:
1. Router repeats first
2. Weakest repeating device by signal strength next
What if both of those options are in a basement, or say have a damaged antenna, or are miles in the opposite direction of where you want the signal to go?
By simply putting up a router somewhere you might be severely impacting the comms of people at your edge.
If power goes out, or the internet, or both, I can still contact my entire family spread all around my city, because I gave them all a node to set up in their attic / on their roof. Additionally, they all got a t-deck charged and ready to go.
When shit hits the fan, at least we can find each other.
So if you want to move your home videos from one place to another, or if you want to have a wireless security camera with 1080p streamed video, it's the wrong choice.
But if you want to have a battery powered motion detector + environment sensor in an off grid shed 1km that way, LoRa is perfect for that.
For example: I have a Meshtastic device in my car with a small 18650 battery + plugged in to the car's USB that charges it when it's turned on. It reports the car's location and internal temperature to a Meshtastic channel. It also works as a router so if I'm inside a store with my T1000-E, it can't reach the local relay, BUT it can reach my car, which in turn can reach the relay, which again is in range of my home node - which is connected to Home Assistant.
Yes, I could just send an IM, but where's the fun in that? =)
sparrish•1y ago
cschmittiey•1y ago
aeblyve•1y ago
linker3000•1y ago
apitman•1y ago
sparrish•1y ago
Meshtastic can also communicate over long distances by relaying through other nodes.
So what's the difference?
linker3000•1y ago
MeshCore started out with the concept of static router nodes as well as clients, so it performs better if there is a router nearby to use, otherwise it falls back to flooding.
Nux•1y ago
I struggled to get messages delivered with Meshtastic in my location. I'll try Meshcore when I get some time.
jeffhuys•1y ago
bb88•1y ago
Also, a lot of nodes tend to flood their battery state for the entire network, which uses up the airtime for something that could be more important like routing information, and also wastes their battery.
Even though things like AlohaNet have been around for years, Meshtastic chose to reinvent the wheel. The primary difference is that Meshcore started with "routing" first, and then save the airtime and therefore battery for routing messages.
geerlingguy did a video on it, and it's highly worth while checking it out. I think he was kind enough to use the term "Beta".
Supposedly the new firmware from Meshtastic fixes a lot of this, but it's gonna be a while for people to upgrade, and I'm not too keen on wasting time again on something if it's not fit to work for it's stated purpose originally.