Discussion
Day 2 of #MeshCore experiments, let's go! 🚀
First I'll try to see if I can send any messages with just my companion unit and if that fails, I will set up my second unit as a repeater on my parents' balcony...
Thanks to everyone who sent in pics of their cute pets yesterday to cheer me up (after hours of failing to send any messages). Much appreciated! 💖
@_elena That’s a great sticker!
@_elena It’s tricky and frustrating when you see hundreds of repeaters and companions, in neighbouring countries too, and then your own messages barely get a repeat. I guess I should try having both a repeater and a companion, too.
Update: my Heltec experiments are still a major failure despite the endless patience and expert guidance of @stereo (my mesh guru)... BUT! My family is maybe starting to take me seriously?!?
Major pivot from yesterday... looking at me like: "what are you doing weirdo?"
to today:
Them: "Is anybody else around here using it?"
Me: "Yes, let me show you on the map!"
Them: "Wow, impressive!"
Step by step 😅
Update no.2: after erasing and re-flashing my Heltec v3 as a Bluetooth companion I am now receiving messages again! 🥳
And I can see adverts from Piemonte - some 200+ km away. Sooo cool!
A message I sent to the public Channel this time had the label underneath "Heard 1 Repeat" (which I didn't get yesterday, after 3+ hours of experimentations).
My repeater on the balcony may be a lemon, but I'm operational again - I think 😅
Update no.3: my #MeshCore Bluetooth companion is picking up my Meshcore Repeater - YAY 🥳
We had to leave Paris in a hurry last month because of the brutal heatwave so I forgot the cases there. But here in Italy I have an endless supply of LEGO, so I built a custom housing for my Heltec v3 repeater, its battery and antenna. I really like it 🥰
@_elena This is the way.
@_elena I always find lego to be an excellent alternative when you don't have a 3D printer.
@_elena What a great idea.
@_elena cool case. Maybe I will do the same when I set up a repeater in Verona ;)
@_elena that is an awesome case!
One of the best things I did was to get an antenna that's tuned well for the frequency (I think you're on 868MHz there?) The stub antennas sometimes don't do very well.
Improving your repeater antenna would give you a better range, but there's nothing better than height!
@_elena wihihi, got a bit simpler setup (first iteration using a tire to fix LoRA antenna in position and second one... just a cube with some fixtures for bigger one).
@_elena hahaha, when STEM and Lego cross over 😻 😉
@_elena A housing for tech out of lego? Cool!
@_elena are you sure you're not just enjoying the LEGO with mesh as an excuse? 😉 😂
@_elena that would lovely with a green or red antenna, and then some Star Wars Lego....
I still think, at some point, I need to get into the meshcore stuff....
Best case forever.
@_elena I'm contemplating to jump into this now too...
@leberschnitzel @_elena dito, but i never manage to decide which device to buy as a noob starting point. (And it must be sold through a European e-commerce, which makes it harder.)
@leanderlindahl @leberschnitzel @_elena
I thought instinctively that with a name like Heltec they would be Swiss. I'm too easily fooled. They are of course Chinese.
@leffe whaaaaat?!?!? I thought they were German 🤯 @leanderlindahl @leberschnitzel
@_elena oh, oh, my favourite cases for these are by this person https://www.printables.com/@AlleyCat !!
@petko gorgeous cases!
Disclaimer: I do have cases but I forgot them in Paris and we had to leave quickly because of the heatwave. Already explaining what/where the Heltecs were to my husband was a bit of a challenge 😅
@_elena You will definitely have more fun when the repeater is up 😊 Talking from experience. You will most likely not be able to reach my node in Munich, though. Damn :)
@jwildeboer I managed to connect with a friend in South West Germany in April - even without a repeater!
Problem is, according to him transalpine repeaters are currently not working.
We're at a similar distance - 450km - so who knows? Worth a try sometime in the future*
(*I'm at my parents' in northern Italy, very close to the Swiss border)
Install bonfire.cafe
Get the full app experience
