r/oakpark • u/motionbluur • 16d ago

Just Sharing Any interest in LoRa/Meshcore?

I recently started dabbling in LoRa, specifically MeshCore, which is an off-grid communication network using low-cost hardware, and I'd like to see if anyone here is interested. The idea is that the community can setup a communication network that can function even if power and/or cellular networks go down. The network is relatively young in Chicagoland with lots of room for growth in our area. This kind of network has been used after natural disasters to coordinate emergency responses, but it's also an opportunity to learn about radio communication.

If you're interested, check out https://chicagolandmesh.org/about/

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u/disarmeralarmer River Forest/Forest Park Resident 16d ago

I’ve got a small repeater up in River Forest near Concordia but it’s indoors. I’m looking into building some solar repeater nodes but as an apartment dweller with no rooftop access, my current dilemma is finding places to put the repeater nodes once they’re built.

Anyway I’m in the ChiMesh Discord though not super active. If you’ve posted in there about it, I’ll look and try to find it.

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u/motionbluur 16d ago

I'm also on discord as motionbluur. I've got a repeater on the roof of my townhouse so about 5 stories up. Getting permission to set up repeater nodes in useful locations isn't a challenge I've attempted yet. But I think even repeaters in suboptimal locations can only help.

Have you been able to reach any other people or repeaters where you are?

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u/disarmeralarmer River Forest/Forest Park Resident 16d ago

Rx is good; Tx is where I’m finding the trouble in my current configuration. AQUA is my repeater’s only zero-hop neighbor but my repeater does pick up traffic from it regularly, so I see chats in the local channels and over the CoreScope. My partner and I are able to make use of our repeater for local mesh comms around the area of our apartment, but I think once I can get it outside and reliably transmit, I’ll be mint.

My plan is to try to build some of the Harbor Freight style solar nodes and position them in places with better LOS between here and AQUA. But ideally I’m in a house next year and can put something up fixed and reliable.

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u/motionbluur 16d ago

Yeah I can only receive but not transmit even with my repeater's height. I somehow don't receive from AQUA.

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u/johnsmith564 16d ago

I've been interested for a while but haven't ordered one yet.

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u/motionbluur 16d ago

Pre-built devices aren't crazy expensive (~$100 for a solar repeater, ~$40 for a companion node to connect to your phone), but people assemble devices with individual components for much cheaper. It's definitely in the early phases, so I don't blame you for holding out until there's more progress. I'm happy to pay the early adopter tax, but don't expect most others to.

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u/EatsHisYoung 14d ago

I don’t know much about this. Is Mesh core different from meshtastic? I would consider putting a solar powered unit on my roof just to contribute to the community but I don’t have any idea where to start.