So a recent discussion with one of our members led me to finally jump into Meshtastic. I wonder how many of y’all want to play along…
Meshtastic, in this particular use case, enables a text-based messaging system that uses LoRa radio, which is 915MHz in the US, which measures its general range in miles, but the Meshtastic firmware enables a self-assembling mesh network of these devices. There is also internet backbone capability via MQTT servers.
It FEELS like early BBS days to play on.
I think a lot of us entered the world of infosec from a perspective of wanting to be able to see the data that’s hidden in plain sight. At least I did. Starting in around fourth grade when I read a book on codes and ciphers, much of my tech fetish has been about finding that hidden information that’s just out of reach. And of course, much of that is in the radio spectrum.
I became licensed for amateur radio back in 2010, I think. I took, and passed, all three exams in the same session. I have a number of radios. Three or four HF radios, a mobile dual-band for 2m and 70cm, and probably three or four Baofeng handhelds sitting in a bin somewhere. I have made overseas contacts from my car, my home and elsewhere using a portable kit in a Pelican case. I’ve done voice contacts as well as data modes. I have made a couple of attempts to learn and retain CW. One day that will stick.
While I can’t imagine Meshtastic will ever take off as a widespread communciations platform, I do think it could be useful in a potential off-grid scenario, and is worth exploring and pushing its capabilities. Meshtastic devices are cheap, easy to work with and fun. My next post will talk about some specific devices that I’ve started playing with, and my experiences with them, and I’d love for someone else to jump in and provide other perspectives on their experiences.