v3rm1n.log

Contact: My Initial Dive into Meshtastic

Meshtastic is a project that lets people send text messages over long distances—without relying on cell towers, Wi-Fi, or even the internet. It uses LoRa (Long Range radio) to form mesh networks between devices. That means you can pass messages node-to-node across surprising distances, even in total infrastructure blackout. Naturally, I had to mess with it.

My first node: The Heltec V3 I recently picked up a heltec v3 kit on Amazon. It cost me about $35 for a small starter bundle. Assembly was fast and intuitive. The kit included:

I threw it together in about 10 minutes, powered it up, and used the meshtastic online flasher to load board up with the latest stable.

Where I might've gone wrong? Honestly, the antenna is pretty weak. I was told to upgrade when I get the chance by others online who inspired me to poke around the meshtastic rabbit hole. The case is functional, but airflow and antenna clearance both suck for actual field use. Still, it was a quick way to get hands-on and see what Meshtastic can do.

Once I was up and running, I sent a message on my local channel walking around my backyard with my device held as high as I could and received ack. If you're unaware, you connect to the device via bluetooth with a phone. Your message is sent to the device and blasted into the air from your antenna. From what I've seen there are devices with keyboards that don't require a bluetooth connection to send messages.

Then.. someone then sent me a private message! It was instructions to join a discord filled with local meshtastic enthusiasts (who have been kind enough to help with any questions I've had). I learned he sent the message from a town over and was able to reach me through a couple of hops. Pretty cool!

This heltec v3 is goign to be my mobile unit, but it's going to need some help. I'm already sizing up a better antenna and was told to 3D print a cooler case. This is small project was super accessible, but with a lot of depth once you start reading more. It scratched both the comms nerd itch, and DIY hardware.

What's next aside from upgrading my mobile node? A static node up high using a small solar panel to maintain power.

The device I purchased

Meshtastic Website