Hi Chris do you have a purchase link for that repeater? I'm looking to get one.
Yes I do, but I think Ali Express URLs are too long for Meshcore messages. So ... here we go!
Liberton Repeater - SenseCAP Solar Node P1 Pro
I got a Seeed SenseCap Solar Node P1 Pro. The name is a MOUTHFUL but the "Pro" is significant - the non-Pro version lacks batteries as well as GPS. (The batteries were convenient, the node is fixed so GPS less useful to me.)
I got mine from the Seeed store, I was holding off buying (as shipping to Aotearoa was hugely expensive) until they ran a Boxing Day (?) free global shipping sale and I jumped on it. If I was buying another today I'd consider Ali Express as shipping from there can be cheaper.
- Seeed Studio - SenseCAP Solar Node P1-Pro for Meshtastic
- Ali Express - SenseCAP Solar Meshtastic Node 868MHz 915MHz Meshcore P1 Pro XIAO L76K GPS nRF52840 Plus built-in Battery 2dBi Antenna Grove
It's a good little unit, seems to be holding its battery OK here in Liberton as the skies are getting greyer (April / Autumn). I am not an RF expert, but it mounted up fine on roof vent pipe here in Liberton, has run reliably on Meshtastic (initially) and now Meshcore, and doesn't ask me for maintenance. No issues with weather; I could perhaps improve its location for better connectivity.
Warning - the mounting bracket on mine has sharp edges - I should give it a run over with a file next time I get it down. Currently I'm wearing a fibreglass cast on my wrist and not going up ladders ...
I appreciate that lots of locals seem to be building the mesh nodes out from parts, which I respect - it feels more in keeping with the resilience goals of the network. This unit worked out of the box (both as Meshtastic and later Meshcore) and is an easy place to start.
Wio Tracker L1 Pro
I want to like this one - cute little screen you can read messages on, joystick control. It has a decent antenna! The battery lasts ok, a few days. The joystick control ... works, but it's not a keyboard, so really you're as good without unless you want a very retro texting experience.
The USB C connection doesn't really hold, meaning this one needs care to charge. With the better antenna it has greater reach, and I favoured it iniitially but then forgot where I left it (plugged into a charger which did work) for a month. During that time I started using Meshcore more; for incidental (misplacement) reasons this device is the last one on Meshtastic.
Seeed T-1000e tracker card
This was an extra when I purchased the above two; I needed to get the order north of a certain price to clear the free shipping offer.
The battery on it seems to quit at about 50%. It has a magnetic charger connector which works great - but means you need to know where the charge cable is for that one device.
The form factor is good, it's a sealed unit, so this one depends on use with a mobile phone or paired device.
Rak Wismesh tag
This replaced the Seeed T-1000e. I got it from Ali Express. Lives in my bag, charges every few days, is my primary mesh node now. It has internal antenna only so you need to be within a km or two of a repeater - as for the T-1000e.
Uses the same charger connector as the T-1000e, so now I have two of those cables ...
Heltec v4
I grabbed a couple of these to play with mesh networks from Linux systems. One is attached to a Raspberry Pi running HomeAssistant, the other is on another Pi running regular linux. Playing with using these to observe mesh (via the HASS unit) and message channels (the other).
These come with a handy box that'll do for a case, once you add a hole each for USB-C and antenna. The antenna shown here is not the one the device comes with.
More local mesh notes
- For me the appeal of mesh is about local-first networks, community and resilience.
- Discord is where lots of chat happens (yes, this is ironic; still, go first where community is)
- In Ōtepoti Dunedin, I recommend the Make Stuff Dunedin server (hop into #rf-stuff), and
- for Meshcore I recommend the Meshcore Discord (look in "regional-channels")
- Dunedin (and I hear, most of NZ) is using the "NZ (narrow)" settings - broadcast settings are not compatible, ie if you and your neighbour use different settings, you won't see each other at all.
- Some of these items may say "Meshtastic" in the product listing, I see Seeed are selling some pre-flashed with Meshcore now as well. To use Meshcore, obtain the device, then use the flasher at https://meshcore.io/flasher ... it's the same hardware.
- Lots of folks on the mesh locally are HAM radio folks, so https://www.zl4aa.org.nz/ also worth checking if you're in Otago / Southland.
All of this is current at time of writing ... I just wanted to quickly share purchase links for the person who asked! None of these links are referral links (as best I can tell, anyway).
You can probably find me on Meshcore as ChrisB and on Meshtastic as CMB0, in Discord I'm @xurizaemon. I don't have a fancy callsign yet :)
Corrections welcome!