Meshtastic

Create a comms Channel named UCARS and add the following encryption key (replacing whatever else is there).

eR9+2szwqn0hR+FvWYPx5VdKmL1stkQzGIqX7eGhKF0=

Now you should get all messages sent in that channel with that key.

Can heat and humidity affect propagation? Apparently, yes.

Courtesy of Grok, the heat spreads out the molecules in the air and changes the reflectivity of the atmosphere. This might result in your rf signal getting more scattered than at lower temperatures.

Higher humidity means more water molecules in the air to absorb your signal, attenuating it further.

I happened to be up at 5:30 am this morning, and tried to traceroute to some adjacent nodes that I have been able to reach up until recently. I was able to reach 5 out of 6. But by noon, only 1 of the 6 was still reachable. Try it yourself and post your results here.

You may have already noticed that your Meshtastic phone app has been updated to version 2.6.15. The interface has been changed considerably. The icon bar has been moved to the bottom of the screen. To get to the Radio Configuration screens you need to click on the Cloud icon at the bottom right. On the next screen you will see the devices with which you have paired (if any), and if you are connected to a device, the Radio configuration button is at the top of the screen. This is also the screen from which you will pair with a new device and set your region.

You will notice that when you connect to a device with an older firmware version you will get a pop-up recommending that you re-flash the device to version 2.6.11 of the device firmware. If the device's firmware is old enough, the pop-up message wil…

Along the same lines as W4ZD's tower deployment, I came up with a 8dbi antenna and RAK Solar Enclosure mounted on a 1.25" PVC pipe. The pipe length is about 5 feet, and counter-balances the antenna which extends beyond the pipe. The pipe is capped at both ends, with D-ring shackles attached, one on the top to hoist the device, one on the bottom to help orient the solar box towards the sun. The photo shows one of these up about 40 feet in a tree (TCM0). We have deployed another one in Unionville with KM4ZDK (TCMX), also up about 35 feet in a tree. I hoped that we could establish line of sight comms between the two, but there is a hill just north of the airport that interferes.

Next step is to deploy another unit on Rocky River Road at a location that is pretty much on the…