cross-posted from: https://lemmy.radio/post/4523050

Discover the best Meshtastic devices tailored to your needs! From solar-powered options like the RAK WisBlock to budget-friendly choices like the Heltec LoRa 32 V3, this guide covers various use cases. Whether you prioritize portability, ease of use, or advanced features.

  • @helenslunch@feddit.nl
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    121 day ago

    It is text-based only. And since it’s such a small amount of data, it can be transmitted a much longer distance.

    There’s also the Mesh part where if two nodes (radios) are too far apart, and another node is in between, it can act as an intermediary/relay to increase distance. You can use ~4 nodes (3 hops) in this way.

    Communications are also encrypted.

    • XNX
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      21 day ago

      Is 4 nodes the maximum able to connect?

      • @helenslunch@feddit.nl
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        31 day ago

        Not sure what you mean by “connect”. You can connect hundreds of them in a mesh network (although the network will eventually become saturated if you don’t adjust), but message delivery is typically electronically limited to 3 “hops” for any particular message.

      • @helenslunch@feddit.nl
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        51 day ago

        Hehe no. It is text/emoji only. Best used in places where cell networks don’t exist, go down, or become saturated, or some combination.

          • @helenslunch@feddit.nl
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            1 day ago

            It could certainly easily be added as another backup communication method built into phones, yes. But among many other reasons, Apple doesn’t touch anything “open”, so if anything they would implement their own LoRa protocol.

            But it will never replace photos/videos/files or other functionality that iMessage supports, it’s a limitation of the technology.