Meshtastic, is anyone using it in New Zealand?

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#3197706 20-Feb-2024 07:59

rp1790:
I recently bought a couple of Weltec devices and having them running in Titahi Bay (usually). Have also taken a node to my daughters place in Karori and seen the two nodes with cat emojis but didn't get any response when messaging.

Are you and the cats both 915MHz?

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#3197707 20-Feb-2024 08:01

915 Mhz yes, thats the correct frequency for Au and NZ.

Whereabouts in Welly would you be if putting up a node?

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#3197714 20-Feb-2024 08:20

rp1790:
915 Mhz yes, thats the correct frequency for Au and NZ.

Whereabouts in Welly would you be if putting up a node?

I live in Carterton and have found a few others over there who are into it.

I'm talking with others, mostly amateur radio guys, who are all Hutt based plus Karori. If we can get someone up Horokiwi Newlands way that should link you in to the whole Hutt Valley and a good chunk of Wellington City.

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#3197718 20-Feb-2024 08:25

I'm actually on Gloaming Hill so fairly elevated.

For anyone looking to buy, try the starter kit here, I'm about to order one with the little solar enclosure to mount outside on my roof.

https://store.rakwireless.com/products/wisblock-meshtastic-starter-kit?variant=41433735758022

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#3197719 20-Feb-2024 08:29

rp1790:
I'm actually on Gloaming Hill so fairly elevated.

For anyone looking to buy, try the starter kit here, I'm about to order one with the little solar enclosure to mount outside on my roof.

https://store.rakwireless.com/products/wisblock-meshtastic-starter-kit?variant=41433735758022

I very nearly did that last night, had it all in my cart. But didn't. Nice solution though, pity they don't include a battery.

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#3197720 20-Feb-2024 08:30

For anyone looking to buy, try the starter kit here, I'm about to order one with the little solar enclosure to mount outside on my roof.

https://store.rakwireless.com/products/wisblock-meshtastic-starter-kit?variant=41433735758022

Note that the solar panel on that kit may be too small to keep up. Anecdotally have seen a bunch of feedback that it's useful to help extend the battery life somewhat, but not enough to fully keep up with a meshtastic node that's actually seeing some use.

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#3197722 20-Feb-2024 08:32

Yes, have heard that about the solar panel, it's pretty small but the enclosure looks nice.

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#3197816 20-Feb-2024 11:11

I have flashed some Tbeams and sent messages between them. I have an outdoor antenna to put up that was going to be for my helium miner before that became a total waste of time.

I have a pair of 433MHz ones, and several 800 MHz ones that were going to be mappers for the helium, again before that became a waste of time.

Richard rich.ms

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#3197976 20-Feb-2024 16:34

If you're around Wellington City or out through Lower or Upper Hutt, give channel 20 LongFast a go later this evening. There is going to be a couple of nodes up.

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#3198128 21-Feb-2024 08:13

scottjpalmer: If you're around Wellington City or out through Lower or Upper Hutt, give channel 20 LongFast a go later this evening. There is going to be a couple of nodes up.

I bought a Heltech node into work today to see if I could see anyone, 10th floor on Lambton Quay. Can't see any other nodes unfortunately.

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#3198147 21-Feb-2024 09:46

rp1790:

I bought a Heltech node into work today to see if I could see anyone, 10th floor on Lambton Quay. Can't see any other nodes unfortunately.

Assuming your node is !da56ac68, I can see it on the mesh. We're receiving the standard regular telemetry & location beacons from it, probably via ZL4NT-B. With that said, I don't think you are receiving anything, as your node isn't responding to any of the normal queries (location request, traceroute etc). What kind of antenna do you have on it?

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#3198148 21-Feb-2024 09:48

Yep, AC68 is it. Just has the teeny tiny heltec builtin antenna. Wonder why I can't see anyone.

previously from the same location I have been able to see the two nodes with cat emojis in the Wilton sort of Area.

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#3198150 21-Feb-2024 09:52

rp1790:

Yep, AC68 is it. Just has the teeny tiny heltec builtin antenna. Wonder why I can't see anyone.

If it's one of these, then the current batch of them have truly terrible stock antennas. That is probably why you aren't receiving anything useful; they only seem to work acceptably at very close range.

If you put a better antenna on it, it should be a lot happier. That's the same board that my two router nodes are using, and they are happily doing 39km with no trouble, even with the Stokes Valley hills partially obstructing the link, just using a cheap 5dBi omni on each end.

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#3198151 21-Feb-2024 09:54

Yep, it is one of those. Where did yoiu get your antenna from?

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#3198154 21-Feb-2024 09:59

rp1790:

Yep, it is one of those. Where did yoiu get your antenna from?

They're just AliExpress cheapies: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000128270106.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.35.449d1802vyFbNK

Intending to get something better over the longer term, but for a bunch of cheap test nodes, $4.12 per antenna is pretty hard to beat 🙂. Note that if you get one of these:

- You'll need a U.FL/SMA pigtail for it.
- Use them vertically; DO NOT bend to 90 degrees - if you do, they detune badly and end up down around 860MHz, rather than the 915MHz where they are supposed to be.

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