I’m interested in this project, but I am unsure if there’s anything actually useful or fun you can do with it.

So tell me about the fun stuff you’ve built!

  • EvilCartyenOP
    2·
    7 hours ago

    I should approach this in stages I guess :)

    So - if I get something like a Station G2 and place it somewhere in my home - I can then get some Dragino sensors and add them to my network, even long distance? That’s the idea, right?

    We have a cabin off-grid - no power for most of the year - and I’d be interested in adding some sensors down there.

    • iii@mander.xyzEnglish
      2·
      6 hours ago

      That’s the idea yes.

      But range depends on a lot of factors. In my context it’s open fields and forests. The path from your cabin to your home, I expect to be more challenging.

      • EvilCartyenOP
        2·
        6 hours ago

        It will be challenging, for sure - it’s in the woods, after all, and it’s 150 km away. But that’s exactly what LoRa is developed for, right? And if more people go online the problem of distance will disappear…

        • iii@mander.xyzEnglish
          2·
          6 hours ago

          Lora in itself is just the radio communication, low level.

          It doesn’t do the meshing. That’s meshtastics’ thing. There’s also lorawan that does it.

          More info (1).

            • iii@mander.xyzEnglish
              2·
              5 hours ago

              Went with neither. We have our own gateways that connect to the internet.

              LoRa itself travels kms if the terrain is favourable.

              • EvilCartyenOP
                2·
                5 hours ago

                Neat. But is there any architectural difference between the two? Do LoRaWan units also form a decentralised mesh network?

                • iii@mander.xyzEnglish
                  2·
                  4 hours ago

                  Yeah they share little other than same radio carrier.

                  Lorawan is hierarchical, almost always eventually plug into the internet, data is binary, and upstream providers are usually commercial.

                  Meshtastic does its alternative network meshing thing.