Thanks to everyone who posts here and the mod who created the comm.

I first heard of this concept in a thread here on Lemmy. So now learning about it and looking into everything. Thanks guys!!

  • Iced Raktajino@startrek.website
    16·
    12 days ago

    I don’t even remember how I learned about Meshtastic. It was just one day I’d never heard of it and the next day I was obsessed and had multiple radios to play with. How I got there? Total mystery.

    • PapaSkwat@lemmy.wtfOP
      51·
      12 days ago

      Yeah, and I can’t even remember what thread I was reading today where a user mentioned it. I was just wondering around. Then a user replied to him by posting a link to this comm, I clicked it, then went out to lunch w friends. Came back and sat down to read it, and here I am. lol

      I really want shortwave radio to be cool again and come back. But I guess this is the closest I can get to that concept! lol

      • hereiamagain@sh.itjust.works
        1·
        4 days ago

        Define “cool again”? There are a few more hoops to jump through, but ham radio is alive and well.

        It’s not to the level it once was, simply because cell phones are so much more convenient. But me and my buddies are all licensed. I love meshtastic and have several nodes, but APRS can punch much further and is already a significantly not robust existing network. Just less convenient 🤷‍♂️

        • PapaSkwat@lemmy.wtfOP
          1·
          2 days ago

          There are a few more hoops to jump through, but ham radio is alive and well.

          Well where I am in the states, it’s very difficult to hear people talking on shortwave. It’s all just church stations now. It used to be alive with people talking, now I hear church services. That’s it.

          • hereiamagain@sh.itjust.works
            2·
            2 days ago

            Well, church stations are usually AM, and while a small portion of dedicated hams still use AM, the vast majority use SSB, which requires a specialized receiver to hear, because it’s basically one third of an AM signal.

            The shortwave bands are abuzz with signals every day. Sometimes more, sometimes less.

            But yeah if you’re in a city or something it’ll be harder to hear with the elevated noise floor.

            The modern world is full of cheaply made electronics that spew noise all over the spectrum. So most hams in cities will take a portable radio out to a park to get a better signal. It’s actually fun, there’s a whole online game involving taking radios to parks and trying to reach each other! POTA!

            Good fun.

    • Mike@piefed.chrisco.meEnglish
      1·
      9 days ago

      It starts off as a “cheap” hobby, then you look a year later and you are buried in devices.