HOW A MESH WORKS
A mesh works by creating an ad hoc local network. Each person in the mesh carries a node. When one person sends a message, or GPS location coordinates, all the nodes pass that data along. So long as each node has line-of-sight to another node, everyone receives the transmission. Line-of-sight here doesn't mean close by--hundreds of miles are possible, so long as the nodes can "see" one another. The transmission can be private to one person, or sent to everyone in the mesh.
MESH SETUP
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Buy a set of Adventure Mesh nodes.
02
Download the free Meshtastic application (iOS or Android) onto every phone in your adventure party. Pair each phone via bluetooth with an Adventure Mesh node. (No cell or internet reception required).
03
Everyone in your party will be able to text and see realtime location data (if enabled) of everyone on the mesh. The only limitation being line-of-sight.
DETAILS
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All Adventure Mesh node models use the LoRa protocol run by Meshtastic firmware for data transfer. LoRa is an extremely robust protocol, allowing long distance comms with very little power.
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LoRa in the USA operates on the 915mHz citizen's band. Licenses are not required to operate devices on this band.
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Due to the extreme efficiency of LoRa, long distance comms at low power is easily achieved. Current distance records are well over 200 miles using standard equipment, with good line-of-sight.
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The main distance limitation of LoRa comms is line-of-sight. So long as the nodes have unobstructed or nearly unobstructed line-of-sight, then long distance comms are not a problem.
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If all you require is to be able to see a live location of a node without text comms--to send children out exploring from your camp for instance--then no phone pairing is required. Make sure the node you send out has built in GPS however.
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Adventure Mesh offers several models, some of which come with built in GPS standard. If you choose a model which does not have on-board GPS, you can still share your location by sending the GPS information of the phone you paired with that node over the mesh. This saves substantial battery life for your node. See more on this in each model's spec sheet.