All,
I wanted to add a couple of fresh, real-world examples from today that show how Meshtastic continues to gain traction in the ham radio and DIY/maker communities:
- Ham operator N2MAK (@Kennerknecht) posted a fun “Change My Mind” meme (link here) after his first week experimenting with Meshtastic. It captures the classic off-grid tradeoff — great mesh texting but noticeable battery impact on a connected phone. Classic relatable content!
- French ham F4JSU (@F4JSU) was demoing a solar-powered Meshtastic node live at #ConfQRP today (link here). It’s a clean little portable setup that perfectly aligns with VHF/UHF off-grid EMCOMM ideas.
It looks like these kinds of posts are popping up daily across X and other platforms, showing everything from first-time tests to public demos and ongoing experimentation. Meshtastic sits right at the intersection of ham radio and the DIY/maker world: it appeals strongly to hams with EMCOMM experience who bring radio knowledge and emergency communications expertise, while also attracting makers and tinkerers who enjoy building their own nodes, flashing firmware, experimenting with antennas, solar power setups, 3D-printed cases, and other custom hardware projects.
This reinforces what we’ve been discussing in this thread: Meshtastic is a maturing, actively developed tool that’s already proving useful for decentralized, license-free (or lightly licensed) mesh comms in areas where traditional infrastructure is down or unavailable.
If you’re building out nodes or testing for EMCOMMS, now looks to be a great time — the ecosystem is lively. I know Cliff Leath (KI5OPP) bought a couple of devices and Mike Spracklen (KJ5ILO) has been looking into it. Has anyone else here tried solar repeater nodes or integrated the technology with existing VHF/UHF setups yet?
73
Phillip Beall (W5EBC)