Matt Calhoun

If AWS goes down and you need to download firmware, secondary Blackout Comms download site: offgridcomms.club/

Testing of the newest off-grid mesh pager / tracker prototype for Blackout Comms will begin this weekend

Back in the lab...

Grid-down drill: planned a quick-setup off-grid private texting/tracking mesh for ~6 square miles of woods before ever going there. Used the mesh planning tool to place nodes, take advantage of the lake, curve coverage around a hill, and test for dead spots. Then on site: quick node placement, tracked a hiker fully offline, and sent an encrypted private message from the trail to the tent site. Mesh memory keeps the last known location if a device dies. All locations and messages stay encrypted. Planning tool: meshplan.chatters.io Main Site: chatters.io @lilygo9 @HeltecOrg #mesh #Offgrid

Plan your Private Off-Grid Mesh Network (before the grid goes down): medium.com/@mattcalhoun1/pla… #comms #mesh #blackout #offgrid

Plan your mesh before you deploy. content.chatters.io/embedded…

Demo of Blackout Comms Overlook - get this free add-on for your private mesh cluster at: chatters.io/overlook #mesh #lora #offgrid #comms

Overlook is out! A desktop or wall view of your Blackout Comms cluster: map, devices, pings, and messages from one radio over Bluetooth. It runs on Windows or Linux, and it keeps working after the tiles are cached, with no network required. Demo: youtu.be/RIINT_1Qqk0?si=CkL9… Download / Learn More: chatters.io/overlook Source Code: github.com/mattcalhoun1/Blac… #mesh #lora #comms #offgrid

Other mesh sits on one frequency. A receiver can park on it. This is a private Blackout Comms cluster. TinySA shows the unpredictable hopping. 64 frequencies, pattern doesn't repeat. Direct messages stripe between any pair of devices, across channels unpredictable to the rest of the cluster. #mesh #lora #comms #offgrid @HeltecOrg @lilygo9

New Mesh Feature: Auto-schedule stealth modes - put your private cluster into less chatty or full silent mode regularly, based on your own comms schedule. Why would you do this? Maybe you want your mesh equipment to be invisible except during certain times. Or, maybe you want to reduce power usage. chatters.io #mesh #lora #comms #offgrid

Is Meshtastic Illegal? Is MeshCore Illegal? What FCC-Compliant LoRa Mesh Looks Like medium.com/@mattcalhoun1/is-… #mesh #lora #comms #offgrid

Heltec Expansion Kit V2 field test & review. Two units running Blackout Comms sent and received past 11 km. Woods-to-house message was about 13 km / 8 miles. chatters.io #mesh #lora #offgrid @HeltecOrg

The performance of this heltec touchscreen (r8) is pretty unbelievable. I am reliably sending/receiving instant encrypted messages and locations from the ground , through woods, to my house 8+ miles away (no hills involved). I've never had results this good from an off-the-shelf LoRa device. Full review coming soon. #lora #mesh #comms @HeltecOrg

I'm busy compiling the latest "stealth mode" firmware adjustments and prepping a video review of Heltec's newest touchscreen. Both coming early next week.

Blackout Comms is now on the Heltec WiFi LoRa 32 V4-R8. Full touchscreen communicator, works with the Blackout Comms Live app. The R8 kit adds microSD slot + offline maps. Built-in LNA on the newest supported Blackout Comms hardware. Firmware: chatters.io/heltec @HeltecOrg

Just dropped: Custom PETG enclosures for the LilyGO T-Deck Plus 🔥 Pick your color → printed in tough PETG → you slide your own T-Deck+ in and shut it. Available now: chatters.io/product-page/cus… #TDeckPlus #Meshtastic @lilygo9 #OffGrid #MeshRadio #meshcore

Live Blackout Comms Build-Along - Oct 4 I’ll assemble a set of custom comms & set them up as a private off-grid cluster. This will live-streamed & anyone can join. Follow along to build your own! Pre-Order Full DIY Kit - Includes ALL required components, including license: chatters.io/product-page/diy… Acquire Parts Yourself Instead: offgridcomms.club/firmware/e… #mesh #lora #comms @lilygo9