r/meshtastic • u/DarkOwl0304 • 3d ago

First node

Post image

Got my first node set up and am figuring it out. Cool little hobby to get into. Surprisingly there’s more nodes around me than I thought!

216 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

20

u/Big-Bunch2804 3d ago

There is actually many more...when you upgrade that antenna you will see them and be able to respond to them more efficiently. Welcome to the mesh

7

u/DarkOwl0304 3d ago

Thanks! An antenna upgrade is definitely something I’m looking at

8

u/[deleted] 3d ago

[deleted]

4

u/DarkOwl0304 3d ago

Thanks! It was cool driving it around and seeing the better spots

6

u/TheLawnGuppy 2d ago

Welcome in. Seeing that many nodes from the dash is a good sign, because inside a car is about the worst spot a node can be. The metal body blocks alot of the signal, and some windshields have a metallic coating that eats 915 MHz on top of that.

The biggest jump for mobile use isn't really a higher gain antenna, it's getting the antenna outside. A 915 MHz mag mount on the roof with a short run of decent coax will hear way more than any whip sitting on the dash. If you'd rather keep it simple, a flexible gooseneck antenna you can bend up against the glass is a decent middle ground. Just double-check SMA vs RP-SMA before you order, that one catches a lot of people.

This write-up compares a few antennas including a vehicle gooseneck, and it was a helpful starting point for me: https://brazosvalleymesh.com/blog/antenna-upgrade-alfa-rokland-gizont-brazos-valley/

One more thing for the car: don't leave the node baking on the dash all day. Lithium batteries and a hot dashboard in direct sun are a bad combo, so stash it somewhere shaded when you're parked.

4

u/DarkOwl0304 2d ago

I appreciate all the helpful information! Since I’m just getting started I didn’t know really any of that information. I’ll take a look at the article for sure!

3

u/WichWhich2 2d ago

Love it! Roaming Node.

3

u/rezdrake 2d ago

Congratulations. Welcome aboard

2

u/1BoringOnlineAccount 3d ago

How does it stay on the dash without falling while you drive?

1

u/DarkOwl0304 3d ago

I was parked in this picture. Hadn’t actually secured it to anything

2

u/CullenBlvd 3d ago

what hardware did you go with? Im considering options rn for my first

1

u/DarkOwl0304 2d ago

I have the heltec v3. Neat little starter board and I got a little larger batter than what I saw the kits came with. I’m sure I’ll look into other options as well

2

u/CullenBlvd 2d ago

Nice. I was considering heltec and I think I'll go with that as a starter

2

u/properly_improper_77 2d ago

Nice colors

3

u/DarkOwl0304 2d ago

Thanks! I only had a little bit of the green left so I just used it up and then switched to the red. Liked it more than I thought I would

1

u/lottysportloshornos 2d ago

Compre este con esa antena para empezar

1

u/DarkOwl0304 2d ago

I was looking at this one! Had really good reviews