How many of you are Amateur Radio operators?

Another HAM, KI4VDU here. Trying to figure out how to get started with mesh.

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Fellow HAM here, KD0WNE. I mostly use it for emergency operations and Storm Spotting or Chasing. Saw the Original Poster had a Ham Radio Operator badge on this site. How does one attain that badge? Looking to checking out more of this community and getting started with mesh!

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Listen: Dominica residents turned to amateur radio to give updates.

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New Ham here, and agree with n0ssc. APRS has a lot of promise, but a lot of costs. And in my area, itā€™s not really taken off. It has a lot of potential, but just not enough.

I have some of my own experiments Iā€™m hoping to do with Gotenna Mesh. Canā€™t wait until it arrives.

73s,

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90 operators requested for Puerto Rico by the ARC

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Still trying to figure out how to get the ham radio badge. It says to direct message but canā€™t find where thatā€™s done. My call sign is N0DBH.

NF8C here. Formerly KD8UXC. I liked the original Gotenna (I think that was MURS band) but the ability to mesh is what finally sold me on Gotenna. I think the Gotenna mesh could be useful in combination with amateur radio. I discussed a ham radio option for the Gotenna(no encryption possible different frequencies). If I remember correctly the shout function is not encrypted ergo is HAM friendly(minus frequency range). Gotenna the company was not open to it last time I talked with them about it. Perhaps if enough of us Hams are interested they might change their mind. The Gotenna Mesh is an SDR radio so firmware could make it HAM compatible. I donā€™t think any additional certification would be needed.

73 - James NF8C

EDIT:
P.S. Iā€™ll have my Gotenna at the Great lakes Hamcon in October and most likey the Dayton hamvention next year.

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I was looking at the setups and wondered if anyone has tested the ranges. I have on some devices got extra range by attaching a wire to the ground like one would a rat tail to the negative antenna terminal. These devices are probably designed to use us as the counterpoise the same way an HT would. If suspended in mid air on a mast the wire might help a little. A standard micro USB cable could do it since the shield should be connected to the USB ground.

Hey @n0ssc,

I totally agree with you. I have a radio for each mode and just ordered myself a TYT MD-2017 w/ GPS for DMR (my first DMR radio). I had not heard of HamWAN but googled it and found that to be very impressive.

My team and I are making use of the goTenna Mesh and the fact that it operates on 33cm should make it legal for us to add external antennas, like @gua742ā€™s MOAN Project, even if you live near White Sands Missile Range [FCC Part 97.313(g)]. If my math is right, @gua742ā€™s latest modification putā€™s his goTenna at an ERP of nearly 4W (6dB gain = PEP double, then double again, minus the coax right?). I think I did that right. Still learning RF. Computers and networks are much easier, LOL.

73,
W1LMS/AG

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I am. mostly dig modes on HF, but have a general interest in radio and especially decentralized networks.

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I forgot that the goTenna Mesh uses encryption. Scratch that.

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Youā€™re right I am close to 4 watts. Iā€™d be more happy with 40 though :slight_smile:

Wow, an ERP of 40W would be around 16dB gain antenna. Iā€™m not sure Iā€™ve seen an omni directional antenna with that high of gain, only directional antennas like a yagi.

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A kick ass yagi for long haul area to area coms.

Omni for area coverage, yagi for area to area coverage.

Hell or parabolic dish with borderline crazy gain!

Finally received my Gotenna Meshes from last Aprilā€™s order. Looking forward to learning to use them near Austin NV this weekend on competitive endurance horse ride. Then, let the hacks begin. I like some of the breadcrumb setups on this post, very handy.

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Hi. My name is Dennis and Iā€™ve been a ham for about 30 years. Iā€™m originally from southern CA but currently located in Anchorage, Alaska. I recently purchased 2 GoTenna MESH and Iā€™ve already dedicated one as a full-time relay node at my home. Eventually, I plan to use one as a ā€œmobile RELAY nodeā€ in my vehicle which I will activate on longer trips. My call is WL7AQ. Cheers everyone!

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KE4UOP here, first personal Lou. Been a HAM for quite some time, but not very radioactive in the last few years, largely due to a general lack of activity in my area. That aside, I really like the potential of the Gotenna Mesh for emergency communications, or whenever the system is swamped (like concerts and sporting events). I also think these will be handy traveling outside the US and when on a cruise ship. Got my first pair a few days ago, and ordered two more to use as nodes. Iā€™m going to see what Ii can do on my roof with a waterproof box and a solar panel in terms of establishing a continuously powered node for all to use.

More to come!

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Chris, N2MCS here. Licensed radio amateur for 25 years. Did a lot of AX.25 packet radio (mostly on 222 and 440 MHz) back in the early nineties. Lately I do BPSK31 and JT9/JT65 on HF, mostly on 30m. Anyway, GoTenna Mesh seemed something cool to check out, so I bought a few.

The ā€œimeshyouā€ map is a lot more ā€œmanualā€ than I expected. I think there is a lot more potential for this within the app. Iā€™m really looking forward to an SDK. When I first saw the map, I assumed it was automatically populated, similar to https://aprs.fi.

The mobile app should have some technical pages to assess the current mesh, signal strength, etc. This will help folks in setting up more effective meshes, and keep the nerds like myself at bay.

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Yes, thatā€™s all coming in first half of 2017 :slight_smile:

And our SDK is already available here: goTenna SDK | Mesh Network
Join the discussion here: http://community.gotennamesh.com/t/gotenna-mesh-sdk-talk/449

Hi :slight_smile: Iā€™m Christina KF6UXC, in the San Francisco East Bay. My husband, dad, and brother-in-law are hams but weā€™re not very active, though my daughters are showing interest. Iā€™m one of those who struggled to get my tech license about 18 years ago, so Iā€™m not sure how to teach them the material. We got a pair of Meshes last night and played with them, the kids want in, too haha. My HT died a few years ago, so I convinced hubby that this was a useful replacement in many ways, primarily that yes we donā€™t have to badger our friends to be licensed.

Hoping to go to Hamvention someday, I can imagine the mesh will be strong there!

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