Post #273464

2026-02-12 17:52 UTC

@DaveMWilburn@infosec.exchange @tek@freeradical.zone I was thinking of getting one for an outage but talked myself out of it. Might make more sense to get a ham radio first. Feels like the ham radio people are going to be more helpful in an emergency event

Replies (2)

@tek@freeradical.zone 2026-02-12 17:56

@boscoandpeck@universeodon.com @DaveMWilburn@infosec.exchange Today, I would not recommend Meshtastic for an outage. It’s a fun hobby but I wouldn’t trust my life with it. And in any case, it’s the kind of thing you have to have up and running before you need it. I also have a ham (extra) license and would trust it in a disaster. The hardware is more robust, the range is much better, and it’s more widely used and practiced today. Meshtastic range can’t improve too much, but the others could change with time.

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@DaveMWilburn@infosec.exchange 2026-02-12 17:56

@boscoandpeck@universeodon.com @tek@freeradical.zone I might be mistaken, but ham and meshtastic doesn't seem to be either/or. The venn diagram of ham radio operators and meshtastic operators has a huge intersection. The good news is that it's a very cheap system to experiment with. Rokland sells complete radios and radio kits for pretty cheap. So don't let my challenges dissuade you.

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