When I still was owner of an “Overland” related Facebook group, I came across a lot of interesting things people wanted to use for their comms. This one, Meshtastic, was one that was being discussed but to me it felt like a very niche in communication.
Too many Comms at some point?
Overlanding is for many a way of prepping as well. Meshtastic is for many just another way to stay in touch in case SHTF (Google that what it means). Before I decided to jump on the Meshtastic band wagon, I asked myself a few questions.
- Is it widely available?
- Could I shout out for help if needed?
- Will it work without the need of a cellphone/ tablet?
Overlanding gets flooded with ways to do things. Comms were no different. GMRS, FRS, ham, Meshtastic, Sat phone. And the list goes on. I often asked myself, why introduce another way to communicate when GMRS and ham are already complicated enough for most? But, my curiosity got the best of me and I decided to jump the bandwagon of the world of Meshtastic.
Which Meshtastic do I get?
The title is a little deceiving maybe to some. But I am not going to give advice on which one to get. Why? Because I lack the expert knowledge to share what brand is better than others and why. I ended up with a Meshtatic tracker from Heltec. My decision was solely made on the fact that the unit had a dedicated GPS as well and from how I understand it, it works without being connected to a phone.
Order and now wait
I ordered my Meshtastic tracker from Amazon. Amazon seems to have reasonable return policy and if the seller scams you, big chance you will get your money back. Wondering what I mean with that? Originally I ordered a Heltec Meshtastic on eBay. But the seller kept saying it was shipped but it never arrived. At some point the tracking information said it was arrived somewhere in Africa. After I reached out to the seller again I noticed that the shop went offline. A message to eBay with the note that the shop was a scam and I never received my package. “Sir, can you please wait for another week”? Week went by and I received an email from eBay that the seller wasn’t responding anymore. It took a little longer, but eventually I received my money back. Back to the Heltec Tracker.
The HelTec Tracker comes in this little plastic container. Of course, there is a bock wrapped around it for shipping. I know you funny people, thinking that is weird – they ship it like this. The contents of the box are:
- 2 antennas
- SMA antenna adapter
- Few jumpers to connect your board to a breadboard (or anything you want to mount and use it with)
- I did get the 3000mah LiPo battery as well
Time to connect it all and see if I can even power it up. But, that is a story for Part 2. In part 2 I will discuss the configuration of the unit and share a little the things I ran into and if I think getting Meshtastic is worth your hard earned Euros/ Dollars. Stay tuned!!
