Maker. Podcaster. Meshtastic enthusiast. On my bench: Raspberry Pi Meshtastic testing project. Tinkering thoughts, creative cranium, ukulele by my side. Builds posted as they happen. – at Tangelo Park, FL

MARS v1.4: Third test. Still the little Heltec V3, stock internal antenna, two laps around the neighborhood. 20 probes, 90% reached the base, 70% confirmed end to end. The weak direction is the way back, meaning the base hears the car better than the car hears the base. #Meshtastic #MARS #Testing #Maker #Orlando

MARS release branches, for the record: 1.1 Run control moved onto Ground Control, no commander node 1.2 Radio auto-discovery fixed, ACK buzzer added 1.3 Reporting overhaul: named tests, branded charts, PDF reports 1.4 Manufacturer validation series with plain-language verdicts 1.4.1 Demo unit disclosure printed on reports and charts 1.4.2 Recent rain now means the ground is still wet meshtastic.org #Meshtastic – at Tangelo Park, FL

Florida Mesh’s weekly net is tonight at 8 PM ET in Central Florida. Check in on Meshtastic’s default primary channel: NAME - CITY #FLMeshNet message 1. Number each message, then report what you hear and any acknowledgements. Details: areyoumeshingwith.us/docs/ge… #Meshtastic #FloridaMesh #FLMeshNet – at Tangelo Park, FL

A pocket computer with a physical keyboard may be getting Meshtastic. OrionPDA says it’s testing a Meshtastic expansion module and considering a built-in RAK radio option. reddit.com/r/meshtastic/comm… #Meshtastic #LoRa #OpenHardware – at Tangelo Park, FL

Meshtastic’s Oct. 26 nightly fixes repeated random values after reboot on STM32WL nodes by seeding from the hardware RNG. It’s untested development firmware, not a stable upgrade. If you run a RAK3172 or Wio-E5, share your experience. Follow for Meshtastic firmware and field-test updates: nightly.meshtastic.org/ #Meshtastic #LoRa – at Tangelo Park, FL

And, of course, I'm already up to 1.3.5 for this morning. I did a second test drive with the Heltec as the guinea pig. Need to sort out a way to compare the data sets for a comparison test. And, while I am at it, probably some additional tests. Any suggestions? #Meshtastic #MARS #Testing #Maker #Orlando

MARS v1.3 is live! MARS is my Meshtastic Automated Range System: two Raspberry Pi stations that measure how a node actually performs on a route. New in v1.3: Charts carry MARS branding and are titled properly (Round Trip Latency Test, Signal To Noise Test, Delivery By Distance Test) Every run produces a full PDF report Reports state the reference radio and both antennas, so anyone can see what a test ran against Charts and the PDF carry a stock photo of the radio under test, credited to its maker Next up: full standard session, multiple trips along the same path for comparison. #Meshtastic #LoRa #MARS #Orlando #Maker

Going to stop by @makerfx tomorrow and 3D Print a little window box to hold a Meshtastic Node on my vehicle's window for a better test. #MakerFX #Orlando #Makerspace – at Southchase, FL

First drive test for MARS, my Meshtastic range tester. Two Raspberry Pi stations, a Heltec V3 riding in the van. 14 probes sent, 9 fully acknowledged. Solid two-way contact inside 100 m, spotty out to 250 m, and the base still decoded pings at -107 dBm on the far side of the block. #Meshtastic #MARS #Testing #LoRa

Because I am impatient. 🤣 But, it worked. The pi beeped when it got a message, every 30 seconds. When it went quiet, I knew to turn around. #Meshtastic #MARS #Testing – at Southchase, FL

MARS Latency Testing complete. I'm waiting on enclosures to arrive, but I'm thinking of loading Major Tom into the back of my vehicle and driving around the block. #Meshtastic #MARS #Testing #Metrics #Maker #Orlando

Major Tom is showing it's first signs of life. The buzzer works... The little Heltec is just a reliable testing node, I'll be attaching different nodes I own as soon as Major Tom is working. #meshtastic #MARS #Testing – at Southchase, FL

Well, as Bon Jovi says... we're halfway there... MARS Project update: Ground Control is online. Now to tackle Major Tom. #Meshtastic #Metrics #Maker #Orlando

PSA for Meshtastic folks: Seeed warns that NRF-OTA firmware updates can kill its trackers. T1000-E, Wio Tracker L1 series, Wio Tracker 1110, XIAO nRF52840 kit. Update wired instead: web flasher, DFU mode, UF2 drag and drop. wiki.seeedstudio.com/get_sta… @seeedstudio #Meshtastic – at Southchase, FL

Maker Faire Orlando posted the full exhibitor list for Nov 7 and 8. More than 250 exhibits this year, Robot Ruckus and Power Racing are back, and @MakerFX will be there with a hands-on booth. Two weeks out. #MFO2026 makerfaireorlando.com – at Pine Castle, FL

Spotted on @hackaday : a Meshtastic pet tracker collar. Custom board, ESP32-S3 with LoRa and GPS, magnetic charging, and a location fix every 30 seconds in high power mode. No subscription, no cell network. That is how a tracker should be built. hackaday.com/2026/10/25/mesh… – at Pine Castle, FL

🚀 2 Saturdays to go! Maker Faire Orlando Nov 7–8 @ Central FL Fairgrounds! robots, racing, cosplay & 250+ exhibits. Tickets: makerfaireorlando.com/attend… @OrlMakerFaire #MFO2026 #MakerFaireOrlando #Orlando #CentralFlorida #OrlandoEvents #VisitOrlando #OrlandoMakers – at Orlando, FL

New US nodes on Meshtastic 2.8 default to LongTurbo when the region is set on the device screen. Most local meshes still run LongFast. The two presets do not hear each other. meshtastic.org/blog/lets-tal… #Meshtastic #OffGrid – at Williamsburg, FL