A new layer of resilience: Community members gather to discuss secondary communication network
Some members of the group said they want to encourage the local government, police, fire, and school systems to utilize this system and purchase the devices to be prepared for times of disaster.
After sending out an all-call to interested community members via Facebook, a group of local citizens met in downtown Floyd this past month to discuss emergency preparedness communication. Specifically, the gathering was to discuss the establishment of a local back up communication network using mesh radios.
Mesh radios are able to run without using cell towers, internet, satellites, or a paid subscription. Meshtastic, one of the main community driven collectives that works to develop code for the system, calls the mesh communication structure “an open source, off-grid, decentralized mesh network built to run on affordable, low-power devices. No cell towers. No internet. Just pure peer-to-peer connectivity.” This digital communication system, like all others, uses computer chips and software that work together to transmit information.
Colorado's Mesh Network Community explains that mesh radios use the long range (LoRa) protocol, which is a technology that allows for long-range, low-power communication between devices, and "messages hop from node to node until they reach their destination, extending the reach of the network and ensuring everyone receives every message.”
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During the meeting in August, work stations were set up with examples of different styles of radios, small solar panels, mounting equipment, 3D printing assembly stations, and soldering tools. Community members from various walks of life attended — young and old, experienced and inexperienced, tech experts, ham radio operators, and more.
Time was spent reviewing locations of where the Mesh radios are currently mounted, potential future locations, and analyzing a map that showed the current range compared to an ideal range. Areas of discussion included complications of how to get started, needed wattage for the radios, materials, durability, and usability.
Floyd resident Anand Raghunathan said his reasoning for wanting to be involved in the group was because “we can use this as a way to communicate with neighbors. It's an easy way to communicate in times of disaster, to be able to send and receive information.” He explained that he and his partner live at a high elevation, so they see having a node as a way of “helping their community stay in contact with one another.”
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The group often referred to each individual radio as a node, which typically consists of a LoRa-enabled microcontroller. Nodes can be either handheld or mounted.
With a node, anyone is able to download the Meshtastic app, see the location of other nodes in range, and send messages to any of them. The nodes perform better and can broadcast their signal further with higher, unobstructed elevations, and a clear line of sight to the next node.
If a node is not in range of the node it is trying to communicate with, the message will utilize other nodes within its range in a “connect the dots” system until the message reaches its final node.
This system is centered on a 915 megahertz frequency, but has a range of 902 to 928 megahertz that uses 128 bit AES encryption. The encryption protocol is the same as the current standard on emails and phones.
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During the two-hour meeting, attendees explained that the system is stronger with more access to communication when there are more active nodes in varying locations. One member said, “The more people using the network, the stronger it is... It's like individual cell towers, working together making their own private network.”
Some of the meeting attendees became interested in Meshtastic and systems like it while volunteering in North Carolina during the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. They said that they saw firsthand how unprepared and fragile current communications systems are, noting they were surprised when the “local police and fire department lost communication and did not have a backup system in place.”
Some members of the group said they want to encourage the local government, police, fire, and school systems to utilize this system and purchase the devices to be prepared for times of disaster.
“More nodes were needed and added when Helene hit. In the normal cell network, you are relying on service provided or intermediaries to get your message from point A to point B. This bypasses all of that. It is the same encryption. You just pass the middleman,” an attendee said.
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Meshtastic user Bryan Paczynski said the mesh group in Floyd highlights the traditional "Appalachian focus on resilience." He said "we saw the need for durable comms" from the destruction that came with Helene. "We've found interests align from all kinds of backgrounds and perspectives, all over the political spectrum. This hits our need for resiliency and to survive threats to communications, both natural and political.”
Anand Raghunathan said that for him as a beginner, having a local knowledgeable group makes it more accessible and less intimidating to be able to understand what you need. It is like a ‘choose your own adventure’ when building a radio and putting one together.
Kerry O’Conner explained that she's “just getting started, and just getting started is difficult,” but noted, "When you know that there are other people exploring it, it becomes easier, energetically, it makes it seem doable. Having a network with shared knowledge builds resilience. Resilient competence to this is really important and having this be accessible to the community.”
Anyone interested in joining the mesh network conversation or learning more should join the Facebook group, "Floyd Meshtastic."
