One year ago, I wrote A basic guide to Meshtastic, and it has been the most popular post I’ve written. This month, I want to follow up by building on that post with a way to expand Meshtastic and increase off-grid communications without the need for every person to have extra dedicated hardware.
Recently, Jack Dorsey released a project called BitChat, which uses the Bluetooth radio in everyone’s phone to form a mesh network for text-based communication. So, how is BitChat different from Meshtastic? Range and hardware.
Range
BitChat operates on Bluetooth technology, so it has a very limited range. Think about the people in your home or office. It’s a very local mesh. Now you can expand your network by having more people within range who then broadcast the mesh to their neighbors and so on and so on. The issue arises because you need the people around you to also have BitChat installed and running locally to you to make it work.
Meshtastic, on the other hand, operates on the 915 MHz band here in the U.S., which allows for much longer range. Think of your neighborhood, for example, I have a Meshtastic node set up in my second-floor bedroom above a front-facing window, and I can reach three blocks away. I also carry a small Meshtastic device in my pocket from Seeed Studio that is about the size of 4 credit cards stacked on top of each other. This device by itself can reach past the end of my street from inside my pocket and ground level.
Hardware
BitChat has the advantage of not needing any extra hardware; it uses the Bluetooth radio built into every smartphone. All you have to do is start the app and make sure Bluetooth is on.
Meshtastic does require dedicated hardware; thankfully, you can buy the tiny boards for under $50 with an included antenna, just supply power. For an idea of the costs of the hardware, check out my preferred online store, Muzi Works. I’m not affiliated with the store or receiving any kind of monetary benefit from promoting it; I just really like their offerings and think they’re a good place to start if you want to get into Meshtastic.
So what’s the great idea?
I listen to a weekly podcast called Linux Unplugged. In episode # 624, the idea of pairing Meshtastic with BitChat came up. This got me thinking, and that’s where this idea came from. Basically, create a relay that bridges the gap between Meshtastic and BitChat.
I see two ways to make this work.
Option #1
Have a dedicated board that is marked as the relay board for all connected BitChat devices. The board would be placed in a location high enough to get good coverage and would serve to connect to other Meshtastic BitChat relay boards within range.
Option #2
Enable the Meshtastic firmware to connect to BitChat, and since Meshtastic already uses Bluetooth to connect to your phone, it could just act as the relay if the user enables the function within the Meshtastic app. Obviously this has a drawback that if more than one user in range has the function enabled, then there would be overlapping signal, to avoid this the app would have to be instructed to prioritize the device witht he strongest signal and temporarily name it as the realy device and check signal strength on a regular basis to determine the best device.
Which is better?
Obviously, option #1 is the better option for simplicity, but it also requires that a dedicated device be set up. With option #2, you have more backend complexity, but it allows for a more ad-hoc relay system, and after all, both Meshtastic and BitChat are basically ad-hoc mesh networks, so it’s really not that far of a stretch to think the functionality should be built into the firmware.
Conclusion
So there you go, I’m just putting this idea out there to see what comes of it. Maybe nothing, and the two apps will forever stay separate, but I see the two working well together to extend the range and usage and enable more people to communicate in off-grid and emergency situations.
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