This is going to be a general question/discussion for a concept of use rather than an actual implementation, but I’m also still troubleshooting some setup issues. What I am thinking is setting up a more permanent type of node system for our small rural community, mostly for emergencies. Two sets of nodes:
Stationary Nodes: These will be at a community member’s house and or in central locations within range and will be solar powered and/or have a backup battery if the power goes out.
If the node is someone’s house, they will be in wifi mode, attached to the user’s wifi. If in a central location that doesn’t have wifi, set to router/ap mode. I’d like to get MQTT working on this one for at least my home node to create a more robust notification system, but I digress.
(Side note, I’ve not gotten past setting up the node at my house. I’m using a TLora V1 connected to my wifi with static GPS/ALT and I can’t bring up the web interface. The tlora screen shows connectivity and has given me an ip, but I can’t access it. I can access it via CLI without issue, but whether I’ve tried 1.2* or 1.3*, the web interface doesn’t show.)
Mobile Nodes: These nodes will be on each individual person as they move through the community. Set to BLE, and mostly TBeams with GPS/ALT, etc. At this point, I’m mostly using default setup.
The first question is, does this make sense for a community/emergency system? One piece I’m missing is the advantages/disadvantages of having the nodes setup in wifi or ap mode. Without the web interface, is there some connectivity advantage?
Any other thoughts I should consider?