Using in Ukraine?

Builds / Use Cases
1

Is anybody using Meshtastic in Ukraine?

On the one hand, this would be the ideal use case. On the other hand, it could also be dangerous, as the military could come up with the idea of attacking positions that emit unusual radio signals. What do you think?

2

LoRa is low power, therefore it is more difficult to locate than high power transceivers.
This is a good point for LoRa / Meshtastic.

Moreover, if one is concerned with being located, here is what can be done easily with meshtastic :

  • setup a router (a repeater) with a big battery or a solar panel on a high point that is in sight from your home, and use an omni antenna. This place should be chosen so that a strike on it would have no consequences, so not an occupied building.
  • use a node in your home with a highly directional (high gain) antenna, and point it toward the repeater. Use as low tx power as possible with your home node.

With this type of setup, it would be rather difficult to locate your home emitter location. Not impossible, but harder than most other radio communication solution I can think of.

7 Likes
3

There are some devices being tested for use in Ukraine, not sure about actual use yet.

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4

If you are in Ukraine and need some Meshtastic units, I can send them to you for free. I am not sure if the postal service is still working in Ukraine, but if you know of any way, let me know and I will send it ASAP.

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5

I’m not from Ukraine. But I also would support users who would like to use Meshtastic in Ukraine. From my location it is not possible to send anything to Ukraine.

6

Hello, I’m Ukrainian, and located in Kiev atm. We work with some specific solution which can use Meshtastic units. I will discuss it with my team.
Atm no shipment to Ukraine, we using hubs in neighboring countries (Poland, Slovakia etc) for storage and then transfer all shipment by own cars to destination.

2 Likes
7

Hi @sp1r1t3,

There is a thread about how to improve messaging usability and security by working on a refined design of secondary channels, here : Encryption / Secondary Channels

This might draw your interest.

This thread also discuss some security features Meshtastic Capabilities - #17 by Edward

Regards

8

Hi guys, there was pretty robust network in Kyiv, but it is shut down for the past three months. There are only few things remaining of that network - gateway code (offline atm) GitHub - tb0hdan/meshtastic-telegram-gateway: telegram bot that forwards messages to and from meshtastic device and telegram chat Telegram: Contact @meshtastic_ua

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9

but “will rise from the ashes like Fenix.” …regards from GeeM2020

10

hi, one more time. We explore this product and interested in integration of it in our drones network. Can you email me with your contact for discussion of this application. My email v.plaksin@takfur.com

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11

Another advantage to meshtastic as far as being geolocated via your transmissions is the fact that it uses frequency bands that are open for use to the public in your given region. Wireless devices for many civilian/publicservice/industrial applications operate in this band. This means when someone tries to find a bearing for the signal source they will likely see signals coming from several directions and multiple everyday electronic devices; as well as every other meshtastic device in range.

12

Hello dear friend. Due to the situation in Ukraine and power outages, there are communication problems. I will accept as a gift Meshtastic Lora for the needs of the military. Photo report guaranted. Thanks. My email yurazayetsvol@gmail.com.

13

I can send you some, what service can I use to send it?

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14

Thank you very much. you can use any service that has delivery to Ukraine. Please write to my mail, I will give the delivery address. yurazayetsvol@gmail.com

15

Can you send me a DM here on the forum?

16

Hi,

What Frequency Band are you using? EU 868MHz?
Could you use the US 915Mhz band or even perhaps the 433MHz band that would go farther with the same power level?

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17

Hi. Due to the situation in Ukraine, you can use any frequencies.

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18

I noticed that most people in Ukraine used 433Mhz devices via Telegram, so that it seems my 3.5W (TX 35.5dBm) Station G1 is still not suitable for use in Ukraine, because, the Station G1 only supports 915Mhz/868Mhz right now :frowning:

19

Hi guys, military equipment indeed can work on any of the available frequencies. For civilian use, there’s 433 available - that’s where Kyiv network (Meshtastic map) is currently working on and the first channels of a 868 band - L’viv network in its infancy.

1 Like
20

How was this map made? Google maps API or is there a ready made solution for it?