this post was submitted on 23 Feb 2026
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Meshtastic

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A community to discuss Meshtastic (https://meshtastic.org/docs/introduction)

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Running a Lilygo T3S3 with an 8dbi antenna, just let it sit on the dashboard of my truck the whole drive back.

Meshtastic usage is definitely growing. I hope to get more people into it in my local area, and my gf and I are going to develop some mobile hardware for when we are offroading.

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[–] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 14 points 1 month ago (1 children)
[–] empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 points 1 month ago

Haha funny you say that, because... I have had mine named that since I got it lmfao

[–] Tattorack@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Hey, question; are mesh nodes a thing in Europe?

[–] empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 month ago

Yes. Meshtastic works in Europe, LoRa uses different frequencies but the hardware is the same.

[–] avidamoeba@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

~~Did you wardrive with an external antenna?~~ I don't read.

[–] empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 1 month ago

its ok i don't read either

Reading is for suckers.

[–] shortwavesurfer@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

8dbi is really too high for this as that starts to become incredibly directional and flat. If you drove through the mountains at any point during that trip, there's a good chance you missed some nodes due to the elevation changes and that antenna picking up from too flat of an elevation area. It's generally better to use a lower gain antenna such as 3dbi instead.

[–] empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I can guarantee you with the mountains I was driving through, no amount of verticality would have gotten me more nodes. Driving through the PNW it goes from valley floor to precipitous alpine crevasses very quickly and they are not heavily populated.

I need the 8dbi for home as my rural town is not node dense (yet) and I can't reliably reach the few other area nodes with the t3s3's included 2dbi antenna.

Edit: should also add the "8db" is some random aliexpress antenna so claims are not to be believed. Based on size it's probably more like a 5dbi at best.

[–] podbrushkin@mander.xyz 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

How did you use it in this trip? Did you chat in public groups? Have you used it to keep in contact with someone specific?

[–] empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 1 month ago

I was originally going to periodically hop on 0 channel and just say hi, as well as test chatting with my gf who also has a node. Ultimately it ended up with me driving most of the way and not checking my phone except at rest stops.