by Edward Gossett
When the towers go dark and cell service dies, Meshtastic keeps going.
It’s a low-power mesh network built on LoRa radios. Small devices. Long range. No monthly fees. It’s a low-power mesh network built on LoRa radios. Small devices. Long range. No monthly fees — unless you feel like sending me some at my PayPal.
You clip one to your backpack. Your spouse clips one to theirs. You walk into the woods. You still have signal.
Even better: your messages are encrypted. Because nothing says freedom like sending secure texts while watching elk.
Tiny Radios. Big Range.
Each device acts as a repeater. The more people nearby, the stronger the network.
No internet. No cell towers. Just radios passing notes like it’s the apocalypse.
Some models are the size of a credit card. Others fit in a small case with a screen. USB-powered or battery. Solar if you’re clever.
With a simple antenna in a window, you can hit nodes miles away.
The Tech Behind It
Most nodes use the ESP32 chip. That gives you Bluetooth, WiFi, and LoRa in one package.
You can autopush messages to MQTT servers. You can sync it into a personal network. You can pass data to ATAC; the Android and Apple app used by search and rescue, hikers, and folks who want maps without a network.
You can even bridge it into Discord or Telegram. Because nothing says cutting edge like using an encrypted radio to ping your meme group.
Building the Eastern Washington Mesh
We’re slowly lighting up the region.
From Pullman to Spokane. From Wenatchee to Lake Chelan. From Orville down through the basin.
Some towns already have nodes. All it takes is a $20 device with an antenna and power. Stick it in a window. Plug it into USB. Done.
Coverage grows with every install.
Use Cases
- Hiking in no-service zones
- Emergency fallback
- Farming or land work
- Boat crews and marinas
- Family comms in wild places
- Ham radio nerds doing things the FCC barely understands
What You Need
- A Meshtastic-compatible board (like Heltec V3 or WisMesh)
- USB-C cable or battery
- Antenna
- The app (Android, iOS, desktop)
- A sense of adventure
Meshtastic isn't a toy. It’s quiet infrastructure. It builds the kind of resilience you don’t notice until you need it.
If you're in Eastern Washington, consider lighting up your corner. You might be the link that saves a message; or a life.
