The channel is useless if nobody can find it, or nobody is listening.
I remember when Meshtastic started trying to become a thing. A peer-to-peer digital network via Part 15 or Part 97 depending on frequency and RF power output is not a bad idea except for one thing from a SETI standpoint: someone needs the specialized equipment to get into the network. The marginal type proto-nerds we’re trying to reach ain’t gonna have it. If you want to reach the real outliers you gotta set up shop somewhere where they’ll be able to sense the signal.
What’s the frequency, Kenneth?
Your prospects aren’t gonna have Meshtastic or a police scanner. Not yet at least. They start with what every normie has: Wifi, FM Broadcast, and maybe a Little Free Library. They might hit a bookstore and look for the same kinds of books you looked for when starting out. If you want to reach them, you need to throw them a line they can grab, not some esoteric thing that’s a level above them.
Most everyone has a phone, more of a general purpose personal communications device really, with WiFi. I have dug working Linksys WRT54 and other older routers out of gaylords for free, and find them for $10 each at swap meets. Obsolete for “modern” normal networking purposes, but they’ll still run forever. A cheap Raspberry Pi or any old “obsolete” computer you can slap a basic Linux install on becomes your webserver. That’s all you need.
I remember back in the heyday of WiFi how people would use cute SSIDs like FBIVan, DebbiesLoveShack, or HackThisAndDie. Make sure you use an appropriate SSID for your node. Suggestions would be SETI, Interzone, and Ellis. Place the Linking Sigil on your equipment.
I’m not going to get into how to set up a captive portal or any technical TCP/IP stuff. You can Google all that for your specific setup. I assure you however, that even if you just leave everything as a DHCP default, someone finding it is going to do a scan of the network and find whatever you have on it. Which is what we want them to do.
What you place on your own private Idaho is up to you. You know what it needs. What is important is that you do it.
To be continued…
