WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:03.919 This is the Spec five relay, which is a mesh 2 00:00:04.120 --> 00:00:07.120 Tastic device with what I assume is quite the high 3 00:00:07.160 --> 00:00:09.519 gain antenna for nine hundred megahertz. Right here, this is 4 00:00:09.560 --> 00:00:12.080 the whole thing put together. Twelve WAT solar panel on 5 00:00:12.119 --> 00:00:14.039 the back. Here, you've got a little tag on the 6 00:00:14.080 --> 00:00:17.079 back says twelve WAT solar panel comes in you know, 7 00:00:17.359 --> 00:00:19.839 ready to assemble. I assembly. It took me like ten 8 00:00:19.879 --> 00:00:22.000 minutes to assemble this and put the intenta on here 9 00:00:22.199 --> 00:00:25.320 and connect the coacts. This coax that comes with it 10 00:00:25.359 --> 00:00:28.960 is probably fine. But today's video sponsor is ABR co 11 00:00:29.079 --> 00:00:31.760 Acs ABR Coaxs that's made in the USA, and you 12 00:00:31.760 --> 00:00:34.240 can always save a ten percent discount on all of 13 00:00:34.280 --> 00:00:37.240 ABR assessories with the coupon code of ABR ten KC 14 00:00:37.359 --> 00:00:39.920 five HWB. I bet you didn't think ABR Coaxs would 15 00:00:39.920 --> 00:00:42.439 be a sponsor of mesh Tastic video, right, Well, how 16 00:00:42.479 --> 00:00:46.159 about replacing going into their nifty coax builder on their 17 00:00:46.200 --> 00:00:49.520 website and replacing this piece of coax here with an 18 00:00:49.600 --> 00:00:52.000 SMA mail on one end and a B and C 19 00:00:52.240 --> 00:00:55.119 female on the other end and putting some higher grade 20 00:00:55.200 --> 00:00:57.000 quality coacs on it. So we're going to do that 21 00:00:57.119 --> 00:00:59.600 as our next step. But today I put this thing together. 22 00:00:59.600 --> 00:01:02.079 I've been it run for about two days at the 23 00:01:02.079 --> 00:01:04.400 time of this recording. It's showing up fine. I've been 24 00:01:04.480 --> 00:01:06.840 let it sit on my outside table on the deck 25 00:01:06.920 --> 00:01:08.519 of the beach house. We're in the beach house today. 26 00:01:08.560 --> 00:01:10.519 This is not my hamshack, in case you hadn't noticed. 27 00:01:10.560 --> 00:01:12.439 So we're at the beach house today and Galveston. I've 28 00:01:12.439 --> 00:01:14.439 been wanting to put this up because, quite frankly, the 29 00:01:14.519 --> 00:01:16.159 last time I was down here, I drove up and 30 00:01:16.200 --> 00:01:18.959 down the island a couple of times with my meshitastic 31 00:01:19.000 --> 00:01:21.480 note on the top of my truck, and I saw nothing. 32 00:01:21.599 --> 00:01:23.359 I saw nothing at all. Now the good news is 33 00:01:23.400 --> 00:01:25.480 that this time I've been here for about four days 34 00:01:25.480 --> 00:01:27.439 at the time in this recording, and on this trip 35 00:01:27.480 --> 00:01:29.680 I've been seeing nodes again. Three of the nodes are mine. 36 00:01:29.719 --> 00:01:31.840 I've got one in my truck. This one's been online, 37 00:01:31.879 --> 00:01:33.959 and I've got my pocket node, which is right here, 38 00:01:34.079 --> 00:01:36.319 my little sense of cap T one thousand echo from 39 00:01:36.359 --> 00:01:38.359 Seed Studios. So I've got my pocket node that I 40 00:01:38.400 --> 00:01:40.239 carry with me everywhere, got one in the truck. We're 41 00:01:40.280 --> 00:01:42.159 going to be upgrading the truck soon. This one's going 42 00:01:42.200 --> 00:01:44.840 to go at the beach house in Galveston and stay here. 43 00:01:44.879 --> 00:01:46.439 It's going to stay here permanently. I'm going to point 44 00:01:46.439 --> 00:01:49.040 the solar panel towards the sun. Hopefully it'll run indefinitely. 45 00:01:49.159 --> 00:01:51.480 That'll be an experiment for another video later on to 46 00:01:51.519 --> 00:01:53.680 see when I come back down here, probably in about 47 00:01:53.680 --> 00:01:55.879 a month for winterfield day, to see what kind of 48 00:01:56.159 --> 00:01:58.640 nodes it's picked up and if it's still online and 49 00:01:58.680 --> 00:02:01.439 how well it's working. So let's uh check this out. 50 00:02:01.560 --> 00:02:03.879 I'll put a screenshot here of what the board looks like. 51 00:02:03.920 --> 00:02:07.359 This is a rack wireless rak rack rack wireless board 52 00:02:07.480 --> 00:02:10.400 that's in this unit here. It's all put together and 53 00:02:10.639 --> 00:02:12.919 ready to go inside of here and then all you 54 00:02:12.960 --> 00:02:15.319 got to do is put the antenna and the solar panel, 55 00:02:15.479 --> 00:02:17.919 attach them and bolt them down and tighten them down. 56 00:02:18.159 --> 00:02:20.280 One thing I do not like about this system at all. 57 00:02:20.439 --> 00:02:23.240 Now this may not affect you depending on what your 58 00:02:23.280 --> 00:02:26.080 area is. It comes with these radiator clamps and these 59 00:02:26.120 --> 00:02:28.800 are probably fine in a normal environment. But down here 60 00:02:28.800 --> 00:02:31.159 on the beach, right next to the coast, right next 61 00:02:31.159 --> 00:02:33.680 to the salt water, any metal you put outside will 62 00:02:33.759 --> 00:02:36.719 rust in six to twelve months these would be dust 63 00:02:37.039 --> 00:02:39.719 in about six months. These are thin, probably just cheapy 64 00:02:39.840 --> 00:02:42.759 radiator hose clamps that you put around. You're gonna put 65 00:02:42.759 --> 00:02:45.199 this around a pipe here and put the hose clamps 66 00:02:45.240 --> 00:02:46.800 through here. I'm not going to use those at all. 67 00:02:46.879 --> 00:02:48.680 I'm going to get some zip ties, some heavy deude 68 00:02:48.759 --> 00:02:50.400 zip ties. I'm gonna zip tie this thing up and 69 00:02:50.400 --> 00:02:53.319 cut the ends off and that's where it's gonna stay. Well. Also, 70 00:02:53.680 --> 00:02:55.719 this is metal right here that holds the antenna on. 71 00:02:55.919 --> 00:02:58.560 Of course, the coax connectors are metal. There's metal screws 72 00:02:58.599 --> 00:03:01.240 in the side. Most of this is plass. This arm 73 00:03:01.280 --> 00:03:04.240 here is metal. This part's metal, This part's metal. This 74 00:03:04.360 --> 00:03:06.240 box here on the side, this is plastic, so I'm 75 00:03:06.280 --> 00:03:08.159 not worried about it, but the screws in it or metal. 76 00:03:08.199 --> 00:03:09.520 So what I'm gonna do is, I'm gonna get some 77 00:03:09.560 --> 00:03:12.520 spray paint, just some clearcoat spray paint, and lightly touch 78 00:03:12.639 --> 00:03:15.520 all the metal pieces on this device to help it 79 00:03:15.599 --> 00:03:18.599 last longer, kind of like clear coating a fiberglass antenna 80 00:03:18.639 --> 00:03:19.879 before you put it in the air and leave it 81 00:03:19.919 --> 00:03:22.080 for several years. So we're gonna do that to this today, 82 00:03:22.199 --> 00:03:23.879 and we're gonna see how it looks down here on 83 00:03:23.879 --> 00:03:36.400 the beach back in the truck. So the first part 84 00:03:36.439 --> 00:03:39.039 of that video that you just watched was recorded two 85 00:03:39.120 --> 00:03:41.280 or three weeks ago. I tried to mount the relay. 86 00:03:41.400 --> 00:03:44.479 The mestastic node to that pipe was on the top 87 00:03:44.479 --> 00:03:48.120 of my pergola, but it was rusted out and I 88 00:03:48.159 --> 00:03:49.639 didn't have a ladder tall enough to get all the 89 00:03:49.680 --> 00:03:51.800 way up on the pergola. Plus the pipe was rusted out. 90 00:03:51.840 --> 00:03:53.400 So we're gonna go to home depot today and we're 91 00:03:53.400 --> 00:03:55.159 gonna get a whole new pipe, and we're going to 92 00:03:55.199 --> 00:03:57.360 mount this today and then we're gonna do some range 93 00:03:57.400 --> 00:04:00.319 testing with it. I have a rudimentary node in the 94 00:04:00.400 --> 00:04:03.639 truck right now. It is hanging right I wonder if 95 00:04:03.639 --> 00:04:05.759 you could see it behind me. It's hanging right there. 96 00:04:05.879 --> 00:04:08.199 The yellow and blue no just got a Helltech V 97 00:04:08.280 --> 00:04:11.639 two in it. And I have an external antenna running 98 00:04:11.759 --> 00:04:14.360 magmount nine hundred and fifty meggerz atenna running on top 99 00:04:14.360 --> 00:04:16.120 of the truck. And there's probably a lot of loss 100 00:04:16.120 --> 00:04:18.160 in that because it's got like a six or eight 101 00:04:18.199 --> 00:04:20.839 foot piece of coax attached to that mag mount that's 102 00:04:20.879 --> 00:04:23.000 coming off and connected to the node inside the truck. 103 00:04:23.079 --> 00:04:26.040 It does work. That's a case five HWBF two to fifty. 104 00:04:26.040 --> 00:04:28.600 That's my truck node right there, and then the one 105 00:04:28.639 --> 00:04:31.519 below it, the KC five HWBB Galveston relay. That's the 106 00:04:31.519 --> 00:04:34.360 one we're installing today. It's currently sitting on the picnic 107 00:04:34.399 --> 00:04:37.600 table on my patio solar panels, just laying down on 108 00:04:37.639 --> 00:04:40.439 its side, pointed towards the sun. Additionally, since it's laying 109 00:04:40.439 --> 00:04:44.279 on its side, the antenna is laying almost horizontally instead 110 00:04:44.279 --> 00:04:48.319 of vertically, so it's incorrectly polarized. For the transmission types 111 00:04:48.360 --> 00:04:50.560 that we need, it needs to be vertically polarized. You 112 00:04:50.560 --> 00:04:53.000 can run it like that, you can run it horizontally polarized, 113 00:04:53.000 --> 00:04:54.560 it's just not going to be as efficient if you 114 00:04:54.639 --> 00:04:57.399 run it vertically polarized for the types of transmissions that 115 00:04:57.399 --> 00:04:59.879 we need. There's more to that. If you don't understand radio, 116 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:01.839 there's a lot of videos in this channel about that. 117 00:05:01.879 --> 00:05:03.680 But we're going to go today and get that. But 118 00:05:03.839 --> 00:05:05.759 I mean, it's working, it's been working. I put it 119 00:05:05.800 --> 00:05:07.480 away in the closet and locked away in the closet. 120 00:05:07.519 --> 00:05:09.399 After that last part of the video, I took it 121 00:05:09.439 --> 00:05:11.439 out of the closet, set it on the table pointed 122 00:05:11.439 --> 00:05:12.839 it towards the sun the other day, and it's been 123 00:05:12.920 --> 00:05:14.639 running for about three or four days at the time 124 00:05:14.639 --> 00:05:17.399 of this part of the video. Because it's working just fine. 125 00:05:17.439 --> 00:05:19.160 I just need to get it up higher and get 126 00:05:19.160 --> 00:05:22.680 it vertically polarized and get the solar panel pointed more 127 00:05:22.720 --> 00:05:25.800 directly at the sun. And that's the object of today. 128 00:05:32.720 --> 00:05:35.439 Parked here at the Home Depot, this is the only 129 00:05:35.600 --> 00:05:37.759 home improvement store on the island. There's not a Lows here. 130 00:05:37.800 --> 00:05:39.360 There's not a true veal. You know. There might be 131 00:05:39.360 --> 00:05:42.279 a true value somewhere downtown that's like a little family 132 00:05:42.279 --> 00:05:44.680 owned shop or some sort of little hardware store, but 133 00:05:44.720 --> 00:05:46.279 for the most part, the Home Depot is the only 134 00:05:46.319 --> 00:05:48.439 thing here. So Home Depot's fine. I go to Lows 135 00:05:48.480 --> 00:05:52.000 at home mostly because it's closest to my house, not 136 00:05:52.120 --> 00:05:54.439 because I have any special love for lows o our 137 00:05:54.439 --> 00:05:57.079 Home Depot or something. I don't really care. But here 138 00:05:57.120 --> 00:05:59.079 we're going to Home Depot, all right. The first stop 139 00:05:59.199 --> 00:06:01.439 is going to be the zipped because, like I said 140 00:06:01.480 --> 00:06:06.560 in the beginning, those are huge sheeesh, seventeen inches. Okay, 141 00:06:06.800 --> 00:06:09.639 well that is what it is, I guess. Because we 142 00:06:09.680 --> 00:06:11.519 don't want to put them up with those really crummy 143 00:06:11.560 --> 00:06:15.040 stainless steel radiator clamps, and those things will be rust 144 00:06:15.079 --> 00:06:18.120 city in like six months. So much better option here. 145 00:06:18.360 --> 00:06:21.759 This galvanized steel supposedly is rustproof, but it's not. Most 146 00:06:21.759 --> 00:06:23.800 of the bolts and the screws I put on my 147 00:06:23.879 --> 00:06:27.399 fence are galvanized, and guess what already roasted. I think 148 00:06:27.399 --> 00:06:30.000 that's probably what I need right there. That's probably tall enough. 149 00:06:30.199 --> 00:06:32.279 Heard was probably twenty feet in the air or something 150 00:06:32.279 --> 00:06:37.319 like that, twelve inches. Got a flange base right there, 151 00:06:37.480 --> 00:06:40.240 and I got a cap for the top because without that, 152 00:06:40.480 --> 00:06:42.480 you're gonna get rain water inside of it. It's gonna 153 00:06:42.519 --> 00:06:44.319 rust from the inside out as well as the outside. 154 00:06:44.319 --> 00:06:46.920 It's gonna rust anyway. There's no avoiding that, but might 155 00:06:46.959 --> 00:06:49.199 as well mitigate it as long as possible. Those of 156 00:06:49.240 --> 00:06:51.639 you who might have asked about some of the videos 157 00:06:51.639 --> 00:06:53.399 of my truck with radio rack that I built, I 158 00:06:53.439 --> 00:06:55.600 built it out of this stuff. This is galvanized and 159 00:06:55.639 --> 00:06:58.360 I used steel, but then I painted it and I 160 00:06:58.360 --> 00:07:00.360 can figure it the way I wanted to. I'm gonna 161 00:07:00.360 --> 00:07:01.920 make a change to it soon, so watch for video 162 00:07:01.920 --> 00:07:13.279 on that upcoming as well. Choose your payment type, all right, 163 00:07:13.319 --> 00:07:18.519 we got all that, go get some lunch, Probably might 164 00:07:18.560 --> 00:07:21.439 stop by the local cigar shop that has become one 165 00:07:21.439 --> 00:07:24.319 of my favorite places to go around here. And then 166 00:07:24.319 --> 00:07:27.480 we're gonna head back to the house and I'm going 167 00:07:27.519 --> 00:07:29.439 to put this thing up and then do a range 168 00:07:29.519 --> 00:07:32.160 test on it later. Because I can send it a 169 00:07:32.240 --> 00:07:35.600 direct message and if I get the checkbox in the cloud, 170 00:07:35.759 --> 00:07:38.560 the cloud icon on the Meshtastic software, that means the 171 00:07:38.600 --> 00:07:41.199 message was received. I can also just send a message 172 00:07:41.199 --> 00:07:43.000 in long fast and see if and then come back 173 00:07:43.040 --> 00:07:45.120 to the house. Just type a message in long fast 174 00:07:45.120 --> 00:07:47.399 saying five miles, ten miles, twenty mile, whatever, and then 175 00:07:47.399 --> 00:07:48.759 come back to the house and see how many of 176 00:07:48.759 --> 00:07:52.040 those are in the long fast inbox of the relay notes. 177 00:07:52.079 --> 00:07:53.680 So it's a couple of different ways to do it there, 178 00:07:53.800 --> 00:07:56.120 And might do that all right. I got this thing 179 00:07:56.199 --> 00:07:57.759 hung up on the roof and you can see it 180 00:07:57.839 --> 00:07:59.800 right right there. Go look at it in a second. 181 00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:02.199 Actually went back to home depot and got some larger 182 00:08:02.319 --> 00:08:05.399 pipe and I got a barrel connector to go in 183 00:08:05.439 --> 00:08:07.439 the middle of the pipe for the mount on the 184 00:08:07.439 --> 00:08:09.839 Spec five relay for the mount to set on. I've 185 00:08:09.879 --> 00:08:12.600 got my pocket node here. This is a Seed Studios 186 00:08:12.639 --> 00:08:14.639 T one thousand echo. This is what I carry in 187 00:08:14.680 --> 00:08:16.519 my pocket. I cliped this to my belt loop and 188 00:08:16.560 --> 00:08:18.160 I put this in my pocket, and this is the 189 00:08:18.160 --> 00:08:20.759 meshtastic device that I carry with me every day. And 190 00:08:20.839 --> 00:08:23.759 I'm gonna show you on the screen here. We've got 191 00:08:23.920 --> 00:08:26.839 the KC five HWB pocket on the screen right there, 192 00:08:26.879 --> 00:08:30.040 and then in U five M that's the good aprsigate 193 00:08:30.120 --> 00:08:32.399 that's in town. But he also has some meshtastic nodes 194 00:08:32.480 --> 00:08:35.039 up so cool. And then the fourth one down there 195 00:08:35.080 --> 00:08:38.440 is the k HWB Galveston Relay and that is that 196 00:08:38.559 --> 00:08:41.159 dude right there. We saw it eighteen minutes ago. I'm 197 00:08:41.159 --> 00:08:44.519 going to send it a message direct message test. Let's see, 198 00:08:44.559 --> 00:08:47.159 and we can see the checkbox in this screen shot. 199 00:08:47.200 --> 00:08:50.039 Here on the far right side of the test message, 200 00:08:50.080 --> 00:08:52.039 there's a checkbox. And now if we go back to 201 00:08:52.600 --> 00:08:55.919 nodes here now, the Galveston Relay is the second one 202 00:08:55.960 --> 00:08:58.080 we see, and it says it synced with it just now, 203 00:08:58.159 --> 00:09:00.559 so it is working. It's online. Show you what it 204 00:09:00.600 --> 00:09:03.120 looks like up on top of the roof here, So 205 00:09:03.279 --> 00:09:05.600 we're up right now. Probably this deck is probably like 206 00:09:05.679 --> 00:09:08.159 eight or nine feet off the ground, something like that, 207 00:09:08.440 --> 00:09:11.200 and there's the backyard there. See if I can climb 208 00:09:11.240 --> 00:09:13.320 up here without falling off this ladder and the wood 209 00:09:13.320 --> 00:09:15.200 on top of this pergle it needs to be replaced 210 00:09:15.279 --> 00:09:16.879 because it's been up here a while and it gets 211 00:09:16.919 --> 00:09:19.720 weathered pretty good. So this is the relay here. I've 212 00:09:19.720 --> 00:09:22.720 got the dish pointed basically that way. That's kind of 213 00:09:22.759 --> 00:09:26.279 like pointing south. It's not due south, it's a little 214 00:09:26.279 --> 00:09:29.440 bit southeast. But you can see the sun right now 215 00:09:29.600 --> 00:09:31.799 is over there that part of the sky. When the 216 00:09:31.799 --> 00:09:33.879 sun comes up in the morning, it'll be over there 217 00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:35.840 in that part of the sky. So it kind of 218 00:09:36.159 --> 00:09:39.559 moves from east to west. Actually, it's pointed a little southwest, 219 00:09:39.559 --> 00:09:42.360 I should say, not southeast. It's pointed more southwest, but 220 00:09:42.679 --> 00:09:45.200 it's almost due south. And I can adjust this right 221 00:09:45.200 --> 00:09:47.360 here if I wanted to. It's a twelve watt solar panel, 222 00:09:47.399 --> 00:09:49.120 you can see right here. I can. I can loosen 223 00:09:49.120 --> 00:09:51.279 these screws and adjust this. This is where the rack 224 00:09:51.480 --> 00:09:54.480 board is for the meschastic radio. And then of course 225 00:09:54.519 --> 00:09:56.600 we've got this antenna that's up here, and this is 226 00:09:56.600 --> 00:09:58.960 the antenna that the Spec five relay comes with. I 227 00:09:59.080 --> 00:10:01.840 mounted it told in the earlier part of the video set. 228 00:10:01.879 --> 00:10:04.320 I didn't want to use those really cheap looking to me, 229 00:10:04.519 --> 00:10:08.320 stainless steel radiator style clamps, so we put zip ties 230 00:10:08.360 --> 00:10:10.799 on it. The zip ties will probably outlast everything in 231 00:10:10.840 --> 00:10:13.639 this whole setup. This will eventually rust right here. These 232 00:10:13.720 --> 00:10:15.919 bolts and nuts will eventually rust. I might put a 233 00:10:16.000 --> 00:10:18.039 dab of spray paint or something on these just for 234 00:10:18.080 --> 00:10:20.159 the heck of it. But that's the relay radio. That's 235 00:10:20.159 --> 00:10:22.759 the meshtastic relay radio, and it's gonna stay here in 236 00:10:22.799 --> 00:10:26.440 Galveston for the foreseeable future. I'm wondering. I'm wondering if 237 00:10:26.440 --> 00:10:27.879 the next time a big storm comes through, if it's 238 00:10:27.879 --> 00:10:29.799 gonna rip it off of here. It's not top it's 239 00:10:29.840 --> 00:10:32.399 on here really good. It's bolted down. But with the 240 00:10:32.440 --> 00:10:34.279 wind out here, I mean, you never can tell. So 241 00:10:34.279 --> 00:10:36.120 we're gonna do something. I'm gonna get in the truck, 242 00:10:36.120 --> 00:10:38.360 We're gonna get on the I'm gonna fire up the 243 00:10:38.440 --> 00:10:40.399 R finder tablet, show you what it looks like on 244 00:10:40.759 --> 00:10:43.440 the screen for my F two fifty note, and then 245 00:10:43.480 --> 00:10:45.600 we're gonna drive down to probably like the State Park, 246 00:10:45.600 --> 00:10:47.559 which is that direction. It's west of here, and we're 247 00:10:47.559 --> 00:10:49.840 gonna see what it looks like and how far we 248 00:10:49.879 --> 00:10:59.159 can send a message to it. All right, I stopped 249 00:10:59.200 --> 00:11:01.200 at the first point, which I think is probably about 250 00:11:01.240 --> 00:11:04.559 two miles away, straight shot down the beach. That direction 251 00:11:04.919 --> 00:11:07.080 is where the house is. Now. My house is not 252 00:11:07.360 --> 00:11:10.120 this row of houses, it's the second row that way, okay, 253 00:11:10.200 --> 00:11:12.759 And we're right here at the entrance of Galveston Island 254 00:11:12.840 --> 00:11:15.039 State Park. We've done a lot of PoTA activations from 255 00:11:15.039 --> 00:11:18.559 this spot right here. If you look at Google Maps, 256 00:11:18.679 --> 00:11:21.159 this entire road and this whole area right here is 257 00:11:21.159 --> 00:11:24.759 actually inside the park. They put the pylon boundaries here. 258 00:11:24.919 --> 00:11:26.919 I think, in my opinion, the reason they put those 259 00:11:26.960 --> 00:11:29.039 there inside of the park, inside of the boundary is 260 00:11:29.080 --> 00:11:30.679 because if they put them over there, then they'd have 261 00:11:30.759 --> 00:11:32.960 people driving down the beach all the time inside the 262 00:11:33.000 --> 00:11:34.559 state park. Then they don't want you to do that. 263 00:11:34.639 --> 00:11:37.720 It's prohibited, blah blah blah. Okay, So we're probably about 264 00:11:37.720 --> 00:11:40.720 two miles that direction, and we're going to look at 265 00:11:40.799 --> 00:11:43.919 the case five HWB Galveston Relay. That's where we're at 266 00:11:44.000 --> 00:11:46.399 right now. It saw this. I've got the F two 267 00:11:46.440 --> 00:11:48.480 to fifty running here. That's the note in the truck 268 00:11:48.600 --> 00:11:50.519 the pocket is in my pocket, of course, and the 269 00:11:50.559 --> 00:11:53.039 relay station it says it saw forty three minutes ago 270 00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:55.759 hard Road's the rack whiz block. Okay, yeah, so let's 271 00:11:55.799 --> 00:11:57.399 just try to send it a direct message and see 272 00:11:57.399 --> 00:12:01.000 what happens. Direct message test from Let's just put test one. 273 00:12:01.320 --> 00:12:04.639 Did that? Oh yeah, there it is. Okay, it didn't 274 00:12:04.639 --> 00:12:07.879 show up. Okay, scent test one, And now we're going 275 00:12:07.960 --> 00:12:11.039 to look and see if the checkbox comes up. Okay, 276 00:12:11.039 --> 00:12:13.399 I got a line through the cloud, so the checkbox 277 00:12:13.440 --> 00:12:15.440 did not come up, so we're not able to hit 278 00:12:15.480 --> 00:12:17.159 it from here. I was really kind of hoping we'd 279 00:12:17.200 --> 00:12:19.759 hit it from here, honestly, because it's up high enough. 280 00:12:19.919 --> 00:12:21.799 But as I said at the beginning of the video, 281 00:12:22.159 --> 00:12:25.840 this node right here, this is just an old Helltech 282 00:12:25.919 --> 00:12:27.720 V two node is what that is. It's got its 283 00:12:27.720 --> 00:12:29.600 own battery, but I have it plugged into a longer 284 00:12:29.639 --> 00:12:32.840 lasting battery, and it's running on this antenna. This antenna 285 00:12:32.919 --> 00:12:35.440 right here. Okay, this little guy right here, some rust 286 00:12:35.480 --> 00:12:37.200 on it. Now, this has been up here for probably 287 00:12:37.240 --> 00:12:39.480 a year or so. Now that's a great antenna, there's 288 00:12:39.519 --> 00:12:41.399 nothing wrong with it. But since it's got the coax 289 00:12:41.480 --> 00:12:43.320 running to it. It's probably got i don't know, six 290 00:12:43.399 --> 00:12:45.320 or eight feet of kax coming off the mag mount 291 00:12:45.320 --> 00:12:49.639 antenna and it's running into the low power mestastic node. 292 00:12:49.720 --> 00:12:51.799 I assume the loss rate is probably quite high at 293 00:12:51.879 --> 00:12:54.519 nine hundred and fifteen megahertz, and it's probably putting out 294 00:12:54.600 --> 00:12:57.559 tens of miller watts instead of like a couple hundred milliwatts. 295 00:12:57.600 --> 00:13:00.679 So it is quite limited in that regard. But you know, 296 00:13:00.759 --> 00:13:02.960 you work with what you can. So okay, let's drive 297 00:13:03.039 --> 00:13:06.240 back closer, because I think I was really hoping we 298 00:13:06.279 --> 00:13:08.159 could get further than that. Actually, I'm gonna try one 299 00:13:08.159 --> 00:13:10.360 more node. Get the glare out of the screen. There, okay, 300 00:13:10.399 --> 00:13:14.039 success test two from my phone here, and that's the 301 00:13:14.159 --> 00:13:17.360 checkbox in the flag and I am connected to my 302 00:13:17.480 --> 00:13:20.960 KC five HWB pocket and I sent a direct message 303 00:13:21.039 --> 00:13:23.720 to the Galveston relay. Now, why is the pocket working 304 00:13:23.720 --> 00:13:26.000 better than the truck node? Because I set up this 305 00:13:26.120 --> 00:13:28.159 RM two. You see the second one on the list there, 306 00:13:28.279 --> 00:13:30.279 RM two, that's this guy. Now, I haven't made a 307 00:13:30.320 --> 00:13:32.000 video about this yet, but I'm working on that too. 308 00:13:32.120 --> 00:13:34.600 This node right here, this app lab at labs or 309 00:13:34.759 --> 00:13:37.960 RM two is a Harden meshtastic device that has full 310 00:13:38.000 --> 00:13:40.600 a tax support. This thing is freaking killer. It's got 311 00:13:40.600 --> 00:13:42.600 an incredible range on it. I don't know exactly what 312 00:13:42.679 --> 00:13:43.960 radio is in it, and I'm not sure it's one 313 00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:46.000 of the one radios are not, but it's got an 314 00:13:46.039 --> 00:13:48.639 excellent range on that thing. So more to come on 315 00:13:48.679 --> 00:13:50.399 that later. It's not what we're talking about today. But 316 00:13:50.440 --> 00:13:52.600 I was able to use my pocket node, and of 317 00:13:52.600 --> 00:13:54.960 course these all mesh together. I use the pocket node 318 00:13:55.000 --> 00:13:57.399 which my UH Android app is connect to, and I 319 00:13:57.399 --> 00:13:59.840 set test too, and it as a direct message to 320 00:13:59.879 --> 00:14:02.039 the relay and it bounced off the ARM two and 321 00:14:02.120 --> 00:14:04.399 it hit the relay. So now we're gonna drive farther 322 00:14:04.440 --> 00:14:07.159 down the road, all right, got to the state park 323 00:14:07.360 --> 00:14:09.799 where we're at right now, sitting here on the beach side. 324 00:14:09.840 --> 00:14:11.039 I'm going to go to the bay side here in 325 00:14:11.080 --> 00:14:14.679 a minute. I was connected to my pocket node and 326 00:14:14.759 --> 00:14:17.200 I sent a test which was successful, and then I 327 00:14:17.200 --> 00:14:19.399 connected directly to this ARM two node. Now this is 328 00:14:19.399 --> 00:14:21.559 sitting in the side seat over here right, and I 329 00:14:21.639 --> 00:14:24.279 wanted to make sure that my checkbox I was getting 330 00:14:24.440 --> 00:14:26.440 was not because the first node was seeing it. I 331 00:14:26.440 --> 00:14:28.960 wanted to make sure even though I'm sending a direct message. 332 00:14:29.039 --> 00:14:32.240 In my mind, that should mean that the checkbox means 333 00:14:32.240 --> 00:14:34.440 that node is seeing so I'm sending a direct message. 334 00:14:34.440 --> 00:14:36.799 So I'm connected to the RM two, the Autlab's ARM 335 00:14:36.840 --> 00:14:39.039 two device right here, sitting in my front seat, not 336 00:14:39.120 --> 00:14:41.279 even outside the cab, and I sent test four and 337 00:14:41.399 --> 00:14:43.440 it's and I got a checkbox there, so it's seeing 338 00:14:43.480 --> 00:14:45.480 it from there. Now this might be an unfair test. 339 00:14:45.519 --> 00:14:47.879 This is quite the powerful node right here. This thing's cool. 340 00:14:47.879 --> 00:14:49.840 I'm gonna have this at Hamcasion. Guys come up and 341 00:14:49.840 --> 00:14:51.480 look at it if you want to. But I'm able 342 00:14:51.480 --> 00:14:54.039 to bounce. I'm able to mesh off of my pocket 343 00:14:54.080 --> 00:14:57.279 node because it's a mesh network, so they form a 344 00:14:57.360 --> 00:14:59.879 mesh together and it's self healing, and I'm able to 345 00:15:00.039 --> 00:15:02.039 ounce off of my pocket node to the RM two 346 00:15:02.120 --> 00:15:04.840 and hit the relay that we're probably about three to 347 00:15:04.919 --> 00:15:07.360 four miles from right now. Between three and four miles, 348 00:15:07.399 --> 00:15:09.399 I would guess, is the crow flies. Okay, I'm gonna 349 00:15:09.440 --> 00:15:11.279 do one more test and that's probably gonna be it. 350 00:15:11.279 --> 00:15:12.960 I could drive around the whole island and test it, 351 00:15:13.000 --> 00:15:14.720 and I probably will eventually, but I don't want to 352 00:15:14.759 --> 00:15:16.960 do that. In this video, this is again Galveston Island 353 00:15:17.000 --> 00:15:18.759 State Park. A lot of the pot of videos that 354 00:15:18.840 --> 00:15:22.679 I do will activate underneath one of these covered picnic 355 00:15:22.720 --> 00:15:25.279 tables here sometimes, okay, And the other place that I've 356 00:15:25.279 --> 00:15:27.159 activated many times is on the base side over there. 357 00:15:27.159 --> 00:15:29.120 I'm gonna drive over to the bay side, so on 358 00:15:29.159 --> 00:15:31.600 the other side of the farm Market Road, the highway, 359 00:15:31.799 --> 00:15:34.600 the main drag through town. That's my favorite spot. And 360 00:15:35.039 --> 00:15:37.360 we're sort of in line of sight with it down 361 00:15:37.440 --> 00:15:39.159 the beach right now, so I'm gonna go here and 362 00:15:39.159 --> 00:15:41.320 see what kind of results we get from that area. Okay, 363 00:15:41.320 --> 00:15:43.960 I'm parked in my favorite spot to activate Galveston Island 364 00:15:43.960 --> 00:15:46.279 State Park. Have done many videos from this spot here, 365 00:15:46.600 --> 00:15:49.519 and we're back on the truck node. This is my 366 00:15:49.600 --> 00:15:52.679 truck node, my KC five HWB F two fifty, and 367 00:15:52.679 --> 00:15:54.720 I already send a message and it's working. The RM 368 00:15:54.759 --> 00:15:56.879 node is in the seat there. It's still on the 369 00:15:56.919 --> 00:15:58.840 inside of the truck, so we put it on the outside. 370 00:15:58.879 --> 00:16:00.799 We're gonna get even better range. We go to the 371 00:16:00.840 --> 00:16:03.840 relay here, go to direct message this test five, I 372 00:16:04.000 --> 00:16:07.320 just sent that. Send another one test six send and 373 00:16:07.360 --> 00:16:09.840 if we look right there, we see a checkbox on 374 00:16:09.879 --> 00:16:13.039 the cloud right there. So that is successful. So we 375 00:16:13.120 --> 00:16:16.919 are successfully hitting my relay node put up at the house, 376 00:16:17.120 --> 00:16:19.960 probably about I would guess it's probably somewhere around fifteen 377 00:16:20.039 --> 00:16:22.679 sixteen feet. I should measure it to be sure to 378 00:16:22.679 --> 00:16:24.960 see what it is. I am happy with that. Again, 379 00:16:25.000 --> 00:16:27.480 this is my favorite area to activate Galveston On in 380 00:16:27.559 --> 00:16:31.159 State Park here, so when I'm here doing activations, which 381 00:16:31.200 --> 00:16:33.840 I'm about to do right now, I will have access 382 00:16:33.879 --> 00:16:36.519 to the mesh at the house and be able to 383 00:16:36.519 --> 00:16:38.360 send messages back and forth. In fact, I should have 384 00:16:38.519 --> 00:16:40.720 had my wife connect to it, but oh well, maybe 385 00:16:40.759 --> 00:16:42.840 we'll do that next time. So guys check the links 386 00:16:42.840 --> 00:16:46.639 in the description. BLOW very happy with this Spec five relay. 387 00:16:46.720 --> 00:16:48.919 I put a couple of pictures of it of the 388 00:16:48.960 --> 00:16:52.440 install on Instagram yesterday. Got a lot of really good feedback. 389 00:16:52.519 --> 00:16:54.159 One guy came along and said, man, I've been running 390 00:16:54.159 --> 00:16:56.399 one for the last year and it's never lost power. 391 00:16:56.519 --> 00:16:58.519 With the solar panel and the battery that's running it, 392 00:16:58.600 --> 00:17:00.600 it's never lost power. So I'm interesting to see how 393 00:17:00.639 --> 00:17:02.799 long the power will last on this one. Probably a 394 00:17:02.840 --> 00:17:04.440 lot because we get a lot of sun down here 395 00:17:04.440 --> 00:17:06.440 on the coast. So I'm really happy with this gonna 396 00:17:06.480 --> 00:17:08.319 put another one up at the house, gonna put another 397 00:17:08.319 --> 00:17:10.200 one up at the hunting lease, and we'll go from there. 398 00:17:10.279 --> 00:17:13.680 Let me know what outdoor meshtastic node you're using. If 399 00:17:13.720 --> 00:17:16.039 you're using one outdoors with a solar panel or whatnot, 400 00:17:16.319 --> 00:17:18.200 let me know what it is. Put a comment, blow 401 00:17:18.319 --> 00:17:20.359