If you have strong opinions about #Mesh networking, please let me know.

[w8emv@a2mi.social]

@Edent oh, antennas and antenna placement can be very weird to understand and to debug. in general it's better to not have your whip antenna near to a big piece of metal because it will couple with it and throw everything off.

recommendation: take a photograph, measure for a day, move something around, take another photograph, do another day's measurements, repeat.

If you can get the antenna outside rather than inside it will make a difference, but that's not always easy

[tinheadned@dice.camp]

@Edent this doesn't help but I assumed Northampton wouldn't have any #meshtastic traffic and now I'm interested

[stereo@freiburg.social]

@Edent @dan

i have one companion device indoor and a repeater on the balcony. how far away are your next repeaters?

[edent@mastodon.social]

@dan @stereo looks like the nearest are 3-6Km away.

[dan@mastodon.durrans.com]

@Edent @stereo 3 to 6km should be fine. Do you have line of sight to them? That makes such a difference.

I ended up putting a repeater in my loft.

[edent@mastodon.social]

@dan nah, dense urban environment.

[dj3ei@mastodon.radio]

Modern window glass is often covered with an invisible, very thin layer of metal intended to keep UV light out. That layer makes it hard for radio waves to pass through.

@Edent @hanscees

[0x0@hachyderm.io]

@rgarner

SaveItForParts did [something similar](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XKhprOtK7wE) recently as well. YMMV I guess.

@Edent @vaurora

[dragon@toast.dragon2611.net]

@tinheadned @Edent I couldn't find anything on Meshtastic or Meshcore when I last tried it, but I was indoors with a piddly little antenna.

[tinheadned@dice.camp]

@Dragon I mean I also don't need another hobby so it's probably for the best. The bit that puts me off amateur radio is talking to *other* grumpy old white guys

[edent@mastodon.social]

Well the #Meshcore is *sort of* working.
With it's new placement I can just about hear one repeater.
I'm receiving some messages, but I guess my antenna is to puny to send any.
My noise floor looks good (I think) and I've discovered a few nodes.
I think I need more power and/or a bigger antenna.
If you're on the mesh, feel free to send me a message and I'll let you know if it arrives (details above).

[henryk@chaos.social]

@Edent Wait, this is without Internet links in between? That would be fantastical coverage.
My experience here in Berlin (with Meshtastic, though) is that I can't get to a node 4 subway stations (2.5km) from here.

[edent@mastodon.social]

@henryk I can only directly hear one node - about 4km away.

All the others have been seen via the mesh.

[dan@mastodon.durrans.com]

@Edent I’ve sent a message but the chance of it making it to you from Bristol is relatively slim I think!

[edent@mastodon.social]

@dan ta! Nothing yet

[dan@mastodon.durrans.com]

@henryk @Edent MeshCore is radio only, unlike Meshtastic that can propagate via the internet to an extent.

[dan@mastodon.durrans.com]

@Edent I’ve seen messages from Yorkshire and Cheshire before now. There are some strong north/ south links heading along the M5 and M6.

The hams use directional antennas to prioritise distance between the cities.

[jwildeboer@social.wildeboer.net]

@Edent Most repeaters send adverts maybe once every 12 or 24 hours. So let it sit a few days for the contact list to fill. You should join the test and ping channel and send a ping to see what replies you get back. That should tell you more about who actually sees you.

[edent@mastodon.social]

@jwildeboer Yup - has been on for 24 hours. Only seeing that repeater directly.

My pings go unanswered and my messages to the test channels aren't delivered.

[jwildeboer@social.wildeboer.net]

@Edent Then my best guess is that the one repeater you can connect to is operated by a HAM operator who is allowed to send with higher power. Or has a better antenna with higher gain. One of those will be the reason your packets won't make it