Gotenna communication from us to other countries

Records & field reports
1

I want to know if I get a gotenna and send me to my mom in Puerto Rico will I be able to connect with her.
I’m new to it and want to buy one

2

6 hops max.

4 mi range unmodified. Reports of 30 mi.

You’ll need some relays in the middle. And they probably need special antennas to get the range.

HAM radio may be a better option for international.

3

The goTenna Mesh is sold in pairs. Generally, the typical use case is comms between at least 2 people. A single goTenna would be a little like an orphan. You either give the second to who you need to communicate with or place it in a high location to serve as a relay or powered antenna.

The other answer’s facts are correct, but it’s worth clarifying that comms between the mainland and Puerto Rico with goTennas are pretty unlikely. For that you need access to ham transceivers via a ham license, as would your mother. That’s pretty unlikely for most of us although it’s a more viable option than in the past since they’ve dropped much of the code rquirements that discouraged many of us in the past.

4

So I can give this to my friend that is 250miles away and by mesh with other gotennas I will be able to reach him

5

Probably not. You are currently limited to a maximum of 6 hops (via 5 relay nodes). While long distances are sometimes cited, remember these are usually for a single long hop. No one has reported being able to send a message 250 miles. Even assuming a very generous 30 miles per hop is possible (although unlikely and not. yet reported by anyone), 6 hops x 30 miles equals 180 miles, still far short of 250 miles.

The goTenna Mesh is currently aimed at establishing local wireless communications networks. If you want to take a look at more likely scenarios of distance vs number of relay nodes, take a look at this map of our local network in Urbana, IL.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1NnhuanMDtPgWZJ4vRPX3d3wWgQTxKA5P&usp=sharing

We currently serve an area of about 18 square miles with 11 relays. The longest path I’ve recorded for a message path was a little over 5 miles, via 4 relay nodes with the longest leg being about 2.5 miles. This is nowhere near the 250 mile distance you need, but nonetheless this provides a lot of useful work in the fashion that people typically use them in.

6

Mike thank you for sharing your knowledge.

Let see what I can find out there that can work communicating with my friend.

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