I was thinking about how we could possibly message from a PC (laptop, desktop, etc.) and then it hit me. What if goTenna made new hardware that was a USB drive (similar to a thumb drive or like an AntMiner U1 if you are familiar with Bitcoin mining) that connected to software on the PC. This could be used to help support the text messaging by sending it via the Internet (when available) as well.
Other uses of this idea could be if someone had a cabin where there is no cellular coverage but they have power and a laptop and possibly an Internet connection (Satellite, etc.). So they plug this goTenna Mesh USB into their laptop connect it to the PC software and now they have the ability to text for help or relay messages.
It’s similar to previous proposals to develop a dedicated relay version of the GTM. There’s only so much R&D $$ to go around, so I’d expect a future development like that to be rather versatile. A relay version could certainly provide the functionality you seek, while also covering a broad range of other needs. Those include its use as a mobile relay, such as discussed here: https://community.gotennamesh.com/t/car-adapter-relay/1899/16
@musicmanwins, if you’re comfortable talking command-line on serial terminals (similar to the old dial-up modems), you can just plug your existing Gotenna Mesh into your USB port right now, start a serial terminal at 9600/8n1/noecho, type “?” and start exploring. No need for dedicated hardware.
It’s not as high-level as the SDK but it’s the same API that the SDK uses under the hood.
I am not familiar with using a “serial terminal” (but would be willing to learn if someone can point me in the right direction). I am just looking for a way to connect my Windows notebook pc with my gTM so that I can use it with other mapping software on my computer including sailing maps. Are there any open source drivers or software out there that would make this possible? Thanks in advance for any assistance.
Agree. I’ve just purchased my 4 pack and was thinking why is this limited to mobile. I would like to keep one always on and connect via my PC Bluetooth.
I was actually looking for a chrome app or stand alone app that would enable this. When the product arrives, I may try the serial terminal as suggest by armin, but I’m not that literate in interfacing with command lines.
Tried that, anything I enter except a ?, returns an error, such as / returns
[6326416-2792, USB, CLI] ERROR:Unknown command “/”. Type ? for help
but actually typing ? followed by anythiing else, or nothing, does absolutely nothing.
OK, turns out that typing the log command into the serial console " log "
enables output for the ? help command.
Some other commands such as rssi also appear to need “log” enabled in order to produce output.
