Dave from Prescott Arizona. Avid traveler and back country trekker. Actually very interested in possible usage by our Search and Rescue team. In the backcountry there is no cell coverage and too many people listen to the radio traffic. They need the secure text messages and GPS locations. More than enough people to create a large mesh network. Could use drones to get a high relay for emergency coverage. Anyone have experience with SAR using this product?
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Howdy. I’m Brian and we live in West Seattle. My family has been using the v1 units since early '16, and we just picked up a couple of Mesh units over the holiday weekend. Initially, we got them to communicate with each other in the Cascades and Olympic backcountry. But I didn’t realize the potential for these devices. I’m going to inform our local emergency preparedness organizations about this technology. I would like to see a mesh unit in every school.
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Hi there. New user from pacific northwest. I’ve been following GoTenna for awhile and finally picked up my first set during the Black Friday promotion.
The project with Samurai Wallet and offline Bitcoin transaction was awesome!
I can’t wait to test these out in rural areas around Idaho, Oregon and Washington. Also looking forward to test out in urban areas. I plan to have one running as a relay node from my office, which is a third floor building near a popular outdoor shopping center.
Looking forward to take part in this growing community!
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Hi from AF6IM. EE Into ham radio and low power RF comm stuff. New to GoTenna. Been mixing skydiving and radio, see www.parachutemobile.com
Just installed an AC powered RELAY MODE unit high atop Telegraph Hill in SF, Hope it proves useful to others. 100 block of Telegraph Hill Blvd (see it on Google Earth), third story apt, currently window mounted. Great view of East Bay, soon even better when I put it on the roof where it will see GG and Bay bridges.
73
Mark
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Hi!
I’m Lon from Pennsylvania - United States. I purchased my first pair of GoTenna Mesh units as a safety measure for when I am hiking. I also look forward to testing its near field texting capabilities.
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Jeremy from Illinois.
I picked up 8 units for an upcoming cruise in March. I’ll post more in detail in another thread, but the research has really piqued my interest in other areas. I’m a HAM (KD9IXN) and I love to tinker!
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Hi! I’m Chad, and I am here to learn more about gotenna, products like it, and how they can benefit myself and folks I know in the things we do. I decided to go ahead and try when I was going on a cruise in the Bahamas. We just got back yesterday and after going with only two nodes, I must say that I am sold.
I have a humble background in Army Signal Corps and the telecommunications industry and I’m working on a HAM cert. I have a paintball team that does a scenario game in a huge venue and I have friends who go do things in remote places. The family is also planning another cruise.
I am interested in reading how people have modded the gotenna to meet other applications or boost its capabilities and I’m also interested in reading about radio communications as a general topic. There’s a lot to know in this field and no one knows it all!
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I’m Heather in Fullerton, CA and also a HAM. My husband (also a HAM) just bought these for our family and working out great thus far. I can’t believe we didn’t discover these sooner! I want to buy them for everyone we know!
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I’m Peter. I’m communicatons coordinator for The City of Sacramento Fire Department’s CERT program.
After working fire ops in Butte County (the “Camp Fire” in Paradise, CA) we found some big gaps in our communicatons capabilities. We rely on VHF communications, using commercial grade MURS hand held “walkie talkie” units, and cellular.
Unfortunately, the fire storm had wiped out much of the cellular infrastructure in the area - leaving us out of communication with some of our field units for extended periods of time. Blind and deaf.
We are looking at GoTenna MESH (and a high power portable VHF repeater system) as an integrated communications solution, to allow us to track and stay in contact with field units when all other communications systems have failed.
Based on all I’ve read here and elsewhere about GoTenna, I think we’ve found a big part of our solution.
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hi everyone! (posted first elsewhere, but coming here a close second).
grabbed a 4 pack of goTennas for the low key side of comms on our off-grid travels. we have a couple of cheapish ham HTs as well, though i need to quit dragging my feet and get licensed, so at this point they’re pretty much for listening and emergencies only.
things look a little sparse here in central ca. since i have a 4 pack, and 3 users, i’m planning to set up the 4th as a relay in the near future, at as high a location as i can access.
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Hi Everyone! I’m JT. I just learned about goTenna Mesh one week ago on a website for outdoor adventures. I started reading and absorbing everything that I could here on the mesh community website and placed an order right away. I’ve been using the goTenna Mesh units for a couple of days now and I’m blown away at the elegance and ease of use. First and foremost, I want to shout out to @danielagotenna and her entire team, with a huge THANK YOU for the vision and toil to bring to market such an innovative, intuitive, and valuable product as goTenna Mesh – GREAT JOB! As someone who understands the dedication, drive, and exhausting work of product development, I’m particularly able to appreciate what an accomplishment it is to bring the goTenna product lines from an idea and vision – to a marketplace reality. I’m an Engineer who loves technology, gadgets, and tinkering. I’m a licensed HAM and ARRL member, who enjoys participating in local amateur radio nets, and I have an interest in digital radio and emergency communications. My work involves international business travel on a routine basis. When not at work, I’m also an avid outdoorsman who enjoys spending personal time enjoying nature and the great outdoors. I’m here to read and learn as much as possible about goTenna Mesh, to explore the various applications for use, and to share ideas about how to spread the word to increase local adoption and strengthen the mesh. Let’s work together to mesh the world!
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If it still works, perhaps! Do you know what version it is?
Hello nobody,
My name’s Peter. I’m located in Sacramento. Not sure what part of central CA you’re in … Am currently looking at putting up some high level nodes here in Sac. If I can get the blessing of the City Powers that Be, I am hoping to put two or more nodes up on some of the city’s water tank structures - about 120’ high. Based on the power plots I’ve run on the VE2DBE site, any one of these potential locations would provide solid coverage of Sacramento, and big portions of at least three neighboring counties. Stay tuned.
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Hi Peter,
I’m very central…Fresno area. the water tank idea has me pondering a couple sites down here as well.
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Nobody,
Yup. Water towers are the way to go. I used to hate the flat expanse of the Sac Valley (I’m a Portland native). This exercise has me re-evaluating all my old biases. The flat terrain allows some pretty slamming coverage once you get a transmitter - even a one watt transmitter - up 100 feet (about 10 storeys).
If you can’t find a water tower that will allow access, see if you can get a building owner / manager that will allow you to locate one on a rooftop in downtown Fresno.
Hey all–I’m Terence. I live in the Koreatown neighborhood of Los Angeles, interested in goTenna mesh for emergency communication, but plan on leaving devices on daily to help build community and depth of the Mesh.
Would love to see some testing happening so that we all know we have a robust comm network that’s not dependent on internet backhaul or the commercial grid.
Like others here, I’m also a ham, KD8NFB.
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Hi there! I’m Kudra, currently based in Melbourne, Australia but travel regularly to Perth and Thailand. I go to festivals regularly too so main use case is for festival communications at this point, I read the Burning Man 2018 thread with great interest! Looking forward to hopefully testing in Melbourne and beyond, got my Gotennas a couple days ago and am leaving one on as a powered relay node and trying to remember to carry my other one with me =)
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My name is Jeff. I’d like mesh to catch on, so that I can give my kids one, with an old cell phone, let them use wi-fi where possible, and save two cell phone bills per month. Canadian wireless is insanely expensive and unreliable.
I’m a developer working in finance. I think the opportunity of this tech, the game theory, the increasing value of the network as is grows, is all fascinating to watch.
I’m wondering if there is a crypto-economic incentive program, or maybe a more interesting financing model for goTenna, which might be possible to help this network explode in node count.
Samurai brought me here; I’m a user and (trivial) contributor.
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Hi, I’m Marlon from Manila, Philippines. I first heard gotenna from my boss in Pleasanton, and he shared how helpful it is when he and his family hike or go camping. I got very curious so now I have them, but it seems not many are aware of gotenna here. Hopefully, we can build a more active network of gotenna users here, and that I believe would be very useful during calamities here.
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I’m interested in technology in general, and more so with “off the grid” options for various reasons. GoTenna caught my eye especially when carriers drop service, remote areas, or power outage situations.
I’m hopeful to find mesh community in Charlotte NC area. I’m going to a foreign country soon, and goTenna will help me stay in contact with my friends in private communications.
More ideas to share later.
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