Looking for Mesh users in Puerto Rico or USVIs

[drjrmorgan]

I will be deployed to Puerto Rico or USVIs next week and would like to know where other users are located and if they are responding to group shouts ?? Is the user map updated frequently ??
I have 2 units linked to phones and will leave them on power whenever possible…
DrJr

[Jmalave]

DrJR,

My name is Javier Malave. I am currently located in San Juan, PR working out of UPR’s main building at Jardin Botanico. I am also looking to deploy a “humble” goTenna Mesh network. What are your plans? What is your goal? Who are you trying to impact? Maybe we could collaborate.

Thanks,
Javier

[drjrmorgan]

Coming to help w the federal reserve. Want to know how many web nodes exist to expand our communication.

[Jmalave]

I have 25 nodes. But 10 were supposed to be given to another entity. We haven’t been able to connect yet. I just literally tested a point to point line of sight communication between two goTennas at 1.7 miles between South Medical Center in San Juan and the Jardin Botanico area. With a relay node I got 2.3 miles range between the 2 nodes. I will test additional range by going to the University of Puerto Rico Tower in Rio Piedras. I will see if I get 3+ miles of range.

My email is javiermbextra@gmail.com Please send me an email and I will give you my contact info. (Don’t want to post my real email and phone number here). We can then talk via phone and collaborate.

[Jmalave]

Twitter is @JavierMGBJ You may also contact me through there.

[danielagotenna]

Copy/pasting relevant posts from another thread:

@femmesh

Peep goTenna Mesh in The Verge today:

Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria: when communication is a matter of life and death - The Verge

Even so, the startup goTenna is sending several hundred antennas that pair with mobile devices. These could allow first responders to create a type of mesh network in order to send texts and GPS coordinates via radio waves over longer distances than a walkie-talkie.

Nice work @Rahul_Subramany @danielagotenna @Jin_Gotenna and the rest of the goTenna Staff!

@danielagotenna

It’s true that a bunch of goTenna Mesh devices are in or on their way to Puerto Rico for use by various civilian responder groups as well as the US Army Corps of Engineers Savannah District, the University of Puerto Rico, some business/risk recovery firms.

A group called Global Health Response and Resilience Alliance is also deploying tonight to Dominica, and of course Mesh devices are in continued use by All Hands Volunteers in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

We’ve donated as much as we have inventory for, and sold these groups many at heavily-discounted rates. We’re hopeful we’ll learn a lot about how they were useful in a few weeks!

More on the USVI deployment is chronicled here: About goTenna

Finally, @Flutterbyasaurus is heading to (or already left to?) PR with goTenna Mesh this week to search for a missing girl:

@Flutterbyasaurus

We’ll be

searching for a missing girl and definitely need to be able to reach each

other.

[danielagotenna]

AND @Jmalave just sent me the following info (& photos) by email which he said I could share here re: more goTenna Mesh results in Puerto Rico:

Good news. I tested the goTennas today again. I put a relay node atop the roof of the biomelolcuar science building (see picture attached). I was able to communicate Point to point from the cancer center (1.7 miles away). And was able to relay to the UPR HQ building at “Jardín Botánico” 2.3 miles away.

Now that makes us happy. next test will be a 3+ miles test from the University tower (far right on the picture).

That way we expect the relay nodes to get us long range and then people nearby the relay network may communicate with each other. I was able to talk from inside the building’s lobby through the relay node as well.

I also attached the goTenna arrival picture on my apt :). The tree on the painting (a wedding gift from my uncle) is called a “Flamboyan” and it is emblematic of our (temporarily) lost natural landscape. May it come back to life soon :).

[Mark]

@danielagotenna

Good news. I tested the goTennas today again. I put a relay node atop the roof of the biomelolcuar science building

Awesome. Since some here have reported units shutting off due to reaching heat threshold, I’d like to ask how the unit performed and if it was left out all day which I assume it probably was. I have thinking and depending on your geographic location + day to day temps in area, it probably makes sense to hide or provide some shade to the gotenna relay node to prevent any overheating. In situations like this last thing you want is for the relay node to shut off.

[danielagotenna]

@Mark

Awesome. Since some here have reported units shutting off due to reaching heat threshold, I’d like to ask how the unit performed and if it was left out all day which I assume it probably was. I have thinking and depending on your geographic location + day to day temps in area, it probably makes sense to hide or provide some shade to the gotenna relay node to prevent any overheating. In situations like this last thing you want is for the relay node to shut off.

@Jmalave so he sees this

[Mark]

If I recall I think @dbfish had a unit shut off in temps hovering at 85 degree weather.

[Rahul_Subramany]

goTenna Mesh will not turn off at any temperature.
The battery charging circuitry will shut down and stop charging the device when the temperature on the device reaches 105 F.
We do not recommend exposing goTenna Mesh to temperatures over 140 F.

I will let @dbfish confirm what he experienced.

[danielagotenna]

@Rahul_Subramany

goTenna Mesh will not turn off at any temperature.

The battery charging circuitry will shut down and stop charging the device when the temperature on the device reaches 105 F.

We do not recommend exposing goTenna Mesh to temperatures over 140 F.

I will let @dbfish confirm what he experienced.

I’d like to ask that when @dbfish responds he does so in the “how is your goTenna Mesh experience?” thread so we can keep this focused on PR. Thanks!

[Rahul_Subramany]

Another update from @Jmalave!

Even longer range test. It gave me 5.2Km (3.2miles).

[Steve_Safety]

I was working in the Cancer Center and a Centro Medico 9/20-25 with four MESH units. Mostly inside due to lack of phone system with limited success. Not really a surprise given all the steel, concrete and shielding in a radiation treatment area. I tried a few shout outs with no response. Glad to hear others in the area with better outside performance.

[danielagotenna]

@Steve_Safety

I was working in the Cancer Center and a Centro Medico 9/20-25 with four MESH units.

Most of the units in Puerto Rico that we know of didn’t get there to the island until mid-late last week, so after you left. In any case, thank you for your service in PR!

[danielagotenna]

Check out @Jmalave’s live Facebook video from Puerto Rico for the latest on his San Juan goTenna Mesh rollout:

[doctorbracero]

Hello. I’m a pediatrician born, raised, and trained in Puerto Rico (PR), and currently live in Dallas, Texas. See my “intro post” Introduction to Julio Bracero-Rodriguez, pediatrician.

Like many physicians, I am starting a collection drive… but for communication purposes only, not medicines. I donated 5 satellite phones and hope to send 5-10 more. But satellite phones are not sustainable.

I am going to PR in the next couple of weeks and plan to purchase MANY of these babies beforehand. Not just the consumer ones (goTenna Mesh) but several of the “pros” as well. I would love to test these out… especially at West + Southwest + South of PR. I would love to network with anyone in PR available to help. Of course, I will see all of your little ones… that will be a lot of house calls!

My hometown, the city of Lajas, is actually a valley - meaning it’s flat. That’ll be my testing ground. Afterwards, I simply plan to keep on going. My brother can get in touch with me every once in a while… via a “random” WiFi signal, just to text via Facebook messenger. That’s not the most efficient use of limited bandwidth. Nor the most secure. You can buy some prepaid cards in PR, and these are hit-and-miss, but people use their smartphones and they’re not gonna go back to a “regular phone”. Period.

In fact, a 2015 Pew Research Center report (U.S. Smartphone Use in 2015) shows that the most used app is text messaging. Don’t get me started that “poor” or even elderly people cannot use a smartphone, because that’s simply not true (quite the opposite actually). Yes, I’ll be making doctor house calls… funny how those that live in remote areas will actually serve as great relay nodes. I’ll leave them with solar-powered chargers so they can at least power their usual devices, and charge the goTennas.

People need a sense of normalcy in their lives. Many still have to go to work, and not on the best of conditions. A father able to text their family “I’m on my way”… mom being able to text “get diapers”, “don’t forget to stop by the Post Office”, “baby has a fever” or simply “te quiero mucho mi vida”, now THAT goes a long way.

Not forgetting that my doctor colleagues need a way to communicate a bit more directly…and can create a secure hospital network just for them.

So… what do you guys think? Thoughts? Idealist much? I really don’t think so. But I’m an empiric guy and need some data.

Lastly, when this nightmare is over, I will donate most of the hardware… and the data, so it can be put to good use somewhere else.

[doctorbracero]

Received a message from @Jmalave. He’s a thoughtful young man, I wish I had known earlier about this. And an engineer - this is GREAT. The summer of 2001, working at Howard University alongside chemical + electrical engineers in the field of nanotechnology, was one of the best of my life. Nothing like seeing peptides on GaAS (gallium arsenide) surfaces by atomic forced microscopy and FT-IR spectroscopy…

Kind of unilaterally (he does have limited communication), I decided to ramp up a campaign for funding, mostly Gotenna, some satellite phones, and other communications devices + accessories in PR. I’m sure he won’t mind a load of Gotennas strategically placed in areas of need.

There are many things to rebuild in PR, and the communication infrastructure is one of them. Our current society is one system built upon another. The lack of thoughtful, serious planning in PR is evident here, and now all “systems” have collapsed. And because the government used our money with all the restraint of a teenager with the parent’s credit card… it’s difficult to fathom how serious funds will be secured.

And we can’t rebuild if people from different areas don’t work together. I call that public health and preparedness… but I digress.

I’ll updated this thread frequently and keep everyone posted! Si se puede!!

[doctorbracero]

Definitely worth posting and sharing: L-Steam Podcast - goTenna in Puerto Rico, featuring Javier Malave (@Jmalave) and Daniela Perdomo (@danielagotenna).

[danielagotenna]

@doctorbracero

There are many things to rebuild in PR, and the communication infrastructure is one of them. Our current society is one system built upon another. The lack of thoughtful, serious planning in PR is evident here, and now all “systems” have collapsed. And because the government used our money with all the restraint of a teenager with the parent’s credit card… it’s difficult to fathom how serious funds will be secured.

Very well-put, sir!! Thanks for all the work you’re doing to help PR get back on its feet.