Might be a good idea anyway, but I eventually tracked this mystery shout to our juggling pair/unpair to get my wife a good unit. Always good to not leave loose ends, but not always possible.
Now that’s solved, I’ll explain a little why it’s been so quiet on the UMESH front. We were involved in the Beta testing, so really haven’t bee able to speak about the latest happenings over the last 6 weeks or so. I want to thank BL and ML for helping me on this project. Their astute observations and analytical skills were essential to digging out some important issues and with verifying performance in many areas.
While we won’t go into the specifics of testing, I’m happy to discuss how the new features and improvements found in Mesh 5.0 will improve your mesh experience here at UMESH and wherever goTenna Mesh can be found.
Right now, I’m going to do some housekeeping and provide some basic info on changes coming to UMESH.
If in doubt about the usefulness of mesh, going to 6 hops should put those mostly to rest. The extra hops make rooftop relays usefully act as antennas, putting your signal up where you can reach out much further and others can reach you. it also provides another relay to “thicken” the mesh and provide even more chances to get the range you need. A similar relay set-up on your vehicle makes this mobile. While it will be rolled into the goTenna Plus premium mesh enhancement subscription feature after the next firmware update occurs, the extra hops add real value, give your signals better range, and enhance the reliability of reception. Well worth the few cents a day it will cost, but give it a try for free by upgrading your firmware to 5.0 right now.
Do you need 6 hops to use UMESH? No, but you typically won’t be able to utilize UMESH fully without the extra hops. The current configuration of the coverage area arcs along Yankee Ridge from Crystal Lake Park southwest to the north edge of the Meijers parking lot. This is similar to the May 15 coverage map above, but enhanced by an additional stationary node near the south end that is several block east fro the unaffiliated node on that map. The longest axis along it is about 3 miles and we’ve sent messages with 5.0 almost that distance. Interestingly, the number of hops required for 3 messages took anywhere from 4 nodes to just 2 nodes. Having an extra hop or two is a lot better than coming up short. All 3 messages were delivered with the extra hops, while you would only have received one if only the old standard 3 hops was available.
When the build out is finished, the 6 hops might be needed to go long distances, depending on how well-located our nodes will be. But you can definitely increase performance by upgrading to 5.0.
Will older versions continue to work with 5.0? Will they work on the updated UMESH network? Yes, as far as we can determine, older versions will operate with newer, they just won’t have the same capabilities. We will begin updating the firmware in the stationary nodes in about a week and hope to complete it soon after. The system has been running the Beta version of 5.0. for about 6 weeks now, so if it’s been working for you here in Urbana, that will continue. As far as we can tell, things will interoperate OK for right now.
To get 5.0, these are the new system requirements:
iOS (9.0 & above) or Android device (4.3 & above)
Bluetooth-LE (a.k.a. BLE, Bluetooth Smart or Bluetooth 4.0)
That’s all for now. Glad to answer questions either here or via my goTenna GUID number listed earlier.