Today I went on a short hike and was able to communicate with my RNode from up to 3 kilometers away in a LOS (line-of-sight) scenario.

My setup included a legendary PVC pole on my roof, to which I taped a handheld RNode (Heltec 32 V4) and a spare phone.

I wrapped both devices in plastic bags to protect them against the uncertain weather.

The phone, which was running sideband, was connected to the RNode via Bluetooth.

The phone couldn't connect to my Wi-Fi through the (metal) roof, so I had to work around that.

To achieve global connectivity, I set up another RNode in a room below the roof.

The roof RNode could connect to this second node via LoRa.

The second node below the roof had internet access via an Ethernet connection to my BackboneInterface basement node.

I then grabbed my phone, turned off cellular data and Wi-Fi, grabbed my third and final RNode, and went for a walk.

I could reach the rooftop RNode from at least three kilometers away.

Since it was connected to the internet, I could chat with strangers in other countries, even though my phone had no internet connectivity.

This worked like a charm. I now plan to install a stationary RNode on my roof.

It should be noted that my house is on a hill in the countryside, so LOS scenarios are pretty common.

>Back to Home<