Getting Started with Meshtastic: a Fully Off-grid Peer-to-peer Wireless Radio

Imagine texting your friends without cell service, Wi-Fi, or internet—just small handheld radios talking to each other across town. That's Meshtastic: an open-source project that turns cheap LoRa radios into a peer-to-peer mesh network. Each node relays messages for every other node, so the network grows with every device added. No cell tower, no ISP, no server in the middle.

We'll cover the basics—what LoRa is, how mesh networking works, and why people are getting excited about wireless tech that runs completely off-grid. Then we'll get practical: text messaging between devices, GPS sharing, channel encryption, and the ranges you can actually expect around Kansas City. Use cases are wide: hiking and overlanding, comms during severe weather or grid outages, staying in touch at festivals when cell service melts down, neighborhood mesh networks, or just the nerdy joy of building your own comms infrastructure.

No experience needed. If you've already got a node running, bring it—we'd love to see your setup. We'll have a few devices on hand to demo. Drinks and continued conversation nearby after.