Pictured above: We have four of our newly built Swifts on display, along with two Meadowlarks.
One of which is partially disassembled to showcase the design of our solar-powered repeaters.
(Scroll down for the diagram)
A spectre is haunting Omaha... The spectre of a solar-powered public communications network!
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A spectre is haunting Omaha... The spectre of a solar-powered public communications network! 〰️
We had a great turn out for our first Mesh Network & TRILL Workshop on Thursday!
About ten of us built 7 new Swift nodes. We could’ve assembled more, but we realized we were short on one of the 3d printed components.
Some of the experts that visited gave us a lot of great advice on how to improve our network, how to build it even cheaper in the future (lowering the cost for everyone by building out the boards themselves), and someone was even kind enough to donate the cost of one swift for a comrade who couldn’t afford one! We had a guest from Ohio that is excited to take this idea back to their local mutual aid collective and MAO will help them get it growing! We also received a very generous donation of a 3d printer, large bag of filaments, a Raspberry Pi, and some 18650 batteries. We’re thinking about running an off-grid Wikipedia server that transmits to the Meshcore network with the Raspberry Pi.
The “each one teach one” model was fully at play here, and it was beautiful to witness.
Some of our comrades learned how to solder the battery pack wiring, some explained how to configure the newly built devices on their apps, while someone else taught how to seat the antennae connectors. After learning some of these things, some turned to their neighbor and showed them how.
Each session we hope to become more efficient in these buildouts, so that we can better teach each other how it all works, and more quickly deploy these radios for these uncertain times.
Another Node
Complete!
It is a monotonous process assembling these. Doing it together makes it a lot more fun.
Mesh is for lovers
It was really nice to have volunteers help us peck away at the very large backlog of orders for mesh nodes.
We have more Mesh buildout workshops scheduled:
at the Starlight Chateau Carriage House
the next three Thursdays from 6-8pm. (November 5th, 12th, 19th)
WILL YOU JOIN US?
If you’d like one, we are only seeking to cover the cost of goods.
Swifts = $75
Meadowlarks = $100
Since we are building Meadowlarks next week, here is a diagram to give future workshop attendee’s a leg up on the learning curve so we can streamline this process.
RULE #1: DO NOT CONNECT THE BATTERY UNTIL ALL CIRCUITS ARE CONNECTED
ALSO: A forty-foot ladder has been procured.
So now we are going to speed-run Meadowlark installs!!
If you’d like your Meadowlark installed somewhere up high, drop us a line and let’s get it scheduled.
We will now do installs on a donation-based system. We won’t ask for any financial compensation to install the meadowlarks,
but we do appreciate any support given.
These workshops will continue on a regular basis, with interims as we run out of radios.
With the money collected from the previous cycle, we will put in another bulk order for mesh radios.
The seed money originally generated from donations continues to grow,
allowing us to get more mesh nodes into the hands of the people. If you’d like to support us in this project please visit our donations page.
We’re always trying to find free/cheap private venues to host these workshops.
Drop us a line if you’d like to help us!
You will win favor from a growing community of local socialists, communists and anarchists.
Happy Samhain! May your ancestors walk with you tonight, revealing hidden paths toward your highest good.
At All Hallow’s Tide, may you be kept safe from harm and guided through the darker days ahead.
