Looking to see if I could execute this using Meshtastic.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but meshtastic is great for short amounts of data to transfer over long distances.
Thinking about having a node (comfortabley) attached to my dogs that frequently broadcasts their GPS location.
This would be an alternative to using data sim cards and other extra junk. Essential for out in the boonies.
How small could this get? I don’t think they’d mind wearing a chunky block on their side, but the smaller the overall better.
And would this also be great for keeping track of important objects and personal belongings?
Thanks.
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They can get quite small if you are okay with building something yourself and possibly 3D printing enclosures. Look at some of the seeedstudio kits.
Thanks. Glad to have access to some good 3D printers. I’ll take a look.
For that I simply went with a bluetooth beacon compatible with the Google Find My Network. Small, no SIM data plan needed and a battery life of 2 years on a CR2032.
It’s not open source, but the network scale is hard to ignore and I’d rather put more chance of finding my dog if he happens to get lost.
I appreciate the suggestion, but falling to that convenience is what I’m fighting against. Relying on any proprietary networks or stuff less controllable is a no go. Looking forward to open source systems as reliable as the common alternatives.
Lora is proprietary. The hardware manufacturers pay for that though (and pass the costs down to you).
RAK boards without GPS can use ~15ma on average. Not sure how much more with GPS. Sensecap t1000-e is pretty compact, has GPS, is water resistant, and can last 3 days on battery.
Well that’s a shame. But thanks for the extra info.
So far, none are up there unfortunately.
You can do this, but consider the range. Meshtastic range can be miles, but depends entirely on terrain; it is line of sight. A dog is close to the ground and so the range could be very limited.
Oh that would make it much harder then. Sometimes my aunt lets her dogs run up and down the forest alone.
We are upping the cost and complexity a bit, but I want to point out this is where mesh shines by adding some stationary nodes. Solar, battery (depending on how easy it is to get to), etc and add coverage.
Yeah I was thinking about lining them in my area. Might as well increase the mesh for other uses as well! Is it only direct sight or can it penetrate ground or foilage to an extent?
Its going to depend on a few factors, but lower frequencies (longer wavelengths) have more penetration.
So it will, but how much would depend and you’d probably be best just grabbing one station to set up and test, and a portable to see what kind of coverage you get.
Or just start with a base at the house and a portable and walk around.
Edit: typo
