Video about Meshtastic LoRa messaging device

[trosel]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40llxjrIG3w

Isn't this little device the same thing as the RNode? https://unsigned.io/rnode/

Biggest difference is that a lot more love has been given to the client apps on Meshtastic. Something I would love to see happen here.

[faragher]

They're on similar hardware and use LoRa, but really the similarities end there.

To my understanding, Meshtastic is a stand-alone unit you connect to and send messages.

The RNode is a modem. It requires the actual work to be done on the computer/phone.

For a lot of people, Mesthastic does everything they need: it sends local messages that get repeated and can be seen by everyone in the group. It's a great tool for that scope and use case.

The RNode connects a Reticulum network over LoRa. This is an important distinction because it's a very different use case and serves different needs. Reticulum runs on a computer, while the RNode simply provides an interface (the modem can also be run directly by serial applications).

Regarding client apps, I'd love to see more, but nobody's stepped up to the plate to make any. That's the issue with open-source systems: they grow based on the developers involved. Since the network stack is currently considered feature complete, it's easy for a skilled developer to make an LXMF app in Python, but you also need someone who knows how to create the exact kind of app you're looking for. If you know anyone with those skills and the desire to help, send them our way.

Given the increasing featureset of Sideband, it might be worth revisiting to see if it works as a mobile app. That being said, at this time the RNS doesn't run on embedded systems, so an all-in-one turnkey piece of hardware isn't possible with ESP32 boards. You could get things running with a Pi Zero or similar, but the requirements are vastly different.

[trosel]

Saying they have the same use case will only cause you to be disappointed.

As a user, I want to talk to friends over LoRa. They can both do that. Reticulum is a thick client while Meshtastic is a thin client.

Am I really confused?

[markqvist]

Am I really confused?

Yes. The thick/thin client analogy makes no sense here. Re-read what faragher already posted, I couldn't really add anything.

If you are still confused about it all, I'd recommend reading up on what a networking stack is, and some of the fundamentals of how digital communication works.

[trosel]

@markqvist is this true or not? #388 (reply in thread)

If it is true, then you can do the same thing with RNode + Sideband that you can in the Meshtastic video.

[markqvist]

Yes, the Sideband app paired with an RNode has been able to do the same thing as meshtastic for a long time now.

It can also do a lot more, like:

• File transfers
• Sending and receiving images
• Infrastructureless location updates and telemetry
• Remote commands and requests
• Has a fully fledged plugin system
• Can run on both Android, Linux, macOS and Windows
• Can use any medium to communicate, not just LoRa
• Has unlimited network size
• Has unlimited amount of endpoints and messaging adresses
• Has global reachability
• Has complete and universal self-ownership of addresses
• Does not depend on any internet-based servers to function
• Has offline, delay-tolerant and failure-resilient distributed message storage

[trosel]

It can also do a lot more

That's great! So what's the next step? Just getting users, right?