Building a friendly, reliable off-grid communication mesh for Dubuque, Asbury, and the surrounding Tri-State area.
Everyone is welcome!
Meshtastic is an open-source project that uses affordable LoRa radios to create a private, community-sized mesh. Your phone connects to a radio, then radios pass messages across the mesh without needing cell service, Wi-Fi, or internet.
This page avoids hardware recommendations on purpose. The fastest path is to join the local group, confirm you are buying a US 915 MHz Meshtastic-compatible device, then use the suggested settings below.
These recommendations are designed to reduce unnecessary traffic, prevent role confusion, and make the network more useful as more people join.
LongFast / LONG_FASTChannel utilization and airtime are device metrics reported by Meshtastic. Check them in your connected app or Web client. Lower numbers mean more room for real messages and fewer traffic jams.
CLIENT_MUTECLIENT or CLIENT_BASEDubuque's hills, bluffs, trees, river valley, brick, metal, and indoor placement can all change range. A modest node in a great location can outperform a fancy node in a bad one.
Rooftops, upper floors, attic windows, and ridge lines usually improve line-of-sight across town.
Walls, basements, metal siding, and vehicles can quietly eat signal. Test near a window or outdoors.
Nodes may not appear instantly. Try a better location, confirm region/preset, and ask the group to test.
Meetups are planned monthly. Event types will be announced in the Facebook group as the community grows.
Always use official Meshtastic sources for firmware and app details — they change over time.
These answers are based on official Meshtastic documentation and the settings above.
For normal Meshtastic LoRa use, a license is not required in the United States. Licensed amateur radio use is optional and comes with different privileges and restrictions, including restrictions around encryption. You are responsible for following applicable rules.
Range depends on terrain, elevation, antenna placement, frequency, settings, and obstructions. Around Dubuque, hills, trees, buildings, and the river valley all matter. Test outside and higher before assuming something is broken.
Yes. Your phone or computer connects to a Meshtastic radio, and the radios communicate over LoRa. Cell service, Wi-Fi, and internet are not required for local mesh messages.
Meshtastic can be useful for preparedness, events, and local backup communication, but it is not a guaranteed emergency service and does not replace 911, weather radios, official alerts, or public safety systems.
This group does not recommend a specific starter device on this page as new devices are coming out all the time. Look for Meshtastic-compatible hardware for the US 915 MHz region, then ask the Facebook group before buying so locals can help you get the best device.
Yes. Location sharing is configurable. You can disable position features, reduce precision, or choose when location is shared. Review location and channel settings before joining public or shared channels.
Use LongFast, US / 915 MHz hardware, and the role guidance above. Portable nodes should usually use CLIENT_MUTE. Stationary and outdoor nodes should usually use CLIENT or CLIENT_BASE.
Common causes include being indoors or low, wrong region or preset, poor antenna placement, no nearby active nodes, app pairing issues, channel mismatch, or high local channel utilization. Move outside, get higher, verify US / 915 MHz and LongFast, then ask the group for a test.
Use an antenna matched to your LoRa frequency, connector, and device requirements. Placement often matters more than chasing the biggest antenna: height, line-of-sight, and avoiding walls or metal are big wins.
Yes. A stable, elevated location can help the local mesh. Use CLIENT or CLIENT_BASE, keep intervals long, and coordinate with the group before trying ROUTER or REPEATER roles.