Mike

Nanticoke, PA
Failed engineering student turned IT pro. Geek and amateur everything else. Tinkerer, ham radio op, heart attack survivor. Building mesh networks in Northeastern Pennsylvania since 2024, providing geek guidance since 2015 on thinkleet.net
25
Jul
Assortment of battery types on a workbench: lead-acid 12V 18Ah, 12V 7Ah, 18650 lithium cells, LiPo packs, and a small 3.7V LiPo

How Long Will Your Meshtastic Node Last on Battery?

The biggest factor in Meshtastic battery life isn't your battery size. It's your chip platform. Here's what the numbers actually look like.
4 min read
20
Jul
Close-up of a teal circuit board showing a u-blox GPS radio module with STATUS, GPS, and RADIO labels in the silkscreen

How to Update Your Meshtastic Firmware (and Why You Should)

Old Meshtastic firmware breaks direct messages and misses security fixes. Here's how to check your version and update, by device type.
3 min read
14
Jul
Stylized green-on-black illustration of a key transmitting radio waves to an encryption lock labeled RADIO_FREQ: 915MHz

Who Can Read Your Meshtastic Messages?

The default Meshtastic channel is encrypted with a key everyone already has. Here's what that means, and how to create a channel only your group can read.
4 min read
01
Jul
NEPAMesh propagation dashboard showing 1,771 total nodes and network statistics for June 2026

June on the Mesh: 1,771 Nodes, a T-Deck at 39,000 Feet, and the First Meetup

The network hit 1,771 registered nodes in June. A T-Deck keyboard node appeared over Pennsylvania at 39,659 feet. And for the first time, the people behind the nodes met in person.
4 min read
28
Jun
A hiker with a daypack walks down a forested trail.

The Go-Bag Meshtastic Node: Field-Ready, Low-Power, One Weekend Build

A Meshtastic node doesn’t have to sit on a shelf. Here’s how to pick hardware that survives a pack, configure it for battery life, recharge it from the sun, and put a real antenna on it when you need range.
6 min read
19
Jun
Where NEPAMesh Needs You Next

Where NEPAMesh Needs You Next

Back Mountain has zero active NEPAMesh nodes. Our propagation model says one node there would reduce network shadow by 2% in a single placement, the highest uncovered gap in the Wyoming Valley region. Here's what the network looks like and what one well-placed node would change.
5 min read
07
Jun
UPDATE: NEPAMesh Games: MeshTrader, Red Dragon, and Pathfinders Over the Mesh

UPDATE: NEPAMesh Games: MeshTrader, Red Dragon, and Pathfinders Over the Mesh

UPDATE: Due to lack of interest this has been discontinued. The github is still active if you wish to put
7 min read
06
Jun
Your Meshtastic Node is Dead (and You Don't Know It)

Your Meshtastic Node is Dead (and You Don't Know It)

961 of the 1,324 nodes registered on NEPAMesh haven't been heard from today. Some of them are yours. Here's how to find out, and what to do about it.
7 min read
03
Jun
Frequency spectrum display of a Meshtastic message on the medium-fast modem preset showing the LoRa chirp signal

LoRa Settings Explained: What Spreading Factor, Bandwidth, and Coding Rate Actually Do

Open the LoRa settings in the Meshtastic app and you'll find a screen full of options that look
7 min read
31
May
May on the Mesh: 321 Active Nodes, Two Airplanes, and LoRa at 20,000 Feet

May on the Mesh: 321 Active Nodes, Two Airplanes, and LoRa at 20,000 Feet

321 nodes active in the last 24 hours. That’s the number that matters. Also: two commercial flights joined the mesh over Pennsylvania at 18,000 feet and left position records in the database.
7 min read