Today I got tagged on twitter with a bunch of larger accounts to discuss HAM radio vs Meshtastic. The discussion had a lot of points to kick off from but I focused primarily on both from a disaster preparedness standpoint. Here's the initial post.
Okay, so I'd like a thread on meshtastic vs 2M/70cm for secure comms. Things to discuss:
— BenBRockN🔥🏳️🏴 (@BenBRockN) October 23, 2024
* Encryption
* Direction Finding
* Analog vs Digital signals
* Price of a kit (allow 2 people to talk)
* Ease of use/set up
* Use during natural disasters
* Solar?
* Effective range in woods
First off, it was extremely humbling to get let's point out the differences between meshtastic and HAM/GMRS:
| Feature | Meshtastic | Ham |
| Encryption | Yes, all messages are encrypted, using public or private user-generated keys | No, use of encryption is forbidden per FCC rules |
| Direction Finding | Harder to DF, but not impossible | Detectable via DF |
| Analog VS digital | Digital | Analog and Digital Modes |
| Price | Affordable - usually around $85-$100 for a basic all-in one device | Affordable - baofengs are very obtainable, but you can also spend more for more functions |
| Ease of Use / Set Up | Because you use an app on your phone and pair the radio like any other device, Meshtastic is very easy to use and get started with | Higher barrier to entry. You need to get licensed to transmit, and programming the radio is a learning curve.* |
| Solar | Can be powered by solar | Can be powered by solar, but needs more power than Meshtastic |
| Effective Range | 30+ miles | 30+ miles |
So... I want to prep, which one do I get? It's not either or - but both.
HAM has been around a lot longer and there is a very high probability there are several repeaters in your area. Because of that history and infrastructure, if you’re prepping for a natural disaster, you need to have HAM in your tool box. Even if you’re not licensed, making contact with a ham operator gives you a decent chance at them relaying your information to a RACES or ARES net which can help coordinate rescues. If you get into radio and become a tech, you can plug into those nets too and help coordinate rescue efforts. That’s huge.
Meshtastic shouldn’t be missed though. The ability to deploy repeaters in a hard-hit area, even flying one up on a drone to bridge mesh networks is huge. Integration with ATAK is also pretty great. It’s not perfect - but the ability to quickly drop a bunch of points about cleared routes, victim status and location, and more is a massive, massive asset. You need to have done some homework setting up EUDs beforehand, but if that’s part of your prep, the ability to show rather than tell can't be understated.
Again, both are cheap and can be a massive asset in an emergency. So grab both. Oh, and we know this great place where they come set up just for you.
Teaser - there's discussion going on in that thread about what comms are useful and what are liabilities in a societal collapse / WROL situation. Will probably follow up on that in the future.
