Meshtastic is a way for regular folks to send messages without cell towers — and we’re building our own little network out here in Southeast Texas… just in case.

This isn’t a lab project or a tech demo — this is real-world experimenting, learning the hard way, and mapping what actually works out here.

We’re tracking nodes, testing range, building solar setups, and slowly stitching together a working mesh across SETX.

📡 If you’re out there running a node too, there’s a good chance we’ll hear you — and we’ll probably put you on the map.

The tow rig, the Vardo node, and the kind of rolling setup this page is being built around.

• Driving active routes and scanning for nodes
• Logging signal hits and locations
• Testing mobile vs fixed node performance
• Running solar-powered setups
• Documenting real-world range and reliability

Mobile test gear out in the real world — roofline placement, solar assist, and field-ready improvised setups.

The Vardo repeater build in action — mounted hardware, power distribution, and the family rig getting wired into the mesh.

This section will grow over time as we discover, confirm, and log nodes across Southeast Texas and beyond.

• Node name
• General location
• Mobile / Fixed / Infrastructure
• Signal notes

This page is also acting like a contact point while we travel. If you heard us, saw the link in our node info, or want to be added to the map, shoot us an email with your node name and rough location.

( Map expansion in progress… )

• T-Beam / WisBlock setups
• Vehicle-mounted nodes
• Solar charging systems
• Battery experiments
• Antenna testing

Bench testing and small-form builds — proving out node behavior before they get kicked loose into the field.

Waterproof box build work, antenna hardware, power routing, and the kind of messy honest bench setup where the good ideas usually happen.

Real-world notes, signal logs, unexpected finds, and lessons learned will live here.

No fluff. No theory. Just what actually worked.

At about 7:21 AM, the SETXMisFits Vardo node caught one of the strongest real-world mesh moments we have seen yet from home base.

The Vardo was elevated at home and listening after an overnight cold front pushed through Southeast Texas. By morning, the node list had climbed to 73 observed nodes, with multiple distant signals showing up across the SETX and SWLA region.

The big confirmation was a read receipt from a ham buddy approximately 30 miles away straight-line distance. That was not theory, wishful thinking, or bench-test fantasy — that was a real packet making the trip across flat, humid coastal terrain under post-front conditions.

Strong overnight propagation is suspected on 915 MHz, possibly from ducting or refraction tied to the cold-front boundary and the weird little weather tricks this part of the Gulf Coast can pull when the air layers line up just right.

Cold-front morning propagation event — 73 nodes observed, distant SETX/SWLA traffic visible, and one confirmed long-distance read receipt from roughly 30 miles out.