Articles, field notes, research, lessons learned, and practical guidance on communications, preparedness, resilience, and the systems that shape how information moves through the world.
Programming software makes configuring modern radios easier than ever, but what happens when the computer or programming cable isn't available? Understanding how to manually program a radio is an essential skill for field operations, troubleshooting, and communications resilience.
One of the questions I hear most often from people who are new to radio is both simple and understandable, which is “why do I need a license just to use a radio?"
Building resilient communications begins long before they are needed. This article documents the process of designing, deploying, troubleshooting, and expanding a practical MeshCore network, from a single development board to a functioning local communications infrastructure consisting of Bluetooth Companion nodes, field clients, mobile repeaters, and fixed repeaters. Along the way, it explores hardware selection, firmware installation, troubleshooting, and the lessons learned while building a real-world mesh network.
A communications plan is built long before an emergency begins. This article explores why effective preparedness starts with defining objectives instead of purchasing equipment, examines the realities of the first seventy-two hours following a disaster, explains how to evaluate your local operating environment, introduces layered communications planning using the PACE model, and demonstrates why regularly practicing your plan is just as important as creating it.
Modern communications systems are remarkably reliable, yet they depend upon infrastructure that most people neither own nor control. This article examines how events such as the Egyptian internet shutdown, the Hong Kong Umbrella Movement, and the emergence of mesh networking demonstrate the importance of layered communications planning, redundancy, and resilience.
Many newcomers approach radio as a purchasing problem when it is actually a learning problem. Your first radio does not need to be perfect—it only needs to help you begin building communication capability.
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