EDIT: further to the exchanges that have gone on, I am not supporting the Meshtastic project any further. I am making the download unavailable now. I don't wish to further any involvement with the project.
The new multi-network profile version of the T-Deck Ultra firmware is now ready! I'm really excited to get this out in the wild. I've found it amazing to discover just how many Meshtastic nodes are running here in Melbourne:
The home screen looks like this now:
As I previously described, each network profile is represented like a folder, with contacts and other resources listed underneath. For Meshtastic profiles, there are two fixed items: Public, and Node List, for the public channel chat, and for the current node list. From the Node List, you can also select a node and then the Add to Home menu. You can then easily navigate into private chats with that node/user (eg. the 'Sqij 56f0' one above).
The node list shows current nodes in the local database, sorted by most recent:
You can navigate into node details:
The menu items are: Show on map and Add to home
The map tab will show green pins for nodes that have a POSITION record. At present the map pins aren't moving pins, ie showing live position. This is coming soon, though! However, if you zoom in or out, or pan, then the pins will be refreshed.
There are some maximums in the current version:
max 4 network profiles. (max 2, if no unlock code)
max 8 'add to home' contacts per profile
max 31 contacts total (on home screen)
max 80 nodes rendered in Node List
Menus
Some of the old menus have been moved around. The 'Setup' is now gone, with items moved to the Home screen's context menu (tap the icon in the bottom-left). The Ripple-specific menus (eg. Exchange Keys) is now under the network-profile's menu. (select the 'folder' on home screen, then select/trackball right). Similarly, there are Meshtastic-specific menus (eg. Max Hops)
Compatibility (with prev firmware)
You should just be able to flash this firmware, and if there is existing data it will be copied into a Ripple network profile named 'Ripple.{freq}'. If it's a fresh install, you should be walked through a startup wizard, with some help screens, then some screens to setup your main profile.
To setup additional network profiles, just open the home screen context menu, then select Networks. Tap on the menu icon in title bar, then select New Network...
Meshtastic
Currently, the chat (Public channel, or direct chats) are just using the public channel. I tried to get the new v2.5.x PKI (public-key) encryption done, but it just wouldn't work. I think the 2.5.x firmware is still a bit flaky, so it might still be a while until it stabilises.
I will be adding support for custom/private channels, with the pre-shared symmetric keys.
You can do POSITION sharing, simply by opening the home screen context menu, scroll down to GPS location and select BROADCAST. This enables the 'smart location' mode, ie. as you move it triggers the broadcasts.
Currently, your messages are only sent once. I will be adding support for multiple retries soon. Also, for direct chats, your sent messages which receive an ACK are marked with an orange 'tick' icon. Note, though, that these ACKs are currently not persisted. If you reboot your device you'll notice the ticks no longer show up. So, for now, they're just for 'live' acknowledgements that recipient got your message.
Other features still on the to-do list include: Trace Route support, UTF-8 support (eg emojis).