Who wants a bonus video?
If you said yes, here you go. On my way out back to the truck while recording the main part of the original T-Echo video, I decided to record some more as I started thinking of more things to talk about. I already knew I had more than enough content for one video, so I thought I save this stuff for a sepreate video here.
I'm really excited about this one
While so far I've been excited about the potential of Meshtastic and building a mesh network in my area. The one part that I've seen as a possible roadblock getting my non-tech neighbors, friends and family on board have been the devices themselves.
Don't get me wrong there have been some great improvements since I first heard of Meshtastic and LoRa in general. You can now get nodes, like the Lilygo T-Beam fully assembled with Meshtastic installed.
No need to solder or flash firmware. But you still have just a bare printed circuit board with a battery hanging off the back. Either you live with that, which one could certainly do without issue; or you go down the rabbit hole of 3D printing. Great for the maker or tinkerer, not great for the average person. If I'm going to build a mesh network in my area, the average person needs to be involved.
This little setback for the average person is resolved fairly nicely with the T-Echo. The node comes in a form that is more acceptable for most people. A completed device with a purpose built plastic injection molded housing. The device is truly plug and play.
I can hand a friend a T-Echo, them all about it and have a much better chance of getting them to buy, setup, and carry their own over handing them the less expensive, just as capable T-Beam that is an exposed PCB with a battery attached to the back. Appearances matter with first impressions.
Open for improvements
As mentioned in the video, so far the range is not what I have been able to get out of other devices. My suspensions, that have been confirmed by other YouTube videos I've now seen on the T-Echo is the antenna is not the greatest. Which one should expect, right? Short stubby antennas are great for keeping the form factor of the device small and the antenna out of the way. But that comes with the price of less performance.
Now the lesser range I'm seeing so far with the T-Echo is not necessarily a bad thing. If I had a solid mesh network, or working with a group not spread out for more than maybe a quarter mile; I would gladly accept the shorter range for the more compact form of the T-Echo.
As I type, I have another antenna on order that I plan to supplement my T-Echos with. Since it's easy to switch antennas on the go; I will likely carry both with me and use the best one for the environment on hand.
Another shortcoming is the control buttons on the side of the T-Echo. They are exposed and pretty sensitive. Making it easy to turn the device on or off, reboot, etc. when you don't want to. One last complaint from me is they is no belt clip or lanyard included. I would like to be able to attach the T-Echo to a belt, backpack, etc.
Some great makers in the Meshtastic world have already addressed this by designing bolt on 3D printed cases to better protect the buttons and add a lanyard loop. This is one of the cool things about Meshtastic and amateur radio. There are a lot of creative and talented people who will come up with solutions like this.