Welcome to 73 Mesh
We are Silicon Valley’s premier coalition of amateur radio operators, tech enthusiasts, nerds who actually prep, and people who think “mesh networking” sounds way cooler than it probably should. Operating in the South Bay area, 73 Mesh is dedicated to building a resilient, off-grid, decentralized LoRa Meshcore network that works when everything else doesn’t—and honestly, sometimes just because we can.
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What Is This Mesh Madness?
73 Mesh leverages Meshcore—an open-source, long-range mesh communication platform built on affordable LoRa (Long Range) radio devices. Think of it as the lovechild of ham radio and the internet, minus the internet, the monthly bills, and Big Tech knowing your business.
Technical Translation: We’re using sub-GHz ISM band radios (910 MHz in the US, or 902-928 MHz for licensed hams running higher power) to create a decentralized mesh network where each node relays messages for others. It’s like playing telephone, except the telephone actually works, covers miles, and doesn’t need cell towers, WiFi, or your nephew’s “IT expertise.”
Simple Translation: Walkie-talkies met the internet and had very capable, nerdy offspring.
Our Mission (Why We Do This)
Emergency Communications
When “The Big One” hits (earthquake, wildfire, zombie apocalypse, or Tuesday in California), traditional communications fail faster than your New Year’s resolutions. 73 Mesh is building a resilient, community-owned mesh network across Silicon Valley that operates completely independent of:
Cellular networks (sorry, AT&T and Verizion)
Internet infrastructure (looking at you, Comcast) Electricity grids (PG&E, we still love you… sort of) Common sense (we’re hams, after all)
Emergency Preparedness
We believe in being ready for anything—not in a “doomsday bunker” way, but in a “I’d like to communicate with my family during a disaster” way. We work alongside CERT teams, ARES/RACES, and other emergency response organizations to ensure our mesh network can support critical communications when legacy systems go dark.
General Fun (Because Why Not?)
Let’s be honest: half the joy is the tinkering. Whether it’s optimizing antenna patterns, achieving that perfect mountaintop node placement, or arguing about which firmware version is superior, we’re here for the journey as much as the destination. We hike, we experiment, we occasionally talk our non-ham friends into carrying weird electronics up mountains.
What Makes LoRa Meshcore Special?
Range: We’re talking miles, not feet. With proper line-of-sight and elevated nodes, you can achieve 10-30+ mile hops. Some of our members have logged contacts over 50 miles. Beat THAT, Bluetooth.
Low Power: These devices sip power like a hummingbird at a feeder. Solar panels? USB battery banks? A potato with electrodes? (Okay, maybe not that last one.) Your mesh node can run for days or weeks without breaking a sweat. Mesh Magic: Every device can be either a transmitter or a repeater. Send a message, and it hops through other repeaters until it reaches its destination. It’s like the six degrees of Kevin Bacon, but for radio packets.
Affordable: No thousand-dollar rigs required. Quality Meshcore devices start around $30-$100. Finally, a ham radio hobby segment that won’t require explaining to your spouse why the credit card bill looks like that.
Encrypted & Secure: MeshCore uses Ed25519 and AES encryption—basically, your messages are locked up tighter than your ex’s new Instagram account. Public channels? Encrypted with training wheels. Direct messages? Encrypted like you’re plotting a heist at the Louvre. Choose your paranoia level accordingly! 🔒
Open Source: Built by nerds, for nerds, with code you can actually inspect. No proprietary black boxes here.
Our Vision
73 Mesh aims to blanket Silicon Valley and the greater South Bay with a redundant, resilient mesh communications network that serves:
- The nearly 1 million residents of the San Jose area who deserve communications infrastructure that doesn’t vanish when the grid goes down
- Amateur radio operators seeking to expand beyond traditional voice repeaters into cutting-edge digital mesh territory
- Emergency responders and CERT teams who need reliable backup communications during disasters
- Outdoor enthusiasts who’d like to stay connected while hiking, camping, or exploring without selling their soul to satellite phone companies
- Technology enthusiasts who think “decentralized mesh networking” is the coolest thing since sliced bread (or since sliced bread got a firmware update)
Our Community
We are licensed amateur radio operators (Technician through Extra class), plant mechanics, software engineers, network architects, outdoor adventurers, emergency preparedness advocates, and people who genuinely enjoy debugging Python scripts at 2 AM. Our members include:
- Hams who remember when “digital mode” meant RTTY
- Software developers who can’t resist optimizing anything
- Hikers who consider “portable ops” an extreme sport
- That one person in every group who has opinions about antenna theory
We collaborate with:
- Amateur Radio clubs (including our friends at Almaden Radio Club, and the San Jose Simplex Group)
- Scouting America
- STEM education programs
- Anyone willing to carry a radio up a hill
- Humans that can fog a mirror and have a heartbeat
Our Goals
Build the Network
Deploy strategic mesh nodes across Silicon Valley to create comprehensive coverage from the Peninsula to East Bay, with special focus on:
- Mountaintop and elevated installations for maximum coverage
- Valley floor nodes to fill coverage gaps and serve population centers
- Mobile nodes for events, emergencies, and “because we felt like it”
- Solar-powered remote nodes in key locations (because running extension cords up mountains is frowned upon)
Educate & Inspire
- Host workshops on Meshtastic setup, configuration, and optimization
- Provide hands-on demonstrations at maker faires, ham fests, and community events
- Offer mentoring for newcomers (including the inevitable “I bricked my device, help!” support)
- Collaborate with schools and youth organizations to inspire the next generation of mesh network builders
Integrate Emergency Communications
- Conduct regular drills and exercises
- Develop best practices for mesh network emergency deployment
- Create interoperability between Meshtastic and traditional ham radio systems
Have a Ridiculous Amount of Fun
- Organize mesh camping trips and portable ops adventures
- Host friendly “node wars” to see who can achieve the longest reliable link
- Experiment with weird antenna designs (looking at you, fractal enthusiasts)
- Share stories of “that one time we got a signal bounce off a blimp”
73 from 73 Mesh
Where “Off the Grid” is More Than Just a Lifestyle Choice
P.S.
Yes, we know LoRa is “slow.” That’s not a bug; it’s a feature. When the world ends and you can’t TikTok your escape, you’ll thank us for those 200 bytes per second.
Also, if you’re reading this and thinking, “These people sound weird,” you’re absolutely right. And we’re okay with that.
Now let’s go build something awesome.