Getting the Most Range Out of Meshtastic with Altitude

The purpose of this experiment to see if I could get around the line-of-sight limitation of low-power LoRa radios by sending it up on a tethered balloon. According to the math, I should be able to reach 65 miles in a single hop using Meshtastic. Could keeping a bottle of helium and some balloons on hand in case of a grid down emergency be a reliable way to get messages out to your group? Disclaimer: These videos are for education and are meant to inspire and motivate. I will never promote commercial content, and if a product appears in any video it has been purchased by me and should be in no way construed as endorsement of the product. Also, some of the topics may be sensitive (e.g. militias.) Don't do anything illegal. Check with your local laws. If you wish to support my work, check out my Patreon. 100% of the proceeds will be funneled back into channel content! (Such as the shiny new 3D printer in this vid!) Patreon link:   / civildefenseengineer   Chapters: 0:00 - Intro 0:50 - The Plan 5:03 - The Regulations 7:06 - Background 8:45 - The Plan Changes 10:37 - The Plan Changes Again 12:18 - Filling the balloons 14:08 - The Plan Changes Back Again 15:30 - Pre-launch Procedures 17:35 - The Launch 19:15 - Spool Malfunction 20:23 - Losing Altitude Prematurely 20:46 - After Action Review #radio #2ndamendment #militia #meshtastic #mesh #LoRa #experiment #science #balloon #helium #prepper #meshcore