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770 points ananddtyagi | 2 comments | | HN request time: 0.442s | source
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syntaxing ◴[] No.44485489[source]
Whoa this is really neat. I’ve been trying to get into Meshtastic but it’s hard to convince others when you need special hardware. Would be super neat if Apple did something similar. Shouldn’t be too hard since the AirTags use the same idea?

Would also be neat if there was a way to build a LoRA proxy to extend the range. I might give this a try with my meshtastic devices.

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K0balt ◴[] No.44486004[source]
It depends on the antenna efficiency of course, but I was surprised to discover that BLE modes around 128kbps using coded-PHY have a range extending over 1-1/2 km without a directional antenna. At 2.4ghz its line of sight, of course, but still…
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kragen ◴[] No.44486615[source]
That's extremely surprising to me too. I would have expected BLE to reach a few meters, not kilometers. How can I learn more?
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1. Aurornis ◴[] No.44489786[source]
Search for “BLE coded PHY”.

The S8 coded mode with 125kbps rate is the long distance one. Support for it in phones is not widespread, sadly.

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2. kragen ◴[] No.44491742[source]
Thanks! I didn't realize that was the key phrase.