Assembly

Off-Grid Messaging

📡 Off-Grid Messaging Assembly at 38C3

From festival communication blackouts to widespread power outages, from hiking in remote areas to maintaining communication during infrastructure shutdowns – we explore and build communication systems that work when traditional networks don't. Following the evolution from early WiFi-based community networks to modern LoRa and mesh solutions, we're creating resilient communication systems that make long-standing dreams of autonomous networks a reality. Join us in experimenting with these technologies!

🎯 What We're About

Real-World Applications:
- Outdoor activities with ranges up to 10km per node (Meshtastic Field Reports)
- Civil service coordination (TETRA limitations)

Emergency communication during power outages (BBK Report)
- Festival coordination when cellular networks are overwhelmed

Accessible Technology:
- Entry points from €30-50 for basic nodes
- Options for both license-free (ISM bands guide) and amateur radio frequencies
- Academic insights into routing algorithms and network topology

🛠️ Workshop Areas

Our three fully equipped spaces feature:

📺 Live network statistics and system demonstrations
🔍 Overhead camera for antenna building
📊 Interactive demos
🔧 Hardware test bench for your projects

🌐 Featured Technologies

From classic packet radio to modern mesh protocols, we showcase the evolution of community-controlled networks:

🎯 ISM band systems (Meshtastic, MeshCom)
📻 Amateur radio applications (APRS, Direwolf, cats.radio)
🌐 Resilient networking solutions (Reticulum)
💻 Platform demos (OpenWRT, OpenBSD)

🎪 Project Showcases

Reticulum

is the cryptography-based networking stack for building local and wide-area networks with readily available hardware
can continue to operate even in adverse conditions with very high latency and extremely low bandwidth.