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.
Meshtastic
- An open source, off-grid, decentralized, mesh network built to run on affordable, low-power devices
- Easy to operate&hack
Wireless Network Transceiver (WNT)
- Hardware and software for robust network communication
- Features fancy math
RNS-NOW
- ESP-NOW integration for Reticulum Network Stack
- Based on MicroPython for easy hacking
Reticulum on OpenWrt
- Run resilient mesh networks on your router
- Or old PC
microReticulum
- Lightweight Reticulum implementation for remote area communications
- Bridging the gap between Meshtastic and Reticulum networks
EdgeMap
- Offline-capable mapping and tracking solution
- Used in real field operations
- Live demo tracking assembly network nodes
OpenBSD
- The OpenBSD project produces a free, multi-platform 4.4BSD-based UNIX-like operating system
- Easy to install, operate and maintain
🎥 Media Opportunities
- Live system demonstrations throughout the congress
- Project leaders available for technical interviews
- Visual demonstrations of network growth and resilience
- Hardware showcase and field deployment simulations
🤝 Get Involved
- 📅 Visit: December 27-30, 2024 in Hamburg - Hall H
- ☎️ Eventphone Callgroup: 2326
- 💬 IRC:
#38c3-off-grid-messaging
on hackint - 🔧 Bring your hardware for testing and setup

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