🌐 Meshtastic for Large-Scale Actions

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Why It Matters

Once your pod expands past 15 active nodes, coordination becomes complex:

• More devices mean increased network chatter and battery draw.
• Surveillance risks rise, as more nodes can reveal patterns.
• Failure of a relay or gateway can disrupt communications for an entire region.

This course shows how to build networks that scale up to 100+ devices, stay resilient for days at a time, and remain secure in hostile conditions.

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What You'll Learn

1. Scaling to 100+ Nodes – Breaking a single network into logical segments with redundancy.
2. Relay & Gateway Infrastructure – Designing fixed, mobile, and stealth relays, and limiting internet bridges.
3. Power Management for Multi-Day Ops – Solar arrays, vehicle power, and rotation schedules.
4. Camouflage and Anti-Surveillance Practices – Hiding, protecting, and rotating equipment.
5. Cross-Pod Coordination – Linking multiple pods while avoiding single points of failure.

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Quick Action Steps

1. Draw a network map: pods, relays, channels, gateways, and backup devices.
2. Deploy at least two relays per zone (one primary, one backup).
3. Test a 24-hour operation with relay rotation and battery swaps.
4. Train two or more backup leads to run the network if you are compromised.

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Scaling Tactics

When scaling past a single pod, organization is key:

• Segment channels by role:

  • Medics, scouts, logistics, and leadership each get separate PSKs.
  • Reduces chatter and protects sensitive traffic.

• Relay placement:

  • Urban areas: 1–2 km apart for overlapping coverage.
  • Rural/open terrain: 5–8 km apart with high-gain antennas.

• Gateways:

  • Only one or two leadership nodes bridge to the internet for remote coordination.
  • Disable automatic cloud sync; use manual pull/push to reduce metadata leaks.

• Anonymous relays:

  • Use weatherproof boxes, fake utility enclosures, or camouflaged mounts.
  • Rotate their locations every few days to avoid pattern tracking.

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Relay & Gateway Infrastructure

For a city-scale deployment:

• Primary relays: Rooftops, water towers, or tall buildings.
• Secondary (mobile) relays: Parked vehicles or bike trailers with power banks.
• Gateways: Use only for leadership, and always through a VPN or Tor bridge to mask metadata.

Power planning:

• Equip each relay with 20,000–50,000 mAh battery packs.
• Use 20–40W solar panels for stationary units in daylight.
• Rotate relays and batteries on a 12-hour schedule during heavy ops.

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Power Management (Multi-Day)

Large networks can burn through power fast:

• Assign a power officer per zone to track battery swaps.
• Keep a pool of pre-charged spares (at least 2 per relay).
• Use vehicle alternators or small generators to recharge during downtime.

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Camouflage & Anti-Surveillance

• Hide relays in locked, weatherproof containers with labels like “Sensor Node” or “Environmental Logger.”
• Avoid putting relays in the same spot repeatedly; rotate locations.
• Use low-power mode when traffic is light to reduce RF signature.
• If a relay is compromised, change all PSKs immediately and redeploy backups.

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Cross-Pod Coordination

When multiple pods must connect:

• Use a hub-and-spoke model: pods maintain local networks, connected via a few trusted relay/gateway nodes.
• Avoid direct linking of all pods on one massive channel, which invites chaos and surveillance.
• Designate trusted liaisons to carry or operate the bridging nodes.
• Sync traffic in bursts (scheduled message windows) instead of constant chatter.

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Security & Redundancy Practices

• Rotate all PSKs weekly during operations.
• Keep offline, encrypted logs (paper + VeraCrypt) of device assignments.
• Maintain at least one backup relay per zone in storage, ready to deploy.
• Train three layers of operators: primary, secondary, and tertiary, so no single person is critical.

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Large-Scale Drill (Certification)

1. Deploy a 20-node network spanning at least two neighborhoods.
2. Maintain continuous coverage for 24 hours, rotating batteries and relays.
3. Simulate a relay seizure or failure, and restore the network within 15 minutes using backups.
4. Operate multi-channel encrypted traffic for at least 3 pod teams without cross-channel interference.
5. Submit a network plan and post-operation report to your Zone Lead for review.