Pseudonymous maker and Commodore fanatic “64jim64” — hereafter merely “Jim” — has mixed the brand new with the previous by constructing a cartridge to permit Commodore 64 and suitable microcomputers to hitch a Meshtastic LoRa mesh community — full with two-way communication.
“My objective was to launch this on the VCF [Vintage Computer Federation] Midwest present (VCFMW) in Chicago on September thirteenth and 14th. I barely made it,” Jim says of the Meshtastic 64 venture. “I had heard some issues about Meshtastic, however I used to be no knowledgeable. As I regarded into it, I realized that it’s an open supply, decentralized, peer-to-peer, textual content messaging community designed for long-range mesh communication. This appears to draw individuals which can be both within the expertise, fascinated about a decentralized/non-monetized communication system, fascinated about emergency communication — or any mixture. My take was a nerdy eight-bit venture to get a Nineteen Eighties laptop on the mesh.”
Not your regular BBS: a intelligent cartridge will get any Commodore 64 or suitable related to the Meshtastic LoRa mesh community. (📷: 64jim64)
The Commodore 64, if it requires an introduction, launched in 1982 as Commodore’s follow-up to its earlier VIC-20, and due to impressive-for-the-time graphics and impressive-even-now audio capabilities would turn into the best-selling single mannequin of residence laptop. What it by no means had, although, was a LoRa radio — principally as a result of the LoRa long-range low-power wi-fi communication commonplace would not be launched for an additional three many years or so.
The Meshtastic 64 bridges that hole, placing the favored Heltec LoRa V3 growth board inside a cartridge that may slot straight into the Commodore 64’s Person Port. A BASIC program handles the communication between host and radio, changing between commonplace ASCII textual content and the commodore-specific PETSCII character set — and retaining the power to speak in PETSCII if you realize the receiving machine on the opposite finish is a fellow Commodore.
The cartridge will also be used as an ordinary Meshtastic node, full with USB and Bluetooth connectivity. (📷: 64jim64)
“As a result of the Meshtastic 64 modules have a built-in rechargeable 1,000mAh battery,” Jim notes, “they’ll function independently from the C64 like a typical Meshtastic radio. That meant I used to be in a position to sustain with the conversations after I wasn’t on the [VCF] present flooring – even catching up on in a single day messages over my Sunday morning breakfast. VCFMW had arrange a particular Meshtastic channel for the present and there have been as much as 200 nodes all speaking directly!”
The venture is documented in full on Jim’s weblog, whereas a small variety of pre-assembled Meshtastic 64 gadgets can be found to pre-order on the BIT Zeal retailer.
