Name: Is Meshtastic better than… anything?? - Crash Course Part 2
Uploaded: 2026-02-21T22:31:27.000Z
Duration: 12 min 35 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

Most people think of backup communications options.

They think of something that looks like this.

There's more out there that we can consider as options.

Today we're going to talk about some of the options that exist and how Meshtastic compares to these options.

Although meshtastic isn't perfect, it does have some unique benefits that none of the others can claim.

Make sure you stick around until the end because you'll definitely want to hear about the pros that Meshtastic has to offer.

Foreign let's first talk about handheld radios.

That could be ham radio, GMRS or even just a basic walkie talkie using frs.

Quick recap for anybody that doesn't know a lot about these things.

So ham radio requires a license that you get through the fcc.

GMRS requires a license as well, but it's just pay to play.

Your entire family can communicate using GMRS systems on one of the radios I just showed you.

FRS doesn't require a license at all, but they are a lot lower power.

Let's do a quick recap for anybody who's not familiar with ham radio, GMRS or frs.

Ham radio and GMRS each require a license.

For GMRs, it's essentially pay to play gets you access for 10 years for your entire family.

FRS uses much lower power radios, but they don't require a license at all.

Think of this like your typical walkie talkie.

What what they all have in common is their mode of operation.

And what I mean by that is how you actually use the device to communicate, and that's voice.

Now, ham radio operators, before you run to the comments and talk about digital modes, I'm keeping this simplistic.

Now, most of the time, voice is completely sufficient for communicating with a radio.

This is the standard way people use radios.

I like to call it the synchronous limitation.

In order to actually communicate using voiceover radio like the one I showed you, you both have to be using the radios at the same time.

If you didn't catch the message because you were distracted or you weren't at the radio, or the radio was just off, you're not going to get the message.

If you really needed to hear that information and it only ever happened once, and

it won't happen again unless the other person repeats it, it's lost.

Let's move on to the privacy aspect of ham radio and gmrs.

A lot of people who are getting into comms are concerned with encryption using ham radio or gmrs.

You cannot obscure the meaning of your messages at all.

For the most part, people getting into ham radio and GMRS just accept this as a limitation.

It's important to remember with ham radio or GMRS anybody could be listening at any time.

So it's paramount that you don't share private details that you don't want somebody else to hear.

When you're using ham radio or gmrs, you have to give your call sign when you're transmitting.

People can look that call sign up and figure out where you live.

That is another limitation that people people accept whenever they use ham radio or GM rs.

I've given a lot of cons, but let me be really clear.

These radio systems are fantastic and there's a reason so many people use them.

They're the go to for voice transmissions.

But voice transmissions do have their limitations.

Another thing to note is that voice transmissions can only go so far.

Mostly because of the radios that you're using.

These handheld radios don't have a ton of power and one transmission can usually make it anywhere from 1 mile to 5 miles, depending on your location.

There are repeater systems that can extend that out.

But generally speaking, handheld voice radios are not going to get your transmissions super far.

Now let's move on to something a little bit different.

You could use it literally in the middle of nowhere.

You don't need cell service, you don't need WI fi.

Satellite messengers are really popular for hikers, backpackers, people who go off roading in the middle of nowhere.

They give you connectivity and peace of mind where there is no other option.

You can even go a step further and get a true satellite phone which does allow for synchronous communications.

But with these satellite messengers you can just message people the same way you would with your cell phone.

Honestly, for a lot of people, I recommend this as the first backup option to day to day communications using a cell phone.

Despite what the Internet might have you believe, not every calamity affects the entire world.

Oftentimes emergencies that can take out your cell service or WI fi are hyper localized.

And honestly, these are the things you're way more likely to face than some worldwide catastrophe.

All of that to say the things that can take out the infrastructure that allows these devices to work the way they do would be worldwide emergencies, which are very unlikely to occur.

Most of the time, these devices are going to be perfect for backup communic communications.

Even though you own the device, you don't necessarily own the transmissions.

You're essentially renting a signal from the companies that sell these devices.

None of them work without a subscription model.

In order for your device to keep working, you gotta pay on time.

And if you don't, your ability to use the device gets cut off.

It would really suck to be in an emergency where you need one of these things, but

you find out it stopped working because you changed credit cards a year ago or, or your credit card expired or there was just a billing error.

All that to say some innocuous life occurrence could cut off your emergency communications line.

This is the problem with renting the signal.

Another thing to note is that you are relying on a company's infrastructure.

You're relying on your signal to make it to a satellite.

And that satellite has to be able to send its signal either to another satellite or the gateway on the ground that connects you with the Internet.

If anything along that path fails, your message might not make it.

It could be something as innocuous as a bug in the software.

You just own a piece of equipment that allows you access.

And that's a stark difference from the devices I showed you earlier, like a handheld radio where you just talk into it.

You own the transmissions because you own the device.

Another thing to note about satellite messengers is that they can be a little bit pricey.

They typically start around $150, and they go up from there.

And you're also going to spend anywhere from $12 a month all the way up to $30 a month, depending on how many messages you want as a part of your subscription.

As you might imagine, that can rack up over time.

If you're paying 30 bucks a month, that's $360 a year, plus the $300 you probably spent on the device.

So if you want multiple for your entire family, it just multiplies from there.

Now, again, I really like satellite messengers, and

for the most part, they're one of the best, best options you can have for backup communications.

But that doesn't mean there aren't flaws.