Vintage Macintosh.On the mesh.
MacMesh is a hardware and software system that allows your vintage Macintosh to connect to Meshtastic or MeshCore radio networks.
Coming soon.
First public showing at VCFMW 21, at the Computer Clan table.
About MacMesh
MacMesh is a board that adapts the modem port of a vintage Macintosh so it can be used as a terminal on MeshCore or Meshtastic.
What you need
A vintage Macintosh with an available modem port and at least 2MB of RAM, running System 6 or System 7.
| Name | Kind |
|---|---|
| The radioTuned and tested, in a printed enclosure with the antenna fitted. | Assembled |
| MacMeshA real floppy, with the Meshtastic and MeshCore applications on it. Drag them across and double-click. Runs on System 6 and System 7. | Floppy disk |
| PowerAny phone charger will do. Your Macintosh supplies nothing but the words. | USB-C |
Unit 001. Printed, assembled and tested by hand.
Three steps and you are on mesh.
Plug it into the Modem port
The round port your Mac already has on the back, the one that used to take a modem.
Give it power
One USB-C cable to any charger or battery pack. The unit runs entirely on its own.
Open MacMesh and type
Pick between Meshtastic and MeshCore, and send a message!
LoRa trades speed for distance. A short message carries for miles across open ground, and a good deal further from a node with some height on it.
Every node repeats what it hears, so your message reaches well past your own radio. Coverage grows as people put up more nodes.
Meshtastic and MeshCore both encrypt channel traffic via the attached Heltec radio.
Meshtastic has the most people on it. MeshCore is newer and leaner. The unit runs either one, and there is a separate application for each.
Making its debut at VCFMW 21.
MacMesh will be running at the Computer Clan table. Come and send a message from a vintage Macintosh.