Beyond the Grid: LoRa for Sailboat Communication
Exploring LoRa as an Effective Backup Communication
Background
My wife and I live aboard a 40 foot catamaran and are frequently in areas with little or nor cell coverage. Handheld VHF marine radios are great but the range is limited and battery life is more accurately measured in hours than days, depending on usage.
In addition, marine VHF frequencies are between 156–174 MHz which means that the signal degrades quickly if you’re not in line of sight. This is because, generally speaking, the higher the frequency, the lower the penetration through, and diffraction around, objects such as buildings, hills or mountains.
Because of this I was looking for an alternative means of communication to use as a back. Enter LoRa and Meshtastic.
A Possible Solution
LoRa (Long Range) is a type of radio that operates in the 915MHz frequency (in the US) and while it operates at a much higher frequency than marine VHF, it uses chirp spread spectrum (CSS) technology which is much more efficient at maintaining signal integrity. CSS broadcasts a signal which is spread across a range of frequencies centered around 915MHz.
This makes the transmission less susceptible to noise and interference, doppler…
