No internet required… In this video, I build a public Reticulum node and test whether it can bridge completely different networks into one encrypted communication path. I send messages from a normal phone over LTE, through the internet and Starlink, then off-grid over LoRa—eventually using a $20 drone-mounted relay to reach a phone with no internet connection at all.
Had a play with meshtastic, but no other nodes in my city.
Meshcore seems to be the more popular choice: https://meshcore.io/map
There’s a guy that lives maybe 2 miles from me. Could see nodes all around him, and many even further away, but could never see him.
He needs a better antenna or higher elevation for his node is all. Same rules as any radio.
Where are you living? Make sure you read local forums, they might have specific connection settings to hide. Anyway meshtastic is slow and cannot even transmit voice. This could be better if there will be nodes.