Rooftops / Shops / Hills / Windows

Host a useful node.

MontanaMesh gets stronger when radios are placed high, powered reliably, and left online. If you have a good view across Billings, Laurel, Lockwood, the Heights, or nearby rural corridors, your site may help dozens of other radios hear each other.

Good Sites

Height beats almost everything

A modest radio on a roof, ridge, tower, shop, barn, or high window can outperform an expensive radio sitting indoors at street level. Clear line of sight, safe mounting, and dependable power matter more than chasing the fanciest board.

01 / Window Node

Easy indoor host

Best for apartments, offices, and homes with a high window facing open terrain.

  • Needs: USB power, a 915 MHz radio, and a better antenna placed near glass.
  • Good for: testing coverage, bridging a neighborhood, and learning before outdoor mounting.
  • Watch: low-e glass, metal screens, and interior walls can quietly eat signal.
02 / Roofline Node

Best community value

Best for houses, garages, shops, churches, schools, and small businesses.

  • Needs: weatherproof enclosure, quality antenna, safe cable routing, and stable power.
  • Good for: durable local coverage without needing a remote solar build.
  • Watch: lightning exposure, water ingress, sun-baked plastic, and long coax runs.
03 / Remote Relay

Coverage multiplier

Best for hilltops, barns, towers, ranch sites, and places with broad views.

  • Needs: solar panel, oversized battery, low-power radio, weatherproofing, and periodic access.
  • Good for: linking valleys, highways, neighborhoods, and towns that cannot hear each other directly.
  • Watch: winter sun angle, snow cover, wind load, animals, and legal permission to mount.

Before We Mount

What makes a site worth checking?

  • A clear view over rooftops, ridges, open fields, or a major travel corridor.
  • Permission to mount a small antenna or weatherproof box without creating a safety issue.
  • Reliable power, or a place where a solar panel can face good sun year-round.
  • A safe path for maintenance if the node needs a firmware update, battery swap, or antenna change.
  • A host who is comfortable with a small low-power radio being online for community coverage.

What to expect

Question Practical Answer
Does it need internet? No for normal mesh repeating. Internet is only needed for optional MQTT gateway roles, dashboards, or remote management.
How much power does it use? Most nodes are low-power devices. A wall-powered host is usually simple; solar hosts need more careful sizing.
Will it track me? Fixed community nodes can use fixed coordinates or no shared position. Personal location sharing is a separate user choice.
Who maintains it? That depends on the site. Some hosts run their own hardware; others coordinate with volunteers before anything is installed.

Raise Your Hand

Have a possible site?

Talk with us on Discord Share the general area, mounting height, power situation, and what direction the site can see. Pick hardware Compare window, rooftop, solar, vehicle, and pocket-device options. Check the live map Look for nearby nodes and coverage gaps before planning an install.