Node to Node Short Messaging App

Do you mean just point to point from node to node, or from your node to another's node through the mesh network?
I love MeshChat - so much, but I would support this if it was very lightweight. It seems like the 32MB devices are even getting crowded for space.
I'd still love to get a light-weight version of iperf to be placed in the base AREDN FW. For those persons who set up or manage AREDN networks, especially core infrastructure, I wish everybody had a compatible version of iperf or iperfSpeed on their node. It would help folks regulate a bit more - SNR isn't everything - iperf is a must when near urban areas.
But to your lightweight chat function - I'm for it.

-Damon K9CQB   

Why do you want this?   You need to remember, the point of AREDN is not sitting and looking at the node information page, the point is to use the services across the mesh you need to use.  If a node operator is busy doing useful stuff, they are not looking at their node status page.

Is it to make your message immediately known to the other party?  That would require the other party be actively logged in as admin for that node.  You could instead send on MeshChat, that is very fast and easy to do. 

Do you want privacy?  Setup a MeshChat Zone and then people would have to actively look for that zone to read your messages, it's not actually private but hidden.

Do you want to communicate with the other party about some issue with their node?  Most folks have contact info on their node, and if none you can use QRZ to find them and send them an email.  I had to resort to QRZ recently to ask that someone lower their tx power. 

Do you need to have private messages to another ham (no matter if they are looking at that particlar node or not)?  Use Winlink Post Office or mesh based email such as Citadel.

The AREDN alert message package does work.  You have to opt in to recieve messages.

Ed

There seems to be a general belief that Meshchat can overload the memory of AREDN nodes.  Maybe I do not understand the problem, or maybe I am suffering some effects and just do not know it.  But the Meshchat_2.13-all.ipk file that goes into a node is less than 65KB, and the memory file is limited to about 1MB and 500 messages by default.

In one of my nodes, the message count limit is in action, and the message buffer is about 150K.  Our Meshchat Zone is not especially busy, but 500 messages today goes back to 2024-12-12. 

Maybe you could run an experiment in an EMCOMM exercise to see Meshchat will work for you.

--Tim K5RA

Reticulum Mesh Chat does what you're asking, but it doesn't run on the node itself. Since you need to use a computer to make use of MeshChat already, running a standalone executable doesn't seem like that big of a complexity increase.

https://github.com/liamcottle/reticulum-meshchat

MeshChat as it currently exists is probably going away since the original dev isn't maintaining it and it constantly needs patches for the LUA component to work. Food for thought when considering alternatives.

 

Reticulum looks interesting ... but a major advantage of MeshChat is that it self replicates the messages over multiple nodes with the same Zone name so it is more survivable in a true emergency.  The only major disadvantage of MeshChat is that everything posted can be read by everyone else.  So I've been looking for alternative easy to use apps that can reside on a server.  But ... now we go back to network survivability (we can't be sure what buildings or parts of the network will survive an earthquake).

This is the first I've heard of MeshChat possibly going away ... the migration to Lua was a while ago.  Perhaps there is an issue with the new Babel or something else no one has told us about?  MeshChat is perhaps the most deployed and used service on AREDN and it would be awful for it to go away.

Ed

 
Meshchat had serious issues after a NB in October 2024 that deleted a couple of LUA packages that it needed to run. KN6PLV fixed the problem that Meshchat 2.12.1 had with stable release 3.25.2.0 and nightly builds after 3.24.10.0.  It is probably correct that Meshchat does not have a development community to support it, but it is working with recent nightly builds.  I have Meschat-api 2.13 in a hAP ac lite with NB 0316 and Meshchat_2.13 in a hAP ac2 with NB 0317.  Our Meshchat zone works great in our mesh island.

--Tim K5RA

Yes, E is for emergency but N is also for network.  It's also D for data network, not a coms system like a simple radio.  It's a structured mesh network that has some self healing ability.

I can chuck up a node on a hill somewhere, but although I can reach another AREDN node somewhere, I can't actually do anything with it, while because I don't know what apps or software the other guy might have,

I can't tell if you are exploring AREDN or actually familiar with it, but here goes.  The AREDN system is all browser based, and nearly all the things we do with it are http based.  You don't need to be concerned at all with what computer the other person has, what software, it doesn't matter.  Any services you can use to communicate with the other people are advertised on the node and linked for you.  So, if you have a web browser and want to view a video, you click that link.  If you want to send a message via MeshChat you find an instance and click that link.  If you want to access a file server, you click the link and access it.

We don't use AREDN like a digital HT and simply talk to the other party.  You learn where the people you need to talk with are messaging each other and go there.  Once on the mesh, you are on the entire mesh that exists at that time.  The owner of each node is rarely actually sitting with their node and logged in.  

You can send Winlink to a particular call sign so long as you know in advance which server to put it on.  You can't however parachute in from another state, arrive on a hilltop, connect and be talking to everyone.  AREDN is something you need to know the other people in your area and what's available to use.

You might prefer Meshtastic or MeshCore, if all you want to do it turn on a device after an emergency and see whom you can contact.  AREDN is infrastructure mostly, should be left on 24/7 unless you have to setup somewhere on the fly.  

Ed

This is not like