INDUSTRY NEXT / FIELD OBJECT 005 / AUGUST 2026

Build the
local signal.

Open projects for talking across a field, linking two windows, hosting a block’s own movies and music, and listening to small machines moving through the sky.

Choose a build Start with one table

9: build directions
4: signal layers
0: cloud required for the local layer

DISH CONSOLE / RX-005LOCAL / RECEIVE

THE DISH IS AN EAR. A satellite ground station listens. It is not internet backhaul.

FIELD TEST 001 / NEW / PLAYABLE

The sky
is local.

Choose a real modeled satellite pass over El Segundo, rehearse it with a tiny browser instrument, print the picnic score, then build the receiving ear.

Play the Satellite Picnic LIVE ORBITAL MODEL / REHEARSED SOUND / NO RADIO CONNECTED

EL SEGUNDO / SKY SCORE 001 BLANKET.
THERMOS.
ORBIT. NEXT PREDICTED PASS / LIVE JSON ↗

01 / KEEP THE LAYERS HONEST

Four different
kinds of near.

A mesh is not one magic radio. It is several useful layers that can meet without pretending to be the same thing.

01 / POCKET

Low-rate radio

Short messages, positions, sensor readings, and tiny packets. Long reach; very little bandwidth.

LoRa · Meshtastic · RNode

02 / BETWEEN PLACES

Roof + window links

Wi-Fi-class connections between known points. Line of sight, mounting, and local spectrum rules matter.

OpenWrt · 802.11s · LibreRouter

03 / ON THE BLOCK

Local compute

A small computer serves movies, music, live video, maps, books, games, and bulletin boards nearby.

Kiwix · Owncast · Jellyfin

04 / LOOK UP

Satellite ears

Receive and decode signals from orbit. Start receive-only; transmitting can require licenses and coordination.

TinyGS · SatNOGS

02 / NINE DIRECTIONS

What do you
want to make?

Filter by the feeling you want. Every card names the open layer and the honest limit.

Showing all 9 build directions.

BUILD 01 / AFTERNOONOPEN SOFTWARE

COMMUNICATION / NO CELL TOWER

Pocket Relay

Three small LoRa boards become a low-power text and telemetry mesh for a walk, event, or neighborhood check-in.

USE: Short text, location, sensor packets
NEEDS: 3 supported boards + phones
LIMIT: Not voice, video, or guaranteed emergency service

Build with Meshtastic

BUILD 02 / WEEKENDOPEN RADIO SYSTEM

COMMUNICATION / MAKE THE RADIO

Field Telephone

Turn common LoRa development boards into RNodes, then use Reticulum for an encrypted local network with no central address authority.

USE: Messages, files, local network experiments
NEEDS: 2+ compatible boards + hosts
LIMIT: Low data rate; band rules vary by place

Make an RNode ↗ Read Reticulum ↗

BUILD 03 / TWO WINDOWS, THEN THREE ROOFSOPEN HARDWARE + FIRMWARE

DIRECTIONAL / COMMUNITY NETWORK

Three Roofs

Start with a measured two-point link. Add a third node only after the first path works. Serve a local page before adding internet backhaul.

USE: Local intranet between buildings
NEEDS: Permission, safe mounts, line of sight
LIMIT: “25 miles” is a staged network horizon—not one device’s radius

Open LibreRouter hardware ↗ Study OpenWrt 802.11s ↗

BUILD 04 / AFTERNOONOPEN SOFTWARE

ORBIT / FIRST SATELLITE EAR

Orbit Ear

Flash a supported ESP32 LoRa board, point an antenna upward, and join a collaborative network receiving small satellites.

USE: Receive LoRa satellite telemetry
NEEDS: Compatible board + antenna + Wi-Fi
LIMIT: Receive project; passes and frequencies vary

Start with TinyGS

BUILD 05 / DEEP WEEKENDOPEN HARDWARE + SOFTWARE

ORBIT / ROTOR + RECEIVER

Satellite Desk

Build a modular ground station that schedules observations, tracks low-Earth-orbit satellites, and contributes reception to a public network.

USE: Track, receive, decode, contribute observations
NEEDS: Receiver, antennas, controller, clear sky
LIMIT: More RF, mechanics, and calibration than TinyGS

Open the SatNOGS build docs

BUILD 06 / AFTERNOONFREE SOFTWARE

KNOWLEDGE / LOCAL WI-FI

Offline Library

A Raspberry Pi creates its own Wi-Fi network and serves an intentionally chosen shelf of books, maps, manuals, and reference material.

USE: Library, repair café, classroom, road kit
NEEDS: Supported Pi + storage + selected ZIMs
LIMIT: Content must be refreshed intentionally

Build a Kiwix Hotspot

BUILD 07 / EVENINGOPEN SOFTWARE

LIVE MEDIA / ONE CAMERA

Block TV

Run one live video channel and chat from a small local server. Point OBS at it, then invite nearby browsers over your own network.

USE: Performance, council, game, porch camera
NEEDS: Computer + Owncast + local network
LIMIT: Video needs far more bandwidth than LoRa

Broadcast with Owncast

BUILD 08 / EVENINGFREE SOFTWARE

MEDIA / SHARED SHELF

Neighborhood Jukebox

Serve a rights-cleared collection of local music, movies, photos, and recordings to phones and projectors on the same network.

USE: Listening room, movie night, oral history
NEEDS: Server + storage + media you may share
LIMIT: Respect copyright, privacy, and contributor consent

Host it with Jellyfin

BUILD 09 / WEEKENDOPEN SOFTWARE / COMMODITY RECEIVER

LISTENING / SHARED RADIO WINDOW

Radio Window

Put a software-defined receiver somewhere electrically quiet, attach the right antenna, and let several local browsers listen at once.

USE: Shortwave, amateur, air, weather, satellite reception
NEEDS: SDR receiver + antenna + local server
LIMIT: Receive-only is the clean start; protect private communications

Open a window with OpenWebRX

03 / COMBINE THE LAYERS

A network needs
a reason to exist.

Hardware is the floor. A shared local thing—music, maps, messages, a game, the sky—is what brings people back.

RECIPE A / FRIDAY NIGHT

Night Market TV

OpenWrt local Wi-Fi + Owncast + one camera + one projector.

OUTPUT: A LIVE BLOCK CHANNEL

RECIPE B / WALKING CLUB

Street Signal

Three Meshtastic nodes + a printed meeting map + agreed check-in language.

OUTPUT: A TINY SOCIAL PROTOCOL

RECIPE C / CLEAR EVENING

Satellite Picnic

TinyGS + pass predictions + a speaker or light driven by received packets.

OUTPUT: ORBIT AS LOCAL THEATER

RECIPE D / LIBRARY TABLE

Suitcase Internet

Kiwix + local stories + repair manuals + a simple page listing who maintains the shelf.

OUTPUT: A PLACE THAT REMEMBERS

04 / START SMALL ENOUGH TO FINISH

One table.
Two windows.
Three roofs.

01
One table
Host one local page or offline library. Let five people use it. Write down what they came for.
02
Two windows
Measure one link between known places. Log line of sight, signal, power, weather, and permission.
03
Three roofs
Add a redundant path and a second useful service. Name a maintainer before naming a coverage area.

05 / SOURCE SHELF / PRIMARY PROJECTS

Follow the people
building the tools.

Compatibility, licensing, radio rules, and releases change. These links go to each project’s own documentation or source.

01MeshtasticOFF-GRID LORA MESH 02RNodeOPEN DIGITAL RADIO 03ReticulumCRYPTOGRAPHIC NETWORK STACK 04LibreRouterOPEN COMMUNITY ROUTER 05OpenWrt 802.11sWI-FI MESH GUIDE 06TinyGSLORA SATELLITE STATION 07SatNOGSOPEN GROUND STATIONS 08Kiwix HotspotOFFLINE KNOWLEDGE 09OwncastLOCAL LIVE VIDEO 10JellyfinFREE MEDIA SYSTEM 11OpenWebRXSHARED RADIO RECEIVER 12Field guide JSONMACHINE-READABLE EDITION

Curated 03 August 2026. Inclusion is not endorsement or a claim that every compatible board has open hardware files. Read each project’s current license and supported-hardware list before buying or building.