Communications and Networking#

GMRS/ham radios#

(none yet)

Mesh/LoRa, camp Wi-Fi#

• Burning Mesh — Connect Off-Grid Now — Playa-wide Meshtastic LoRa mesh for Black Rock City; how to join, gear tips, and meetup info. (burningmesh.org)

• Burning Mesh Docs — Home — BM-focused Meshtastic docs: setup, on‑playa best practices, and camp usage patterns. (docs.burningmesh.org)

• Burning Mesh Docs — Quick Start (BM firmware flashing) — Flash the Burning Man build via burn.meshtastic.org and get on the playa mesh. (docs.burningmesh.org)

• Meshtastic Burntastic — Burning Man 2024 firmware (GitHub) — BM‑tuned Meshtastic firmware release and build artifacts. (github.com)

• Meshtastic @ Burning Man — read this first (Reddit /r/BurningMan) — Primer for Burners: how the BM mesh works, meetups, and links to burn.meshtastic.org & Burning Mesh. (reddit.com)

• Meshtastic — “Attention Burners!” (Reddit) — Special BM firmware + QR to join the Burning Man network; role presets and tips. (reddit.com)

• Meshtastic at Burning Man (Reddit /r/meshtastic) — Device roles, channeling, antennas, and mounting in BRC conditions. (reddit.com)

• Burning Man hardware advice (Reddit /r/meshtastic) — T‑Echo vs T‑Beam vs RAK, battery life, dust‑proofing for playa. (reddit.com)

• What Meshtastic devices will you take to Burning Man 2024? (Reddit) — Modem presets (Short_Fast), throughput tradeoffs, and camp mesh planning. (reddit.com)

• Burning Man meshers? (Reddit) — Call for BRC operators; logistics for getting gear to playa. (reddit.com)

• Meshtastic — “Attention Burners!” (Mastodon) — Social post with the BM QR join flow for the on‑playa mesh. (mastodon.social)

• Meshtastic — “Attention Burners!” (Facebook) — BM firmware announcement + join QR and device role guidance. (facebook.com)

• Meshtastic — “Attention Burners!” (Instagram) — BM special edition firmware post with “scan to join” instructions. (instagram.com)

• Burning Man hardware advice (Reddit /r/meshtastic) — T‑Echo vs T‑Beam vs RAK, battery life, dust‑proofing for playa. (reddit.com)

• Burning Man meshers? (Reddit) — Call for BRC operators; logistics for getting gear to playa. (reddit.com)

• Looking for LoRa users for a deep‑playa art piece (Reddit /r/BurningMan) — Using LoRa for generator alerts and as a volunteer repeater on the playa. (reddit.com)

• Meshtastic “Special Burning Man Firmware” discussion (Reddit) — Why a BM‑specific build exists, base version, and features. (reddit.com)

• Meshtastic firmware: neighbor packets traffic at Burning Man (GitHub issue) — BM congestion note; proposal to make Neighbors module opt‑in. (github.com)

• Meshtastic firmware: node discovery bridging for camps (GitHub issue) — Idea sparked by BM: bridging devices across camp frequencies/presets. (github.com)

• Meshtastic iOS — Burning Man: Adding a Camp Chat (YouTube) — Quick tutorial to set up a camp/channel for playa comms. (youtube.com)

• PlayaEvents — Meshtastic & Ham Radio Hangout @ Kostume Kult (2024) — On‑playa meetups to swap Meshtastic tips and coordinate. (playaevents.burningman.org)

• Adafruit — Glitter Positioning System (built for Burning Man 2018) — CircuitPython LoRa direction‑finding “people compass” for BM; full build. (learn.adafruit.com)

• Adafruit Glitterpos — code repo (BM reference) — Source for the BM‑born Glitter Positioning System (LoRa + NeoPixel ring). (github.com)

• LoRa Beacon for Burning Man (GitHub) — ESP32 + LoRa beacons conceived as a “beacon finder” for BM; code & wiring. (github.com)

• Seeed Studio — “Burning Mesh” building 100 nodes for BM 2025 (X) — Seeed XIAO nRF52840 + SX1262 dev kits earmarked for BRC gifting. (x.com)

• Seeed Studio — “Burning Mesh” nodes for BM 2025 (Facebook) — Community build effort to seed the playa mesh. (facebook.com)

• ChirpStack forum — LoRaWAN vs P2P for “Burning Man‑style” scenario — BM‑like use cases; why P2P/mesh may fit better. (forum.chirpstack.io)

• Disaster.Radio mail list — field test at Burning Man — Planned playa LoRa mesh tests; ~5 km link notes. (sudoroom.org)

• Gitea mirror — Glitterpos (BM reference) — Alternative repo mirror for the BM Glitter Positioning System. (code.p1k3.com)

• Hacker News — Meshtastic dev mentions Burning Man use case — Field constraints and legality discussion. (news.ycombinator.com)

• Unity Mesh Network example — “Say you’re at Burning Man…” — Mesh compass concept with BRC deployment example. (totemlabs.com)

• LynQ tracker — Product Hunt (BM user reports) — First‑hand notes on using LynQ at BM. (producthunt.com)

• LynQ tracker — product page with BM mention — Anecdotal BM field use of LynQ. (producthunt.com)

• Using Meshtastic as a tracker at festivals/BM (Reddit) — Map/locator expectations, pairing flow, battery strategy. (reddit.com)

• Wired (2000) — Burning Man a Test for Tech Art — Tech projects stress‑tested in playa conditions; networking challenges. (wired.com)

• Wired (2000) — Burning Man’s for Geeks, Too! — Volunteers built satellite/Wi‑Fi links across BRC (pre‑LoRa history). (wired.com)

• Wired (2000) — It’s the Burning Man Network (PlayaNET) — Early BRC digital mesh: kiosks, chat, and city locator services. (wired.com)

• Wired (2015) — FireChat mesh popular at Burning Man — Historical smartphone mesh used at BM; non‑LoRa context. (wired.com)

• Shout‑out to the folks updating via Meshtastic (Reddit /r/BurningMan) — Field report from the “mudpocalypse”: on‑mesh updates helped camps coordinate. (reddit.com)

• What Meshtastic devices will you take to Burning Man 2024? (Reddit) — Modem presets (Short_Fast), throughput tradeoffs, and camp mesh planning. (reddit.com)

• Yak.Ventures — Finding My Friend at Burning Man (Meshtastic) — T‑Beam nodes for texting & location across BRC; parts list and setup. (yak.ventures)

• Building an offline encrypted messaging platform for Burning Man (LoRa) — React‑Native + LoRa prototype for camp comms at BM; architecture & constraints. (medium.com)

Starlink best practices#

(none yet)

Caching and captive portals#

(none yet)

DIY radio stations on playa (how to broadcast)#

(none yet)

Tower placement, guying and night marking#

(none yet)

RF safety and interference mitigation#

(none yet)

Radio etiquette & incident call formats#

(none yet)

Camp IT runbook, offline maps and backups#

(none yet)

Official city radio & emergency contacts#

• BMIR 94.5 FM — The Voice of Black Rock City — on‑playa station; tune‑in details and streams. (bmir.org)
• Burning Man Information Radio — BMIR 94.5 FM (Official) — official playa broadcast for emergency bulletins & city updates. (burningman.org)
• BRC Emergency Reporting — “BRC 911 Alt” participant radio channel (PDF) — how to contact ESD; post‑MURS change channel details. (burningman.org)
• BRC Emergency Assistance Radio — frequency details (Reddit) — 451.900 MHz, NB, PL 91.5 — reach ESD dispatch. (reddit.com)
• CQ‑BlackRock — Ham & APRS in the Black Rock Desert — repeaters and APRS IGates/digis for BM; etiquette. (cq-blackrock.org)
• Amateur radio on playa (Reddit 2023) — community repeater net reports and pointers. (reddit.com)