anyway im thinking about cheap raspi meshnets for protesters to carry in bags to enable rapid communication, using like, 20$ of hardware including battery and raspi zero

@nire for a bit more you could get a low-end touchscreen and have an entire self-contained communication apperatus, hmm.

DigiKey is a good supplier for cheap-ish stuff "at scale" (usually minimuum qty is 20-50), though I'm sure you already have leads

@awilfox you dont want anything more than mesh networking

@awilfox the most costly thing is batteries

@nire @awilfox For batteries look at 1S LiPo batteries for things like remote control cars/planes/boats/quadcopters

The Pi Zero W will draw a max of somewhere under 300mA so depending on how long you want them active (I'd go for at least 10 hours personally) you should be able to find some cheapish ones

@troubleMoney @awilfox lipo is incredibly suboptimal because of two things, it xrays as the same density and look of molded c4, and it has a tendency to light on fire when kept in enclosed spaces while being used

@nire @awilfox Ah, wasn't aware x-ray detection was in your threat model for this.

Hang on, you're expecting people to be using phones to access this right? You've got a battery right there, just grab power from the phone and have the Pi Zero as a sort of phone case.

You might be able to camouflage it as one of those battery extender cases as well

@troubleMoney @awilfox so two things, one is they arent nec. connected to people with phones, and two, my threat model is 'have nothing cops can use to escallate charges out of ignorance or feigned ignorance', so it xraying as that is just part of that

@nire @awilfox Full stealth job then, preferably nothing on anyone in the area.

Does the mesh have to be mobile or can it be comprised of stationary gear that blends in to the environment?

Also are there likely to be any handy locations to set longer range gear?

@troubleMoney @awilfox no you misunderstand

it existing is fine

it having lipo batteries is a shitty idea

@nire @awilfox I'd hazard a guess that if they're going to take exception to common batteries then they'll probably pick up on the raspberry pis that a bunch of people seem to have

@troubleMoney I feel like you may be misunderstanding @nire.

LiPo batteries that are available to makers and enthusiasts are NOT the same quality as Apple or Sony batteries. They are much more fragile.

They are much more likely to turn into incendiary devices on their own, just from normal use. And they *look* like one to the untrained eye.

That can be dangerous when the authorities already want a reason to get rid of you.