Off-grid radio · Central Coast NSW
No tower.No problem.
We build community-owned, solar-powered radio networks across the Coast and teach people to use them. Text messages that hop hill to hill with no phone towers, no internet and no subscription.
The network fails when you need it most.
Outages, bushfires, storms and floods all take out mobile coverage. LoRa mesh radio keeps working: small battery or solar nodes pass messages to each other across kilometres. The Coast already has an inland backbone. The beach towns don't, so that's where we're building.
What we do
Public workshop
Off-grid messaging in 3 hours. You leave with a working node set up for the local mesh and know how to use it.
Club & group workshop
Up to 15 people at your venue. Built around how your club actually operates: events, patrols, call-outs.
Solar repeaters
Hilltop and rooftop repeaters sized to survive a Coast winter. Supplied, configured, sited and maintained.
Farm & business telemetry
Tank levels, gates, cool rooms, frost. Alerts reach you without phone coverage or a cloud account.
STEM incursion
A full day in your classroom: students build a node, power it from the sun and send messages across the school.
Device setup & tech work
Already have a device? We'll configure it for the local mesh. Custom LoRa and ESP32 work by arrangement.
Benedikt, Avoca Beach.
Hilltalk is a local business, not a drop-shipper. I design the power, build the electronics and come out to site.
- Off-grid power300+ solar and battery systems designed and built at Safiery. Repeaters that don't die in July.
- Embedded electronicsESP32, nRF, firmware and custom boards. When off-the-shelf won't do, I build it.
- Field commsYears of maintenance runs on comms cabinets and modems out in the field.
- LocalI live on the Coast and know its hills, black spots and weather.
Straight answers
How far does it reach?
A few kilometres between handheld nodes at street level. From hilltop to hilltop, repeaters link over tens of kilometres. Every node also passes messages on, so coverage grows as more people join.
Do I need a licence?
No. These devices use the 915–928 MHz band under the ACMA's LIPD class licence, which covers everyone automatically. There's nothing to apply for and no fees.
Is it private?
Channels are encrypted. You don't need a phone number, SIM or account, and nothing passes through a company's servers.
What does it cost to run?
Nothing ongoing. No subscriptions or call charges. Repeaters can go on an optional yearly maintenance plan.
Does it work with MeshCore or Meshtastic?
Yes. We set up MeshCore for the public Coast network and Meshtastic for private systems such as farm sensors, and we'll tell you which suits what you're doing.
Get on the list.
The first public workshops are being scheduled now. Leave your details and you'll hear first, or ask about anything else.
Or email hello@hilltalk.com.au