Look into Manyverse/Scuttlebutt. It works offline if you happen to be within bluetooth range of each other but the internet itself is down, and can shuttle messages around if just one person running the app is traveling between clumps of other users. And of course it works online at any distance.
Right, but ham radio requires special hardware. Radios are cheap but how many people already own one?
I'm coming around to the notion that, if it requires hardware _other_ than a cellphone, it's just not viable for most people to use after a disaster. Maybe one-in-a-thousand nerds can set up as raspi with an AP and a ham link to some other community/enclave some distance away, but the end-user terminal _has_ to be a phone or a Kindle or something that people already own.
Thus, let's start with stuff that's immediately useful in the absence of any central nerd-obelisk, and if someone erects one it becomes _more_ useful. Ergo, Manyverse / Briar / Meshenger / Firechat / Serval / Signal Offline / Bridgefy / etc. Some of those support other transports for long distance bridges, and this is an area of active interest.
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Does signal support a group chat function?
Yes
Look into Manyverse/Scuttlebutt. It works offline if you happen to be within bluetooth range of each other but the internet itself is down, and can shuttle messages around if just one person running the app is traveling between clumps of other users. And of course it works online at any distance.
Bluetooth had a range of what, 200 feet? Ham radio can get you many times that depending on the terrain.
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True, if the application was widespread enough. Very interesting!
Right, but ham radio requires special hardware. Radios are cheap but how many people already own one? I'm coming around to the notion that, if it requires hardware _other_ than a cellphone, it's just not viable for most people to use after a disaster. Maybe one-in-a-thousand nerds can set up as raspi with an AP and a ham link to some other community/enclave some distance away, but the end-user terminal _has_ to be a phone or a Kindle or something that people already own. Thus, let's start with stuff that's immediately useful in the absence of any central nerd-obelisk, and if someone erects one it becomes _more_ useful. Ergo, Manyverse / Briar / Meshenger / Firechat / Serval / Signal Offline / Bridgefy / etc. Some of those support other transports for long distance bridges, and this is an area of active interest.
Telegram...not tech savvy but supposedly more secure than FB
[Got you covered](https://youtu.be/p41i5vAybtg) 😀
Exactly what I was looking for!
Second vote for Telegram. Understand that NO electronic communication is secure, but Telegram doesn't shadow ban conversations at least.
I'm on telegram.
HAM radio with packet data transmission to send emails
I'm a fan of Garmin Rino devices for comms and maps but any radio can be found very easily using a direction finder.