overview for ptz

Meshtbank | A tiny off-grid payment node for Meshtastic, running a lightweight ledger for balances and transfers on low-power hardware. in c/meshtastic@mander.xyz

[–] ptz@dubvee.org 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Link works fine for me, but it was also covered on Hack-A-Day: https://hackaday.com/2025/12/05/off-grid-small-scale-payment-system/

From my understanding, this project is setup like a store gift card / transit fare system with a central "bank" for the accounts and deposits. As for Taler, I haven't looked into that as de-fi is not really one of my interests (and is usually all about cryptocurrency which I have even less interest in). Will take a look though.

17

Meshtbank | A tiny off-grid payment node for Meshtastic, running a lightweight ledger for balances and transfers on low-power hardware. (hackaday.io)

submitted 1 day ago by ptz@dubvee.org to c/meshtastic@mander.xyz

3 comments fedilink

With no guarantee that this project would ever be useful or even meaningful, I decided to develop a node called Meshtbank.

Meshtbank maintains a central ledger with users, transactions, and balances. It uses the default channel to broadcast system information such as activation and command notices, and it uses direct messages for all operations. An administrator, authenticated through a PIN, can remotely operate the system: creating and deleting accounts, or checking balances and transaction histories.

This would probably work for like a festival or convention. Don't really see it being practical outside of cases like that, but it's a cool use of Meshtastic nonetheless.

Bootloader Unlock Wall of Shame in c/privacy@programming.dev

[–] ptz@dubvee.org 2 points 1 day ago

I don't say this lightly, but completely on par with a classic Nokia with the exception of the touch screen. Not that I've damaged it, but touch screens are the weak point in all modern phones.

Bootloader Unlock Wall of Shame in c/privacy@programming.dev

[–] ptz@dubvee.org 18 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (4 children)

Yeah, I dunno how accurate this is.

From: https://github.com/zenfyrdev/bootloader-unlock-wall-of-shame/blob/main/brands/cat/README.md

Cat's phones have the OEM Unlock option in the settings app, but the typical fastboot flashing unlock/fastboot oem unlock just returns an unknown command error.

They didn't bother to list what model they tested before deeming the entire brand "Terrible". I have two CAT S22 Flips (still daily driving one of them), and both of them unlocked immediately with the fastboot command and without requiring an unlock key.

Mostly moot, though. You can still get CAT phones on the secondhand market but Bullit Group (the manufacturer of their branded phones) went out of business in April 2024.

I'm honestly not sure why you'd buy a phone from a tractor company anyways.

Because their phones are rugged AF and nearly indestructible.

Make Your Window Air Conditioner Way More Efficient for Under $20 in c/diy@slrpnk.net

[–] ptz@dubvee.org 0 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

TL;DW: It's solid advice. Insulate the crap out of the space around the unit since the default spacers don't seal/insulate well and let a lot of outside air mix in. He just goes above and beyond how most people would do that.

I thought it was going to be something wacky like stick a magnet on it or something, but he shows how to use a plastic sheet, spray foam, and a foam insulation panel to make a good seal (without the spray foam getting stuck to everything) that also looks good. I've used pool noodles in the past, but this seems like it would insulate even better.