Setting up a network of like minded people is one thing.
Really setting up a neighborhood functional network is another.


Ideally, one would have a rough idea of their closest neighbors thoughts and preparedness level.
The fallacy is that most don't even know their neighbor who lives to the left or right of them. Let alone across the street or folks down the street. We also live in different layouts. Apartments to tightly build single home neighborhoods to those that are in larger lots to 5, 10, 20 acre lots.




Here's the scenario

Granted this video is from the "1960's" from the Twighlight Zone
"The Shelter" is a unique episode of The Twilight Zone because it has no alien, monster or supernatural threat, but still leaves you with that uneasy feeling.

The monster within... force family men to defend their family when they have chosen to have no options - will clinge to those that have options. Even to the point of evil.

I showcase the following episode as an example of resources or options and how people will even stoop to violence to get it.
Mass or Group Think - the mentality turns to pure madness. The pacifist turns into a killer.
https://youtu.be/pE1nQt_6Mp0?si=x-KzAR90HOA5v43f


So, We all should want to network. It's what we do on this site of WaGuns.
We are networking our information and experiences. The problem lays in the fact of geography and technology. We are all over the place (physically) and we are bound by the need of electricity and the internet.


For disaster networking to really work. We need neighbor networks.
People living relatively close enough to make it functionally sound. Not just within the same city/town. Because that can mean one extreme edge of town to across town. Within blocks of each other is even stretching it but is more reasonable.


I call for Hubs
What I mean is a point of contact. A local leader - willing to take on the command function of collectively being active enough to even meet local members and conducting classes or making meet ups happen.

A local leader will have or know local resources. Some skill or means to enhance that location. Like having communication, fuel, water, shelter means.

Why network? To establish pre-disaster is the best way to have people local to you. That you have already established known contact and shared means to overcome or sustain your means to survive and defend.

As a prepper, having food, water and protection doesn't mean much when in defending what you have - a group can simply over take you and take all you have built.
One person cannot reasonably defend their home 24/7

So, would you like to be a Hub for your area?
Let me know and I'll put out a map of general Hubs so people can see where they fall.

Please PM your address and will discuss where we mark a HUB in your area. I won't use your specific location. More like a central marker.
Example: like you live near IKEA. Well, I'll use IKEA as the general marker and those living near there can group together.


Communication will be the key to each HUB.

But first, we need a person to be the HUB.

HUBS


Maple Valley near Tahoma HS

This guy talks about "meshtastic"



It's, apparently, an encrypted text app and the device you build(?) buy(?) and use with your phone.

You can set a primary comm group, and comms with them are encrypted but it sends other info like location.
Other sub groups can be created and contact with those, perhaps less familiar, or critical contacts won't get the location data.
Using the app allows for mapping the nodes in participation so you know where your contacts are.

Author says the devices are cheaper to purchase than even cheap radios, so you can "hand them out" to people on your group, especially those that might buy a baofeng and then never even turn them on (because of a lack of interest or knowledge etc.). Getting those folks to devote a recptacle in their house to just plugging the device in and forgetting it, will allow the group to continue to use them, essentially as repeaters for your group to expand coverage.

Dude also talks about manual comms like community poster message boards, and "stay away signals" for when locations have been compromised.

I had advocated for GoTenna on the communication thread some time back…

It was a MESH design but they went military and Agency work not long after their public release of Pro units. Their units now run about $500 and are really meant for government contractors etc.

Meshtastic (youtube video) - seems cheap $50-$80 but seems way too complicated for the individual.
A community or group may benefit but it would require a consolidated funding and purchase of a large number of them.

With GoTenna - I also found that the "app" needed updating which is bad if it stops working because it's trying to update during a downtime of any event.