Welcome
You're on a solar-powered community station. No internet is needed for anything on this page except sending email.
🔑 Member sign-in
Members get check-in, mailbox, friends, email and the full library.👋 I don't have an account
Check in as a guest, tell your family you're OK, or read the library.
What a guest sees after continuing as guest
A guest types a name once. No password, no member number, no mailbox. The page remembers them on that phone only while they stay connected.
Hello, Tom Brown
Tap a color to send it now. You can add a note on the next screen.
Guests cannot see other people's information. This is not 911. Call emergency services if you can.
Guest can
- Send one check-in at a time (a new one replaces the status)
- Email family (limits apply)
- Read the whole library
- See shelters, water and hazards on a simple map
- Send a short message to leadership
Guest cannot
- See anyone else's name, status or location
- Receive mail or direct messages (no mailbox)
- Appear as verified on the leader board
- Use leader tools
Guest check-in
Tell leadership you're safe or need help. A leader will see your name, the color, and where this station is.
What happens next
- Saved on this station right away (✓✓)
- Copied to every leader station over LoRa or VPN (✓✓✓ when confirmed)
- Marked GUEST · UNVERIFIED on the leader board
- Phone location is optional and only works on the HTTPS version of this page
Email my family: "I'm OK"
Anyone can send a short email. It leaves from the church's fixed address. If this station has no internet, it waits in the queue and sends the moment any LTAK station gets online.
How it looks to the reader
Reply-To: ltak-reply+k7q2x@yourchurch.org
Subject: I am OK
Hi, I'm safe…
Sent through the LTAK emergency network from a community station. Replies go to a mailbox and are delivered to Jane when she next checks in.
Safeguards (so this can't become a spam cannon)
- Fixed sender address, never typed by the user
- Max 3 recipients and 500 characters per message
- Per-device and per-station daily limits (e.g. 5 emails per phone per day)
- Hidden "honeypot" field and a simple human check that works offline
- No links or attachments
- Every send is logged. Leaders can pause or block senders
- Replies from unknown senders are accepted only for people who emailed them first
Library
Offline resources stored on this station. Based on Internet-in-a-Box style content packs (Kiwix, Kolibri and others). Sizes are approximate.
Leader view (login required)
What a zone leader sees on this station. Mock data.
Check-in board
| Name | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| R. Alvarez (4) | RED | Member · GPS |
| D. Kim | YELLOW | Member · address |
| T. Brown (guest) | YELLOW | Guest · typed |
| M. Lopez | GREEN | Voice (reviewed) |
| J. Doe | GREEN | Member · node |
| S. Patel | NOT CHECKED IN | Last seen 3 days ago |
Map
Station health
- Battery 87% · solar +42 W
- Disk 61% used (library 310 GB)
- Last sync: Zone 1 (4 min), Main (11 min)
- Mail queue: 6 outgoing, 2 incoming
- Radio: 915 MHz OK · 2 m SDR listening
Tools
- Assign a helper
- Move supplies
- Pause a sender or revoke a node (main leader)
- Print "not checked in" list
- Export ICS-211/214
Cost: solar leader / community station
Estimates in USD, late 2026. Verify prices before buying. Excludes shipping, tax and install labor.
| Item | Notes | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|
| Raspberry Pi 4/5 (4–8 GB) | IIAB supports Pi 4, 400, 500 and 5. Pi 5 recommended. | $60–120 |
| SSD, 512 GB + USB adapter | Holds the OS, database, maps and library. 256 GB works with a lean library. | $50–90 |
| XIAO ESP32S3 + Wio-SX1262 + outdoor LoRa antenna | Mesh radio over USB | $32–58 |
| RTL-SDR (voice check-in, optional) | Skip on Lite stations | $35–45 |
| 2 m antenna (optional) + small Wi-Fi antenna | $25–50 | |
| USB Wi-Fi adapter (home internet link) | Pi's own Wi-Fi runs the portal | $15–25 |
| Coax, arrestors, grounding, fuses, buck converter | Safety items, do not skip | $50–110 |
| Weatherproof enclosure | $30–50 | |
| Solar 100 W + MPPT + 100 Ah LiFePO4 + wiring + mount | About 7 days with no sun (Standard) | $330–580 |
| Standard station total | Full portal, library, voice, email | $630–1,130 |
| Library-heavy upgrade: 1 TB SSD (instead of 512 GB), full Wikipedia with images | +$40–70 | |
| More Wi-Fi reach: outdoor access point instead of the Pi's onboard Wi-Fi (covers a block or more, 32+ clients) | +$50–150 | |
| Optional UPS / second battery for 14 days of autonomy | +$200–350 | |
| Email: own domain mailbox (church probably has one) or an SMTP relay service | $0–10 / month | |
Capacity note: the Pi's hotspot is documented at about 32 simultaneous Wi-Fi clients. Library browsing is light, but expect a handful of people at a time, not a crowd. Plan a queue or a second access point at shelters.