Jason Opdyke, CEO of Rokland Technologies, shares his insights on the evolving landscape of LoRaWAN and the impact of emerging technologies like Meshtastic. Opdyke highlights how Meshtastic, an off-grid, decentralized, point-to-point mesh network technology, is revolutionizing communication by integrating seamlessly with LoRaWAN networks.

Key discussion points include:

• How Meshtastic enables secure and reliable communication without traditional cellular or Wi-Fi networks, attracting interest from both hobbyists and commercial businesses.
• The increasing role of Meshtastic Solutions, a dedicated team helping businesses implement effective and integrated communication solutions.
• Real-world business applications, such as an emergency response unit integrating Meshtastic with existing LoRaWAN infrastructure to enhance operational readiness and safety.

Opdyke also explores broader LoRaWAN business opportunities:

• The significant impact of WisBlock technology from RAK Wireless, standardizing and simplifying integration across various operating systems for use cases in agriculture and environmental monitoring.
• Innovative elder care applications, including comprehensive monitoring of patient falls, body temperature, and movement patterns, showcasing how LoRaWAN technology provides actionable data for resource optimization.
• Practical insights into how businesses leverage LoRaWAN data analytics to improve resource allocation and enhance operational efficiency, demonstrating tangible benefits across multiple industries.

Opdyke’s perspective emphasizes practical business solutions and actionable insights, clearly illustrating the real-world value and transformative potential of LoRaWAN and Meshtastic technologies.

Connect with Jason Opdyke:

• LinkedIn - Jason Opdyke
• Rokland website

Today's guest on MeteoScientific's

2

The Business of Lauren is Jason Opdyke,

CEO of Rokland Technologies.

3

Jason has spent over two decades deeply

embedded in the wireless networking space,

4

consistently

identifying innovative solutions

5

that bridge practical business

needs with cutting edge technology.

6

Under his leadership, Rokland has evolved

from an early e-commerce distributor

7

of networking equipment into a major

player in the LoRaWAN and IoT ecosystem,

8

providing essential hardware and support

9

for both enterprise solutions

and hobbyist projects.

10

Jason's recent work highlights

the practical integration of Meshtastic,

11

a decentralized mesh network that operates

independently of traditional internet

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and cellular infrastructure.

13

He shares insights on how businesses,

from emergency response units to eldercare

14

facilities, are leveraging this technology

to improve efficiency, safety

15

and operational insight.

16

Jason emphasizes

the critical role of LoRaWAN in

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delivering real time

data collection and analytics, enabling

18

smarter resource allocation and decision

making across various industries.

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This episode is sponsored by the Helium

Foundation's IoT Working Group.

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Helium offers global LoRaWAN coverage

and is used by everyone

21

from hobbyists to businesses

deploying countrywide networks.

22

If you'd like to see if Helium

coverage exists for you

23

check out the links in the show notes

to get started using Helium today.

24

You can sign up for a console account

25

with MeteoScientific

at console.MeteoScientific.com

26

Now let's dig into the conversation

with Jason Opdyke.

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Jason, thanks for coming on, man.

28

Absolutely. Thanks for having me.

29

I'm excited to be on the show

for all of you for a long time.

30

Yeah, I'm psyched to have you on here.

31

I guess we should start this thing

with the kind of

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current hotness in LoRaWAN,

which is this Meshtastic thing.

33

What are you seeing on the Rokland side?

34

What's going on with that?

35

Absolutely.

36

So Meshtastic is growing for those

37

in your audience

that aren't familiar with it.

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It's just basically an off grid,

decentralized, point to point messaging

39

system.

40

You don't need any cellular service,

any Wi-Fi, anything like that.

41

You can transmit point to point,

but it's also mesh technology.

42

So it's going to hop around.

You go very far.

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I think the records like 300km

or something like that

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from a point to point location.

45

So we're seeing a lot of interest,

not only from hobbyists,

46

but businesses as well,

that are interested in

47

integrating this type of communications

technology into their businesses

48

and into the things they do on their daily

workflow. Got it.

49

And of course,

this is separate from a LoRaWAN.

50

This is kind of your own little private

little mesh network.

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I think we're seeing some stuff

where you can pop out of a LoRaWAN

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and onto a mesh, but I haven't

I haven't paid a ton of attention to that.

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I have seen a ton of folks who are really

interested in this Meshtastic idea.

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So it's built

right on top of LoRaWAN technology,

55

so it integrates with LoRaWAN gateways

with different types of sensors.

56

In fact, our brand partner,

RAK wireless, has been leading the way

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integrating sensor technology

into Meshtastic nodes.

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So not only can you send communication,

but you can get weather, temperature data,

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soil data, all sorts of data

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over the Meshtastic network

where you previously

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were limited to having to be in range

of the LoRaWAN gateway.

62

You know, you and me

met back there in the Helium days,

63

and you set up a lot of the Helium

gateways, and they would provide coverage

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over a certain distance.

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But with Meshtastic,

that data can keep hopping.

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So you can really get that data

off the sensors.

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The more we have sensors much further away

than you can, you know, with traditional

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in architecture, okay.

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And you're seeing a lot of businesses

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that are buying the hardware from you

and then probably asking you for help.

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Walk me through what it looks like

on the business side for these businesses

72

that are building stuff around LoRaWAN.

73

So we're kind of in the almost like

in the gold rush days there.

74

So the technology Meshtastic

has been around for some years now.

75

And while

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I never like to use the term perfected

because it certainly isn't perfected,

77

it's just perfected

as any technology can be in terms

78

of doing the basics

that it's supposed to do.

79

Integration with business is something

that's a little bit newer and,

80

this year, Meshtastic, actually form

Meshtastic Solutions,

81

a dedicated team that will actually work

with business integrations.

82

And that's what we're seeing now.

83

We've got a, emergency response department

in one state

84

that's looking at outfitting LoRaWAN

architecture.

85

They already have in the state

with emergency radios.

86

So they could just basically put radios

at each communication hub.

87

They already have the challenges.

88

They have no idea how to integrate that.

89

And that's where our company

and Meshtastic Solutions can come in.

90

It's working with them

on the actual integration.

91

How to use it more or less.

92

Most people are pairing phones

with a radio,

93

so you would use like a typical Android

or iPhone to send and receive messages,

94

but you don't have to.

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You can program a Raspberry Pi,

a computer to use Meshtastic.

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So there's a lot of options for businesses

beyond just traditional

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cell phone usage.

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Got it.

99

Okay,

100

so I had thought

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you guys were just selling hardware,

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but it sounds like people come to you

to buy the hardware

103

and then you say, hey,

we can help you with this

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if you don't know how to use the thing

fully.

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Is that right?

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That's right. Absolutely.

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So we're providing support as well.

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And we've got a software team too,

that's looking at different ways

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to do integration.

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And a software team

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over at Meshtastic is always coming out

with new features as well.

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Yeah, I'm always

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seeing Carl Rowan at the wireless saying

like, hey, check out this, this new thing.

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So those guys are hustling on that side.

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Okay,

so what are some of the other businesses

116

that you're seeing

that are buying from you

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that are doing stuff

that maybe you hadn't seen before?

118

You think, oh, that's pretty innovative

or that looks like a really good business.

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Yeah.

120

So where we're seeing LoRaWAN right

now, there's number of different areas.

121

Agriculture of course, is more common.

122

I think, you know, the agriculture sensors

123

have been around for a while, but

it's kind of been a hodgepodge of hardware

124

that doesn't really work well,

no specific brand that's focusing on it.

125

So brands are kind of putting out parts

that aren't standardized.

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RAK’s really fixed that

with their WisBlock technology,

127

and it's proprietary technology

128

that communicates

across their operating systems very well.

129

So we're starting

to see a proliferation of usage in, in,

130

environmental monitoring,

agriculture, moisture soil universities

131

that are collecting data on crops

and things of that nature.

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And then we're seeing it in

some unusual places as well, like elder

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care, you know,

we think about nursing homes and people,

134

and regrettably, we probably think like,

oh, it was just people

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sitting there and they go get their pills

and they have their visitors,

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but they're doing some really innovative

stuff with LoRaWAN and elder care devices

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that can track patients, that can monitor

things like falls, body temperature,

138

all sorts of things that they can do

just from one dedicated device

139

and one dedicated communication stream,

so that businesses aren't trying to track

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a separate GPS

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and a separate fall detection thing

and a separate smartwatch

142

and try to do all these things.

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They can do it all from one

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LoRaWAN device, and we're starting to see

that really pick up as well.

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Across the country.

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Oh, interesting. Me,

my mom's getting in her 80s.

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She's still pretty active

and resisting all attempts to

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to get her anywhere

where someone else is around her.

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She's super independent,

150

but I can see at some point

it'd be nice to be able to put a little,

151

have her put a necklace or a bracelet

or whatever on and say like, hey,

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I just want to know if you fall.

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And obviously with LoRaWAN,

the coverage is almost everywhere,

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especially with with Helium.

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Is that the kind of thing

that we're talking about,

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or is this some other device

that I'm I'm not thinking of?

157

No, something like that.

158

But I mean, you're a data guy

and it can go so much beyond like,

159

you think, okay, well,

I'll wear a smartwatch

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to track a fall, but, you know,

there's a company really want to integrate

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different smartwatch for every person.

162

But what they can do, aside

from just seeing the patient data

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or getting a fall notification, is

they can get that data in a broad format

164

right in front of them

so they can start to monitor.

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Are we having an excessive amount of falls

in a certain facility?

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For example,

167

are we having an excessive amount

of patients that aren't moving or aren't

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doing this or, you know, their temperature

so they can get all sorts of data

169

about the patients

in one centralized location

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just by simply having a few LoRaWAN

gateways deployed at a facility

171

and having some type of tracking device

or badge for each patient.

172

So that's that's where I see

the real innovation in terms of the data

173

that you can pull out of the technology,

not just the technology itself,

174

and being able to track or do this,

which that technology has been around.

175

But to be able to get it up on the cloud

and be able to analyze it

176

is something that's new and growing.

177

Got it.

178

And I'm I'm imagining

just from a business perspective, these

179

and this sounds horrible,

but the elder care homes are like, hey,

180

I don't actually want people to know that

I'm not moving my patients all the time

181

or that we have higher falls

than other homes.

182

How are you going in and selling to

those folks are how you

183

how are you seeing that sold

as far as value to them,

184

where they're like,

oh yeah, this would be great.

185

Sure. Good question.

186

So we don't actually get the data

ourselves.

187

This is companies

that are taking the hardware

188

and they're building

the solution themselves.

189

So like for example, we don't necessarily

see the data on our clients.

190

And my thinking is that if you're running

any type of facility,

191

you'd at least want to be aware

of what's going on,

192

even if it's not something

that you want to advertise.

193

So maybe you don't want to advertise it,

but it might identify problems

194

that you want to fix.

195

I tend to believe that people,

for the most part, are good in

196

that if you're a management in a facility

like that,

197

you would probably want to trend over time

toward fixing a problem.

198

So like lack of motion, too many falls,

maybe you couldn't pay

199

attention to it right away.

200

But I think the goal of those types of

companies is to be able to automate that

201

and then see where you need

more resources.

202

And like I can tell you

from being in business

203

for 25 years, one of the key challenges

that any business

204

has is making sure that the resources

are deployed the right way.

205

I could have three employees over here

designed.

206

They're basically there to do a task

and maybe demand slows.

207

And so those three employees are doing

tasks that only one employee needs to do.

208

And then over here

I've got increased activity,

209

but I only have one employee trying to do

the work that three employees have to do.

210

So if I'm not paying attention to my data,

I'm sitting there

211

paying for employees,

and I've got inefficiency on both sides.

212

Whereas if I'm looking at the LoRaWAN data

and I can see where the inefficiency

213

is, I say, oh, all I got to do is move

two employees from here, over here.

214

And now I've fixed my problem.

215

And I think that's really

what these businesses are trying to do,

216

is identify inefficiencies

throughout the process

217

and use technology

to correct those inefficiencies.

218

Okay.

219

So in the same way

that we're seeing a lot of sensor

220

data feed into AI models

and are kind of decision makers,

221

you're saying like, hey,

the same thing happens for people as we're

222

just getting more and more of a sensory

input into our environment

223

beyond what we can see and smell and taste

and touch in our immediate environment.

224

And that's allowing us to make better

decisions across businesses.

225

Exactly.

226

LoRaWAN allows us to get more data

quicker, more efficiently

227

from West technology in terms

of the number of devices you need,

228

and it allows for better data analysis

at the end of the day as well.

229

Okay.

230

And then you're seeing businesses

come to you and say, hey, I want to buy

231

whatever it is, 20 or 30 or 50 or 1,

whatever the number of devices is.

232

What are some of the challenges

that you see those businesses have that

233

you see as opportunities for what

what Rokland is doing, where you're like,

234

hey man, I hadn't thought about this,

but this is something

235

that we could really help you out with.

236

Yes.

237

Where our company comes into play

is we help a lot on the fulfillment side.

238

So companies like a university of,

for example, they might need a few hundred

239

different LoRaWAN gateways,

but they don't need them all now.

240

So we can help out on the logistics side.

241

They also need periods of time

to evaluate and ask questions.

242

You know, you're talking to people

that haven't worked with LoRaWAN

243

and technology,

244

and the marketing is always ahead

of the product, right, in every industry.

245

So the marketing for LoRaWAN is like,

oh, super easy, super simple.

246

All you got to do is put up a sensor

and your data will connect.

247

And then when you sit down

and try to pair devices,

248

The Things Network,

you learn that or Chirpstack you learn

249

that is it's not quite as simple,

at least for a layperson as you let on.

250

So that's where our team will come in,

as well as kind of bridge that gap instead

251

of just throwing you cold

hardware say, well, there's your gateway.

252

You know, I don't know how to, you know,

hook up the sensors.

253

And yes, we don't outsource

any of our support here.

254

All of our technical support and sales

staff are based

255

right here in our Gainesville,

Florida location.

256

So we're able to, use our knowledge

and experience and our resources.

257

I've actually met

with the CEO of RAK in Thailand last week.

258

And, you know, he's a great guy

and he has a great outfit at RAK Wireless.

259

And you, of course, talk to Carl Rowan.

260

And so we also have the full weight

of RAK’s resources available too.

261

So instead of a company

having to reach out and cold call

262

RAK who's based in China and kind of,

you know, ask questions

263

and wait for an email response 24 hours

later, we learned so much from the folks

264

in RAK that we can pass that

on to the businesses as well.

265

That's pretty rad.

266

And I guess the elephant in the room,

267

So there's still a fair amount

of uncertainty around tariffs and China

268

and U.S. relations.

269

Is there something there

where you're like, hey,

270

we really have to be careful here, or what

are your thoughts on kind of moving

271

forward, at least into the kind

272

So glad you brought that up, Nik

because what the media is doing right now

273

with the tariff coverage is so surface.

274

It's just kind of talking numbers,

and it's not adding all the numbers up

275

and it's not looking at every dynamic

of the manufacturing process.

276

And look, we're here at Rokland,

we're an America First company.

277

We believe in American jobs.

278

We employ

only Americans here at our office.

279

And the ability

to bring these items in there

280

just simply aren't factories here

that are making these LoRaWAN gateways.

281

And the news isn't telling people

that you're looking at around

282

$50 million up just to build a factory.

283

And you can't just build that factory

to make LoRaWAN gateways,

284

to be able to cover the cost,

you've got to scale out.

285

I mean, most factories in China,

286

Thailand, Taiwan, they're making products

for probably ten, 20, maybe

287

even 50 different brands like Foxconn

makes, you know, products for.

288

So to be able to scale up

and build a factory and bring these jobs

289

back to America right now really isn't in

the cards from any realistic standpoint.

290

A larger company like Apple or TSMC,

they might be able to invest

291

a little bit more resources.

292

But for companies like ours, you know,

we do rely on manufacturing outside

293

the United States.

294

But that's not where everything is done.

295

We do a lot of product design here,

like on the Meshtastic side,

296

a lot of the products that you guys see

come out from Rokland Technologies.

297

They're designed here.

298

They're built with parts

from our brand partner, RAK wireless.

299

We'll do the 3D printed casing here,

the injection molding here.

300

There's a lot that we do.

301

All the support, all the sales.

302

So tariffs there's a debate about tariffs.

303

Of course your audience is probably on

either side or the other.

304

And to be honest with you

there's some truth to both sides right.

305

There is some benefit of having tariffs.

306

There's also some obstacles

in having them.

307

So we'll see what comes down the road

with the different countries.

308

But right now,

since we do a lot of the assembly

309

and we do some of the casings

310

and some of the stuff in-house,

we're able to help keep those costs down.

311

We're also able

to bring in a lot of extra inventory

312

so that, at least for our clients

that may be exposed to tariffs

313

in the longer term,

like on the gateway side,

314

they can still place orders now

and have a consistent output for the rest

315

of the year while we kind of wait to see,

you know, where the dust settles.

316

What kind of things are you hearing

And I know you were in Spain

317

last week and you talked

to a lot of people in the tech space.

318

What what are you, you know, I like to.

319

I like to talk, but I like to listen to.

320

What are you hearing on the tariff side?

321

And what are the concerns

that you're hearing people express?

322

I think the general concerns

323

are just around uncertainty

and what's going to happen.

324

I think it's good

that, you know, you've seen this.

325

The crazy demand that can happen

326

Yeah. And you're preparing for it.

So I think that's super, super smart.

327

I mean generally

I just think people are uncertain

328

and trying to figure out what to do.

329

We'll see how the whole thing shakes out.

330

But last question here

as you look forward to the next,

331

I don't know, six months or year,

however far ahead you plan out,

332

are there any new products

that you're super excited that are

333

that are coming out

that you can tell us about?

334

Absolutely.

335

So what we're doing in

the solar space is extremely cool.

336

And with battery technology as well.

337

It's really cool seeing how I mean,

and you know what?

338

We're setting up Helium.

339

I know you did some solar panel

installations, but it was kind of rare.

340

I was a little bit costly,

a little bit cumbersome,

341

and the battery technology

wasn't really there.

342

We're seeing both on the LoRaWAN gateway

side and Meshtastic,

343

a real advancement in the battery

availability, the high capacity battery

344

availability, solar panels, the ability

to just set up gateway stations,

345

Meshtastic repeater stations in perpetuity

that'll just run all the time.

346

But we're doing some really innovative

stuff there to bring that cost down.

347

And also looking more at cold storage,

battery technology, because that's

348

been something that just hasn't

caught up to the times yet.

349

We've got customers up

350

north that, hey, everything's great,

my gateway runs great all summer and fall.

351

My Meshtastic station does as well.

352

And then come winter, all of a sudden

the battery can't take to charge

353

and things of that nature.

354

And of course, there are solutions for it,

but they're few and far between,

355

and they're costly.

356

So we've got some exciting things

coming down the pipeline there.

357

And we're also on the Meshtastic side.

358

Devices

are just getting more and more modern.

359

You know, when the technology started,

360

it's a lot of really small screen,

kind of bulky 3D prints.

361

It's just that, that coolness

factor of having something.

362

But our design teams,

as well as the design teams at RAK

363

and our other brand partners

have really focused

364

on, you know, what other devices

can we integrate Meshtastic into?

365

And anything from cell phone cases

to tablets to all sorts of stuff.

366

That's the goal

because it's like with Helium.

367

Nik if we had all the base stations around

us, the network

368

would have got adopted by users for data

throughput a lot quicker.

369

And that's the challenge

you have with Meshtastic.

370

If somebody wants to buy one

but they don't know anybody using it,

371

you know what's the point?

372

So the more available

373

we can make it in the masses,

the more the networks going to grow.

374

Yeah. That's it.

375

Exciting to see it.

376

And funnily enough, Meshtastic is

what got me into Helium.

377

It was a really new project

378

so it's kind of cool to see it

come around and get a ton of action.

379

Jason, thanks tons for coming on.

380

I know you're super busy as a founder

running a business.

381

I appreciate you taking the time to share

what you got going on at Rokland.

382

Thus, hey,

thanks a lot Nik Always a pleasure, man.

383

That's it for

this episode of The Business of LoRaWAN.

384

I built this for you.

385

So whether you're a business owner,

a LoRaWAN professional or a hobbyist,

386

the intent is to give you great LoRaWAN

information.

387

Of course,

the best information doesn't come from me.

388

It comes from the conversations

389

we have with the people building

and deploying this tech in the real world.

390

And that's where you come in.

391

LoRaWAN is a global

patchwork of talent and ideas.

392

And ironically,

for a globally connected network,

393

most of the brilliant folks working on it

aren't connected yet.

394

Help me change that.

395

Introduce me

396

to someone awesome in your network,

someone doing meaningful work in Lauren.

397

Or just shoot me a name.

398

I'll take it from there

399

and get them on the show

so we can share their work with the world.

400

You can always find me at metsci.show,

401

that's M-E-T-S-C-I dot

402

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403

If you want to support the show

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405

All those are super helpful.

406

If you'd like to support financially,

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407

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408

We're also open to sponsors.

409

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410

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If you want to try out LoRaWAN

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which is enough to run a device

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This show is supported

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416

I'm Nik Hawks.

I'll see you in the next show.