Chicago Offline builds and teaches resilient, community-owned communications — amateur radio, digital radio, mesh networking, and open-source tools that keep working when the grid doesn't.
Chicago Offline exists to educate the public and build resilient, community-owned communications infrastructure through amateur radio, digital radio, open-source software, mesh networking, and emergency communications education.
Amateur RadioLicensed operators, repeaters, packet, APRS, and HF. The original resilient network — still the deepest toolkit we have.
Digital & Personal RadioDMR, GMRS, MURS, and business radio. License-light options that put reliable voice comms in anyone's hands.
Mesh NetworkingMeshCore and LoRa devices relaying for each other across Chicagoland. No towers, no accounts, no bills.
Open-Source SoftwareEvery tool we run is public. Firmware, dashboards, brokers, and maps — fork it, audit it, improve it.
Emergency CommsTraining and drills for outages, storms, and disasters — so the skills exist before they're needed.
Public EducationWorkshops, guides, and build nights. If you can plug in a USB cable, you can get on the air.
Why this exists
When the grid goes down, you're not alone.
Power outages. Storms. Overcrowded events where cell service grinds to a halt. Or you're camping outside coverage and want to stay connected to your group.
Commercial networks are rented, centralized, and fragile. We think a city should own at least one way to talk to itself. So we build that — in the open, with hardware anyone can buy and software anyone can read.
Our most active project is a messaging network built on MeshCore and LoRa radio. Small devices talk to each other over long-range radio waves — up to several miles — forming a mesh that works when nothing else does. It's one part of a bigger toolkit that spans licensed amateur bands, GMRS, and digital voice.
How it works
Three steps. No tech degree required.
1
Get a LoRa radio device
Small, affordable hardware. About $35.
2
Flash MeshCore firmware
One-click setup. Connects to the mesh automatically.
3
Start messaging
Pair with the app. No account needed.
Live network
The network is live right now.
Real MeshCore devices across Chicago, relaying messages over LoRa radio every day. This isn't a concept — it's running.