Skybridge – Reticulum Link from Anywhere

Digital download only. No hardware included.

This is an advanced build. If you have not run Reticulum, SSH’d into a Pi, and stood up a small cloud VM, start with The Reticulum Network Blueprint first: https://buildwithparallel.com/products/rnode-build-guide

Skybridge is a build guide for a two-way Reticulum link that works when your phone says No Service. You carry a RockBLOCK 9704 and a Raspberry Pi. Iridium carries the packets. The person at home opens a normal Reticulum chat app on Wi‑Fi and types. Same class of satellite path as Garmin inReach — except the messages are encrypted to an identity you control, on an open-source network you can build on.

Core hardware is typically about $280 for the RockBLOCK 9704, plus an Iridium-certified antenna, a Pi, and a USB power bank. Airtime is separate: Cloudloop is a paid service (about $15/month to keep the modem on the network in the Aspen build, plus roughly $0.10 per short one-way message — confirm live rates). You do not need two RockBLOCKs. The far end can be any internet-connected Reticulum client.

What Skybridge Enables

Send and receive encrypted Reticulum / LXMF messages from places with no cell tower 

 Register a RockBLOCK 9704 on Cloudloop and prove the first modem-originated message in the log • Run CrossTalk on a Pi so your phone is just a screen on local Wi‑Fi

Bridge Cloudloop into Reticulum with a webhook in and the Cloudloop API back out 

Keep satellite spend under control with an allowlist so the mesh cannot bill you 

Give someone at home a chat app and no satellite homework 

For users working with AI coding assistants, the Crosstalk / Pi repos include an AGENTS.md so the assistant can help configure the Iridium interface faster

What's in the Guide

The manual follows the same path as the Aspen mountains build: RockBLOCK 9704 over USB, helical L-band antenna, Raspberry Pi OS, CrossTalk's native Iridium IMT interface (topic 244), Cloudloop registration, and a Linux/GCP bridge so a reply can make the trip in reverse.

It includes the parts list, Cloudloop setup, first-message proof, CrossTalk interface settings, field Wi‑Fi so the phone loads the UI with no internet, and dated field notes: four messages left the trail and arrived on the server; the live round-trip was completed later under a clear sky.

This version runs on Pi / Linux. USB into a phone is the destination, not a current setup path.

RF and satellite service are provided by Iridium through Ground Control / Cloudloop. Users must keep an active airtime balance and follow Cloudloop's terms. This is a commercial satellite hop, not amateur radio, and not a free internet link.

Skybridge complements local Reticulum, LoRa, and Haven meshes by adding a long-haul path when radio range runs out. It is not Starlink, not a VPN, and not an SOS / inReach clone.

No cellular SIM. No phone plan. Cloudloop airtime is required or the constellation stops carrying messages.

You receive lifetime access to the digital manual and future updates.

Who It’s For

Reticulum builders who want a path beyond local radio range

Backcountry / rural operators who need a thin two-way link, not a dish

People who will run a small Linux box and a Pi, not only an app store download

 

This guide is not a prebuilt device and not a plug-and-play satellite messenger. It is intended for users comfortable with SSH, USB serial, Cloudloop, and troubleshooting a multi-hop path.

Digital product delivered immediately after purchase.