# 📖 Start Here — IoT & Sensors Guide

This book covers using LoRa mesh as the communication layer for sensor networks - environmental monitoring, smart agriculture, asset tracking, and data pipeline integration. Most of the detailed sensor-telemetry workflows here are built on **Meshtastic**; MeshCore's sensor support is newer and more limited (see the MeshCore Sensors section below for an honest summary of what it can and can't do).

## 🚀 Quick Start by Goal

- **Just want temperature/humidity from my nodes:** [Meshtastic Telemetry Module](/books/meshtastic/page/telemetry-module-device-environment-and-power) (in Meshtastic book)
- **Build a custom sensor node:** [Building an Environmental Sensor Node](/books/iot-sensors/page/building-an-environmental-sensor-node)
- **Get data into Grafana:** [MQTT to InfluxDB and Grafana](/books/iot-sensors/page/mqtt-to-influxdb-and-grafana)
- **Water quality / flood monitoring:** [Water Quality and Flood Monitoring Networks](/books/iot-sensors/page/water-quality-and-flood-monitoring-networks)
- **Air quality monitoring:** [Air Quality and Environmental Monitoring Networks](/books/iot-sensors/page/air-quality-and-environmental-monitoring-networks)

## 📚 What's In This Book

### Sensor Node Hardware

- [Sensor Node Hardware Selection](/books/iot-sensors/page/sensor-node-hardware-selection)
- [Building an Environmental Sensor Node](/books/iot-sensors/page/building-an-environmental-sensor-node)
- [Solar-Powered Sensor Node Deployment](/books/iot-sensors/page/solar-powered-sensor-node-deployment)

### Data Pipelines

- [MQTT to InfluxDB and Grafana](/books/iot-sensors/page/mqtt-to-influxdb-and-grafana)
- [MQTT Integration for Sensor Data](/books/iot-sensors/page/mqtt-integration-for-sensor-data)
- [MeshCore Sensor Data Integration](/books/iot-sensors/page/meshcore-sensor-data-integration)
- [Home Assistant and Node-RED Integration](/books/iot-sensors/page/home-assistant-and-node-red-integration)

### Application Guides

- [Environmental Monitoring with Meshtastic](/books/iot-sensors/page/environmental-monitoring-with-meshtastic)
- [Remote Asset Tracking](/books/iot-sensors/page/remote-asset-tracking)
- [Building a Mesh Weather Station Network](/books/iot-sensors/page/building-a-mesh-weather-station-network)
- [Field Sensor Deployment Guide](/books/iot-sensors/page/field-sensor-deployment-guide)

### Real-World Projects

- [Water Quality and Flood Monitoring Networks](/books/iot-sensors/page/water-quality-and-flood-monitoring-networks)
- [Air Quality and Environmental Monitoring Networks](/books/iot-sensors/page/air-quality-and-environmental-monitoring-networks)

### MeshCore Sensors

MeshCore sensor support is an **evolving, compile-time** capability - there is no standalone "Sensor" firmware variant, adverts do not carry sensor readings, and telemetry is pulled via a request/response protocol. Read these pages for an honest, scoped overview rather than a turnkey workflow:

- [MeshCore Sensor Nodes](/books/iot-sensors/page/meshcore-sensor-nodes) - what compile-time sensor support actually is, how telemetry is delivered, and the real `meshcore_py` data path
- [MeshCore Sensor CLI Reference](/books/iot-sensors/page/meshcore-sensor-cli-reference) - the real `sensor get` / `sensor set` / `sensor list` commands

## ➡️ Related Books

- [Meshtastic](/books/meshtastic) - Telemetry module and MQTT integration
- [Room Servers & Gateways](/books/room-servers-gateways) - MQTT gateways and Node-RED
- [Solar & Power Systems](/books/solar-power-systems) - Powering remote sensor nodes