Choosing Your Protocol and Channel

Choosing Your Protocol and Channel 
 The two dominant LoRa mesh protocols for community networks are MeshCore and Meshtastic . They are not interoperable - nodes must use the same protocol to communicate. 

 Protocol Comparison 
 
 Feature MeshCore Meshtastic 
 
 Infrastructure model Dedicated repeaters + companion nodes Peer-to-peer; any node can relay 
 Room servers Yes - built-in store-and-forward No native equivalent 
 MQTT gateway Community brokers (letsmesh.net) Official public broker (mqtt.meshtastic.org) 
 Regional scoping Yes - ISO 3166-2 region system No 
 App MeshCore companion app Meshtastic app (iOS/Android) 
 Hardware compatibility ESP32 and nRF52840 boards with SX1262 radio (Heltec V3, RAK4631, T114, T-Beam v1.2+) ESP32 and nRF52 boards 
 Large existing network RegionMesh (2,500+ US repeaters) Meshtastic worldwide (meshmap.net) 
 
 

 General Guidance 
 
 If your area has an existing RegionMesh presence or you want to contribute to a nationwide infrastructure, choose MeshCore . 
 If your community already uses Meshtastic or you need nRF52 hardware compatibility, choose Meshtastic . 
 Running both is possible with dedicated gateway hardware, but adds operational complexity. 
 

 Channel Selection for MeshCore 
 Most North American MeshCore networks use the USA/Canada preset : 910.525 MHz / 62.5 kHz BW / SF7 / CR5. This is the default for RegionMesh, NoDakMesh , and others. 
 If your area has a pre-existing local MeshCore deployment on different settings, match those settings to join that network. Check locally first - then default to the USA/Canada preset. 

 Channel Selection for Meshtastic 
 
 LongFast preset is the most common - used by NoDakMesh's Meshtastic segment and many other communities. 
 Default channel key: AQ== 
 Hop limit: 3 (default; increase only if you have specific reason to) 
 
 Do not use a custom channel key unless your community has a specific reason to create a private channel. Using the default key ensures maximum interoperability with travelers and other local nodes.