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MeshCore vs Meshtastic: Choosing for Your Community
If you're building a community mesh from scratch, choosing between MeshCore and Meshtastic is one of the first decisions. This page provides a framework for that decision. The Most Important Factor: Community The single most important factor is what your loca...
ARES, RACES, and Served Agency Integration
Integrating LoRa mesh with amateur radio emergency service organizations and their served agencies.
Mesh Networking in Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES)
Operational Note: This page may be consulted during active emergency operations. Regulatory points on this page cite the specific FCC rule (47 CFR Part 15 or Part 97); verify against the current eCFR text and your local ARES group policies before deployment...
Integrating with Served Agencies
Operational Note: This page provides guidance for ARES operators and mesh advocates working with served agencies including Red Cross, hospitals, EOCs, and fire/EMS. Establish relationships before an emergency - these conversations are far harder during an ...
Running a Mesh-Enabled EMCOMM Exercise
Planning Note: This page is a planning and evaluation guide for emergency communications exercises that incorporate LoRa mesh alongside traditional voice operations. Use this as a template and adapt to your local group's capabilities, geography, and served...
Winlink and Internet Bridging
Using Winlink alongside LoRa mesh, and building bridges from mesh to internet services.
Winlink and LoRa Mesh: Complementary Systems
Key Message: Winlink and LoRa mesh serve different but complementary roles in emergency communications. Serious EMCOMM operators use both - choose the right tool for each message type. Legal note on bridging mesh to Winlink/amateur radio. Default-encryp...
Building a Meshtastic-to-Internet Bridge
Technical Level: This page assumes basic familiarity with Python, MQTT, and Raspberry Pi or similar Linux-based hardware. Example code is illustrative and provided as a starting point. Test and harden it for your own deployment; a single bridge node is a s...
Disaster Preparedness Planning
Pre-positioning infrastructure, operating during active disasters, and building neighborhood resilience.
Pre-Positioning Mesh Infrastructure for Disasters
Core Principle: Infrastructure that survives a disaster is infinitely more valuable than infrastructure deployed after one. Pre-position before the threat window, not during it. Mesh is a supplement, not a lifeline. LoRa mesh (Meshtastic) is best-effort...
Mesh Communications During Active Disasters
If you are reading this during an active emergency: Jump to the Quick Start section below. Full context follows. Mesh is a supplement, not a lifeline. LoRa mesh (Meshtastic & MeshCore) is best-effort with NO guaranteed delivery: messages can silently f...
Building Neighborhood Disaster Preparedness Networks
Target Audience: CERT team leaders, neighborhood emergency preparedness group organizers, block captains, and city OES liaisons. No amateur radio license is required for the core mesh network described here: it operates on the 915 MHz ISM band under FCC Par...
Solar and Power FAQ
How big a solar panel do I need?
Short Answer For most LoRa mesh nodes: a 5W panel for nRF52840-based nodes, 10-20W for ESP32-based nodes. For Raspberry Pi gateways: 20-40W. These are rule-of-thumb guideline ranges, not sourced specifications - actual requirements depend heavily on your node'...
Why does my solar node keep dying at night?
Diagnosing Night Drain If your solar node runs fine during daylight but goes offline overnight, you have one of three problems: undersized battery, incorrect charge controller settings, or excessive power draw. Step 1: Verify Actual Battery Capacity First, me...
What battery chemistry should I use outdoors?
Short Answer: LiFePO4 for outdoor deployments Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) is the recommended battery chemistry for any permanent outdoor LoRa mesh installation. It is safer, more durable, and handles temperature extremes better than standard LiPo batterie...
Networking and Range FAQ
How many hops can a message travel?
Meshtastic Hop Limits In Meshtastic, every packet is born with a "hop limit" - a countdown that decrements each time the packet is relayed by a node. When the hop limit reaches zero, the packet is dropped and not forwarded further. Default hop limit: 3 - The...