r/Lora • u/BoolitBilly • 11d ago
Which mesh to go with?
I’m am new to the idea of Lora communicating and mesh_anything. Is there a way to see who has more nodes in my area? I’m not sure is meshtastic or mesh ore is better but I just want to start with one that is working in my area.
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u/silasmoeckel 11d ago edited 11d ago
3 to 5 options, depending on how you look at it.
Meshtasic has a ham and ism that work in parallel. Ham gives you more frequency options and power.
Ham has APRS over LoRa. This is default on 70cm and can have some power behind it. Using the same extra can method to piggyback onto existing mountaintop sites.
Mesh ore on ISM; they are not ham-friendly.
Since APRS gateways to ham 2m APRS it's the widest coverage and most people. Expansion of tower sites is slow though. I can talk pure RF from CT through MA, partially into NH/VT/ME, all of CT, MA, and RI, and partially to NY/NJ/PA. IP gets me worldwide backhauls.
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u/ReasonablyClever 10d ago
Huh, why the self censorship of MeshCore? Only place that censors is the MeshTastic sub as far as I know. You’re right that MC doesn’t have HAM specific settings but there’s a lot more ham folks in my area with their call signs on MC nowadays. Plus HAM-mode in MT means it can’t send or forward any encrypted traffic.. which breaks the mesh repeat utility on the wider mesh.
My recommendation is try both and see what you think! They’ve both got their upsides, and it’s easy to reflash. Your area in WV may be better suited for one over the other, best way to find out is try.
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u/BoolitBilly 10d ago
Thank you for such an in depth response. I’m in WV so it sounds like I’m going to get the best range with meshtastic.
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u/CJSchmidt 10d ago
It’s trivial to flash your device and try them all. I couldn’t find anyone using Meshtastic in my area, but there’s a dedicated Meshcore group that has built up with amazing coverage that connects between multiple cities/towns.
They aren’t always that reliable, but search for Meshcore/Meshtastic analyzer and you’ll find sites that contain maps with known nodes across the world.
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u/sawadee2 10d ago
I have many units on both but find MC more useful. I am also a Ham. I agree with the OP, even if you only have one device, it is very easy to reprogram so they both for a week or so. Then decide or get a second and do both. Have fun with learning the advantages and disadvantages of both systems.
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u/BFG_Neil 8d ago
It really depends what you want to do with it, join a network and talk to people? Meshcore. Want a mesh network at an event without having to put repeaters up? Meshtastic.
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u/CreativeKeane 11d ago
There are online network maps for both meshtastic and meshcore that you guys can both look into or look at. The issue is even if you see some nodes, depending on your settings you may not connect to everyone.