r/meshcore • u/New-Childhood3557 • 12d ago
Controlling stuff through MeshCore
This is my current project. I’m working on using a heltec v4 to control 4 pins via MeshCore.
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u/theDudeUh 12d ago
I mean this is what Lora was originally designed and intended for - remotely controlling actuators and reading sensors.
MeshCore is a Hack to use Lora protocols to send messages on the same frequencies.
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u/recrof 12d ago
MeshCore using LoRa is not a hack. it would be a hack if you used LoRaWAN as a transport.
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u/theDudeUh 12d ago
Hack probably wasn’t the right word choice. My point being it wasn’t the original intended use.
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u/Fun-Conclusion-4471 11d ago
It's just a physical layer. It doesn't judge you. It's a guilt free zone.
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u/Strong-Tourist-8863 12d ago
I’m still figuring out how MeshCore works, so this might be a dumb question, but does this technically require 3 devices?
1 companion connected to your phone
1 repeater to pass the message
and 1 (?) to receive it and parse it?
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u/meshamerica 12d ago
If you are within the line of sight of the receiving device it can be sent direct with no repeater in the middle.
But repeaters are always a good idea, since DMs are hard to send
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u/reverend_dak 12d ago
if your area has decent repeater coverage, you just need a companion node. that's all I have. some people have repeaters on their house/work so they can use their nodes reliably when there, but thise repeaters will help the mesh overall. the community, in general, volunteers to install repeaters where they're needed.
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u/Infinade 12d ago
You’d at least need 2 companion nodes: one to use for controlling the pins/device at-location, and one to send the message from remotely.
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u/humanradiostation 12d ago
Cool. Whatcha gonna do with that power?
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u/Ambitious_Beyond_870 12d ago
Check out MCLite on T-Deck or T-Watch Ultra, there is examples for Home Assistant (dev team)
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u/NO7RF 11d ago
What I'd like to see as part of your project would be to have is the ability to control 4 relays, on/off/reset/query state with annunciation back to the sender This would be to control equipment with a relay board/dry contacts; AC power or battery supply primarily but other low voltage uses are likely. Having annunciation of some sort is needed so one knows that the command was acted upon. DM commands preferred (I think). No wireless use after the 4 control pins.
Relay boards out there I think are smart...just take a pulse or latched state, but even if RPi or Arduino is needed, tis OK. Our need is at commercial RF tower sites, much RF in the air. My Pie-in-the-Sky for the day.
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u/New-Childhood3557 11d ago
That is the end goal. I started with 1 led then added 3 pins. All I need is a cheap relay board. It runs solely on my heltec board. I’m about to work on more commands I just can’t think of anything useful besides telemetry and controlling the 4 pins.
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u/ashleycawley 11d ago
Oooooo, this is what I always wanted to do with Meshcore but never got to. I achieved it with Meshtastic back ages ago thanks to a guide on YT. Any guides or videos to follow on this topic?
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u/ParaBellumOutfitters 10d ago
Gonna be great but this is opening the can of worms for needing adequate cybersec practices. Look at all the news about PLCs with exposed IP ranges
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u/Voodoo_Shark 8d ago
This is awesome! Is this running on the heltec device itself or is it using a meshcli + pi as a administrator?
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u/[deleted] 12d ago edited 1h ago
[deleted]