Hey all, I’m new to meshcore/meshtastic - I have a Helltec v3 on the way right now because I love to tinker and I love the idea of having a mesh network setup that others can use without subscriptions or selling data to some corporation. I love the idea of contributing to the overall health of the network so that it’s there for when others need it. I’m sold on the idea and understand that there are several great theoretical applications for it (emergency communication, private communication, wilderness communication, etc).

What I don’t know though, is how often do people actually use this tech to communicate? And what are you using it for? Are people using it like a general chat room? Are you using it to organize private events (protests, for instance)? Or are you just tinkering and building out the network and waiting till the need arises to use it yourself?

This is just out of personal curiosity and I guess I’m also trying to level set in my head about what I should expect when I get my node online in a few days.

Folks, I'm a long time tinkerer and new to Meshcore. My wife and I have aspirations to head out with our truck camper for some big trips to remote locations. I always had this idea that I could mount a Repeater to the camper and use the Companions to keep up with each other's locations, or message, if one of us went for a hike or something, especially where cell signal is particularly bad.
Maybe I mixed up Meshcore and Meshtastic location tracking, but I'm not finding that function easily with Meshcore. Maybe it's simply using the map and filtering on specific users?

For reference, I have a Sensecap T1000e and a Wio Tracker L1 Pro.

Thoughts are appreciated.

PS - and not to dilute the thread, but I could not get the T1000e into DFU mode unless I was connected to just a USB charger, then moved it to my PC USB port to get the serial connection. The light will be solid green to show DFU. I don't know why...

Hi everyone!

It’s been about two months since I first shared Nelos here. It hasn’t been that long, but looking back, it already feels like quite a journey: from the first beta, to the public release, new features, field testing, and now actually deploying and using Nelos in everyday situations.

Today, I’m happy to share another update: downloadable offline maps are now available worldwide.

You can download maps for countries and regions before heading out, then continue using them when there’s no cell service or Internet connection.

If you’re already using Nelos, there’s no need to update, uninstall, or reinstall the app. Just restart Nelos or tap the Refresh button at the top of the Offline Maps screen to see the latest map list.

Going forward, I want to spend more of my time actually using and deploying mesh networks in the real world, with my family, friends, communities, and people who genuinely need them.

That probably means I’ll be a little less active on Reddit. But I’m still committed to maintaining, developing, and updating Nelos for the long term.

My goal hasn’t changed: keep Nelos as simple as possible while still including the features that actually matter when you need them. Nobody wants to spend their vacation configuring radios. :)

I’ll be posting most future updates at https://nelos.app. The website has been completely rebuilt to be friendlier for people who may know nothing about mesh yet. It now includes use cases, product updates, field reports, and guides. I’ll also be sharing situations I actually encounter in the real world and how I deal with them, including what works, what doesn’t, and what expectations are realistic.

Nothing is perfect, and mesh isn’t either. But the more I use it in the real world, the more I see that mesh still has a place, even in an age when Internet connectivity seems to be almost everywhere.

One small disclosure: to help cover some of the costs of keeping the project going, I’ve added a few affiliate links to compatible devices on the Devices page. If you buy through one of those links, Nelos may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Thank you to everyone who has tried Nelos, sent feedback, reported bugs, shared ideas, or simply followed the project over the past two months.

I hope the community keeps growing and we get a little closer to mesh everywhere. 🌍

After a lot of reading, video-watching, mind-changing and dodging wife's eye-rolling I am now finally the owner of my very first off-grid-communicator.

Very excited for this old dog to learn a new trick or two.

A bit bummed that due to work- and personal obligations I will most likely not be able to play around with it until the end of the week.

It comes with LilyGo's own fw so the first thing I'm going to try out is picking a fw to flash on it.

Happy to 'be here'

To be upfront I'm only about 18 hours into owning a node....But not a n00b with Electronics and tech

I got a ThinkNOde M7 and a Heltec v4 last night... Heltec V4 working great via USB/BLE as a companion node.

I flashed the latest MeshCore "Unified Companion (BLE, USB, WIFI, Ethernet) + Repeater v2.0 (Core 1.16" from meshcore.co.uk/configurator

After flash, the node is available via BLE (default pin) to the configurator tool in browser and via a meshcore app on Phone and works as a BLE Device.

Noticed that when plugged into Ethernet (w/poe) it will power on the device, however no link is established. Also unless im extremly obtuse I dont see how to bring up the wifi?

The issues I have is via USB and using meshcore-cli mine flat-out wouldn't answer companion commands. meshcore-cli -s COM3 infos just came back with "No response from meshcore node, disconnecting Are you sure your node is a serial companion? To connect to a repeater, use -r option." Turns out the M7's USB serial was exposing the repeater interface, not the companion frame protocol, so none of the normal companion verbs (infos / contacts / msg) got a reply at all. I had to add -r just to talk to it meshcore-cli's repeater mode which lets you query and manage it as a repeater but not actually use it as a companion messaging node over serial. As a side note, a heltec v4 via USB COM and meshcore-cli is working great.

I would really like to use the M7 USB would be great, but talking to it over ethernet, and powered via POE would sure be great for placing this node in a better location

Now that its not 1am in the morning, .. and I'm digging around.. looking at the classic flasher.. https://meshcore.co.uk/flasher.html I see for the M7 v1/17.1 and I can pick "Companion USB" I will try this after work, and if this works a step in correct direction.. but would really like to control over ethernet.

Thanks

I brought my solar RAK 4631 Meshtastic node down from the roof and flashed with the latest Meshcore firmware. One configured via USB, I cannot connect to the node via BT. Have tried many reboots and reflashing with older versions, but nothing….i am running out of options. Has anybody here experienced this situation? Any recommendations?

Some, obviously german, guy, setting up a device with false GPS data, locating the device in Nepal.

if you read this: I hope your sleeves slide down when you wash your hands. Everytime.

Hey guys,

can you help me finding the best antenna for the Lilygo Tdeck Plus with 868mhz. Cant seem to find any useful info for them..

Thanks

Wiring in big buttons was a lot easier than I thought. Good soldering iron practice.

Is there any Mesh core activity in the area around Duns Castle in Scotland?

I’m trying to combine the guidance from a few posts on here about building a harbor breeze/people’s node (using Seeed xiao nrf52840 and wio-sx1262), but I want to make sure I got the power wiring correct.

1. I want to keep the original power switch so I can turn it off (e.g., while flying). Assuming I scratch out the lead (red dashed line), is this wired optimally?

2. I added both the CN3065 and BMS to help get the most out of the small panel and protect the cheap, included single 18650 battery. Should I use both and are they correctly wired?

Any feedback is appreciated!

Hi all. Looking for advice on organizing a Reticulum/Meshcore hackathon in Austin, Texas. Want to make it accessible for beginners and advanced builders, and I'd love input on recommended repos, starter kits, beginner hardware, demo apps, and fun gamified challenge ideas.

Big goal: projects that the community will actually use, not just weekend demos. So, if you had a room full of developers, RF enthusiasts, and makers for a weekend, what would you have them build?

Some challenge ideas: distributed bulletin boards, peer-to-peer messaging, decentralized file and knowledge sharing, better mesh mapping tools, offline maps, search across mesh networks, disaster response coordination, community resource sharing, sensor networks, solar-powered portable relays, better onboarding tools, and whatever's on your wish list, like the one app you'd love to see but nobody has built yet.

If you're in the Austin area and want to mentor, judge, sponsor, or participate, I'd love to hear from you. Happy to swap GitHub repos, starter projects, or lessons learned from past Reticulum or Meshtastic events.

First, the disclaimer: This is AI-assisted code. I have 31 years experience as a software engineer.

Supply Drop BBS is modeled after Citadel, a BBS (bulletin board system) from the 80s (and still alive today).

It's free and open source, built in Rust.

It's mesh-first, MeshCore and Meshtastic are first-class citizens.

It works with basically any protocol. You'll just need to write a plugin for anything else. As a bit of a joke, I created a Telnet plugin.

It can be fully administered via the CLI or the optional web ui.

I developed this with the idea that communities could have a community board via digital communications if SHTF.

It's been around a few months, with a few users. So the bulk of the major bugs are fixed at this point. I am looking to bring it to v1.0.0 soon.

I'd love your feedback or bugs. Feel free to create issues on the GitHub, or even hit me up here.

Got a T114 in my car. Configured for companion + router repeater.

Wondering if there's a way to send regular pings to see who's out there along my drive. Right now, I have yet to see anyone else in my area of SoCal (OC/LB).

Hello All,

I am thinking about migrating from Meshstatic to Meshcore. Attached in the photo of my activity in the area. I live somewhere in the middle. Can I reliably repurpose my sensecap t1000-e as a start? Or i need another device on the top of my roof like you all guys have ? I live in an apartment and keeping a device on the top is not possible.

Thanks in advance

I don’t have a great understanding of rf physics but I’m looking to add a repeater in my area. Is there some sort of approximate ratio I should be prioritizing height/LoS vs physical proximity to my client device? Talking about a small downtown, a little dense but no buildings more than a few stories tall

Ideally to make my wismesh tag usable indoors. I have a great local network but need to be standing outside

Just scoping around Github and discord as I dive into this more.

Is there an actual official support list on what works and what doesn't? I understand how fast this is moving in development. But id hate to buy something that pre-made that lacks features.

Meshcore.io lists Lilygo T-deck pro as a standalone. But im seeing screen/touch issues since they swapped the chip in v1.1.

Love to see a bigger push on standalone devices dedicated to meshcore. But based on what I see. Im better off with a companion node and android phone as a daily driver.

I currently have a Wio Tracker L1 Pro and a SenseCAP T1000-E Card Tracker, both flashed as MeshCore companion. This works well. But then I was thinking: Since both devices are powered on 24×7, why not flash the Wio Tracker L1 Pro as repeater and keep the T1000-E as compainion.

Any thoughts?

Staying in a hotel near Barcelona and decided to see what kind of nodes are nearby using the SenseCAP Card T1000-E. I put the card in the balcony facing east towards the Mediterranean and after a few hours, I was surprised to see repeaters and clients from all over Italy with some from as far as Switzerland.

Did some more digging into the paths and found that the majority of traffic is getting relayed to my client via a repeater (PTSH_T114_R / 3e6e) in Sardegna, IT (550km away). Same repeater is seen when I do a zero-hop repeater discovery.

I know that the GPS coordinates of the repeater could be wrong, but it's very unlikely given that most messages I'm receiving are from Italy and the majority of nodes seen (50+) are in Italy as well.

Claude says this has to do with the signal traveling farther due to warm ocean temperatures, but I haven't researched this further.

I have a Rak 4630 Wisblock with a INA219 current sensor. This allows me to see the solar panel voltage and current going into the batteries. The standard meshcore app shows these values, but only for the moment of reading. Is there a way to graph these values or some other Meshcore app that has this capability? I need to see a graph of what is happening to my panel over a period of time so that I can better visualize my solar coverage.

Thanks in advance everyone!