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Locked Meshtastic overview #projects

 

Introduction

Meshtastic? is a project that enables you to use inexpensive LoRa radios as a long range off-grid communication platform in areas without existing or reliable communications infrastructure. This project is 100% community driven and open source!

LoRa Topology

Private Meshtastic - Secure Mesh Network Communication - Mesh About

Features

  • Long range ()
  • No phone required for mesh communication
  • Decentralized communication - no dedicated router required
  • Encrypted communication
  • Excellent battery life
  • Send and receive text messages between members of the mesh
  • Optional GPS based location features
  • And more!


How it works

Meshtastic utilizes LoRa, a long-range radio protocol, which is widely accessible in most regions without the need for additional licenses or certifications, unlike HAM radio operations.

These radios are designed to rebroadcast messages they receive, forming a mesh network. This setup ensures that every group member, including those at the furthest distance, can receive messages. Depending on the settings employed, the Meshtastic mesh network can support up to 100 devices concurrently.

Additionally, Meshtastic radios can be paired with a single phone, allowing friends and family to send messages directly to your specific radio. It's important to note that each device is capable of supporting a connection from only one user at a time."

When you send a message on your Meshtastic companion app, it is relayed to the radio using Bluetooth, Wi-Fi/Ethernet or serial connection. That message is then broadcasted by the radio. If it hasn't received a confirmation from any other device after a certain timeout, it will retransmit the message up to three times.

When a receiving radio captures a packet, it checks to see if it has heard that message before. If it has it ignores the message. If it hasn't heard the message, it will rebroadcast it.

For each message a radio rebroadcasts, it marks the "hop limit" down by one. When a radio receives a packet with a hop limit of zero, it will not rebroadcast the message.

The radio will store a small amount of packets (around 30) in its memory for when it's not connected to a client app. If it's full, it will replace the oldest packets with newly incoming text messages only.


Getting Started

Identify Hardware

NOTE

This guide assumes that you have already purchased the devices you will be using with Meshtastic. If you haven't, you can check out our list of??to see your options.

Before you begin, it's important to determine which kind of hardware you're using. Meshtastic works with devices that have these types of Micro-Controller Units (MCU):

ESP32

The ESP32 chip is older and consumes more power than the nRF52 chip, but is equipped with both WiFi and Bluetooth. Supported ESP32 devices include:

  • LILYGO? TTGO T-Beam (>V1.1 recommended)
  • LILYGO? TTGO Lora (>V2.1 recommended)
  • Nano G1
  • Station G1
  • Heltec V3 and Wireless Stick Lite V3
  • RAK11200 Core module for RAK WisBlock modular boards

nRF52

The nRF52 chip is much more power efficient than the ESP32 chip and easier to update, but is only equipped with Bluetooth. Supported nRF52 devices include:

  • RAK4631 Core module for RAK WisBlock modular boards
  • LILYGO? TTGO T-Echo

RP2040

The RP2040 is a dual-core ARM chip developed by Raspberry Pi. Supported RP2040 devices include:

  • Raspberry Pi Pico + Waveshare LoRa Module (Note:?Bluetooth on the Pico W is not yet supported by Meshtastic)
  • RAK11310 Core module for RAK WisBlock modular boards
INFO

If your device is not listed above, please review our??to determine which MCU your device has or contact us in??with any questions.

STOP! PUT THE POWER CABLE DOWN!

Never power on the radio without attaching an antenna!?It?could damage the radio chip.

Prior to connecting your Meshtastic device to the computer, you should perform the following basic checks.

Verify Data Cable

Some cables only provide?charging, verify that your cable is also capable of?transferring data?before proceeding. To check if your cable can also transfer data, try connecting it to another device (like a phone) and see if you can copy a file to or from it. If the file transfer works, then your cable is also able to transfer data and you can continue.

Install Serial Drivers

CAUTION

nRF52/RP2040 devices typically do not require serial drivers. They use the UF2 bootloader which makes the devices appear as flash drives. Do?NOT?download the USB device drivers unless required to install UF2 support.

If you require serial drivers installed on your computer, please choose one of the options below and install it before continuing.

Install ESP32 Drivers

Install nRF52/RP2040 Drivers

Flash Firmware

After completing the previous steps, you can now flash the Meshtastic firmware onto your device. To proceed, select the appropriate device type for your device.

Flash ESP32 Firmware

Flash nRF52/RP2040 Firmware

Connect and Configure Device

After flashing the Meshtastic firmware onto your device, you can now move on to initial configuration.

Connect and Configure Device


?
 

It was fun texting back & forth with two of these devices at the meeting.
 

Is that an old blackberry?

Looking forward to meeting notes.

On Wed, May 1, 2024 at 7:55?AM N0QBH Mike Berg via <mikeberg=[email protected]> wrote:
It was fun texting back & forth with two of these devices at the meeting.
 

They're actually new LoRa devices that look like the old Blackberry's.

"T-Deck is a pocket-sized gadget with a 2.8-inch, 320 x 240 pixel IPS LCD display, a mini keyboard, and an ESP32 dual-core processor. While it's not exactly a smartphone, you can use your programming knowledge to turn it into a standalone messaging device, or coding software."
 

Device Config Values

Roles

Device Role Description Best Uses
CLIENT App connected or stand alone messaging device. General use for individuals needing to communicate over the Meshtastic network with support for client applications.
CLIENT_MUTE Device that does not forward packets from other devices. Situations where a device needs to participate in the network without assisting in packet routing, reducing network load.
CLIENT_HIDDEN Device that only broadcasts as needed for stealth or power savings. Use in stealth/hidden deployments or to reduce airtime/power consumption while still participating in the network.
TRACKER Broadcasts GPS position packets as priority. Tracking the location of individuals or assets, especially in scenarios where timely and efficient location updates are critical.
LOST_AND_FOUND Broadcasts location as message to default channel regularly for to assist with device recovery. Used for recovery efforts of a lost device.
SENSOR Broadcasts telemetry packets as priority. Deploying in scenarios where gathering environmental or other sensor data is crucial, with efficient power usage and frequent updates.
TAK Optimized for ATAK system communication, reduces routine broadcasts. Integration with ATAK systems (via the Meshtastic ATAK Plugin) for communication in tactical or coordinated operations.
TAK_TRACKER Enables automatic TAK PLI broadcasts and reduces routine broadcasts. Standalone PLI integration with ATAK systems for communication in tactical or coordinated operations.
REPEATER Infrastructure node for extending network coverage by relaying messages with minimal overhead. Not visible in Nodes list. Best positioned in strategic locations to maximize the network's overall coverage. Device is not shown in topology.
ROUTER Infrastructure node for extending network coverage by relaying messages. Visible in Nodes list. Best positioned in strategic locations to maximize the network's overall coverage. Device is shown in topology.
ROUTER_CLIENT Combination of both ROUTER and CLIENT. Not for mobile devices. Devices in a strategic position for priority routing that need to also serve as a standard CLIENT.

Role Comparison

This table shows the?default?values after selecting a preset. As always, individual settings can be adjusted after choosing a preset.

Device Role BLE/WiFi/Serial Screen Enabled Power Consumption Retransmit Prioritized Routing Visible in Nodes List
CLIENT Yes Yes Regular Yes No Yes
CLIENT_MUTE Yes Yes Lowest No No Yes
CLIENT_HIDDEN Yes Yes Lowest Local only No No
TRACKER Yes No Regular No No Yes
LOST_AND_FOUND Yes No Regular No No Yes
SENSOR Yes No High No No Yes
TAK Yes Optional Regular Yes No Yes
TAK_TRACKER Yes Optional Regular Yes No Yes
ROUTER No No High Yes Yes Yes
ROUTER_CLIENT Yes Yes Highest Yes Yes Yes
REPEATER Yes No High Yes Yes No

Rebroadcast Mode

This setting defines the device's behavior for how messages are rebroadcasted.

Value Description
ALL ALL (Default) - This setting will rebroadcast ALL messages from its primary mesh as well as other meshes with the same modem settings, including when encryption settings differ.
ALL_SKIP_DECODING ALL_SKIP_DECODING - Same as behavior as ALL, but skips packet decoding and simply rebroadcasts them.?Only available with Repeater role.
LOCAL_ONLY LOCAL_ONLY - Ignores observed messages from foreign meshes that are open or those which it cannot decrypt. Only rebroadcasts message on the nodes local primary / secondary channels.
KNOWN_ONLY KNOWN_ONLY - Ignores observed messages from foreign meshes like LOCAL_ONLY, but takes it a step further by also ignoring messages from nodenums not in the node's known list (NodeDB).

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