Inside you there are two wolves. One is Meshtastic. One is Meshcore.

LoRA-based mesh networking is one of the new hot things in the nerdy radio space. There are two firmwares/protocols that have gained popularity. I’m currently experimenting with both and seeing the coverage differences as well as the functionality.

Meshtastic

Meshtastic is the more-widely-adopted (been around longer) mesh protocol. It is designed for ad-hoc setups where infrastructure is not available/necessary.

KD0IOE Carbon Fiber

  • Heltec T114
  • AlleyChat 3D printed case (in PETG-CF)

KD0IOE Wood

  • LILYGO T-Beam v1.1
  • 18650 battery
  • AlleyChat 3D Printed Case (in Wood-fiber PLA)

KD0IOE Deck

  • LILYGO T-Deck Plus (no ext antenna)

KD0IOE Red Beam

  • LILYGO T-Beam v1.1
  • 18650 battery
  • AlleyChat 3D Printed Case (in Red PLA)

Meshcore

Meshcore is better suited for static/metro area deployments, as the fixed infrastructure and routing algorithm learns optimal paths and can more reliably message. And a 64-hop limit vs the Meshtastic default 3 and max 7.

KD0IOE Repeater

  • Heltec v3
  • Custom 3D case (fancy box)
  • 5.8dBi Antenna

📟 KD0IOE White Pager

  • Heltec v3
  • AlleyChat 3D Case (in white PETG)
  • 2000mAh LiPo battery