What is Meshtastic?
Let’s first read what the official Meshtastic.org documentation says.
“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.”
So now we need to answer the question, what is LoRa? From Wikipedia.
“LoRa (from “long range”) is a physical proprietary radio communication technique. It is based on spread spectrum modulation techniques derived from chirp spread spectrum (CSS) technology. It was developed by Cycleo, a company of Grenoble, France, and patented in 2014.”
Hey that’s great oppy, so why do I care?
Yes we all have cell phones with a variety of messaging apps, but what happens if you’re out camping in an area without cell phone coverage? Or there is a major power outage and the towers stop working? Or a tyrannical government starts reading all your messages and your ragtag band of freedom fighters needs to go off grid. In all three of these everyday scenarios, you aren’t going to be able to use internet based messaging apps, this is where a self building, encrypted off grid mesh network comes in handy.
Ok buddy, that’s great, let’s go get your meds because we have two-way radios…
You fool! You think two-way radio is secure? Not only is talking on a two-way radio broadcasting to everyone in range, but it’s not encrypted either. What you say goes out for everyone to hear. I’ve listened in on GMRS and Amatuer Radio (HAM) conversations countless times without the parties involved ever knowing.
But GMRS has “privacy codes” you say, I can encrypt my conversation with that you say. You buffoon! “Privacy codes” don’t give you privacy, they just let your radio tune into a channel also broadcasting with the same code. Everything is still going out to everyone else free and clear, it’s just letting you hear just the people on that frequency using that code.
OK dude, put down the tinfoil and tell me how to get started.
First you’ll want to read the documentation on the Meshtastic website HERE Once you’ve read that, I would recommend watching some videos on YouTube to see how people are putting together the units, flashing the units, and using the units. The YouTube channel Ham Radio Crash Course has a good 20 minute beginners guide on his channel titled Get Started With Meshtastic FAST!
Second you’ll need to get a LoRa board, I’d recommend the Heltec V3 for the beginner and the RAK WisBlock once you’re comfortable. Now I bought my first boards from AliExpress but since then I’ve found a great seller who sells boards, cases, and accessories called Muzi Works. I’ve bought a few things from Muzi Works and the prices are fair and the shipping is fast. I ordered on a Monday afternoon and had my order by Friday. Also I am not an affiliate of Muzi Works, I just happen to like their offerings and feel safe recommending them.
Also you’ll want to make sure you get the correct frequency for your region, if you’re in the USA like me you’ll want the 915 Mhz board and antenna, for other regions you’ll need to google your area.
I would recommend staying away from LILYGO boards, I have one and the build quality is subpar. Currently it’s on my second floor plugged into the wall as a repeater because the screen keeps coming loose and I don’t trust it to be carried around. Also they have had some issues in the past with battery monitoring that has led to over charging of batteries. So yeah, my personal recommendation, just say no to LILYGO.
Third you’ll need to flash the Meshtastic software onto your board. Now this part is going to hurt for my fellow open source enthusiast, but the Meshtastic flasher doesn’t play well with Firefox and open source Chromium based browser, so you’ll have to use Chrome, Edge, or Chromium.
Here is link to the official Meshtasic flasher: HERE
Here is link to the community developed back of the flasher: HERE
And here is a link to the web configuration tool: HERE *Note, I find it easier to configure my devices with the phone app, the web configuration seems to not always send configuration updates to the board.
The ESP32 Device flashing guide is HERE
The nRF52 & RP2040 Device flashing guide is HERE
The CLI (Command Line Interface) flashing guide is HERE
You may need to install serial drivers to be able to connect to your board the ESP32 driver instructions can be found HERE and the nRF52/RP2040 driver instructions can be found HERE.
**BEFORE DOING ANYTHING** Make sure your antenna is attached to your board before you ever put any power into it, without the antenna attached the board could burn out and become useless.
Fourth, connect your phone to your device. I always use Bluetooth but you can use WiFi as well, then set your username and 4 character short name, then set your region. You will need to save at each step and wait for the board to reboot before continuing.
Throughout the process I would recommend referencing the official documentation. Also leave your device in “client” mode, I’ve tried “router” and “repeater” modes, they don’t do much and the client mode will work just fine if you just need a device high up to get better signal to your personal device that you carry with you.
Now you may wish to tweak the settings on your device, check the “configuration” guide to help you understand what each setting means and how to use it. Also feel free to experiment, if you screw up and need to start over just go back to the flasher and start over, but make sure you check the “Full Erase and Install” slider under “Flash Firmware” so that it wipes out what you did and lets you start fresh.
Alright I’ve got everything set up and a tinfoil cowboy hat, now what?
Open the app and tap on the two little heads to see any nodes that have connected to you in your area. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t see anything right away, the nodes (other boards with Meshtasic installed) don’t report right away and you may need to play with the positioning of your node to get the best signal.
While you’re waiting for contacts you can read up more by googling your thoughts and questions on Meshtastic, watching YouTube videos, and following the Meshtastic subreddit. Meshtastic is a fun hobby that is great for emergency communications, it also is a nice complaint to traditional two-way radio to allow for secure encrypted communications when needed. So get out there, start setting up nodes, inspire those around you to get into Meshtastic as well, and have fun.