MSP Mesh UNATTENDED NODE Settings

Unattended node config settings:

  • Medium Range – Fast” LoRa preset
  • Node Broadcast Interval: at least 12 hours
  • Device type: (varies by infrastructure location – please consult the MSP Mesh Discord for preferred or experimental settings, but default to “Client”)
  • Hops:
    • 1-3 hops. Even if only set to 1 hop, it will still repeat mesh traffic according to the originating node’s hop setting
  • Telemetry settings:
    • Device Metrics: at least 3 hours
    • Environment Metrics (if applicable): at least 6 hours
  • Channel settings:
    • The Key for the primary channel should be ‘AQ==
    • If you are using the iOS client the channel may appear to be simply named “Primary Channel”. That is fine.
    • If you are using the Android client the channel will need to be named “MediumFast” to properly function. Simply ensure that it is named that in Channel settings. (It may or may not show a space between the words, either is fine)
  • Position/Location: GPS position coordinates are not critical to mesh performance, and can be obfuscated to your preference. GPS accuracy is set via Settings > Channels > Channel 0/Primary with a slider. Left on the slider is more obfuscated, Right on the slider becomes more accurate/less obfuscated.

Why different than my pocket node?

Most nodes participate in infrastructure behavior to some degree. When we refer here to an “unattended” node, it means a node that is at or above rooftop level in the immediate area, and generally not used to send direct messages or chat.

Why not the default settings?

Due to the very large amount of nodes on the MSP Mesh network (currently at least 500, but likely many more) the default settings that come pre-configured with all Meshtastic devices cause too much airtime congestion.

With so many nodes, even without anyone actually chatting with each other, that many devices constantly blasting telemetry caused the network to be congested nearly all the time.

By changing to a shorter “chirp” preset (Medium Fast, in this case) the actual time spent on each of these broadcasts is significantly shorter, and frees up more of the frequency to be used at any given time.

1 hour = 3600 seconds
3 hours = 10800 seconds
12 hours = 43200 seconds
24 hours = 86400 seconds