NS Script

Overview/Introduction

• What is Meshtastic and Mesh networking?
  • Definition of a “Mesh” and a “Node”
    • Grid-independent low-speed data network made up of connected nodes
  • Hardware & Software
    • Meshtastic node acts as a “modem” tethered via Bluetooth to phone, tablet, computer
    • Nodes are very small and energy efficient
• Operates on ISM Band
  • 902-928mhz (Often referred to as “915” as the center channel)
  • LoRa (Long Range) physical communication layer
  • Signal penetrates some obstacles like buildings and foliage but is generally weakened significantly
  • LOS is ideal but not 100% essential
• No License Required*
  • As long as as transmitting under 1W ERP (+30dBm)
  • Licensed Mode Caveat(s)
• Common Use-Cases
  • Camping/Outdoors (micro-mesh)
  • Rural/Ag applications (soil readings, livestock tracking, intrusion detection)
  • Large off-grid festivals/events (Burning Man, etc)
  • EmComm

Hardware & Software Basics

• Types of nodes
  • On-Person (phone-tethered or standalone)
  • Mobile
  • Infrastructure/HQ
  • Special-purpose
    • Environmental sensors
    • Motion sensors/PAX counters
    • GPS Trackers
    • Drones
    • Raspberry Pi & other Linux (meshtasticd)
      • BBS’s (is this the plural of BBS?)
      • Bridging/combining meshes
      • Other custom applications
• Meshtastic Firmware
  • Firmware flashing
    • Flasher Website (flasher.meshtastic.org)
    • OTA
    • CLI tools
  • Versioning & device compatibility
    • Host device limitations
    • Mesh compatibility/EOL considerations
• Client Software/Apps
  • Mobile App for Android and iOS
  • Desktop App for MacOS
  • Browser-based Web Client (node-served or cloud via client.meshtastic.org)
  • CLI
  • Specialty clients/interfaces (Contact, noproto monitoring)
• Setup/Configuration Basics
  • Preset (“Chirp”) must match
  • Frequency must match
  • Primary Channel must match to propagate node data/telemetry
  • Device Roles
    • Client_Mute or Client for nearly all nodes
    • “Repeaters” and “Routers” – tricky but important distinctions and caveats about device roles:
      • Client mode repeats mesh traffic without being labeled a “Repeater”
      • Repeater mode is rarely if ever used, likely will be EOL’d by Meshtastic eventually
      • Router mode is used extremely sparingly, generally 1-2 for every 100 known nodes
      • Both modes require extremely advantageous LOS compared to standard nodes
      • Poorly placed Routers/Repeaters severely harm mesh performance
      • Meshes do not require a Repeater or Router at all

Simple Mesh demonstration

• Device-to-device DM
• Public chat rooms
• Private chat rooms
• Chat Room sharing via QR code or URL

Expectation vs Reality & Common Beginner Pain Points

• Useable range is not what you’ve been told, at least not at first.
  • YouTube vs You IRL
  • RX vs TX
    • RX is nearly effortless in most cases on established meshes
    • TX is …. not. Large urban meshes generally require multiple “levels” of nodes to propagate traffic fully
• Setting up a new mesh or joining an existing mesh
  • Involvement level varies from one or two devices to …. “problems”.
  • Topography/LOS is king, height is better than wattage
  • Channel name/order is important for extended mesh capabilities
• Hardware quality/reliability/availability
  • Hardware is cheap, even infrastructure-level nodes can be ~$100.
  • Experimentation is constant – one is none, two is one, and ten is inevitable.
  • Turnkey products/solutions exist – at a price
• Hardware online purchasing/vendor authenticity
  • Most people buy before they try. The learning curve is steep, and the first thing you buy is rarely sufficient.
  • Beware of false/misleading specs on antennas and batteries
    • There is no such thing as a 10dBi, 17cm whip antenna.
    • There is no such thing as an 18650 that holds 4,000+ mAh
  • Mesh devices share common hardware with crypto miner market
    • Beware of un-vetted sellers (Amazon, AliExp, eBay, FB Marketplace, etc)
  • Sellers often mislabel or mistake similar looking antennas for similar performing ones.
    • 915mhz through a 2.4ghz antenna…. Not good!
• Barriers to entry
  • Very low initial investment for simple mesh functionality
  • dB scale of further investment/involvement
  • Frustration or “island/bowl” issues

Additional Features

• Encryption
• Range/Bandwidth customization
  • Data rate and frequency bandwidth varies from 0.18kbps to 37kbps
  • Effective range varies based on “Spread Factor” or Preset (“Chirp”).
    • Long Fast default
    • Chirp/frequency adjustment upon bandwidth saturation/congestion
      • Example: This conference moving to Short Turbo to accommodate many nodes in a small area
• GPS location sharing
  • Configurable to your level of privacy/obfuscation
  • Not required for mesh functionality
• ATAK integration
• IOT/Home Automation

DIY/Open Source/Community

• Official Software and Firmware is open-source
  • github.com/meshtastic
• Many nodes are created from scratch using PCBs and 3D Prints
• Large meshes necessitate extensive teamwork and coordination
• Several vendors/providers/communities create mesh-centric mesh-helping software & services
  • Meshsense
  • MeshPlanner
  • HeyWhatsThat
  • TC2 BBS

Future Considerations & Education

• Meshtastic has peer and near-peer competition
  • MeshCore
  • Reticulum
  • BearTooth (commercial, higher wattage)
• Information changes quickly
  • Firmware updates happen on an unscheduled, uneven duration
  • Official documentation & “legacy” online info sources often do not change as quickly
    • Dynamic, “live” online help (e.g. Discord) has proven to be extremely useful in helping new users learn.
    • YouTube/other video-based content ages out very quickly to become inaccurate or irrelevant

Thanks!

• Visit us at mspmesh.org
• 800 helpful, friendly users on our Discord and growing!
• At least 600 nodes on the MSP Mesh
• Current East/West distance of nodes able to communicate: 175mi