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Meshtastic is Hamtastic

Benjamin Faershtein KO6CNT

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About Me - KO6CNT

  • Licensed two years ago
  • Started a radio club at Wilcox High School
  • Started the Meshtastic Bay Area Group (Bayme.sh)
  • Developer for the Meshtastic project
  • Currently at UC Santa Cruz as a Freshman
    • Part of the W6SLG UCSC Amatuer Radio Club

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What is Meshtastic?

An open source, off-grid, decentralized mesh network built to run on affordable, low-power (~160mW) devices

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No license required

(Can be used in Ham Mode)

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Use cases for Meshtastic

  • Texting off-grid and without reliance on cellular networks
  • Using live GPS data to monitor the locations of people (and pets)
  • Off grid weather/sensor stations
  • Learning about RF

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Technology Behind Meshtastic

  • LoRa (Which stands for Long Range) is a modulation technique that utilizes Chirp Spread Spectrum Technology
  • LoRa transmits small chunks of data with low bit rate
  • LoRa is used for Iot (Internet of things) devices to transmit data over long distances with low power
    • Also used by some commercial satellites for telemetry downlink
  • LoRa signals can propagate below the noise floor
  • Ideal for sensors
  • Message flooding of packets, somewhat “peer to peer”

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Meshtastic terms to know

  • Node - Synonymous with device, can send receive and retransmit messages
  • Hops - amount of times the message is retransmitted
  • Preset - a collection of parameters behind 1 easy setting
  • Mesh - the nodes sharing a preset, frequency, and area
  • Role - the mode a node can be in such as “router” or “client”.

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Technology Behind Meshtastic cont..

  • Meshtastic in America operates on the 915 MHz ISM (Unlicensed band)
  • Frequencies are selected automatically depending on the name of the primary channel (We are operating on default, 906 MHz)
  • Mostly line of sight
  • Most transceivers are outputting 22dBm/160mW or 20dBm/100mW of power when in unlicensed mode
  • The current ground-ground Meshtastic record is 158 miles with no hops
  • AES 256 encryption
  • Public/Private key encryption
  • Channelized with 104 frequency slots in the ISM band
    • Freq + bw + spread = one compatible mesh

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Ground - Ground 158 miles

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Meshtastic Routing Algorithm

  • Meshtastic uses a flooding algorithm to route non directed packets.
  • When a node receives a packet with a non-zero hop count, it retransmits it with the hop count reduced by 1.
  • A node won't retransmit a packet if:
    • It has already done so recently (tracked in buffer), �or
    • Another node retransmits it (and we hear them doing so).
  • Nodes wait a random amount of time before retransmitting to avoid collisions (CSMA like)
  • Router nodes use sooner retransmit timers than regular nodes.

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Next Hop Routing

  • This is only for directed packets, like direct messages
  • Next-Hop Basics: Next-hop routing uses two spare bytes in the Meshtastic header to tag the current relayer and the next node to relay a message, reducing unnecessary relaying by directing packets to specific nodes.
  • How It Works: Starts with managed flooding (all nodes relay); once a reliable relayer is confirmed (e.g., via a response), it’s set as the next-hop for future messages, but only for that specific hop.
  • Adapting to Real Life: If a next-hop fails (e.g., due to movement, packet loss, or old firmware), the system switches back to managed flooding on the last retry to ensure delivery.

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Roles

  • Roles affect the behavior of a node, by default all nodes are client

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Role

Description

Best Uses

Client

App connected or stand-alone messaging device.

General use, communication between client applications.

Client Mute

Similar to Client, but does not forward messages from other devices.

Ideal for a node in a bad routing location or when you have multiple nodes at one place.

Router

Extends network by relaying messages. Router = Visible in Nodes list.

Best positioned in strategic locations to maximize coverage. The Repeater is designed to forward with minimal overhead.

Sensor

Broadcasts telemetry packets as priority.

Gathering crucial environmental or other sensor data.

Tracker

Broadcasts GPS position packets as priority.

Tracking individuals or assets.

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Difference between ARDEN and Meshtastic

  • Meshtastic has a much lower data rate
  • Built on top of totally different technologies
  • Different Frequency
  • Meshtastic nodes are usually more mobile and adhoc
  • AREDN requires a ham radio license

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My personal experiences with Meshtastic

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My personal experiences with Meshtastic cont..

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My personal experiences with Meshtastic cont..

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My personal experiences with Meshtastic cont…

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My personal experiences with Meshtastic cont…

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Hardware

Nrf52 based

  • Power efficient

ESP32 based

  • Has wifi chip
  • More RAM

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Linux Native

  • Almost unlimited RAM
  • Can run scripts as well as Meshtastic

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Recommended Devices (By Me)

Rak Wisblock

Pros

  • Low power usage
  • Modular (Can easily add on gps and sensors)
  • Dedicated solar input

Cons

  • Requires assembly

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Order from

  • Rak Wireless
  • Rokland
  • Etsy
  • Amazon

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L1 Tracker

Pros

  • Fully built with display, gps, case, and battery
  • Low power usage
  • Really nice joystick for navigating the BaseUI screen user interface

Cons

  • Comes with a bad antenna
  • Not waterproof

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Order from

  • Seeed Studio

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Recommended Devices (By Me) cont..

TTGo Lora

Pros

  • Small form factor
  • Cheap
  • Already attached display and built in wifi and ble antenna

Cons

  • No gps
  • High battery usage

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Order from

  • Lilygo
  • Rokland
  • Amazon

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T1000e

Pros

  • battery efficient
  • Integrated gps
  • Nicest form factor
  • Fully built with case

Cons

  • No screen,

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Order from

  • Seeed Studio, Amazon

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Meshtastic Device Demo

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Meshtastic in the Bay Area

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Meshtastic in the Bay Area cont..

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Basic Setup

  1. Get a supported device
  2. Wipe and flash firmware using the Meshtastic Flasher
  3. Connect to the node via serial or bluetooth to a phone or computer
  4. Set the region to US
  5. Change the node Long and Short name

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Ham Mode

Pros

  • Up to 10W transmit power
  • Higher gain antennas

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Improvements coming soon including:

  • Remote administration through signing and not encryption
  • Ham mode presets

Cons

  • Can’t join the default Mesh (You will not see others if you use this mode)
  • No encryption

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How to join the Bay Area Mesh

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  • Follow settings on https://bayme.sh/docs/getting-started/recommended-settings
  • Medium Slow, Default encryption, and blank channel name (914.875mhz)

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(You can go out and make your own mesh on a different frequency for specific purposes but this is the easiest way to mesh with others)

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Join Our Discord

BayMe.sh

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Meshtastic.org

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Routers

We use high level sites to expand the mesh network coverage. Some of the most notable being on Sunol ridge and a few scattered throughout the mountains.

Mt. Diablo

Stanford

SJSU

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Info for Developers

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Further Resources

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BayMe.sh

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Have fun Meshing Around!

Thank you

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