MESH WHAT?

FAMPARC
2 hours ago
5 min read

MESHCORE

Meshcore is a fascinating evolution in the amateur radio digital space.

To help your club members understand it, you can think of Meshcore as the "bridge" that makes complex mesh networking accessible to the average ham.

Note: Most of this informtion is taken and supplied by:

https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#11-q-what-is-meshcore

What is Meshcore?

MeshCore is a multi platform system for enabling secure text based communications utilising LoRa radio hardware. It can be used for Off-Grid Communication, Emergency Response & Disaster Recovery, Outdoor Activities, Tactical Security including law enforcement and private security and also IoT sensor networks. (source)

Meshcore Website

Hey also... there is no Internet or Phone Cell's being used.. It is all your tiny less that a watt RF device sending and receiving.. No internet !!!

and... if you are in a good location near a repeater.. you only need your tiny Companion device to send and receive, via Bluetooth on your phone.

MeshCore is free and open source:

MeshCore is the routing and firmware etc, available on GitHub under MIT license
There are clients made by the community, such as the web clients, these are free to use, and some are open source too
The cross platform mobile app developed by Liam Cottle for Android/iOS/PC etc is free to download and use
The T-Deck firmware is developed by Scott at Ripple Radios, the creator of MeshCore, is also free to flash on your devices and use

Some more advanced, but optional features are available on T-Deck if you register your device for a key to unlock. On the MeshCore smartphone clients for Android and iOS/iPadOS, you can unlock the wait timer for repeater and room server remote management over RF feature.

These features are completely optional and aren't needed for the core messaging experience. They're like super bonus features and to help the developers continue to work on these amazing features, they may charge a small fee for an unlock code to utilise the advanced features.

Anyone is able to build anything they like on top of MeshCore without paying anything.

Hardware

MeshCore is available on a variety of 433MHz, 868MHz and 915MHz LoRa devices (915Mhz for Australia, but can vary based on states). For example, Lilygo T-Deck, T-Pager, RAK Wireless WisBlock RAK4631 devices (e.g. 19003, 19007, 19026), Heltec V3, Xiao S3 WIO, Xiao C3, Heltec T114, Station G2, Nano G2 Ultra, Seeed Studio T1000-E, Think Nodes M1, M2, M5 etc. More devices are being added regularly.

For an up-to-date list of supported devices, please go to https://flasher.meshcore.co.uk/

To use MeshCore without using a phone as the client interface, you can run MeshCore on a LiLygo's T-Deck, T-Deck Plus, T-Pager, T-Watch, or T-Display Pro. MeshCore Ultra firmware running on these devices are a complete off-grid secure communication solution.

Writers Input:

Much of this information can be owverwelming however, it's really very simple.

Off the shelf products to get you on the air. Thinknode M5 Click Here

ThinkNode M5

[LoRa signal transceiver] Firmware adapts to Meshcore protocol, it can realize efficient transmission and reception of LoRa signals.

[GPS positioning function] Built-in GPS module provides positioning capabilities, including GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, QZSS positioning.

[Rechargeable lithium battery] 1200mAh large-capacity battery, can work continuously, meeting the needs of long-term outdoor use.

[1.54-inch EPD display] Real-time viewing of data and device status

[RTC clock] Built-in RTC clock, realize faster hot start of the device, support interruption/wake-up;

[Compatible with Meshcore APP] Can use the Meshcore APP to set device parameters, information management, etc.

[❤️What you get] 1 Year warranty.1x ThinkNode M1,1x TYPE-C Cable,1x User Manual

re running on these devices are a complete off-grid secure comm

Firmware

MeshCore has four firmware types that are not available on other LoRa systems. MeshCore has the following

Companion Radio Firmware

Companion radios are for connecting to the Android app or web app as a messenger client. There are two different companion radio firmware versions:

BLE Companion BLE Companion firmware runs on a supported LoRa device and connects to a smart device running the Android or iOS MeshCore client over BLE https://meshcore.co.uk/apps.html
USB Serial Companion USB Serial Companion firmware runs on a supported LoRa device and connects to a smart device or a computer over USB Serial running the MeshCore web client https://meshcore.liamcottle.net/#/https://client.meshcore.co.uk/tabs/devices

Repeater

Repeaters are used to extend the range of a MeshCore network. Repeater firmware runs on the same devices that run client firmware. A repeater's job is to forward MeshCore packets to the destination device. It does not forward or retransmit every packet it receives, unlike other LoRa mesh systems.

A repeater can be remotely administered using a T-Deck running the MeshCore firmware with remote administration features unlocked, or from a BLE Companion client connected to a smartphone running the MeshCore app.

Room Server

A room server is a simple BBS server for sharing posts. T-Deck devices running MeshCore firmware or a BLE Companion client connected to a smartphone running the MeshCore app can connect to a room server.

Room servers store message history on them and push the stored messages to users. Room servers allow roaming users to come back later and retrieve message history. With channels, messages are either received when it's sent, or not received and missed if the channel user is out of range. Room servers are different and more like email servers where you can come back later and get your emails from your mail server.

A room server can be remotely administered using a T-Deck running the MeshCore firmware with remote administration features unlocked, or from a BLE Companion client connected to a smartphone running the MeshCore app.

When a client logs into a room server, the client will receive the previously 32 unseen messages.

Although room server can also repeat with the command line command set repeat on, it is not recommended nor encouraged. A room server with repeat set to on lacks the full set of repeater and remote administration features that are only available in the repeater firmware.

The recommendation is to run repeater and room server on separate devices for the best experience.

Videos:

You may come across Meshtastic, whiched kicked off a few years ago, this exploded arond the world because of the low cost of hardware and simple and affective means of communications, however early 2025, Meshcore was developed and now has surpassed Meshtastic, and because it can be used with the same hardware as Meshtastic, a simple software/firmware flash, has the user running Meshcore.. With the advantage of way more distance, being around 3-6 hops with Meshtastic and now with Meshcore and the use of peoples repeaters, can hop as much as 64. Simple search for Meshcore on Youtube or your search engine, and you will find both Meshcore and Meshtastic.

This is via the Meshcore webpage showing live activity.

Above is a live view of Meshcore Activity around Victoria. Click Here for more.

When you send a message either on the Public or a Private encrypted network, your message will hop around the many Repeaters. You can also set specific routes if you want to get more technical.