Meshtastic is an open source mesh network built to run on affordable LoRa devices. LoRa is a long range wireless technology that allows for decentralized communication over long distances using very little power.

Getting Started

The way to get started is to pick up a basic LoRa board and antenna, flash the firmware and install the mobile app, and get meshin'! A few of us have gotten started with the following setup, which come with the necessities for two nodes:

➡️ 915MHz ESP32 LoRa V3 + 5DBi 915MHz LoRa Antenna

Set one up at home as your base node and strap the other onto a power bank with a couple of zip ties for a quick-and-easy (if a bit clunky) mobile setup.

See the Meshtastic documentation for supported hardware.

Resources

General Information

• Meshtastic Documentation
• Testing & Reviewing LoRa® Antennas
  • Part 1: Overview and Summary Information
  • Part 2: Detailed antenna measurements
• LoRa Boards Comparison

Where to Buy

• Data Alliance
• Rokland

Maps

• MeshMap
• Meshtastic Map by Liam Cottle

Mapping Tools

• Distance-to-Horizon Calculator
• Topographic height heatmap
• heywhatsthat.com
• RF Line-of-Sight Visualizer

Local Mesh

Groups / Projects

• Central Valley Mesh is a group of Meshtastic users from all around the Central Valley, from Bakersfield to Stockton.
• Fresno Mesh (TBA)
• Tower Mesh (TBA)

Public Channels

Gallery

Here are some of our member's Meshtastic nodes.

Equipment needs

General radio

• NanoVNA V3 Vector Network Analyzer 4.3
• Misc antenna adapters, both straight through and short cable – IPEX/U.FL, SMA, RP-SMA, N-Type