Meshing With Friends
Hopefully my last post provided some clarity on what Meshtastic is and how it can be used. This post should provide clarity on what kind of hardware to consider, and how to configure it. I will also discuss a bit on how we can help the mesh grow. These recommendations are based on the suggested patterns I have observed in urban areas and Burning Man, conversations I have had with folks through web and mesh channels, and my own research and experimentation thus far. I am following these recommendations on the devices I am trying to hand out like candy so people can easily adopt, experiment, and play with Meshtastic together.
The first step is finding a local user group, as coordinating mesh configurations dramatically helps improve the community user experience. There may not be a group near you - in which case sticking to the default out-of-the-box configuration is appropriate. The Bay Mesh and a growing number of urban areas recommend the "Medium Fast" preset. The loose translation of this preset is "a bit more data than default, but it won't reach as far, with more sharing of the spectrum between nodes". You can get a picture of mesh deployment by taking a look at the global (or regional, if available - here is the bay mesh map ) maps. You should remember that these maps only contain a fraction of the total nodes.
You will want (at an absolute minimum) two devices for personal use - this allows you (and a friend!) to engage in some experimentation, even if there is not yet a strong mesh presence in your area.
I have chosen the Seeed Studio T1000-E device as my personal node. It is also what I am pre-configuring and handing out to those in my community who have expressed interest in meshtastic. This node is of the most common type which requires a mobile device and an iOS or Android app to use. There is a growing number of nodes which do not require a mobile device, however the user experience is currently rougher than on mobile. If you would like a standalone node, the Lilygo T-Deck seems to be the current best in show.
Even if you live somewhere with dense mesh coverage, you may consider getting a "house" node to help strengthen community access. Many people will also get these for their place of work, their car, or their neighborhood dive bar. The more (properly configured) nodes, the stronger the mesh becomes. If, or when, you decide to start deploying this kind of node, you should make sure to check in with the local user group to ensure you are sticking with whatever the current best practices are. Personally, I have only just started down this path and have a solar powered standalone WisMesh Repeater Mini with a MuziWorks whip antenna (the community seems to really like this antenna). Generally people will place this kind of node on a roof, on a balcony, or with the antenna in a window. The higher elevation, with the more line of sight to known nodes (you can loosely determine this with mesh maps), the better.
All communications on Meshtastic is text (and emoji) based - either to individuals or systems via direct messages, or to groups via channels. There are a max of eight named and numbered (0-7) group channels - 0 is the primary and 1-7 are secondaries. This primary/secondary detail is important as all telemetry can be broadcast on the primary channel. Location is the only telemetry that can be broadcast on a secondary channel. By default the primary channel is shared among everyone using the same mesh configuration. In the Bay Area, many folks use the 'Medium Fast' preset, which means that by default everyone in the Bay Area is in the Medium Fast channel - this ends up being the widespread "party line" with chatter covering a pretty large chunk of California. This default configuration can make it easy to accidentally start broadcasting your position, battery life, and ambient temperature (depending on the specific hardware of your node) to everyone on that default channel.
I've been recommending changing the defaults for personal devices to a minimal three-channel configuration. Your primary channel should be for your extended household, people you are comfortable sharing your location with. This might just be a single channel with a random key for yourself and any other devices you want to test with. I recommend keeping the preset channel for the large party line vibe of an extended gossip network, and a third channel for your neighborhood, affinity group, or whatever community you decide to self-select into as part of your foray into the mesh. It is possible to share location (but not other telemetry) via a single secondary channel, however it will only be broadcast to the lowest numbered channel with location explicitly enabled.
When you change your primary channel, it is also important to check your LoRa frequency slot - a key radio setting used to join the mesh. Two channels with different keys on the same frequency slot can still collide on-air. Two channels with the same name/key but different slots won’t hear each other and can coexist in the same area.
The other important setting is your device role. The default is CLIENT, which is well suited for new and growing meshes, allowing the sending/receiving of traffic, along with relaying other traffic. In urban areas with a decent amount of node deployment, you should consider CLIENT_MUTE for your everyday carry node - enabling the sending and receiving of messages, but not attempting to relay - allowing strategically placed infrastructure nodes to more effectively serve the community. A common configuration for a home node is CLIENT_BASE. It does some slightly more clever routing than CLIENT by prioritizing user-specified "favorite" nodes - commonly your personal nodes and nearby community infrastructure nodes.
There are a plethora of other settings which can be changed, and dozens of different device types to consider. I have been using the settings outlined in this post to guide my own defaults, and for configuring the nodes I have been giving away.
If you decide to take the plunge, I encourage you to chat on the mesh, and don't get discouraged when messages don't seem to be heard. Take notes on where mesh coverage seems lacking, and coordinate with the community on how to grow it. Community provided infrastructure needs us all to collaborate to make it a reality. I'm happy to attempt to answer any questions y'all may have - if we are not already connected, you can find a few ways to reach my via my personal website which is linked from this blog.

















