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Why Mesh?

What can you do with a LORA mesh network?

LoRa (short for Long Range) mesh networks are designed to send small messages a long distance. Things like text messages, GPS coordinates, weather conditions, etc. No internet connection is required, but a companion radio or a standalone device is required because LoRa is not built into mobile phones.

LoRa is functionally the opposite of WiFi, which is designed to send large amounts of data, pictures, and video short distances.

Read more about LoRa here

Why mesh works well in our area?

Mesh works well in our area because of the ideal mountain and valley geography. The valley is surrounded on two sides by a long chain of mountains. Placing mesh nodes on these mountains allows for an ideal coverage scenario:

  1. People in the valley can reach a mountain-top radio to send their messages. If they dont have a line-of-site to the mountain-top, perhaps a nearby radio can reach the mountain top and relay the message for you.

  2. Once a message reaches a mountain-top radio, it gets repeated to all the other mountain-top radios, allowing the message to travel from mountain to mountain, covering a long distance in the process.

Mesh options

The two most popular mesh networks are Meshtastic and Meshcore.

  • Better for larger, permanent or infrastructure networks.
  • Newer and less developed, created in late 2024.
  • Maximum of 64 hops before messages are dropped.
  • By default, less node info is broadcasted to the network, making messaging easier on large networks.
  • Read more about Meshcore here
  • Better for smaller scale or ad-hoc networks.
  • Older and more developed, created in early 2020.
  • Maximum of 7 hops before messages are dropped.
  • By default, more node info is broadcasted to the network, making messaging difficult on large networks.
  • Read more about Meshtastic here