Get started
New to mesh?
Never touched a LoRa radio? Here's the short path from nothing to talking on the mesh. No internet, no cell service, no subscription: just a small radio passing messages to its neighbors.
1
Grab a radio. MeshCore runs on the same inexpensive LoRa boards as Meshtastic
(Heltec, RAK, Seeed; most land in the $30 to $80 range). A handheld companion is
what you carry and message from; a repeater is a fixed radio that stretches
coverage for everyone and gets configured before you mount it. Most people start with a
companion. See our recommended radios for cased, ready-to-go
picks.
2
Flash it. Plug the board into a computer over USB and open
flasher.meshcore.io
in Chrome or Edge. It finds the board, you pick your role, and it loads the firmware in a
couple of minutes. No command line.
3
Pair and configure. Install the MeshCore app, connect to the radio over Bluetooth,
choose the USA/Canada Recommended preset (leave the radio numbers alone), and set
your name. Then send a flood advert so the network learns you're there.
4
Say hello. Send a message on a public channel. It hops radio to radio across the
mesh with no towers or internet in between. Give it time: contacts can take 24 to 48 hours
to fill in as adverts propagate.
5
Feed txmesh (optional). Running an
openHop repeater? Install the
txmesh plugin and point it here. Your traffic joins the live map and you unlock your own
!commands. The run an observer guide
walks through it.
Want the full walkthrough with device links and photos? Austin Mesh keeps a thorough step-by-step guide at austinmesh.org.