Meshtastic
Off-grid mesh radio network
What is Meshtastic?
Meshtastic is an open-source project that enables long-distance mesh networking using inexpensive LoRa radio hardware. Messages hop between nodes without any internet or cellular connection, making it ideal for backcountry hiking, emergency comms, and community-owned networks.
My Implementation
I've deployed a multi-node network across my area using T-Beam and Heltec ESP32 LoRa boards. The network runs custom firmware modifications and integrates with a Python-based MQTT bridge for home automation. GPS telemetry and node health are piped into Grafana dashboards.
Firmware Customizations
Modified the default firmware to support custom channel configurations, extended GPS polling intervals for battery optimization, and added a serial interface for real-time node diagnostics. All changes are tracked in a fork with detailed commit messages.
Network Topology
// Specs
// Status
Network has been running continuously. Last reboot: firmware upgrade v2.5.