Meshtastic

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meshtastic is a decentralized wireless off-grid mesh networking LoRa protocol. The main goal of the project is enabling low-power, long-range communication over unlicensed radio bands. The club's goal for meshtastic is to get good coverage on campus and use it for text messaging, weather data, alerts, and possibly other sensors.


Goals[edit]

Fulfilled[edit]

  • purchase personal nodes
  • get basic functionality tested and working
  • pick cheap base station and repeater node purchases

Unfulfilled critical[edit]

  • case redesign ideas
  • pick accessories that fit firmware features
  • pick accessories that don't fit current firmware features

Future goals[edit]

  • set up more bidirectional gateways for better campus coverage
    • bot stuff (mostly)
    • weather events (unconfigured/untested)
    • discord channel gateway
    • repeater events
    • wiki events?
  • desktop alerts and applications (partially tested)

Info label[edit]

All unattended nodes sponsored by the club should include a non-removable info label including:

  • club contact email and phone#
  • node purpose (pick one)
    • very short description (3d printed on club custom cases)
    • short description
    • long description if it fits
  • QR code to club meshtastic landing page, suggest http://t.cs.ucf.edu/mesh → meshtastic landing page

Purchase list[edit]

Maybe:

Looking for:

  • repeater node (spram??)
  • unpowered relay node??
  • weather station node

Hardware[edit]

See:

Brands/modesls:

  • LilyGo LoRa T3-S3
  • Heltec LoRa v3
  • RAK Wisblock
  • Pi Pico with LoRa add on board

Important hardware notes:

  • Semtech SX126x > SX127x series transciver chips

Node types seen locally:

  • heltec wireless tracker (v1.1)
  • heltec v3
  • rack4631
  • nano g2 ultra
  • portduino
  • tracker t1000 e
  • tbeam


Other people's projects

We can buy a node with a case, or buy a separate enclosure for it. We can 3D print our own cases.

  • label with:
    • ARC@UCF
    • QR code to a nice mesh landing page
      • tools like this can pick redundancy
        • more redundant would be harder to print, but less redundant might not last in the elements/wear and tear
    • K4UCF
    • the name of the Node
    • serialized barcode?

Sensors and accessories[edit]

These are interesting items supported by the default firmware on the nodes we have:

  • buzzer -- cell motor + 2n2222 (adafruit)
  • accelerometer for taps (model?)
  • serial (data via external cpu over serial)
    • PIR sensor for base station node (adafruit)
  • LED
  • speaker/mic (only for 1.2Ghz and 2.4Ghz versions)
  • telemetry
  • cardKB

Software[edit]

Device[edit]

Server[edit]

Desktop[edit]

Uses[edit]

(brainstorming for future projects)

  • Club meshtastic repeater node
  • Text messaging / alerts
  • Tabling/ meet up alerts
  • back up in case of repeater & discord outage
  • 70cm Repeater events
    • subscribe to people?
    • anomalous events
  • SAME weather alerts
  • direction finding telemetry? (Serial comms)
  • IoT weather station?

Ideas[edit]

  • wall wart version
    • cry if it is unplugged (battery or supercap?)
    • 3d printed enclosure fitting usb power supply
    • sealed copper clad j-pole?
  • use big display in shack for info
    • mesh health
    • repeater stats?? (display refresh issues?)
    • SAME / weather predictions
  • enhancements
    • more sensors
    • more buttons
    • neopixels

mesh node variations[edit]

All unattended nodes (except personal node and computer gateway) should include an info label. Still need to research weatherproofing

Personal node[edit]

This is the first version of the personal nodes

Features:

  • GPS
  • Screen
  • Case
  • Antenna
  • Internal battery or external USB battery
    • internal battery should be at least 3Ah at 3.7 v or 11.1wh

Could add wireless charging, and make a dock for them Need to plan out water resistance, possibly use a “dust cover” style rubber plug to go into any electric or data ports( type C female).

looks promising

Unpowered repeater node[edit]

Features:

  • No screen or GPS
  • SP ram on at least one for store and forward
  • high efficiency CPU
  • large battery
  • large antenna

Will custom print a club branded case or use a commercial waterproof box.

Powered repeater[edit]

Same as unpowered node except

  • Replace battery with USB power plug
  • mount node to power plug
  • use the physically smallest board, efficiency not important

Outside node[edit]

  • Weatherproof box
  • good antenna (large, durable?)
  • solar panel + battery
  • battery temperature sensor ($1-$3)
  • vent / drain
  • high efficiency cpu
  • water proofed info with QR code

computer gateway[edit]

Repeater style nodes[edit]

"Expensive node" Hardware[edit]

Total: ~$100

  • Simple weather station
    • $1-$4 light sensor(s): $1 (up to 4?)
    • $25 waterproof temp/humidity
    • $2 water detection sensor

Total: ~$31

cheap plugin node[edit]

  • small wall USB charger with a port on an appropriate side
  • USB A or C node that can just plug into the charger as a complete unit
  • Should probably have a good antenna
  • Should have integrated labeling so it's not a mystery device

medium cost repeater[edit]

  • LilyGo T3S3 $17
  • Dual 18650 battery pack (Can be DIY using old cells or bought) (Molex 51021-0200 standard connector) $15
  • Use stock antenna for now $0
  • 3d printed case with identifying marks so people don't think it's a ~~bomb~~ unidentified electrical object with potential to have a thermal event leading to rapid disassembly $.2
    • club info printed on case
    • shape case to allow it to lie flat with antenna in correct orientation

Total: $32.2

Goals:

  • 24/7/365 Meshtastic repeater with 100% uptime bar the occasional firmware update
  • Primary link for future Meshtastic projects
  • Coverage of most of the University

Alternate cheap node[edit]

$10


Solar node[edit]

tools

  • 5/8 drill bit
  • Jigsaw
  • Soldering iron
  • Solder
  • Heat shrink tube
  • Wire strippers

another solar node parts list[edit]

Mesh drop Box



and another build guide

Settings[edit]

See https://meshtastic.org/docs/configuration/radio/

  • LoRa:
    • Region: United States
    • Use Preset: Yes
    • Mode: Long Fast
    • MQTT: up to use case
    • Number of hops: 3-7? up to use case, needs investigating
    • Frequency Slot: 20
  • Bluetooth
    • Pairing Mode: Fixed pin
  • Device Config:
    • Device roles:
      • Client: for all personal nodes
      • Client Mute: for any secondary personal nodes
      • Tracker: any nodes that are meant to relay GPS location often
      • Sensor: nodes that are fed with data like weather station info etc.
      • Router late: needs research, maybe useful for any rooftop nodes
    • timezone: EST5EDT,M3.2.0,M11.1.0
    • Disable led heartbeat : true
    • GPIO: will set based on specific node needs
  • MQTT
    • Root topic: msh/US
      • Can also use msh/US/FL
      • Could look into a UCF specific one
    • Server
      • Address: mqtt.meshtastic.org
  • Range Test:
    • Keep disabled unless primary channel has been changed to a different chanel and you know what you're doing. you will send a lot of repetitive obnoxious messages out very quickly
  • Store and forward:
    • seems very interesting, we need to do more research on what is needed to have that set up.
  • external notification
    • external hardware: buzzer to siren
  • Power
    • calibration process

External links[edit]

More Info[edit]

Guides[edit]

Software[edit]

Hardware[edit]

other nodes

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