Purchase Area Mesh

This is really just a placeholder for plans, information, etc. related to the Purchase Area Mesh, a regional Meshtastic network that we will (maybe) build.

Here’s an MSUARC presentation about Meshtastic and an appeal to start building out the mesh.

If you would like to receive updates on the project, please contact me to be added to the contact list.

Q&A

These are not exactly frequently asked questions, or even questions I have actually received. Rather, they are an attempt to answer questions that I anticipate and have asked myself. In other words, this is more of a decision record. Accordingly, you will also find notes referring to possible objections to the answers which I need to follow up on.

Why not use more power?

Meshtastic does support the use of increased power for individuals with amateur radio licenses, which will likely be the majority of users (at least initially). However, this requires disabling encryption. Since the ability to support private, encrypted channels is one of the key differentiators between Meshtastic and other amateur radio services, we don’t want to limit it.

Additionally, a mesh needs people, so we want to lower the barrier to entry as much as possible. We want people to be able to buy a device and immediately join the network without needing to even be aware of amateur radio.

Notes

• I am not 100% sure what it looks like when the two are mixed together, so I need to investigate that as a possibility.

Why not MeshCore?

MeshCore seems to have a more robust routing protocol for large, static meshes, but it also has a higher infrastructural requirement for it to become useful. Using Meshtastic allows for immediate use in smaller, more ad hoc meshes and can be slowly turned into a well established, regional newtwork.

Meshtastic is also a more robust and mature platform with a significantly larger user base. This makes is easier for new users to onboard, find devices, etc.

Finally, the hardware is more or less interchangeable, so if the limits of Meshtastic is ever reached, then that implies we have a large number of enthusiastic users who would likely be sufficiently motivated to reflash their devices and migrate to Meshcore if it were deemed necessary.

Notes

• I am not 100% sure what happens when there are no repeaters and only “companions”. My understanding is that there will be no routing at all, but I need to try and confirm this.