Meetup

Meetup, bring your nodes, if you have gotten your amateur radio license since in the last 3 months, drinks and dinner on us.

Thursday, October 16, 2025, 6:30 PM CDT (Save the date)

Black Sheep Lodge (2108 S. Lamar)

Getting Started with MeshCore

This page will serve well as a starting point for users who are familiar with Mesh networking, specifically Meshtastic, and are either looking to try, or fully switch to MeshCore. For those seeking more detail, check out a full comparison between MeshCore and Meshtastic.

TL;DR

Choose a Role: Companion vs Repeater

Companion is your phone-connected node. Repeater is a headless coverage extender that must be configured before mounting.

Flash the Firmware

  1. Open flasher.meshcore.co.uk.
  2. Connect your device via USB and select the correct port/board.
  3. Select the role
  4. Enter DFU
  5. Erase the device
  6. Flash the role firmware.
  7. For repeaters, click "Repeater Setup" (see below).

Configure

Companion

  1. Pair with the phone app over Bluetooth.
  2. Set Region/Preset = US Recommended.
  3. Set position if desired.
  4. Send a Flood Routed Advert (signal/wave icon at top of app).
  5. Remember, you may not see other contacts. Unlike Meshtastic, MeshCore only discovers other nodes when they send an advert. Patience is key!
  6. Send a test message. If you see "Heard {num} repeats" then you are being heard. If you only see "Sent", the message was sent but no repeaters heard the message. A companion may have.

Repeater

  1. After flashing, in the flasher click Repeater Setup.
  2. Set US Recommended.
  3. Set the name and position as desired. Positions are exact.
  4. Set the guest password and admin password.
  5. Reboot
  6. Send advert, make sure it shows up to your companion node
  7. From your companion node
    1. Log in (tap on the contact)
    2. Go to Settings > Sync Clock
    3. Reboot
  8. Deploy/mount the repeater.

Resources