r/meshtastic — reddlx | reddlx-frontend

Small Node idea

I’ve been impressed at the small node ideas on here and I was thinking of an exercise in PCB design, creating one designed to attach the XIAO nRF52840 on top and Wio-SX1262 on bottom (I don’t have one handy yet so I just have this Seeed dev board for rough size idea) it would stick out the bottom enough to plug into USB for power, and the top enough to solder on an SMA adapter. A right angle SMD adapter could be added to change the direction of the antenna if desired. The USB-C port would be removed to reduce thickness, since you would be able to flash via normal USB port

No battery, just powered via power bank or any USB. Any reason that shouldn’t work?

u/Refleks180 — 10 hours ago

🔥 Hot ▲ 130 r/meshtastic

MeshDash is awful, please don't use it, please don't recommend it.

This AI garbage needs to stop, please. It's not making the community better. I don't mean to seem like I'm putting out a hit piece against this software, but this is the exact result you expect to see from vibe coding without core frontend/backend knowledge to back it up. From the website to the docs, it's awful. I've actually taken the time to put together a list of just how awful.

Here's the album so you can follow along: https://imgur.com/a/iiDc2Ye

1. Random missing icons on the website shown as ⌧ on the website.
1. "Setup Wizard" is linked FIVE TIMES at the bottom of the page.
1. The Readme file is filled with useless emoji garbage.
1. The beta download option is just a dead link.
1. If you try to use the reinstall option and you type in your credentials, you eventually get to a page where you get an error about your email being missing.. even though you have nowhere to type it. (my email and API key have been redacted in the image)
1. The Docs say the default auth token expiration for login is 7 days, but the setup wizard says it's 30 minutes.
1. The manual installation instructions don't even have the path to github, it's literally "/your-org/" and was never filled out.
1. EXTERNAL_MAP_API_BASE_URL can appear in config files but is not defined in the docs.
1. The downloads section in the docs is just empty.

This has to stop. AI slop like this isn't doing anything but making it harder for people to get started because they think this is going to be an easy setup, but then they have to wade through a bunch of slop to maybe get it working.

This isn't the only software out there for meshtastic that's like this, and honestly I'd recommend avoiding any of them if possible.

u/Bkid — 22 hours ago

▲ 1 r/meshtastic

Heltec V4 battery disconnect?

Decided to grab a couple V4 kits off Amazon to dip my toes into Meshtastic. I'm going to 3D print cases for them, and I figured I'd add an inline slide switch to disconnect power when I'm not using them.

That seems like the simplest solution, but if anyone has experience with a neater/better solution, I'd be happy for the advice.

reddit.com

u/rcsez — 25 minutes ago

Image 1 — Prototyping a Heltec T114 case

Image 2 — Prototyping a Heltec T114 case

▲ 19 r/meshtastic

Prototyping a Heltec T114 case

I have settled on the Heltec T114 as my daily driver and wanted a case for maximum battery life (because I'm always forgetting to charge the pathetic 800mah battery it came with). And it still needs to be sort of pocket size.

I designed and 3D printed a case that holds a 10,000mah battery and a small solar panel. The USB is accessible through the cut out next to the node. The case splits in two parts, top and bottom. The battery drops into its compartment and solar slots in its holder, the top section holds everything in place. There is a small gap behind the solar to protect the cables and connectors.

It needs some more work but pretty happy so far. I will probably add some sort of clip to lock the two parts of the case together. Right now its a tight fit so doesn't come apart unless you pull it, but securing it properly would be best. The node holder might need adjusting (or a tiny blob of hot glue on one corner of the node to stop it pushing back). And the battery compartment has a slight rattle, I didn't want to squish the battery, but can probably do something there to keep it quiet. And it looks a little bland. I'll use it a few weeks and see what else needs changing.

u/Rinordine — 15 hours ago

▲ 5 r/SideProject+5 crossposts

i built a solar gps node out of a cheap powerbank

Hey folks, i just finished putting together a solar GPS Meshtastic node using a powerbank and tested it.
let me know what seems off or could be improved. i’d rather get critics here now than in real life...

it's part of a project i'm working on, so i'd really really appreciate your feedback which i will be answering on my report

i’ve shared the details here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bv9xblK5Sww&t=338s

note : i'm not advertising my channel while it looks like it but i'm more into feedback because it's part of a graduation project i'm working and your feedback matters

u/searchforpro — 16 hours ago

▲ 1 r/meshtastic

May be new functionality

I have heltec v3 and nrf node in devices, now i want to get simple functionality likes

Sensor of light ,or gyroscope, gps sensor or something see changes , vibration, change of light or change gps.

I need simple trigger to send gpio output for example about 5 -15 or more seconds

Dont have gps changes or gyro turn off gpio , i don't want put add another nrf52 without meshtastic firmware for only 1-2 gpio for this

I hope i write correctly. :-)

reddit.com

u/Dramatic_Hand_667 — 4 hours ago

▲ 2 r/meshtastic

USB lora module?

I bought this module to connect to a raspberry pi, but meshtasticd doesn't seem to want to see it. is there any way to connect to the mesh via this module??

a.aliexpress.com

u/tapedficus — 7 hours ago

▲ 6 r/cyberDeck+1 crossposts

My first project: pi-Mesh

Hi, if you’d like, feel free to take a look at my pi-Mesh project.
I created it because using my Meshtastic board felt too limiting, and being tied to the mobile app was inconvenient.

It’s based on a Raspberry Pi 3 A+, since it was the only board I had available, and buying a new one didn’t seem practical given the absurd prices of current boards. It’s a bit limited in terms of resources due to having only 512 MB of RAM, but it works reasonably well.

The screen is 3.5", and the interface is entirely web-based. Support is planned for various devices such as buttons, encoders, sensors, etc., as well as the ability to use offline maps.

I’m still working on an enclosure, but the idea is to house everything with enough batteries.
The project was created with Claude Code, as I’m not a programmer. If you’re interested, you’re more than welcome to try it out—even just out of curiosity :)

https://preview.redd.it/8md5l2tl48tg1.png?width=320&format=png&auto=webp&s=ee0aa89835ac92ffe20946a034c84ed276741b2d

https://preview.redd.it/hy16s1tl48tg1.png?width=320&format=png&auto=webp&s=1e395310d05c6f7f50d11266e92dd1e19694580d

https://preview.redd.it/cpnzn2tl48tg1.png?width=320&format=png&auto=webp&s=2cfeeb368fca90bb41dd7b507146378f810e93fa

https://preview.redd.it/imnle2tl48tg1.png?width=320&format=png&auto=webp&s=c79f0db25dcdc66319cae9cd2fef907d52c5f70f

https://preview.redd.it/wlb042tl48tg1.png?width=320&format=png&auto=webp&s=5f6718c9d1a6a7d984eab61e2f09306046192ac4

https://preview.redd.it/m6xwy2tl48tg1.png?width=320&format=png&auto=webp&s=5afb62269719269b1408681a7c11951eb4cace23

https://preview.redd.it/41la95tl48tg1.png?width=320&format=png&auto=webp&s=cbbf1eaf8a22af5d07d53a96bc3ef8e80e348e86

reddit.com

u/nomeutentenuovo — 21 hours ago

▲ 6 r/meshtastic

New to Meshtastic - messages won’t go through?

Hey yall,

Very new to Meshtastic. Got my first node set up yesterday and have been having a blast learning.

One thing I haven’t been able to do is send any direct messages or get any messages to go through in the primary channels?

Every time I do, it gives me an error that says “Max Retransmission Reached”

I’m in the USA, using long fast, ignore MQTT and OK to MQTT are off, Transmit Enabled is on, 7 hops, frequency slot is 20, Rx boosted gain is on, 906.875 frequency override.

Any ideas as to how to fix this?

reddit.com

u/Keeper4560 — 24 hours ago

▲ 3 r/meshtastic

Seeed xiao esp32s3 sx1262 battery %

Hi is anyone using the above, and managed to get the battery to report the correct value?

I have read about adding 2 resistors from the battery terminals to A0 , will I still need to make changes to the code Meshtastic for this to work?

reddit.com

u/iehponx — 23 hours ago

▲ 3 r/meshtastic

Questions on meshtastic usage

hello, long time lurker, literally first time poster. I am thinking meshtastic could work for my usage, just want to get confirmation. my family camps with limited or no cell reception. since we're talking about massive areas with few people around, I'm looking at making a nest for us to keep in touch, relay messages, and in the worst case, send/ receive gps location. from what I'm seeing, I think I need a main node with a good bit of power to be at the base camp, and then 2-3 more for each person to be able to send/receive. I am currently looking at the heltec v4 with touchscreen for individuals, and then another node with a higher level antenna to mount to the tent/camper and supply constant power to it. does this sound like a good usage case for meshtastic? is there anything you'd recommend? I'd looked into the sense caps but I would prefer something that I don't need a phone with me to use as I usually don't take a phone with me, and neither does my family. the lilygo seems a little brittle.

thanks guys. love what y'all are doing with this

reddit.com

u/Mental-Business-3830 — 24 hours ago

▲ 0 r/meshtastic

Solar Meshtastic GPS tracking node designed for long term outdoor use with an esp32

The process involves integrating a low cost GPS module with an ESP32 board,
i emphasized a careful power management to ensure device longevity.
then i highlighted the importance of using Meshtastic sleep modes and duty cycling to maintain a sustainable power draw :

- a 2500 mAh battery paired with a small 3.7 V solar panel can support an ESP32 + SX1276 LoRa + OLED + GPS setup,
- Meshtastic firmware’s sleep mode and duty cycling are essential to make it viable for long term use. Without power saving, the system will drain quickly.
- 400 to 500 mA when everything is active. Average draw with Meshtastic power-saving: 80 to 150 mA depending on duty cycle.
- With deep sleep enabled (ESP32 + GPS duty cycling), runtime can extend to 2 to 3 days.

this small part of a project serves as a demo of real time tracking with energy efficiency and network congestion

the final step was to test the behaviour of my two meshtastic office nodes, i configured my gps node to send data each 20 seconds and i set up another two mesh nodes, each of them sends packets to get the location of the third node :

the first office node attached to a phone by bluetooth to the mesh app gets to connect first, sends request then the second node attached to pc by serial is opened after some time, sends request each 10 seconds for 5 times, then we close the desktop node and keep the first one attached to the phone running. what happens :

the first office node gets the first data then stops for sometime when the second office node gets an answer then timeout the second one, then gets third, timeout fourth and shutdown, then the first office node gets the last packet after a prolonged period.

Meshtastic nodes communicate over a mesh network where packets are broadcast and responses are shared among all nodes, so by breaking down this scenario i'd really really appreciate your feedback which i will be answering on my report, do you think this thing can survive the long term?

youtube.com

u/searchforpro — 6 hours ago