Meshtastic

What is Meshtastic?

Meshtastic is a simple, open-source way to send text messages and share basic location info without any cell service, WiFi, or internet.

The basic idea

Imagine a group of friends or family going hiking, camping, or dealing with an emergency where phones don’t work. Instead of relying on towers or satellites, you each carry a small, cheap radio device (about the size of a walkie-talkie or smaller). These devices automatically talk to each other using LoRa — a low-power, long-range radio technology that can reach several kilometers (often 5–10+ km in good conditions, farther with elevation or more devices).

How the "mesh" works

• Each radio is called a node.
• When you send a message from your phone (via Bluetooth to your radio), it broadcasts it.
• Nearby nodes automatically repeat/forward the message to reach even farther nodes.
• This creates a self-healing “mesh” network: the more people with devices, the bigger the coverage area.

It’s like a "walkie-textie" that lets you send short texts (and optional GPS locations) instead of just voice, and messages can hop across many devices.

Why people like it

• Off-grid & private — No subscriptions, no towers, and messages are encrypted.
• Inexpensive — Starter devices often cost $20–$50.
• Easy to use — Pair a small radio with a free phone app (Android/iOS) or use it standalone.
• Great for hiking, hunting, festivals, disaster prep, rural areas, or just fun experimentation.

Limitations

• It’s text-only (short messages, not voice or video).
• Slower than regular texting (seconds to minutes depending on distance/hops).
• Range depends on terrain, antenna height, and how many nodes are helping relay.

Get Started

Want to try it? Visit the official site: meshtastic.org — they have easy getting-started guides!

What Settings Should I Use?

TL/DR: Our initial infrastructure roll-out utilizes the default LongFast (Long Range, Fast) presets*. This is good to get started and try things out.

* = We have an opportunity to join the Intermountain Mesh, aka Freq51.net, which has the potiential to link us to operators up and down the Wasatch Front — possibly as far North as Boise and as far South as Spanish Fork.

To do this, we'll need to migrate from LongFast to MediumFast. This migration is scheduled for Summer 2026. We will broadcast updates on the LongFast (default) channel as the project progresses.