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SoDakMesh utilizes Meshtastic as a decentralized communications platform

What is it and how does it work?

Meshtastic
mpowered

What is Meshtastic?

You've heard of "Walkie Talkies", well this is "Walky Texty". Meshtastic is an open-source project built around long-range LoRa radios and a companion app (Android, iOS, desktop). It’s designed for:

  • Decentralized messaging: no central server or dedicated router
  • Encrypted text chats, GPS location sharing, simple data transfers
  • Ultra-low power use: days or weeks on a small battery
  • DIY ethos: community-driven firmware and hardware designs

    • How does it work?

    Meshtastic uses a companion application to communicate to a radio that works with the Meshtastic technology. The radio uses managed flooding to send out packets with a hop limit over set channels with encryption. These radios are designed to rebroadcast messages they receive forming a mesh network. There is no need for additional licenses or certifications.

  • Companion App ↔ Radio
    • Send a message from your phone via Bluetooth, Wifi/Ethernet or USB Serial device-width
    The radio broadcasts that message over LoRa
  • Managed Flooding
    • Each packet has a “hop limit” (default 3 but up to 7 hops)
    Radios retransmit unseen packets, decrementing hop count
    If a packet’s hop limit hits 0, it stops retransmitting
  • Channels & Encryption
    • Radios join a radio mesh by matching frequency, bandwidth and spreading factor
    Channels layer on top: name + AES-256 key
    Nodes only decrypt and display messages on shared channels, but will still relay all mesh traffic
    mesh image

    Key Use Cases

  • Outdoor Adventures • Group texting and GPS during hiking, camping, skiing, festival, and events—no signal needed
  • Emergency/SAR/Disaster Communication • Backup comms when cell towers fail or networks are overloaded (Integrates with CivTAK/ATAK)
  • IoT & Telemetry • Share sensor data (weather, vibration, motion, soil moisture, etc.) over miles with minimal power
  • Ham Radio Integration • Licensed mode removes duty-cycle limits for higher EIRP on amateur bands
  • Community & Mesh Experiments • Neighborhood messaging, local alerts, store-and-forward history
  • Integration with MQTT • Opt in option that bridges distant mesh networks over the internet, provides a backup channel when mesh is too weak, enables mapping capability to centralized and enables telemetry dashboards and home automation