What is a mesh network?
A mesh is a group of radios that relay each other's messages, so the network reaches farther than any one radio could.
Each node in the mesh is a small, low-power radio. When you send a message, your radio broadcasts it, and any node that hears it can pass it on. A radio on a hilltop or a rooftop can carry your message across miles that your own radio could never cover on its own.
LoRa
The radios use LoRa, a long-range, low-power radio technique that works in the license-free 915 MHz band in the United States. It carries short text, not voice, video or web pages. In exchange it can cover many miles on a tiny battery or a small solar panel.
MeshCore
MeshCore is open-source firmware for LoRa radios. Two kinds of node matter most:
- Companion: the radio you carry. It pairs with the MeshCore phone app over Bluetooth, or connects by USB.
- Repeater: a radio placed high and powered, usually on a roof, tower or hill, that relays messages for everyone.
More repeaters in good locations make a mesh stronger for everybody.
A volunteer effort
The mesh around Buffalo is built and kept running by volunteers, with their own radios, on their own time. It does not have a name yet. Anyone is welcome to join, and the best way to help is to get a radio on the air, or put a repeater somewhere high.
See emergency preparedness for how a mesh can help in a crisis, including search and rescue.