Station & node notes

Updated July 15, 2026

At a glance

Item	Detail
Area	Central Texas / farm (Waco-area context)
Primary documented stack	Meshtastic
Also running	MeshCore, Reticulum (notes thinner — grow over time)
Preset climate	Local groups still mostly LongFast; other presets under test

Mesh is not the callsign service

These nodes are not W5AWW packet/APRS applications. Names and short names are operator labels, not Part 97 station IDs.

Nodes in service (summary)

Node / role	Stack	Notes
Solar gray-box on farm shop	Meshtastic	RAK WisBlock, ~7 m AGL, continuous since June 2025 — see solar section below
Mobile / portable	Meshtastic	T-Echo / T-Beam class for drive and range tests
MeshCore node(s)	MeshCore	Parallel experiments — config notes TBD on this page
Reticulum	RNS	Experimental — not a full public runbook yet

Meshtastic — post-flash baseline

After flashing firmware, enable Bluetooth with a fixed PIN for app access later:

meshtastic --set bluetooth.enabled true --set bluetooth.fixed_pin 111111

Use your own PIN in production; the example is illustrative.

Owner name (short name max 4 characters):

meshtastic --set-owner 'your node name' --set-owner-short 'NODE'

Device role / rebroadcast / timezone example (adjust to your role):

meshtastic --set device.role CLIENT --set device.rebroadcast_mode LOCAL_ONLY --set device.tzdef CST6CDT,M3.2.0,M11.1.0

Channels example (illustrative — review PSKs and privacy for your network):

meshtastic --ch-set name "Private" --ch-set psk random --ch-set module_settings.position_precision 32 --ch-index 0
meshtastic --ch-set name "LongFast" --ch-set psk default --ch-index 1
meshtastic --ch-set name "Texas" --ch-set psk DgntMessWithTexas0000w== --ch-set module_settings.position_precision 13 --ch-index 2

LoRa region / preset:

meshtastic --set lora.region US --set lora.use_preset true --set lora.modem_preset LONG_FAST --set lora.sx126x_rx_boosted_gain true

Fixed position example (use your coordinates only if you intend to publish them):

meshtastic --set position.fixed_position true --set position.position_broadcast_smart_enabled false --setlat 31.539085 --setlon -97.434871

MQTT (regional root example):

meshtastic --set mqtt.enabled true --set mqtt.root msh/US/TX --set mqtt.proxy_to_client_enabled true --set mqtt.map_reporting_enabled true

For coverage drives and ROUTER roles during tests, see Coverage.

Solar gray-box node (RAK WisBlock)

24/7 solar node — farm shop roof

Parts used:

RAK4631 Core (nRF52)
RAK19007 Base Board 2nd Gen
RAK1921 OLED display
Small LiPo (≈500 mAh class)
6 W flexible solar panel with built-in USB-C charger

Solar mesh node

Running non-stop since June 2025 at about 7 m (20 ft) AGL on the farm shop. Antenna started as the stock whip; planned upgrade is NMO mount + 915 MHz tuned whip.

Solar node install

Hardware shopping list: Gear & recommendations.

MeshCore & Reticulum

Documented in more depth as configs stabilize. Until then:

See stack comparison: Stacks
Do not assume Meshtastic channel/MQTT settings apply to MeshCore or RNS