Configure a standard MeshCore repeater to join the Palouse Mesh network. No Wi-Fi or MQTT required — this is a radio-only node.
For Steps 1–5, use the Repeater Setup button on meshcore.io/flasher — it provides a guided web form that handles radio settings, identity, timezone, and coordinates without typing CLI commands. It's a good way to get familiar with what each field does.
For Steps 6 onwards, the Console is strongly recommended — enter commands directly on the same page. You can also make the equivalent changes through the app's settings menus if you prefer, but the Console is faster and less error-prone.
Each step builds on the last — especially the region hierarchy commands, which must be entered in the exact sequence shown. Skipping or reordering steps will result in a misconfigured node.
Go to meshcore.io/flasher, find your hardware, and select the repeater firmware variant. No local toolchain required.
Once flashed, use the Console or Repeater Setup buttons in the top-right of the same page to connect to your device and enter the commands below.
Frequency, bandwidth, and spreading factor must match exactly across all nodes on the network — these define the physical-layer channel and a mismatch means nodes cannot hear each other at all.
# US/Canada LoRa preset — 910.525 MHz, BW62.5, SF7, CR5
set radio 910.525,62.5,7,5
set tx 22
Set the node name and an admin password. The admin password is required for anyone to manage the repeater remotely.
set name [your node name] set admin.password [CHANGE]
If replacing an existing node and want to preserve its network footprint, inject the private key from the old device before rebooting.
set prv.key [128-character hex key from old node]
Setting coordinates places your node on the network map. Can also be set via the observer.gessaman.com interface. For residential deployments, consider offsetting by a block or two for privacy.
set lat [decimal latitude] set lon [decimal longitude]
Switches from 1-byte to 2-byte path hashing. The value is zero-indexed — mode 1 = 2 bytes. With 1-byte hashing, collisions degrade routing accuracy on any real-sized network.
| Value | Bytes | Unique values | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| mode 0 | 1 | 256 | Default — collisions on any real network |
| mode 1 ✓ | 2 | 65,536 | Recommended for PUW region |
| mode 2 | 3 | 16,777,216 | Large networks only |
set path.hash.mode 1
This setting is only accessible via the Console on a repeater — there is no in-app UI for it on infrastructure nodes.
Tells the mesh where this node sits geographically, so traffic can be scoped appropriately. Requires firmware v1.16.0+. This follows the proposed PNW region scope practice.
region def west pnw wa se-wa puw|pnw ie|pnw palouse|wa e-wa region save
west · pnw · wa · se-wa · puw · ie · palouse · e-waregion def west pnw id cda|pnw ie|pnw palouse region save
west · pnw · id · cda · ie · palouseregion def west pnw or c-or pdt region save
west · pnw · or · c-or · pdtWhen someone sends a message scoped to puw, only repeaters that explicitly carry puw will forward it. There is no automatic inheritance — a node carrying wa but not puw will not forward puw-scoped traffic. Every ancestor in the chain must be listed.
For a full breakdown of what each tag means and the complete per-side hierarchy, see the Regions page.
region def hierarchy above is being adopted at this time.
The configuration above is for a general repeater. Nodes on a peak, hilltop, tower, or ridgeline with wide-area RF coverage that straddles a region boundary should consider carrying the bordering region tag(s) as well — so traffic scoped to a neighboring community can still route through the node. gessaman.com/meshcore/regions/config/ ↗
Restart to initialize the radio with the committed configuration.
reboot
After reboot, verify:
get name — confirms identity loadedget radio — confirm frequency and settingsget path.hash.mode — should return 1Before advertising, sync the node's clock via the app: log into your router, go to Settings → Sync Clock. Then send an advertisement so observer nodes on the network can hear you:
advert
If you're within RF range of an observer node, your node should appear on the live network map within a few seconds. Check it at map.palouse-mesh.net — or open the Live Map here.