MeshCore for Radio Amateurs
If you’re a radio amateur, there’s a lot about MeshCore that will feel familiar: antennas, propagation, coverage maps, repeaters, digital messaging and the eternal quest for a better location.
But there’s an important distinction to make from the outset: MeshCore isn’t amateur radio. The network normally used in the UK operates using licence-exempt short-range radio spectrum around 868 MHz, so you don’t need an amateur radio licence or callsign to take part.
So why are quite a few radio amateurs in Essex and elsewhere becoming interested in it?
What is MeshCore?
MeshCore is an off-grid text messaging system using LoRa radio. Small, low-cost radio devices can exchange encrypted messages directly or use dedicated MeshCore repeaters to communicate over greater distances.
It doesn’t require mobile phone coverage, Wi-Fi or an Internet connection for the radio network itself to work.
A typical user carries a Companion device. This is the LoRa radio that connects to the MeshCore app on a phone or computer. Dedicated Repeaters installed at useful locations provide infrastructure that can extend the reach of the network.
This is an important difference from some other LoRa mesh systems: ordinary MeshCore Companion devices don’t automatically repeat everybody else’s traffic. Repeating is primarily the job of devices configured for that purpose.
Why might MeshCore interest a radio amateur?
Because much of the experimentation will be very familiar.
- RF propagation – seeing what can be received from different locations
- Antenna experimentation – comparing antennas and installations
- Coverage planning – working out where infrastructure is actually useful
- Repeater siting – height and location can transform coverage
- Portable operation – taking a Companion out and seeing how connectivity changes
- Digital communications – experimenting with low-bandwidth radio messaging
- Network engineering – observing how messages find their way through the network
If packet radio, APRS, data modes, repeaters or propagation experiments appeal to you, there’s a good chance you’ll find something interesting in MeshCore.
And unlike many amateur radio projects, getting started can cost very little. A small LoRa board such as a Heltec V3 is enough to begin experimenting.
Is MeshCore amateur radio?
No.
Although radio amateurs are among the people experimenting with it, the normal UK MeshCore network doesn’t operate under an Amateur Radio Licence.
Instead, compatible equipment operates under the rules applying to licence-exempt short-range devices. That means the amateur licence doesn’t give an operator permission to simply increase the power because they happen to hold an amateur callsign.
Likewise, there’s no requirement for a MeshCore user to hold an amateur licence or identify with an amateur callsign.
Is MeshCore legal to use in the UK?
Yes, provided the radio equipment and its operation comply with the applicable UK licence-exempt Short Range Device requirements.
Ofcom’s rules specify things such as permitted frequencies, maximum radiated power and spectrum-access or duty-cycle requirements. The exact conditions depend on the part of the 868 MHz allocation being used, so it’s better not to assume that a single power or duty-cycle figure applies across the whole band.
In other words, an amateur licence doesn’t override the licence-exempt rules when you’re operating a MeshCore device on the normal UK MeshCore network.
For the current UK requirements, see Ofcom’s Short Range Devices information.
How does MeshCore routing work?
This is one of the technically interesting parts.
MeshCore isn’t simply a collection of handheld nodes all blindly retransmitting every packet they hear. A normal Companion doesn’t act as a repeater.
Instead, dedicated repeaters provide the forwarding infrastructure. MeshCore can initially use flood routing to discover a path, and successful communications can provide information about the repeaters used. That path can then be used for subsequent traffic rather than unnecessarily flooding every message across the entire network.
If a previously-known path stops working, the system can attempt to find another route.
For a radio amateur interested in efficient use of limited spectrum, this is one of the aspects of MeshCore worth exploring.
How is this different from an amateur radio repeater?
The word repeater is familiar to amateurs, but don’t think of a MeshCore repeater as the LoRa equivalent of a 2 metre voice repeater.
A conventional amateur repeater normally receives a signal on one frequency and retransmits it for users over a wider area.
A MeshCore repeater is part of a digital messaging network. It forwards appropriate MeshCore packets and can form part of a route involving several repeaters.
The underlying principle that radio amateurs know very well still applies, though: location matters.
A well-sited MeshCore repeater with a suitable antenna can be considerably more useful than several repeaters installed in poor locations.
What sort of range can I expect?
There’s no meaningful fixed range for LoRa.
At ground level in a built-up area, buildings and other obstructions can severely restrict coverage. Put similar equipment at an elevated location with a good antenna and the result can be dramatically different.
That’s part of what makes MeshCore interesting as an RF experiment.
Rather than concentrating solely on transmitter power, think about:
- antenna height
- antenna efficiency
- feedline losses
- terrain
- building attenuation
- the radio path between stations
Those are concepts most radio amateurs already understand.
What’s happening with MeshCore in Essex?
A network is developing across Essex and surrounding areas, with Companion users and repeaters appearing in a growing number of locations.
You can see reported activity on our Essex MeshCore Coverage Map.
The interesting question isn’t simply how many repeaters we can put on the map. It’s where another repeater would actually improve the network.
Locations with height, good take-off or the potential to bridge two areas of existing activity are particularly interesting.
If you’re an amateur with access to a good RF site, loft, mast or elevated location, that’s potentially much more useful than simply putting another repeater on a downstairs windowsill.
Can amateur radio and MeshCore be linked?
They should be regarded as separate radio systems operating under different regulatory arrangements.
That doesn’t prevent amateurs experimenting with both technologies, comparing coverage or using MeshCore alongside their amateur equipment. Software and Internet-based integrations may also be possible.
But directly retransmitting or cross-banding radio traffic between licence-exempt spectrum and amateur spectrum raises regulatory and technical questions that need to be considered properly rather than assuming an amateur licence makes anything possible.
MeshCore vs packet radio and APRS
There are obvious parallels, but they’re different systems.
Packet radio demonstrated decades ago that amateur stations could exchange digital information and build networks over radio.
APRS provides position reporting, messaging and other information using amateur radio infrastructure.
MeshCore takes advantage of modern, inexpensive LoRa hardware and is primarily designed around low-bandwidth messaging over its own network.
For an amateur, perhaps the most interesting comparison isn’t which system is “better”, but how inexpensive modern LoRa hardware changes what’s practical.
A complete radio capable of long-range digital communication can now be smaller than a traditional handheld and cost only a few tens of pounds.
MeshCore vs Meshtastic
MeshCore and Meshtastic both use LoRa hardware and can run on some of the same devices, but their network designs differ.
One particularly important difference is that normal MeshCore Companion nodes don’t repeat traffic. MeshCore instead uses dedicated repeaters and learned paths, reducing unnecessary retransmissions across a busy network.
If you’ve previously experimented with Meshtastic, you may already own hardware capable of running MeshCore.
What are the limitations?
MeshCore isn’t broadband and isn’t trying to be.
LoRa achieves useful radio performance partly by operating at relatively low data rates. MeshCore is therefore suited to short messages and small amounts of data rather than voice, pictures, video or large file transfers.
It’s also shared licence-exempt spectrum. Users don’t have protected access to the frequency, and interference from other legitimate users of the band is something the network has to live with.
For radio amateurs accustomed to comparatively generous spectrum allocations and much higher permitted transmitter powers, that’s quite a different operating environment.
Is MeshCore a replacement for amateur radio?
No – and it doesn’t need to be.
MeshCore doesn’t give you HF propagation, worldwide contacts, satellites, weak-signal experimentation, amateur television, contesting, voice repeaters or the enormous range of other activities available through amateur radio.
What it does provide is a very accessible way of experimenting with radio networking.
Someone can buy an inexpensive LoRa board, install open-source firmware and start exploring digital radio without first obtaining an amateur licence.
For the amateur radio community, that could also make MeshCore an interesting gateway into wider RF experimentation.
Should I give it a try?
If the technical side of amateur radio appeals to you, it’s certainly an interesting experiment.
A basic Companion is inexpensive, there’s a developing network in Essex, and there’s plenty to investigate: antennas, propagation, repeater placement, routing and coverage.
You don’t need to build a repeater to get involved. Start with a Companion, see what you can hear from home, then take it out and experiment.
Getting Started with MeshCore in Essex →
View the Essex MeshCore Coverage Map →
Join other Essex users
Once you’re connected, join #essexmesh. It’s a useful place to test your setup, compare coverage and find other MeshCore users around the county.
For radio amateurs, MeshCore is best viewed as another opportunity to experiment with RF. It’s not amateur radio itself – but antennas, propagation, repeaters and trying to make a radio signal go further should all feel rather familiar.