MSP Mesh Settings

The MSP Mesh network functions with the following settings:

  • “Medium Range – Fast” LoRa preset (The default “Long Range – Fast” preset will not be able to communicate with nodes using the new mesh settings)
    • found in Settings > LoRa
  • Device Mode: either “Client” or “Client Mute”
    • Please check out our Roles Guide if you intend to use any other Device Mode setting than Client or Client Mute.
    • TLDR version: Client Mute if your node spends most of its time indoors, in a pocket, wallet, bag, etc. Client if your device’s antenna spends most of its time outdoors, above ground level.
    • Found in Settings > Device
  • Node Broadcast Interval: 3 hours (or more)
    • Found in Settings > Device
  • Hops (guidelines)
    • If you are within or near the 694/494 metro loop we recommend 4 or 5 hops.
    • If you are in the second or third ring suburbs or rather far outside the 696/494 loop, try 5 or 6 hops.
    • Keep in mind that hops can be configured depending on where you are. If you live in a very well-covered area, you can probably get away with 3 hops and your messages will make it through the entire mesh.
    • Found in Settings > LoRa
  • Telemetry settings:
    • Device Metrics: None, or 6-12 hours
    • Found in Settings > Telemetry
  • Channel settings:
    • Your FIRST channel (also known as the Primary Channel, in the “0” slot) should remain as your first channel even if you don’t plan to use it much. The primary channel is how devices share telemetry with the rest of the mesh.
      • The Key for the primary channel should be ‘AQ==‘
      • If you are using the iOS client the channel may appear to be simply named “Primary Channel”. That is fine.
      • If you are using the Android client the channel will need to be named “MediumFast” to properly function.
      • If you have ever re-named your Primary Channel, you may want to go to your LoRa settings screen and make sure that the Frequency Slot value is set specifically to “45”.  If it is a zero (0) your frequency may not be the same as the mesh, and you will not be able to communicate with other nodes that are on the main MSP Mesh.
      • Any other private chat channels you would like to add can be configured at your leisure, they must be Secondary Channels.
      • Found in Settings > Channels
  • Position/Location: Leave as default or configure at your leisure, but we recommend Smart Position be enabled for battery life reasons.
    • If you node is stationary, please set your position to update only every 18-24 hours.
    • Found in Settings > Position

Why not the default settings?

With well over 600 active nodes, even without anyone actually chatting with each other, that many devices constantly announcing themselves and sharing their network stats and info with each other (known as “telemetry” packets) causes our network of strategically-placed router nodes to no longer be able to do their job, which is to route mesh traffic between them, and hand it off when it’s near the right place.

By changing to a shorter “chirp” preset (Medium Fast, in this case) the actual time spent on each of these broadcasts is significantly shorter, and frees up more of the frequency to be used at any given time.

How many hops now?

Start at 4 or 5, and move to 6 or 7 if you’re noticing your messages getting to the mesh but not reaching some areas.

Handy Hours to Seconds chart:

1 hour = 3600 seconds
3 hours = 10800 seconds
12 hours = 43200 seconds
24 hours = 86400 seconds