Lexington MeshMapper

Using the MeshMapper App, we’re able to drive around with our companion unit while the app checks for coverage in the area. Want to help us check the network? Reach out to find out how.

To make it easier to see how our network is progressing in real time, we’ve added Lexington to MeshCore Analyzer.

As we continue to grow and test our Meshcore network, we created a couple of channels for the area.

• Note: These were previously setup as private channels. They have been re-created as hashtag channels so that anyone can join. You’ll need to re-add these if you were using the private channels.

LexKY Chat is for general Chat in Lexington and the surrounding areas.

LEXKY Test is used for general network testing of new repeaters and devices in the area.

The community recently discovered that the Heltec V4 has a significant bug, which could be contributing to some of the repeater connectivity issues we’ve been having. We’re currently in the process of replacing V4 repeaters with RAK Repeaters. We should know if the change makes a difference in a few days (fingers crossed).

Here’s our current and predicted repeater setup.

We’re making progress getting the repeater network built up. We just installed point I and P, and brought B and E back online.

We’re able to get messages from downtown Lexington to Man O War near Richmond road. Our next goal is to either connect A to P via a repeater or two or via a couple repeaters in the Nicholasville Rd Area and add repeaters in the Harrodsburg Rd area to get a connection to downtown. If you’d like to help with those or other spots, we’d love to hear from you.

Legend:

Dots

Green: Online

Yellow: Offline at the moment

Orange: Possible Additions (unless better spots are found)

Lines

• Dashed
  • Green: Theoretical Repeater Connectivity
  • Black: Borderline/Possible Repeater Connectivity
• Solid
  • Green: Tested/Confirmed Repeater Connectivity
  • Red: Line of Sight is blocked by terrain, no connectivity.

We’re in the process of getting a MeshCore network setup in Lexington, KY.

We’ve been experimenting with settings and learning what works best for the area over the past few weeks. We’ve currently settled on the Standard US settings with a couple of tweaks.

If you are having reliability issues with your companion or repeater, change your cr setting from 5 to 8. This is compatible with the network. It’s a bit slower, but is a bit more reliable. As the network gets established, you may be able to change back to 5.

If you’re using a Heltec v4 as a repeater,

Using the Command Line in the MeshCore App, type the following
set int.thresh 14
set agc.reset.interval 12

This helps with handling noise.

We’ll post more as we learn what works for our area.