Author: carl

Title says it all.  It will be recalled that Meshcore firmware version 1.15.0 had been released on April 19, 2026.  Now on June 6, 2026, version 1.16.0 has been released, as you can read about in this Meshcore blog page.  (more…)

I spent several hours yesterday in Vail, Colorado.  During this time I tried again and again to reach a repeater in Vail.  I received no adverts from any Meshcore devices, and in particular received no adverts from any Meshcore repeaters.

As far as I was able to see, there is no Meshcore activity in Vail.

Are you aware of Meshcore activity in Vail?  Please post a comment below.

A few weeks ago I learned about, and got energetic about, the Harbor Breeze solar repeater hack.  I have by now constructed several Harbor Breeze (“HB”) repeaters using the RAK4631 WisBlock Kit (blog article) and several more using the Seeed Xiao nRF52840 & Wio-SX1262 Kit (blog article).  But I am in the northern hemisphere, and it has been above freezing this whole time.

I now realize I need to worry about the fact that Winter Is Coming.  It seems that almost everyone except me already knew that (a) it will supposedly ruin a lithium-ion battery if you try to charge it at a temperature that is below freezing, and (b) very few of the commonly used chips for charging control provide standalone protection against trying to charge when the temperature is below freezing.

In this blog article I try to set forth the nature and magnitude of the problem and possible workarounds. (more…)

In an earlier blog article I described my worry that one of my four Seed SenseCAP Solar Node P1-Pro repeaters (seen at right, at an elevation of around 10000 feet or around 3000 meters) might have power problems.  I worried that maybe the batteries were no good, or that the solar panel was weak, or that the charging controller was not doing its job right.  I had to hike up to the remote location of this repeater and swap it out with a spare.

I have now had an opportunity to do testing on the ailing repeater.  A first bit of good news is that with some simple charge-cycling, the repeater now has no difficulty charging fully.  And a second bit of good news, as I discuss here, I have learned that Seeed uses really good batteries in this repeater.  (more…)

The chief tool in the toolkit for deployment of a Meshcore network is the solar-powered repeater (see one at right).   In rural parts of Colorado, a typical repeater location is remote, reached only by hiking to some point of high elevation.  For many months of winter, it may be nearly impossible to reach the location.  Crucial to the repeater’s function is a battery that powers the repeater’s radio controller during times of overcast and darkness.  Ideally, the repeater, once placed into service, will never again need to be visited by a human being.  What can one do to have some sense of confidence that the battery will quietly do its job for some years?  In this blog article I discuss a way to test the battery before placing it into service.  (more…)

A couple of days ago another Meshcore repeater got deployed.  Can you spot it?  (more…)

Recently I constructed four do-it-yourself Meshcore repeaters, one of may be seen at right next to some bananas to show scale.  Two of these repeaters have been placed into service and seem to be working well.  This article describes the planning and construction process.  (more…)

(Update:  I am delighted to report that after a discharge-and-charge cycle, the batteries in this repeater are doing just fine.  Not only that, but it turns out the batteries have an actual capacity that is better than the manufacturer’s claimed capacity.  See followup blog article.)

Recently it became necessary to swap out an ailing repeater.  The repeater had been purchased a few weeks ago and I deployed it, trusting that it would eventually charge up fully.  But even after some weeks in service, the battery level hovered at around 43% and never even once got as high as 50%.  The repeater was in a remote location, so the swap-out task was a bit of work.  This blog article describes what made me realize I had a problem, what preparations and planning were needed, the swapping-out task itself, and the results.  (more…)

Those (like myself) who install LoRa mesh nodes are in frequent contact with the extremely generous property owners who volunteer their property for siting repeaters.  Each repeater ends up being very helpful in extending coverage of a Lora mesh network.  Often for one reason or another a property owner prefers not to be publicly identified.  I am absolutely delighted to let you know that longtime Summit County resident Joanne Hanson, along with her husband Jim, has let me know that she is willing to be publicly thanked.  (more…)