Short, direct answers to the questions people ask most about Meshtastic and LoRa in Nepal. Each links to a longer page.
Meshtastic is free, open-source firmware that turns inexpensive LoRa radio boards into an off-grid mesh network for text messages, positions and sensor data, with no phone signal, WiFi or internet needed. See meshtastic.org.
More: LoRa for WiFi and Bluetooth users
Nepal uses the NP_865 region: 865.0–868.0 MHz, 100% duty cycle, up to 30 dBm. With the default LongFast preset and channel, nodes use 867.875 MHz.
More: Nepal: NP_865
Typically 1–10 km or more with a clear line of sight between elevated nodes, and hundreds of metres to a few kilometres in a dense city like Kathmandu. Height and a good 868 MHz antenna matter more than transmit power.
More: Hardware
LoRa sends very little data (about 1 kbit/s on LongFast) but reaches kilometres using little power, on sub-GHz frequencies (865–868 MHz in Nepal). WiFi and Bluetooth are fast but short-range on 2.4 GHz. Meshtastic nodes relay for each other, so no router is needed.
More: LoRa for WiFi and Bluetooth users
No. LoRaWAN is an operator network where sensors talk to gateways. Meshtastic uses the same LoRa radios with its own peer-to-peer mesh protocol and no gateways.
More: LoRa for WiFi and Bluetooth users
Check that all nodes share the same region (NP_865), preset (LONG_FAST), channel name and key; that the antenna is attached and made for 868 MHz; and that all boards run the same firmware version. In this project a Heltec V3 on firmware 2.7.26 could not hear XIAO boards on 2.5.2 until it was reflashed to match.
More: Troubleshooting
No. Messages travel radio to radio. Internet is only needed for optional extras like MQTT and the public map meshmap.net.
More: Map reporting and MQTT
A module for ESP32 boards that counts nearby WiFi and Bluetooth devices and broadcasts the counts over LoRa. WiFi and Bluetooth must be turned off on that node because the module uses them to scan.
More: Paxcounter
Use the default primary channel and key, turn on OK to MQTT, enable the MQTT module with the default server mqtt.meshtastic.org, enable uplink on the primary channel, share a position with precise location off (between about 364 m and 23.3 km), and give the node internet access.
More: Map reporting and MQTT
This project uses the Heltec WiFi LoRa 32 V3 and the Seeed XIAO ESP32S3 with Wio-SX1262 kit, both ESP32-S3 + SX1262 boards. Buy the 863–928 MHz (high-band) versions.
More: Hardware
Channel messages are encrypted with the channel key, but the default channel’s key is public, so treat it as a public room. Since firmware 2.5, direct messages use public-key encryption. Use a private channel with your own key for group privacy.
More: LoRa for WiFi and Bluetooth users
Signal-to-noise ratio in dB. LoRa can decode signals below the noise floor, so negative SNR is normal; on LongFast packets still decode down to roughly −15 dB.
More: The control panel