Magnus HedemarkMay 12

Why #MeshCore scales well when #Meshtastic doesn't. How two very different #LoRa architectures have very different ideal use profiles. #RDUMesh

https://magnus919.com/2026/05/how-meshcore-scales-where-other-lora-meshes-hit-walls/

How MeshCore Scales Where Other LoRa Meshes Hit Walls

This is a technical deep-dive into the MeshCore protocol’s architecture. If you’re looking for a buying guide or setup tutorial, start with the MeshCore FAQ or the official quick start. How MeshCore Scales Where Other LoRa Meshes Hit Walls The Problem: LoRa Mesh Scaling Is Not Incremental LoRa radio is a shared, narrow medium. The North American MeshCore preset uses 62.5 kHz of bandwidth, roughly the width of a single FM radio station. Every packet your node sends occupies that medium for everyone else within range. The physics is inescapable: more nodes means more contention, and at some point the network chokes on its own traffic.

Notes from the Rabbit Hole
Show threadMagnus HedemarkApr 29

@profoundlynerdy in Dec 2025 I was one of a few people on this map who had a #MeshCore repeater and we were so far apart our repeaters couldn’t mesh with each other.

What changed everything was hosting a face to face meeting and getting word out about it in January 2026. Over 50 people showed up.

Now in April, we’ve got strong redundant links between the three main cities. And just last week broke out into adjacent meshes that cover hundreds of miles.

Go ahead and set up that one repeater and that one room server. But think about doing some face to face meetings. It changed everything for us.

#RDUMesh

Magnus HedemarkApr 28

I had a couple of people complain that hosting videos on #PeerTube is bad with vague complaints about buffering issues. I can’t reproduce it.

Maybe some browsers don’t handle it well?

https://tube.pompat.us is my instance.

I need to host videos to support our #RDUMesh #MeshCore #MutualAid content and philosophically PeerTube feels like a better choice than YouTube. But is it watchable?

PompaTube

PompaTube is the video compliment to the pompat.us microblogging community.

PompaTube
Magnus HedemarkApr 25

The Tarheel Backhaul repeater is the one that put #ChapelHill on the #MeshCore map. Here's the #RDUMesh article with the backstory about how #MutualAid made it happen.

https://rdumesh.org/tarheel-backhaul-how-chapel-hill-joined-the-mesh/

Tarheel Backhaul: How Chapel Hill Joined the Mesh

ℹ️This is a guest post submitted by santiago, who (if you don't know) is like the Johnny Appleseed of RDUMesh. We're really happy to have him telling us about one of the most exciting repeaters that has recently given the mesh a strong foothold in Chapel Hill. signal: @santiago.

RDUMesh
Magnus HedemarkApr 5

The one and only vendor selling #meshcore #meshtastic products at #RARSfest today (LowMesh) had a crowd all day of people buying his devices. I’m a little surprised that other mesh vendors don’t want that easy money. Rokland would have made a fortune if they were there. #hamradio #amateurradio

Lots of new people on #RDUMesh today!

Magnus HedemarkMar 7
It was great speaking at the Chatham County EOC this morning about the growing #RDUMesh #MeshCore network in #RaleighNC #DurhamNC #ChapelHill. #hamradio
Magnus HedemarkMar 5
It sometimes seems like #RDUMesh is becoming sanctuary for the people that were banned from #NCMesh for trivial offenses. 😆
Magnus HedemarkMar 5
@Tekchip what changed it for us is getting word out an holding a face to face mesh meetup. We all decided we would give #meshcore a go. Now we’ve got 70+ repeaters and 3 cities meshes together. And it’s been less than three months for #rdumesh.
Show threadMagnus HedemarkMar 5
@DoomBananas a few months ago we had nothing. Today, #rdumesh has a pretty robust network spanning three cities.
Show threadMagnus HedemarkMar 5
@shish #meshcore is really strong in the US, depending on where you are. Make sure to bring a companion with you if you ever fly into RDU airport. #RDUMesh