Guide · intermediate · 1–3 hours including placement
Flash and set up a repeater
Flash repeater firmware, place the radio high with clean power, and configure it from the official serial console. Leave credentials offline.
What you need
- Supported board with repeater firmware on the official flasher
- Antenna and weatherproofing
- Always-on power or a sized solar setup
- Chrome or Edge for flasher and serial console
- Permission to use the mounting spot
Warnings
- Antenna on before power.
- Do not publish repeater passwords on the web, in screenshots, or in proposals.
- Confirm the local preset with an operator: [ADMIN: confirm the current local recommended preset].
- Height and permission matter more than buying a second board.
- Not a 911 system.
- 1
Confirm the spot and the power
Before you flash anything, stand where the radio will live. Is there permission? Will the power still be on in January? Can the antenna see sky rather than a steel roof two inches away? Fix that on paper first.
- 2
Flash repeater firmware
Same official flasher as companions: flasher.meshcore.io / meshcore.io/flasher, Chrome or Edge, data cable. Choose repeater for your exact board. Preset: [ADMIN: confirm the current local recommended preset].
- 3
Configure via the serial console
Use the flasher's serial / console tools to set a clear name and any admin password the firmware requires. Write the password on paper in a drawer. Do not put it in email subject lines or this CMS.
- 4
Mount, weatherproof, and leave it running
Attach the antenna, mount the box, drip-loop the cables, and label the power brick. Come back with a companion and test from a place that could not hear the mesh before. Share a site note without the password if you want it listed.
How to tell it worked
The repeater stays powered after you walk away, other companions can see it, and a test message from a low spot hops through it. If it vanishes at dusk, the power supply is probably sleeping.
Last updated 8/30/2026