5

Getting Started — Step 5 (Optional Bonus)

Mapping & Range

You're on the mesh — now let's see how far your signal actually travels. Live maps show who can hear you, where repeaters are, and how messages route across the island and beyond.

Live Mesh Maps

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PNW Mesh Map — Vashon Island nodes visible, colored by activity

Two maps are most useful for the Puget Sound area:

  • Device Map (LetsMesh) — see all discovered nodes, their reported positions, and hop distances
  • Message Map (w0z) — see recent messages plotted on a map (great for checking if your messages are propagating). Works even without internet at the destination — handy for EmComm planning.
  • PNW MeshMapper — the most detailed PNW-specific map; built from war-drive data contributed by the community

War-driving: mapping our own coverage

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Cartop antenna + Heltec V4 on a car dashboard — war-drive setup

"War-driving" (or war-biking, war-hiking, war-sailing) means carrying your radio around while the MeshMapper app logs your GPS position and signal reception. The result is a heat map showing exactly where the mesh can and can't be heard.

A minimal setup costs under $60:

  • A $27 cartop magnetic antenna (or any external antenna)
  • A Heltec V4 or any companion radio (GPS not required — your phone provides it)
  • The MeshMapper app on your phone (replaces the MeshCore app while mapping)
Use MeshMapper instead of the MeshCore app when you want to log coverage. Switch back to MeshCore for normal messaging.

War-drive links

🔁 Repeater IDs & collisions

When two repeaters have the same node ID (which can happen after a factory reset or if someone sets their ID manually), messages can loop or be silently dropped. If you're seeing unusual routing, check for duplicate IDs:

📡 Understanding range & coverage

LoRa range depends heavily on terrain and antenna height:

  • Line of sight — a node on a hilltop or rooftop can reach 10–30 km with a good antenna
  • Urban/suburban — expect 1–5 km between buildings; repeaters fill the gaps
  • On the water — excellent range (flat, no obstructions); Vashon-to-Seattle ferry runs often report good mesh connectivity
  • Forests & hills — significant attenuation; a repeater on high ground makes a dramatic difference

On Vashon & Maury Island, most of the island is reachable via repeaters on ridgelines. See our Get Involved page if you'd like to host a repeater.

🎉 You've completed the Getting Started journey!

You've got a radio, flashed firmware, paired your app, sent your first message, and explored coverage. Ready to go deeper? Check out our Mesh Tech pages or join the community on PugetMesh Discord.