Site Update: New Content, Faster Pages, and a Better Experience

The site has had a busy two months. Here’s what changed and why it matters for you as a visitor.

Revamped Get Started Guide

The five-step Get Started series has been rewritten from scratch with cleaner language, a more logical flow, and new images at each step. Whether you’re a complete newcomer or helping a friend get on the mesh, the guide now walks you through selecting a radio, flashing firmware, initial setup, using MeshCore, and war-driving/mapping — without assuming prior knowledge.

Antennas Page Overhaul

The Antennas page has been substantially expanded with:

• Clear guidance on choosing between indoor, outdoor, omni, and directional antennas for 915 MHz LoRa
• Explanation of dBi gain, cable loss (RG-58 vs LMR-400 vs LMR-240), and why coax choice matters
• Connector reference (SMA vs RP-SMA vs N-type) — a common source of costly ordering mistakes
• Waterproofing, lightning arrestors, and long-run best practices
• Curated product links for reliable 915 MHz options at every price point

Emergency Communications Content

Emergency comms now has its own dedicated treatment: why mesh radio is useful when cell and internet infrastructure fails, how it complements — rather than replaces — existing emergency systems, and practical scenarios where a local mesh network proves its value.

Device Catalog Improvements

The device catalog now tracks when each device first gained MeshCore support (the Released field). You can:

• Filter by release era (newer = more features; older = more proven)
• Sort by release date (newest first or oldest first)
• Use the existing filters for form factor, chip, and use case alongside release filters

This makes it easier to evaluate devices by maturity, not just specs. Device data is automatically kept current from the MeshCore flasher config on every build.

What Makes This Site Different

A few things set this site apart from other mesh networking resources:

• Non-regional and global — all content applies worldwide, not tied to a specific community or region
• Full device catalog with filtering, sorting, and side-by-side comparison — the only site with this for MeshCore-compatible hardware
• In-depth radio technology comparisons — LoRa vs Wi-Fi vs Bluetooth vs Cellular, with real range, power, and resilience trade-offs explained
• Software architecture coverage — MeshCore vs Meshtastic vs Reticulum with technical depth, not just feature lists
• Pages load in under 1.2 seconds — consistently scores 100/100 across Performance, Accessibility, Best Practices, and SEO on PageSpeed Insights
• Actively maintained — device data, firmware versions, and content are updated regularly, not left to go stale

Performance

Despite all the new content, the site still scores 100/100 in all four PageSpeed categories (Performance, Accessibility, Best Practices, SEO). Pages remain fast because the site is built as a static site using Astro — all HTML is pre-rendered at build time, meaning your browser gets a ready-to-display page rather than waiting for JavaScript to assemble it.

The first page load typically completes in under 1.2 seconds, even on a slow connection.