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This guide goes step by step through the setup of a WisMesh device based on the RAKwireless RAK4631 (nRF52840), RAK11200 (ESP32) or RAK11310 (RP2040) module.
This guide is for the basic device setup and is divided into three sections:
- General setup of a device with the RAK4631 (nRF52840) module and the the RAK11200 (ESP32) module with the Meshtastic Mobile App over BLE
- WiFi connection setup of a device with the RAK11200 (ESP32) module with the Meshtastic Mobile App over BLE and WiFi
- General setup of a device with the RAK11310 (RP2040) with the Meshtastic Web Client
It covers the setup of the device to send and receive messages over the Meshtastic Network and the setup of the location acquisition module (if available).
(1) Install the Meshtastic Mobile App from Google Play Store or Apple App Store.
Make sure to allow all requested permissions, otherwise the application will not be able to communicate with the WisMesh device
(2) Connect a WisMesh device to the mobile applicaiton
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Make sure that BLE is enabled on the mobile phone
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In the Meshtastic app, use the (+) button on the lower right side to start connecting to a device.
- The device will now show available BLE devices in a list: There might be multiple entries listed, all of them are devices with the Meshtastic firmware.
Select the device you want to add. It will ask for a Bluetooth pairing PIN.
If your device doesn't have a display, try the PIN 123456.
The device will now show up in the device list of the mobile app.
The first thing to setup is the Meshtastic Region. This is done in the Region selector on the right side.
On a new device, it will show UNSET. On the drop-down selector you have to choose the correct Meshtastic region for your country.
If you are unsure about the correct region for your country, you can find a list in the Meshtastic documentation => Region
To continue with the setup, we have to open the Radio Configuration.
To open the Radio Configuration click on the three dots on the top right side. A menu will open, showing different options, including the Radio Configuration.
In the next steps, we will check the (1) Channels settings, the (2) LoRa settings, enable the (3) Location tracking and correct the (4) Display setting if needed.
The default primary channel for communication is preset in the device to LONGFAST. However, if you do not want to share your communication with all other Meshtastic devices, you can change it in the Channels setting and define your own communication channel.
As an example, here is the setup for a "private" channel, that the devices in the Meshtastic Sensor Network are using.
In the Channels settings, click on the default channel LONGFAST. This will open a new window, where we can define a new channel name and assign our own PSK for the encryption.
After selecting the Meshtastic Region, the LoRa communication is preset to an default for this specific region.
Using again the "private" Meshtastic network that the devices in the Meshtastic Sensor Network are using, the default settings for Modem preset and Frequency Slot are changed from the defaults LONG_FAST and 3 to SHORT_FAST and 2 to match with the other devices.
Advanced user settings
Another setting in the LoRa Config that will be important if the devices messages and sensor data should be shared over a MQTT broker to the Cloud, is at the very end of the screen.
Scrolling down, it shows two settings related to MQTT.
Enabling Ignore MQTT will ignore messages that are received from a MQTT broker.
Enabling OK to MQTT MUST be set, if the device's data should be sent to a MQTT broker. This is an important setting if e.g. sensor data or location data are shared with the Cloud for further processing.
If the device is equipped with a GNSS location module, it can send the devices location information over the Meshtastic Network.
For devices that do not have such a module, a fixed location can be setup.
The location module settings are in the Position tab of the Radio Configuration.
For devices with a GNSS module the default settings will work. The type of module is automatically detected by the Meshtastic firmware.
For devices without a GNSS module, it is possible to set a fixed position. This can help, e.g. in case a coverage map is build.
If there are artefacts visible in the OLED screen, it can be related to a wrong display setup.
In this case go to the Display settings in the Radio Configuration and select a different OLED driver. In the Override OLED auto-detect try a different display model.
For the WisMesh Pocket and WisMesh B1, the OLED_SSD1306 is the best selection.
Follow the steps of Part 1 to connect the RAK11200 to the Meshtastic Mobile App.
Goto to the Radio Configuration.
To open the Radio Configuration click on the three dots on the top right side. A menu will open, showing different options, including the Radio Configuration.
In the different options showing in the Radio Configuration choose Network
The Network Config is for both WiFi and a wired connection through Ethernet. Enable WiFi and keep Ethernet disabled.
Then enter the WiFi SSID that should be used and the WiFi PSK for this WiFi Network. Optional (if available), you can scan a QR code with the WiFi credentials.
Once the Meshtastic node is connected to the WiFi network, the BLE connection to the Meshtastic Mobile App is no longer available.
If you configure the device for a WiFi network that you cannot access from your phone, e.g. an isolated guest access point on your router, you cannot access the device anymore. The only way to recover the device is to do a factory reset by reflashing the Meshtastic firmware
Connect your phone to the same WiFi network that is setup in the Network Config of the device.
The device will show up in the device list with its IP address now.
If the device is not showing in the list, you can try to obtain the IP address of the device
- from the USB log output
- with a network scanner application
Once you have the IP address, you can enter it in the IP Address: field and try to connect.
Connect the phone to the same WiFi network and check if it is listed.
If this doesn't work as well, you might need to reset the device by doing a factory reset.
The Raspberry RP2040 MCU on the RAK11310 does not have WiFi nor BLE connectivity. The only way to setup the device is through the Web Client.
It is not easy to determine the USB port the RAK11310 will use. As best practice disconnect all other devices that would show as USB port on the computer.
We are using the Chrome browser and the hosted version of the Web Client in the setup of the RAK11310 Meshtastic node.
In the Chrome browser, open https://client.meshtastic.org/ to start the Web Client. In the start screen it will show that no devices are connected.
Click on New Connection to setup the USB connection to the RAK11310. In the new window, select Serial as connection method.
Depending on the connected devices, you will see a list of devices. Select the device that is the RAK11310.
If the correct USB port is selected, the Web Client screen will show some first information about the device like
- Device name
- Battery status
- Meshtastic firmware version
Click on Config to start with the configuration of the device.
The first thing to setup is the Meshtastic Region. This is done in the LoRa tab in the Web Client.
On a new device, it will show UNSET. On the drop-down selector you have to choose the correct Meshtastic region for your country.
If you are unsure about the correct region for your country, you can find a list in the Meshtastic documentation => Region
In the same tab, is the Frequency Slot selection.
And below is the control for the MQTT settings.
Advanced user settings
If the devices messages and sensor data should be shared over a MQTT broker to the Cloud, it is important to enable OK to MQTT.
Enabling Ignore MQTT will ignore messages that are received from a MQTT broker.
Enabling OK to MQTT MUST be set, if the device's data should be sent to a MQTT broker. This is an important setting if e.g. sensor data or location data are shared with the Cloud for further processing.
After selecting the Meshtastic Region, the LoRa communication is preset to an default for this specific region.
The default setting can be changed under Waveform Settings in the Modem Preset
The communication channel settings are in the Channels. The default primary channel for communication is preset in the device to LONGFAST. However, if you do not want to share your communication with all other Meshtastic devices, you can change it in the Name setting and define your own communication channel.
Advanced user settings
If the devices messages and sensor data should be shared over a MQTT broker to the Cloud, it is important to check Uplink Enable.
In this tutorial, the RAK11310 has to be set to Meshtastic Region Philippines 915 MHz, which is not (yet) listed in the Web Client.
To change the device settings to use this specific region, the Meshtastic Python CLI is needed.
First the Meshtastic Python CLI has to be installed as shown in the Meshtastic Documentation.
Once the Python CLI is installed, the required region can be setup with
python -m meshtastic --set lora.region 21
Every setting of the RAK11310 can be changed using the Meshtastic Python CLI. You can find a complete guide in the Meshtastic documentation in Using the Meshtastic CLI