I have published a new release of my custom MeshCore firmware, mups18-1 (v1.18.0.mups1). It builds on the official MeshCore v1.18.0 and the IoTThinks PowerSaving-v18 branch, and adds a few pull requests that have not made it into the official firmware yet, plus defaults tuned for our network.

Use at your own risk. This firmware may contain bugs, and I accept no liability for its use. Please make a backup before flashing, and back up your device’s private key first – without it, a device gets a new identity after a full erase or a change of firmware.

The most important points

  • Power saving, now also on companions. The receiver sleeps in short cycles, so battery and solar nodes last noticeably longer. New in this line: powersaving on|off on companions (on by default).
  • Repeated sending for direct messages (PR #2670). A node listens whether the next hop forwarded its packet and, if not, sends it again (up to three times by default). Direct messages and their acknowledgements arrive much more reliably. The more nodes on a path run this firmware, the bigger the effect. It stays compatible with the official firmware.
  • Defaults for our network. EU profile (869.618 MHz, BW 62.5, SF 8, CR 8), 10 % duty cycle and the recommended repeater settings are preset for new installs. Hardware CAD before transmitting is on by default on companions as well as repeaters.
  • Optional repeater features, off by default: a packet filter (for example to not forward channels that have nothing to do with your region) and an airtime reserve for scoped floods.
  • Included pull requests: #1349, #2834, #3260, #3536 and #2586, plus a partial port of #2670. The full list, with all commands, is in the documentation (MUPS18.md).
  • Updating from mups17: your stored settings are kept. WiFi credentials of WiFi companions have to be set again (set wifi.ssid, set wifi.pwd, then reboot), because v1.18.0 replaces my own commands with the official ones. Defaults only apply to new installs.

Supported devices

  • Repeater: Heltec V3, RAK4631, SenseCAP Solar P1
  • Companion: Heltec V3 (Bluetooth or WiFi), Seeed T1000-E, Seeed Wio Tracker L1, LilyGo T-Echo
  • Room server: Heltec V3

If you need another device, get in touch.

Download and documentation

mups18: A New Custom MeshCore Firmware Based on v1.18.0
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