Sal W6SAL - Updated on: 2025-11-03
You know what REALLY grinds my gears? And I mean REALLY makes me want to throw a radio into the ocean? It’s when people ask me, “Hey, what’s the difference between MeshCore and Meshtastic?”
OH, WHERE DO I BEGIN?!
It’s like asking what’s the difference between a surgeon and a guy with a chainsaw! Sure, they BOTH make cuts, but ONE of them knows when to STOP CUTTING!
Let me paint you a picture. You’re in the middle of a disaster. Hurricane just took out every cell tower within 200 miles. Your neighbor’s house is on fire. You need to communicate. Do you want the mesh network that’s sitting there going “HELLO! HELLO! I’M HERE! DID YOU GET MY HELLO? HERE’S ANOTHER HELLO! AND ANOTHER! OH WAIT, LET ME TELL YOU MY POSITION AGAIN!” like some kind of radio-powered narcissist at a cocktail party?
OR… do you want the one that SHUTS UP and DELIVERS YOUR MESSAGE when you actually NEED IT?
Here’s what Meshtastic does, and I want you to really appreciate the GENIUS of this strategy. When you send a message, EVERY. SINGLE. NODE. rebroadcasts it. EVERY. ONE.
It’s called “managed flood routing,” which is like calling a house fire a “managed thermal event.” Yeah, it’s MANAGED. You know what else is MANAGED? A landfill! Doesn’t mean I want to live there!
The Meshtastic algorithm goes like this:
And they call this “efficiency.” I call it what it is: RADIO SPAM!
You know what happens in Europe? They have these things called “duty cycle limits.” It’s a REGULATION that says you can’t just blast the airwaves like you’re running a pirate radio station from your mom’s basement. You get 10% per hour. That’s IT.
And guess what? Meshtastic users in Europe are hitting this limit! They’re getting BLOCKED by their own devices because the network won’t SHUT UP! Your radio is literally telling you, “I can’t send your message because I’ve been talking too much!” IT’S LIKE BEING GROUNDED BY YOUR OWN HARDWARE!
Now, MeshCore… MeshCore actually thought about this. They sat down and said, “You know what? Maybe we DON’T need to rebroadcast EVERY. SINGLE. PACKET.”
Mind. Blown.
MeshCore uses what I like to call “intelligent routing,” which in the tech world means “NOT BEING A COMPLETE IDIOT.” Here’s how it works:
Manual Advertising: You don’t broadcast your existence every five minutes like an attention-seeking teenager. You advertise MANUALLY. When YOU want to. What a concept! It’s called CONTROL!
Smart Repeaters: MeshCore repeaters don’t forward EVERY packet they see. They forward packets TO THE DESTINATION. I know, I know, this sounds CRAZY – actually thinking about where a message needs to GO before spamming the entire network with it!
Path Discovery: When MeshCore needs to send a message, it LEARNS the path. It REMEMBERS it. It doesn’t have amnesia like some drunk college student stumbling through a maze. Future messages use that path! EFFICIENCY! Remember that word?
You know what this means? It means when you’re in an ACTUAL EMERGENCY and you need to tell someone “THE LEVEE BROKE, GET TO HIGH GROUND,” your message doesn’t get lost in a traffic jam of “Hey everyone, I’m still here!” broadcasts!
Let’s talk about WHY this matters. Let’s talk about emergencies. REAL emergencies. Not “oh no, I’m hiking and I want to chat” emergencies. I’m talking hurricanes, earthquakes, floods – the stuff that makes you remember why your grandmother kept canned goods in the basement!
Hurricane comes through. Cell towers? GONE. Internet? HA! That’s cute. Power grid? More like power GRIDLOCK because it’s NOT THERE ANYMORE!
So you set up your mesh network. Here’s what happens:
With Meshtastic:
With MeshCore:
This isn’t THEORETICAL. This is the difference between life and death! And Meshtastic is over there playing “flood the network” like it’s some kind of GAME!
You’re camping. You’re hiking. You’re in the wilderness. Cell coverage? What’s that? Your carrier’s coverage map was always a LIE anyway – we all know this!
But here’s the thing – you still might need to communicate. Maybe your hiking buddy took the wrong trail. Maybe you need to coordinate a camp setup. Maybe you just want to tell someone you’re alive without broadcasting your GPS coordinates to every device within 50 miles!
With Meshtastic, everyone on the default “LongFast” channel knows where you are. ALL THE TIME. It’s like having a stalker, except you PAID for the privilege!
MeshCore? You control when you advertise. You control what you share. It’s called PRIVACY. Remember privacy? That thing we used to have before we all decided to live-stream our lives?
Here’s a use case that really shows the difference: IoT sensor networks. Maybe you’ve got weather sensors scattered across your property. Maybe you’re monitoring soil moisture for agriculture. Maybe you’re tracking wildlife.
You need this data to get BACK to you. You don’t need the sensors to have a CONVERSATION about it!
Meshtastic in this scenario:
MeshCore in this scenario:
You know what Meshtastic does by default? It broadcasts your node info. Your position (if you have GPS). Your telemetry. TO EVERYONE.
And sure, you can turn this stuff off, but the CULTURE of Meshtastic is about sharing everything. It’s like Facebook, but with radios! “Look at me! I’m here! I moved 50 feet! Here’s my battery level! VALIDATE ME!”
MeshCore says, “You know what? Maybe we DON’T need to tell everyone everything all the time.”
It’s the difference between shouting your business in the town square versus having an actual CONVERSATION.
Let me explain why flooding is such a disaster, using math. Because MATH DOESN’T LIE, unlike those cellular coverage maps!
Say you have a network with 10 nodes. Someone sends ONE message. With naive flooding:
Now say you have 10 people sending messages every few minutes. Plus position updates. Plus telemetry. Plus node info. You do the MATH! The network is drowning in its own success!
And Meshtastic’s answer to this? “Oh, we’ll add a little delay, and nodes will listen before rebroadcasting.” That’s not a SOLUTION, that’s a BAND-AID on a BULLET WOUND!
MeshCore says, “What if – and I know this sounds CRAZY – what if we only forward packets that actually NEED forwarding?”
When you send a message in MeshCore:
It’s almost like they thought about this! It’s almost like they said, “Hey, maybe we should design this for ACTUAL USE rather than just to watch pretty dots on a map!”
Here’s another beautiful thing about MeshCore: It’s DESIGNED for developers. It’s a lightweight C++ library. You can BUILD what you need!
Want a simple chat app? They’ve got an example. Want a repeater? They’ve got an example. Want a BBS server (yes, like it’s 1985, and yes, it’s AWESOME)? They’ve got an example. Want to integrate it into your own project? GO FOR IT!
Meshtastic is designed for END USERS who want things to Just Work™. Which is FINE for playing around, but when you need to build a CUSTOM SOLUTION for an actual EMERGENCY RESPONSE SCENARIO, you want the toolkit, not the toy!
You’re coordinating a search and rescue. Multiple teams in the field. A command center. You need RELIABLE communication.
With Meshtastic:
With MeshCore:
There’s a wildfire. Cell towers are down (fire tends to do that). You need to coordinate an evacuation.
With Meshtastic:
With MeshCore:
Not every scenario is life-or-death. Sometimes you just want to go camping with friends and not be tethered to your smartphone like some kind of digital umbilical cord.
With Meshtastic:
With MeshCore:
Let’s get SERIOUS for a minute. (I know, I know, it’s not my style, but stay with me.)
Emergency preparedness isn’t about having the COOLEST toy. It’s not about who has the most nodes on their map. It’s about RELIABILITY when the infrastructure FAILS.
Reliable Message Delivery: Your message MUST get through. Not “probably.” Not “eventually.” IT MUST GET THROUGH.
Efficient Bandwidth Usage: When everyone is trying to communicate, you can’t have the network choking on its own traffic.
Flexible Deployment: You need to set up quickly and adapt to changing situations.
Privacy and Security: In a disaster, you don’t want to broadcast your location and situation to everyone within radio range.
Battery Life: Your devices need to LAST. You can’t be replacing batteries every few hours.
Reliable Delivery: MeshCore’s path-based routing means messages get to their destination efficiently. They’re not competing with a flood of unnecessary rebroadcasts.
Efficient Bandwidth: Only necessary traffic. No constant position broadcasts. No telemetry spam. Just the messages that MATTER.
Flexible Deployment: Developer-focused design means you can build EXACTLY what you need. Need a custom application? Build it! Need to integrate with existing systems? Do it!
Privacy: Manual adverts. You control what you share and when.
Battery Life: Less traffic means less transmitting. Less transmitting means longer battery life. Solar-powered nodes are actually PRACTICAL.
Look, I’m not saying Meshtastic is USELESS. For hobbyists playing around? Sure! Fine! Have fun! But for SERIOUS emergency preparedness?
When the disaster hits, you don’t want “good enough for playing around.” You want “THIS WILL WORK OR I’M GOING TO BE VERY UNHAPPY.”
You know what else is easy to use? A toy phone! Doesn’t mean I’m calling 911 on it!
Yes, Meshtastic has pretty apps and easy setup. That’s GREAT for getting started. But “easy” doesn’t mean “best.” Sometimes you need to do the work to get the result you NEED.
MeshCore requires more setup. You need to understand what you’re building. But you know what you GET? A system that WORKS the way YOU need it to!
You know what else has a big community? Facebook! Doesn’t mean it’s good for emergency communication!
Community size doesn’t equal quality. MeshCore’s community is growing, and it’s full of people who actually UNDERSTAND mesh networking, not just people who want to see dots on a map!
And I’m constantly eating! Doesn’t mean I’m getting healthier!
Yes, Meshtastic is updating their firmware. They even added this “next-hop routing” for direct messages in version 2.6! Know what that is? It’s them ADMITTING that flooding every message was a BAD IDEA and trying to fix it!
Meanwhile, MeshCore STARTED with intelligent routing because they thought about it FROM THE BEGINNING!
You know what Meshtastic also has? The fundamental design flaw of FLOODING EVERYTHING! It’s like having a car with great cup holders but no brakes! Sure, your coffee is secure, but you’re GOING TO CRASH!
Look. Here’s what it comes down to.
Do you want a mesh network for:
I’m not saying throw your Meshtastic devices in the trash. (Well, I mean, I KIND OF am, but let’s be diplomatic here.) What I’m saying is: if you’re serious about emergency preparedness, if you’re planning for disaster response, if you NEED a network that works when everything else has failed…
MeshCore is the answer. Period. End of story. Mic drop. I’m done.
Well, I’m not REALLY done, but you get the idea.
In the end, it’s about understanding what you NEED versus what looks cool.
Meshtastic looks cool. It’s got maps! It’s got apps! It’s got a big community sharing position updates like they’re posting on Instagram!
MeshCore works. It WORKS when you need it. It doesn’t waste bandwidth. It doesn’t flood your network. It doesn’t drain your batteries bragging about itself to every node in range.
When that hurricane hits, when that earthquake strikes, when you NEED to communicate and everything else has failed, you’re going to want the network that WORKS, not the one that’s busy having a conversation with itself!
And THAT is why MeshCore is better for emergencies.
Thank you. I’m exhausted. This took more energy than explaining to my nephew that YouTube isn’t a career path.
Disclaimer: This rant represents the opinions of someone who has thought WAY too much about mesh networking and emergency preparedness. Your mileage may vary. Consult with actual emergency management professionals. Don’t sue me. I’m just a guy who’s passionate about networks that WORK.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to drink a scotch and go lie down. All this thinking about flooding algorithms has given me a headache.
End of rant. For now. MAYBE.
73
Sal
W6SAL