South Jersey Mesh Map
The South Jersey mesh map shows the off-grid LoRa mesh radios on the air around us. It covers the two big mesh systems, Meshtastic and MeshCore. Both run on the same small, low-cost LoRa radios. However, they use different firmware, so they cannot talk to each other. For that reason, each one gets its own map below.
Use these maps to see who is near you, where the high sites and routers are, and where the mesh still has gaps. In addition, they can help you decide which system to try first.
Meshtastic Nodes in South Jersey
Each dot is a Meshtastic node that has reported its position. Click or tap a dot to see the node name, its role, its hardware, and when it was last heard. Green dots were heard in the last day. Gold dots are routers and repeaters, which carry traffic for everyone else. Grey dots have been quiet for more than a day.
Shows Meshtastic nodes that report their position to the public MQTT server. Data from MeshMap.net, refreshed every 10 minutes.
Keep in mind that this map only shows nodes that share their position through the public MQTT server. Many local radios never connect to the internet at all. So the real mesh is bigger than the map shows.
MeshCore Nodes in South Jersey
MeshCore is the newer of the two systems. Instead of every radio repeating every message, MeshCore uses fixed repeaters to route traffic. As a result, it can cover a wide area with less clutter on the air. The live map below is centered on South Jersey. You can drag it, zoom in, and click any node for details.
The MeshCore map loads every node worldwide, so give it up to 30 seconds to fill in. Map by the MeshCore project at map.meshcore.io.
Meshtastic or MeshCore: Which Should You Try?
Both are fun, and both are cheap to start with. Meshtastic has the larger community and more nodes on the air today. Therefore, it is the easier way to make your first contact. MeshCore, on the other hand, is built around repeaters. That makes it a good fit if you want to put a radio up high and help cover a whole area.
Either way, you do not need a ham license to use these radios on the default settings. Still, mesh radio is a great way to bring makers and new hams into the hobby.
Learn More About Mesh Radio
New to mesh networking? First, read our blog post, Bridging the Gap: How Off-Grid Mesh Networking (Meshtastic) Is Bringing New Makers Into Amateur Radio. Then, bring your questions to the Thursday night net at 7:00 pm on any of our linked repeaters. If you are ready for your own license, check our testing schedule too.