A repeater extends the Austrian mesh: it receives packets and forwards them, so longer radio paths can be bridged. This guide walks through setting up your own repeater.
1 — Pick hardware
Stationary repeaters benefit from boards with low power draw and good RF performance: Heltec LoRa V3, RAK4631 (on a RAK19007 base board). An external antenna (at least 3 dBi whip, or Yagi for point-to-point) is mandatory — without one a repeater hardly outperforms a companion. See the hardware overview for details.
2 — Flash the firmware
Fastest path is our WiFi flasher or the official flasher. Pick the repeater firmware (not companion). Connect the board via USB when flashing; you need a browser with WebSerial (Chrome, Edge or Firefox 151+).
3 — Configuration
Repeaters have no Bluetooth. Configure them via USB (console in the flasher or config.meshcore.io) or later remotely over the air with the app (admin login). Minimum settings:
- Radio parameters: EU/UK (Narrow) preset — 869.618 MHz, 62.5 kHz bandwidth, SF8, CR8:
set radio 869.618,62.5,8,8. The preset lies entirely within the 869.4–869.65 MHz sub-band. - TX power:
set tx 22(≈ 158 mW) on boards without their own power amplifier (e.g. Heltec V3, RAK4631, T-Beam). Boards with a built-in amplifier (e.g. Heltec V4, Station G2, T-Beam 1W) amplify the configured value — keep the factory setting there, otherwise the limit is exceeded or the amplifier is damaged. This sub-band permits 500 mW e.r.p. including antenna gain — reduce TX power with high-gain antennas (> 6 dBi). - Duty cycle: max. 10 % per hour:
set dutycycle 10(firmware before v1.15.0:set af 9). - Name: following the AT-DISTRICT-NAME scheme, e.g.
AT-W19-Kahlenberg(see node naming)
4 — Choose a site
Site choice drives 90 % of the range. Rules of thumb:
- As high as possible (attic, hill, mountain) with line-of-sight in several directions
- Mount the antenna vertically, do not bury it in metal
- Keep at least 50 cm clearance from large metal surfaces (roof, HVAC)
- For Yagis: aim at gaps in the network — the live map shows where nodes are missing
5 — Power
Three setups have proven useful:
- Mains: simple, but offline during power cuts — perfect for testing
- Battery + solar: a 6 W solar panel with a 5–10 Ah LiFePO4 battery powers a repeater year-round (~30–60 mA continuous RX)
- USB power bank with solar: tinker setup, less reliable in winter
6 — Join the network
Once deployed, your repeater sends adverts automatically. To make it appear on the live map, upload it once from the app: contact list → ⋮ next to the repeater → Share → Upload to Internet Map. Hop into the Telegram chat — other operators are happy to help with antenna choice, site coordination and diagnostics.