MeshCore is an open, community radio mesh built on LoRa. It carries small messages across long distances on very little power, keeps working without internet or mains power, and grows as people add nodes and repeaters. It is run by its community, not by any one company.

How does Lavawall use MeshCore?

As the out-of-band path for Lavawall Sentinel, our outage and environmental monitoring. When a site loses internet or power, a Sentinel device sends a small alert over MeshCore instead, hopping across repeaters until it reaches Lavawall. That is the only thing we put on the mesh, and the messages are small and infrequent.

Are you a good citizen of the mesh?

We try to be. Our footprint is deliberately light: short, occasional alert messages rather than a constant stream, so we take very little of the shared airtime. We do not use the community mesh as free backhaul for bulk data, and we design Sentinel to stay quiet until something actually needs attention.

Does your traffic expose or clutter the mesh for others?

No. Our own messages carry Lavawall encryption and hash verification on top of MeshCore's own protections, so the contents are private and cannot be altered or spoofed. That protects our clients and it means our traffic never leaks readable data onto the shared mesh. Because messages are small and rare, they do not crowd out other members.

Can I host a Lavawall repeater or work with you on coverage?

Yes. If you have a good location, want to host a repeater, or want to coordinate coverage in your area, get in touch. We are glad to work with local mesh communities rather than around them.

Do I have to use MeshCore to use Lavawall?

No. Lavawall's core platform runs over the internet like any SaaS. MeshCore only comes into play with Lavawall Sentinel, as the backup path that keeps alerts flowing when the internet or power is down.

Is MeshCore a Lavawall product?

No. MeshCore is an independent open community project. Lavawall is a participant that uses it responsibly and contributes repeaters to it. We do not speak for the MeshCore project.

Which cities does Lavawall run MeshCore repeaters in?

We have begun deploying repeaters, and our own coverage is early and still limited. It starts in Calgary, where Lavawall is based, and we are expanding to the other cities we serve: Edmonton, Red Deer, Lethbridge, Grande Prairie, Whitecourt, Vancouver, and Mississauga. We deliberately target underserved areas like Grande Prairie and Whitecourt where MeshCore coverage is still thin.

Is there MeshCore coverage in Calgary?

Yes. Calgary has one of Alberta's most active MeshCore communities, including the YYC MeshCore group, with live coverage visible on meshmonitoring.com. Lavawall is Calgary-based and has begun placing its own Sentinel repeaters here, though our own coverage is still limited and growing.

Is there MeshCore in Edmonton, Red Deer, or Lethbridge?

Yes. Edmonton's mesh is organized through the yegmesh.ca community, Lethbridge runs through YQLMesh, and Red Deer sits on the busy QEII corridor between Calgary and Edmonton. Sentinel repeaters we place in these cities add capacity to the existing Alberta mesh.

What about MeshCore in Grande Prairie and Whitecourt?

Both have little documented MeshCore coverage today, which is exactly why we prioritize them. As we deploy Sentinel across the Peace Country and along the Highway 43 corridor, our repeaters, including solar ones, help put Grande Prairie and Whitecourt on the mesh.

Do you support MeshCore outside Alberta, like Vancouver or Mississauga?

Yes. Vancouver and the Lower Mainland are covered by the CascadiaMesh community, and Mississauga sits within the Greater Toronto Area mesh. Where we serve clients in those cities, Sentinel repeaters add capacity to the community mesh already there.

Can MeshCore be used for environmental and out-of-band monitoring?

Yes. Lavawall Sentinel uses MeshCore as its out-of-band path: when a site loses internet or power, environmental and outage alerts (temperature, humidity, flooding, smoke, carbon monoxide, unauthorized access, and internet, DNS, server, and power failures) travel over the MeshCore radio mesh and reach you during the very outage that silences network-based monitoring. See the Lavawall Sentinel page for the full picture.

What hardware do I need to join MeshCore?

A LoRa radio node. For messaging you run a handheld companion device with the MeshCore app; to extend coverage you run a fixed repeater with a good antenna. The MeshCore Canada community maintains recommended companion and repeater hardware lists and a flasher tool. Lavawall Sentinel customers do not need to buy their own node, because the Sentinel hardware already includes the MeshCore path.

What radio frequency does MeshCore use in Canada, and is it legal?

MeshCore in Canada runs on the licence-exempt LoRa ISM band. The community's Canada-wide baseline preset is 910.525 MHz, 62.5 kHz bandwidth, spreading factor 7, and coding rate 5. It is licence-free to operate, and each operator is responsible for using legal frequencies, power levels, antennas, and duty cycle for their location. Confirm the current preset on the MeshCore Canada site.

How far does MeshCore reach?

It depends on antenna quality, height, terrain, obstructions, and line of sight. A handheld indoors may only cover a neighbourhood, while a well-placed outdoor repeater with a clear view can reach many kilometres, and the mesh extends that further because every repeater passes messages along. This is why hosting repeaters in good locations matters so much.

How is MeshCore different from Meshtastic?

Both are LoRa-based community mesh projects, but they use different firmware and routing, so a device running Meshtastic will not join a MeshCore mesh. Many compatible boards can be reflashed from one to the other. Lavawall builds on MeshCore for its long-range routing and its active Canadian community, and Lavawall Sentinel actually uses both: MeshCore as its primary radio path and the mesh our repeaters mainly run on, with Meshtastic as a last-resort fallback, including the Meshtastic repeaters we run in regions not built out with MeshCore yet.

How do I check whether there is MeshCore coverage in my area?

Browse the MeshCore Canada province directory and the regional community sites: AlbertaMesh, yegmesh.ca for Edmonton, YQLMesh for Lethbridge, and meshmonitoring.com for live Calgary coverage. If your area has little coverage, that is where hosting a repeater, or partnering with us, helps most.

How do I get involved in the MeshCore community?

Pick up a companion device, join your regional group (the MeshCore Canada forum and the provincial Discords are the hubs), and say hello. If you can host a repeater in a good location you add coverage for everyone. We are glad to coordinate with local operators, and if you want to host a Lavawall repeater or improve coverage in your area, get in touch below.

Do you deploy Meshtastic repeaters as well as MeshCore?

Our repeater network is primarily MeshCore, which is what we build and contribute back to the community. In some regions that are not built out with MeshCore yet, we also deploy Meshtastic repeaters as a stopgap so client sites still have an out-of-band path, and we move them onto MeshCore as coverage grows. Lavawall Sentinel devices can use either mesh, with MeshCore preferred and Meshtastic as the fallback.

MeshCore community

On the mesh, lightly, and we help extend it.

Lavawall® uses the MeshCore community radio mesh as the out-of-band path for Sentinel, our outage and environmental monitoring. We try to be a good member of it: a small, quiet footprint on the shared airwaves, traffic that is encrypted so it never exposes the mesh, and repeaters, including solar ones, that we place where they help other people too.

See Lavawall Sentinel Host a repeater or say hello

What MeshCore is

MeshCore is an open, community radio mesh built on LoRa. It moves small messages across long distances on very little power, it keeps working when the internet and mains power do not, and it grows as people add nodes and repeaters. It belongs to its community, not to any one company, and Lavawall® is simply a participant.

How we try to be a good member

A light footprint

We put only small, occasional Sentinel alerts on the mesh, never a constant stream and never bulk data. Sentinel stays quiet until something actually needs attention, so we use very little of the shared airtime.

Traffic that never exposes the mesh

Our messages carry Lavawall encryption and hash verification on top of MeshCore's own protections, so they are private and cannot be spoofed. Nothing readable from our clients ever lands on the shared mesh.

Repeaters that give back

We deploy repeaters, including solar-powered ones, in underserved areas and along the paths that serve our clients. A repeater we raise for our own reliability carries everyone else's messages too.

Coverage that helps more than us

When we need reliable coverage to a client's site, we would rather strengthen the public mesh than build something private and closed. So we place repeaters where they fill real gaps: underserved areas that have little coverage today, and the routes between our clients and the wider mesh. Solar power lets us put them where there is sun but no easy mains, and keeps them running through the outages Sentinel exists to catch.

If you run mesh nodes in your area, host infrastructure, or have a rooftop or tower with a good view, we would like to hear from you. We work with local mesh communities, not around them.

MeshCore in the cities we serve

Lavawall® has begun deploying Sentinel repeaters in the cities our clients run in — our own coverage is early and still limited, and we are steadily expanding it — and we advertise this page on those repeaters. Here is where MeshCore stands in each, and where we add to it.

MeshCore in Calgary

Calgary has one of Alberta’s most active MeshCore scenes, including the YYC MeshCore group and live coverage on meshmonitoring.com. Lavawall is Calgary-based, so it is where our first Sentinel repeaters are already going in, though our own coverage is still limited and growing.

MeshCore in Calgary →

MeshCore in Edmonton

Edmonton’s mesh is organized through the yegmesh.ca community. As we extend Sentinel coverage north, Edmonton repeaters strengthen the corridor between Alberta’s two largest cities.

MeshCore in Red Deer

On the QEII corridor between Calgary and Edmonton, Red Deer is a natural link in the provincial mesh. We prioritize repeaters that keep central-Alberta client sites reachable when the internet is down.

MeshCore in Lethbridge

Southern Alberta’s mesh runs through YQLMesh. Sentinel repeaters here extend coverage across the south, toward the Cardston, Magrath, and Raymond communities.

MeshCore in Grande Prairie

Grande Prairie has little documented MeshCore coverage today — exactly the kind of underserved area we prioritize. As we deploy Sentinel across the Peace Country, our repeaters help put it on the mesh.

MeshCore in Grande Prairie →

MeshCore in Whitecourt

Whitecourt, on the Highway 43 corridor to the Peace region, is another gap we are working to fill. A solar Sentinel repeater here helps carry alerts across a long, thinly-covered stretch.

MeshCore in Whitecourt →

MeshCore in Vancouver

Vancouver and the Lower Mainland are covered by CascadiaMesh. Sentinel repeaters we place for clients here add capacity to an already strong Pacific-Northwest mesh.

MeshCore in Mississauga

Mississauga and the wider GTA are served by the Southern Ontario mesh community. Sentinel repeaters here help keep Peel-region server rooms reachable during an outage.

Community directories: AlbertaMesh, MeshCore Canada, and the official MeshCore project. We are a participant, not a spokesperson, for any of these.

Frequently asked questions

What is MeshCore?: MeshCore is an open, community radio mesh built on LoRa. It carries small messages across long distances on very little power, keeps working without internet or mains power, and grows as people add nodes and repeaters. It is run by its community, not by any one company.
How does Lavawall use MeshCore?: As the out-of-band path for Lavawall Sentinel, our outage and environmental monitoring. When a site loses internet or power, a Sentinel device sends a small alert over MeshCore instead, hopping across repeaters until it reaches Lavawall. That is the only thing we put on the mesh, and the messages are small and infrequent.
Are you a good citizen of the mesh?: We try to be. Our footprint is deliberately light: short, occasional alert messages rather than a constant stream, so we take very little of the shared airtime. We do not use the community mesh as free backhaul for bulk data, and we design Sentinel to stay quiet until something actually needs attention.
Does your traffic expose or clutter the mesh for others?: No. Our own messages carry Lavawall encryption and hash verification on top of MeshCore's own protections, so the contents are private and cannot be altered or spoofed. That protects our clients and it means our traffic never leaks readable data onto the shared mesh. Because messages are small and rare, they do not crowd out other members.
How do you give back to the mesh?: We deploy repeaters, including solar-powered ones, and we place them where they help more than just us: in underserved areas that need coverage and along the paths that serve our clients. A repeater we put up to reach a client's site also carries other people's messages, so extending the mesh for our own reliability extends it for the whole community.
Can I host a Lavawall repeater or work with you on coverage?: Yes. If you have a good location, want to host a repeater, or want to coordinate coverage in your area, get in touch. We are glad to work with local mesh communities rather than around them.
Do I have to use MeshCore to use Lavawall?: No. Lavawall's core platform runs over the internet like any SaaS. MeshCore only comes into play with Lavawall Sentinel, as the backup path that keeps alerts flowing when the internet or power is down.
Is MeshCore a Lavawall product?: No. MeshCore is an independent open community project. Lavawall is a participant that uses it responsibly and contributes repeaters to it. We do not speak for the MeshCore project.
Which cities does Lavawall run MeshCore repeaters in?: We have begun deploying repeaters, and our own coverage is early and still limited. It starts in Calgary, where Lavawall is based, and we are expanding to the other cities we serve: Edmonton, Red Deer, Lethbridge, Grande Prairie, Whitecourt, Vancouver, and Mississauga. We deliberately target underserved areas like Grande Prairie and Whitecourt where MeshCore coverage is still thin.
Is there MeshCore coverage in Calgary?: Yes. Calgary has one of Alberta's most active MeshCore communities, including the YYC MeshCore group, with live coverage visible on meshmonitoring.com. Lavawall is Calgary-based and has begun placing its own Sentinel repeaters here, though our own coverage is still limited and growing.
Is there MeshCore in Edmonton, Red Deer, or Lethbridge?: Yes. Edmonton's mesh is organized through the yegmesh.ca community, Lethbridge runs through YQLMesh, and Red Deer sits on the busy QEII corridor between Calgary and Edmonton. Sentinel repeaters we place in these cities add capacity to the existing Alberta mesh.
What about MeshCore in Grande Prairie and Whitecourt?: Both have little documented MeshCore coverage today, which is exactly why we prioritize them. As we deploy Sentinel across the Peace Country and along the Highway 43 corridor, our repeaters, including solar ones, help put Grande Prairie and Whitecourt on the mesh.
Do you support MeshCore outside Alberta, like Vancouver or Mississauga?: Yes. Vancouver and the Lower Mainland are covered by the CascadiaMesh community, and Mississauga sits within the Greater Toronto Area mesh. Where we serve clients in those cities, Sentinel repeaters add capacity to the community mesh already there.
How does Lavawall support the MeshCore community?: We keep a deliberately light footprint on the shared mesh, encrypt our own traffic so it never exposes or clutters it, and we give back by deploying repeaters, including solar-powered ones, in underserved areas and along the paths that serve our clients. Coverage is early and still limited, starting in Calgary and expanding across the regions we serve. We participate in the community; we do not speak for it.
Can MeshCore be used for environmental and out-of-band monitoring?: Yes. Lavawall Sentinel uses MeshCore as its out-of-band path: when a site loses internet or power, environmental and outage alerts (temperature, humidity, flooding, smoke, carbon monoxide, unauthorized access, and internet, DNS, server, and power failures) travel over the MeshCore radio mesh and reach you during the very outage that silences network-based monitoring. See the Lavawall Sentinel page for the full picture.
What hardware do I need to join MeshCore?: A LoRa radio node. For messaging you run a handheld companion device with the MeshCore app; to extend coverage you run a fixed repeater with a good antenna. The MeshCore Canada community maintains recommended companion and repeater hardware lists and a flasher tool. Lavawall Sentinel customers do not need to buy their own node, because the Sentinel hardware already includes the MeshCore path.
What radio frequency does MeshCore use in Canada, and is it legal?: MeshCore in Canada runs on the licence-exempt LoRa ISM band. The community's Canada-wide baseline preset is 910.525 MHz, 62.5 kHz bandwidth, spreading factor 7, and coding rate 5. It is licence-free to operate, and each operator is responsible for using legal frequencies, power levels, antennas, and duty cycle for their location. Confirm the current preset on the MeshCore Canada site.
How far does MeshCore reach?: It depends on antenna quality, height, terrain, obstructions, and line of sight. A handheld indoors may only cover a neighbourhood, while a well-placed outdoor repeater with a clear view can reach many kilometres, and the mesh extends that further because every repeater passes messages along. This is why hosting repeaters in good locations matters so much.
How is MeshCore different from Meshtastic?: Both are LoRa-based community mesh projects, but they use different firmware and routing, so a device running Meshtastic will not join a MeshCore mesh. Many compatible boards can be reflashed from one to the other. Lavawall builds on MeshCore for its long-range routing and its active Canadian community, and Lavawall Sentinel actually uses both: MeshCore as its primary radio path and the mesh our repeaters mainly run on, with Meshtastic as a last-resort fallback, including the Meshtastic repeaters we run in regions not built out with MeshCore yet.
How do I check whether there is MeshCore coverage in my area?: Browse the MeshCore Canada province directory and the regional community sites: AlbertaMesh, yegmesh.ca for Edmonton, YQLMesh for Lethbridge, and meshmonitoring.com for live Calgary coverage. If your area has little coverage, that is where hosting a repeater, or partnering with us, helps most.
How do I get involved in the MeshCore community?: Pick up a companion device, join your regional group (the MeshCore Canada forum and the provincial Discords are the hubs), and say hello. If you can host a repeater in a good location you add coverage for everyone. We are glad to coordinate with local operators, and if you want to host a Lavawall repeater or improve coverage in your area, get in touch below.
Do you deploy Meshtastic repeaters as well as MeshCore?: Our repeater network is primarily MeshCore, which is what we build and contribute back to the community. In some regions that are not built out with MeshCore yet, we also deploy Meshtastic repeaters as a stopgap so client sites still have an out-of-band path, and we move them onto MeshCore as coverage grows. Lavawall Sentinel devices can use either mesh, with MeshCore preferred and Meshtastic as the fallback.

Work with us on the mesh

Host a repeater, coordinate coverage in your area, or ask about Lavawall Sentinel, the monitoring that rides this mesh when everything else is down.

Or request Lavawall Sentinel early access →