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Remote Control

COMMAND & CONTROL · GPIO · OFF-GRID

MeshCore is not just a chat system. It can be used as a fully off-grid, encrypted command-and-control network.

Every node is more than a radio

Every MeshCore node simultaneously acts as:

  • A LoRa radio — for wireless communication
  • A router — for mesh network functions
  • A computer (ESP32) — with processing power
  • I/O interfaces — UART, GPIO, I2C, SPI, USB

What can you connect?

  • Relays — Switchable power for remote devices.
  • Arduino / Raspberry Pi — More complex tasks via UART or I2C control.
  • Transceivers — Control via CAT interface for remote radio.
  • Sensors — Temperature, humidity, air pressure monitoring.
  • Motors and rotators — Controlling antenna direction remotely.
  • Power switches — Remote on/off for devices and installations.

How does it work?

[!WARNING] What the protocol does and does not offer. In firmware v1.16.0 there is no service layer with calls like gpio.toggle, uart.send, or i2c.read, and no COMMAND packet type. What does exist:

  • CLI over the mesh — an encrypted text message with txt_type = CLI command (see MeshCore Packet Structure). A logged-in admin can send any CLI command to a remote node this way.
  • Requests — REQ with sub-types for status, telemetry, neighbour table, and access list.
  • Sensors — sensor get / sensor set, and telemetry in Cayenne LPP, provided sensor support is compiled in.
  • Custom extensions — PAYLOAD_TYPE_RAW_CUSTOM (0x0F) permits free-form bytes with your own encryption, and the firmware is structured so you can add your own handling.

The applications below are therefore achievable, but they require custom firmware or an attached microcontroller that acts on the CLI or a custom payload. They cannot be configured out of the stock firmware.

Example: Rooftop Remote Station

[!NOTE] Node on the roof with GPIO connections to an antenna rotator and transceiver. Node inside connected via BLE to phone. Command: Phone → BLE → indoor node → mesh → rooftop node → GPIO → rotor turns. No WiFi, no internet, no cloud.

Why is this so powerful?

  • Cannot be jammed with a single transmitter (frequency hopping, mesh routing)
  • No central point that can fail
  • No cloud or internet required
  • Fully encrypted (AES)
  • Tens of kilometres range via mesh hops

Translated from Dutch by Anthropic Claude