idahomesh.com
Idaho's off-grid mesh
Text across Idaho — no towers, no internet.
A community-driven, off-grid, resilient, encrypted communication network built on inexpensive LoRa radios — Meshtastic, MeshCore & Reticulum. Grab a radio and get offline. You can't stop the signal.
Live network status
Live channel chat
The protocols
Three meshes, one community.
Encrypted · Transport-agnostic
Reticulum
Reticulum is a cryptography-based networking stack for building both local and wide-area networks with readily available hardware, that can continue to operate under adverse conditions, such as extremely low bandwidth and very high latency.
The easy on-ramp
Meshtastic
Meshtastic® is a project that enables you to use inexpensive LoRa radios as a long range off-grid communication platform in areas without existing or reliable communications infrastructure. This project is 100% community driven and open source!
Routing · Repeaters · Rooms
MeshCore
MeshCore is a simple, secure, off-grid mesh communications system. Build your own low-cost, long-range, encrypted messaging network. You can still send messages even when WiFi, Cellular, and Starlink are down.
Play the mesh
Wardrive Idaho. Claim the ground.
MeshWars turns the mesh into a real-world capture-the-flag game. The map is cut into squares roughly 300 meters across, and you claim one for your team by physically being in it and reaching a Meshtastic or MeshCore node from there — seeing a square on a screen doesn't count, the radio has to actually get out.
Seven teams compete for the same ground across a six-month season, with its own winner crowned every month along the way. Can't get out wardriving? There's a weekly net every Wednesday evening that earns your team points just for checking in — wardriving and working the net are two ways to play, not two kinds of player.
- Red
- Green
- Blue
- Purple
- Yellow
- Orange
- Pink
- Teams Seven — pick one when you join, it doesn't change.
- How you claim ground Reach a mesh node from inside a square. Being there isn't enough — the radio has to get out.
- Season Six months, with its own winner every calendar month along the way.
- Weekly net Wednesdays, 17:00–23:59 Boise time. Check in for points, no radio trip required.
- Protocols Playable now on both Meshtastic and MeshCore.
Find your group
The mesh is run by the people in it.
Start with the Intermountain Mesh — the biggest, most active mesh community in the region, spanning Utah, Idaho and Wyoming on both Meshtastic and MeshCore. Idaho-specific groups are listed below if you also want a more local channel.
Regional — Intermountain West
The Intermountain Mesh
Spanning Utah, Idaho and Wyoming — including Salt Lake City, Provo, Ogden, Logan, St George, Boise, Twin Falls, Pocatello, Idaho Falls, and Jackson Hole. Meshtastic via freq51.net; MeshCore via mwmesh.com — same community, one Discord.
Join the Intermountain Mesh DiscordIdaho-specific groups: Idaho Mesh (Discord) · East Idaho Mesh (Discord)
Get on the mesh
New here? Start this weekend.
Pick a protocol & group
Match it to your area and how far you want to reach.
Get a radio
A Heltec, RAK, or T-Beam LoRa board runs around $30. No ham license needed for the public channels. Check out the Community Recommendations.
Flash & join
Web flashers set up Meshtastic or MeshCore in minutes; Reticulum installs on hardware you may already have.
Say hi
Hop into the community chat and meet the people keeping the region on the air.