LoRa Getting Started

First-run checklist for GhostESP LoRa Meshtastic

Bring up the mesh in five steps. Assumes a Heltec V3/V3.2 or a correctly wired SX1262.

1. Enable the build flag

Set CONFIG_HAS_LORA=y (or select Heltec V3 / V3.2 board config which enables it). Rebuild and flash; LoRa is not available on non-SX1262 builds.

idf.py menuconfig  # Component config -> GhostESP Features -> HAS_LORA
idf.py build flash monitor

2. Set your region

Pick the LongFast-legal preset for your country before transmitting:

lora set region anz

Replace anz with us915, eu868, eu433, jp, etc. Region selects frequency, bandwidth, SF, coding rate, and power.

3. Start the radio 

lora start

Watch the console:

  • SX1262 ready — SPI and DIO/RESET/BUSY pins responded.
  • chash 0x08 — LongFast default channel hash; confirms default PSK (AQ==). If you see a different chash, re-check lora set region and channel key.
  • If you see SX1262 not detected, see Hardware.

4. Wait for NodeInfo

GhostESP broadcasts its NodeInfo after start. Within 30–60 seconds you should see NodeInfo RX/TX logs and lora nodes start to populate. Stock nodes rebroadcast every ~3 hours.

lora nodes

5. Test public chat

  • Ghost to Ghost: on two GhostESP nodes on the same region/channel, run lora chat hello on each and confirm RX on the peer.
  • App to mesh: pair the official app per BLE App Link, send a text, and verify it arrives via lora chat or the peer’s console.

Direct messages

DMs need the other node’s current public key. After either node is wiped or factory-reset, exchange NodeInfo again:

lora nodeinfo !e026f431
lora pkinfo !e026f431
lora dm !e026f431 hello

Replace the example ID with the destination shown by lora nodes. pkinfo must show a peer key before a DM can be sent. In the phone app, wait for the node to appear with its name and key before opening the direct-message conversation.

A public chat packet does not contain a node name or public key. If a node is blank, stale, or reports Key unavailable, send lora nodeinfo <node> and wait for the reply. Do not run lora pki-regen unless you intentionally want a new GhostESP identity key.

Next: Commands for tuning SF/BW/TX and diagnostics.