LoRa First Run

Set up GhostESP LoRa and send your first message

On this page

The short path: one region, one radio start, one message. Full syntax lives in the command reference.

Before You Start

A LoRa board: Heltec V3/V3.2, a CrowPanel Advance, or a wired SX1262 (hardware).
Something to talk to: a second node, or the phone app.
A way to type commands: serial console or the WebUI.

1. Set Your Region

Meshtastic will not transmit on an unknown band plan, so pick yours first:

lora set region us915

All 24 region codes:

us915, eu868, eu433, cn, jp, anz, kr, tw, ru, in, nz865, th, ua433, my433, my919, sg923, ph433, ph868, ph915, anz433, kz433, kz863, np865, br902

The command reference lists the frequency band and duty limit for each. An unknown name makes lora set region print the list again.

MeshCore skips this step: it uses the frequency you configure instead.

2. Start the Radio

lora start

You should see SX1262 ready and chash 0x08. If init fails, the log names the stage that failed - for example params, vext, gpio-in, spi-bus, spi-device, syncword-readback, or rx-continuous - which points at the wiring or the flashed board profile. See Hardware.

You can start it from the device too: open LoRa and pick the first row, or double-press on the Heltec LoRa page.

3. See Who Is Around

lora nodes

Neighbouring nodes appear within 30-60 seconds with name, signal and hop count. A node with no name, or showing Key unavailable, has not sent its NodeInfo yet. Run lora nodeinfo <node> and wait for the reply.

4. Send a Message

From the device: LoRa → Messages → Public chat → Write.

From the CLI:

lora chat hello mesh

5. Message One Person

Direct messages are encrypted to the peer’s public key, which arrives with NodeInfo:

lora dm !e026f431 hello

If that is refused, request the key first and confirm it arrived:

lora nodeinfo !e026f431
lora pkinfo !e026f431

6. Keep It on Between Reboots

lora autostart meshtastic     # or: lora autostart meshcore

The radio starts a few seconds after the interface. Check what came up after a reboot with mesh.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Fix
`region is not set`	`lora set region <code>`
Radio init fails at a stage (`params`, `spi-bus`, …)	Check the board profile and wiring (hardware)
No nodes after a minute	Both ends need the same region, antennas fitted, and range
A node shows Key unavailable	`lora nodeinfo <node>`, wait, then `lora pkinfo <node>`
Messages stay on Sending	The peer is not acknowledging. Check it is powered and in range

Pair the official Meshtastic app over BLE so the mesh shows up like any other node: BLE App Link.
Prefer MeshCore? Only one protocol runs at a time. Switch and follow MeshCore mode:
```
mesh switch meshcore
```