4 days ago SeeedStudio introduced their newest Wio Tracker T1 Pro which is now available at:
However I don’t notice that anything has changed aside from the firmware it is pre-flashed with, and the logo on the front. Hmmm.
Both MeshCore and Meshtastic use RadioLib under the covers (details on all this at VashonMesh - Mesh Architecture), so there is NO HARDWARE DIFFERENCE between the two user interfaces. Why should SeeedStudio create additional SKU’s for each style?
MeshCore is way more popular than Meshtastic in urban areas, but they both are great technologies that each have their separate use case.
I noticed this new MeshCore branded Tracker as I was going to suggest to the SeeedStudio marketing team that they drop the Meshtastic branding on all the products with it and just use mesh radio compatible (with an explanation that such devices support BOTH MeshCore and Meshtastic).
I posted this in General (in addition to the LoRa forum) as I suspect the marketing team is more likely to see it here.
Yes what you say is true… the problem is flashing between software is easily brickable if you dont know what you are doing… I cant tell you how many times i have replied to people trying to flash MeshCore over Meshtastic and bricking the device and wanting anew free $40 device + $40 free shipping because they supposidly read something in a WiKi, cant run a buisness like that
When you tell them they need a $400 J-Link device to have a hope of unbricking… it doesnt sit well.
so it cuts down on that… this also happened with the Wio 1110 product that was Google Sidewalk then SenseCap and then Meshtastic and could not switch between, even though the hardware was exactly the same
I assume the branding has less to do with a colaboration, than to be the outward obvious difference between the units.
Until the firmware self-updates, users have to learn the process, right?
It may be best for companies to keep separate SKUs for the reasons you mention. I don’t pretend to know much about that or the support side of things.
Crap? Them’s fighting words!!! lol. I’m curious on your take on that. Can you explain? I mainly see two different message routing strategies, one good for small roving groups, and the other good for (urban) areas built out with lots of repeaters.
I live in the Pacific Northwest and comparing
Meshtastic nodes: Meshtastic Map
and MeshCore nodes: https://pnw.meshmapper.net/
… There are a LOT more MeshCore nodes: its what all the various communities have chosen - based on experience & study.
I’m interested to hear what you dislike about MeshCore though!
If I may add. They both have there use case , but I’m convinced the MeshCore will become the next level. The whole point of it was to have a network that was not the Internet for message and sensor data.
The First time they tried it , Meshtastic at the hamfest it was a cluster Fuzz and ended quickly with so, sooo many retransmissions after just turning on a radio. It was a Colossal FAIL and showed the achillea’s heel of Meshtastic and routing failure.
No we have the next effort in “MeshCore”, same objective basically but with differing routing techniques and this one confuses a lot of people because they run on the same hardware, but they’re really two very different philosophies.
Meshtastic vs MeshCore (Plain English)
Meshtastic = “Walkie-talkie mesh”
MeshCore = “Cell network style mesh”
That’s the simplest way to think about it.
The real-world difference
Meshtastic:
“Everyone helps carry the message”
MeshCore:
“Only the network backbone carries the message”
Feature
Meshtastic
MeshCore
Setup
Instant
Planned
Routing
Flooding
Smart paths
Roles
Everyone relays
Dedicated repeaters
Efficiency
Lower
Higher
Range scaling
Limited hops
Up to ~64 hops
Community
Large
Smaller
Best use
Mobile / casual
Fixed / infrastructure
The BIG difference
Meshtastic (Flooding mesh)
Every device:
sends messages
repeats messages for others
Messages spread like this:
You → Everyone → Everyone → Everyone
This is called managed flooding
Pros:
Works instantly
No setup
Great for:
hiking
events
moving groups
Cons:
Gets noisy (lots of retransmissions)
Limited hops (~3–7)
Can slow down in dense networks
MeshCore (Routed mesh)
Devices have roles:
Companions (users) → don’t relay
Repeaters (infrastructure) → do the routing
Messages go like this:
You → Repeater → Repeater → Destination
Uses smarter routing + path memory
Pros:
More efficient (less radio chatter)
Much longer paths (up to ~64 hops)
Faster + more reliable once built
Cons:
Needs infrastructure (repeaters)
Doesn’t “just work” out of the box
Smaller community
HTH
GL PJ
I like the Philosophy of meshCore, better. Fits my Tech best or better IMO.
100% agree PJ. That fits my understanding too. (Except that I believe it is a much LARGER community here in the PNW, and western Europe, and growing faster.)
I’m still curious why someone would be unhappy with it, not that it is close to perfect - yet!! I’ve heard the “vibe” may be different on the two networks? We are starting to see some spammer-troll types here in the NW unfortunately.
well i will give it the credit that if they dont like meshtastic the went out and created their own thing.
I have not used it, i studied it and PJ says it is the difference between a walkie talkie and a cellphone
and maybe that is true, but if i took a cell phone back in a time machine to 1970 it wouldnt work.. byt a walkie talkie would.
I have had meshtastic for several years and traveled to some very populated and sophisticated areas and have seen many nodes… but absolutly no communication.. at the end of the day it \is whether you like purple slurpee or red slurpee… they both got a little red in them..
they make a SKU for everything… at the very lowest level, it links to the production run.
if they want to tell the factory to flash meshtastic, they need to know and tool up the machines that way… if they want MeshCore.. they cant just put a yellow post it note on the job order..
Yes , I would agree. I also have been getting a few odd spam type pings at odd hours
it only shows up on the T1000E.
To me the MeshCore is the next evolution and could really improve the overall reach of a out of band network. What would be a BOOM would be if they could interoperate with each other somehow, Gateway or border router? that would be BIG .
I just hope seeedineers are up for the task, and it’s not an easyone. They need a better way to do the ( AT Hayes compatible firmware ) open source it, or switch to a better alternative. This thing of if you erase the Factory Firmware you are Toast! NO Way back, that just won’t do today.
Sometimes based on:
Semtech reference stacks
vendor-modified firmware
or totally custom AT layers
BS. they need to Licence the stuff or Semtech needs to OPEN the camona
Good tech but, some co. can’t help but try an exploit a market for profit, no surprise there.
Ha, you DO know about Reticulum, right? Its on the home page, but in more detail at https://VashonMesh.org/mesh-tech/ It would/does allow bridging MeshCore regional nets, and even perhaps Meshtastic, over more than just LoRa. It’s the Holly Grail (in my dreams), or maybe not in reality. Still it is a version 1 strategy that might get us started in the right direction!
And yes, Christopher, all without cell towers or Internet.
Oh, re-reading, I agree, yes on hardening the Device Firmware Mode: upload to device, verify integrity, then repeatedly retry or bale as a transaction. “Should” be possible & shouldnt vary by manufacturer. More dreaming…
Meshtastic vs MeshCore (Plain English)
Meshtastic = “Walkie-talkie mesh”
MeshCore = “Cell network style mesh”
The real-world difference
The BIG difference
Meshtastic (Flooding mesh)
This is called managed flooding
Pros:
Cons:
PJ 
