Meshtastic · LoRa · Boca Raton, FL
KYK Mesh — Member Guide
A Meshtastic LoRa mesh for the Boca Raton / South Florida area. This site documents how the fleet is configured, why the choices were made, and how to reach the operator on the mesh.
What is KYK? Three letters nobody had claimed on Meshtastic yet. Every node in the fleet carries the prefix — KYKM, KYKN, KYKT, KYKR, KYKB — so they are easy to pick out of a node list.
The node fleet
Five nodes, each with its verified configuration and the reasoning behind it.
KYKM — Everyday Handheld
The carried, always-on handheld. Fleet admin master M1, and the node members reach Ed on.
- Hardware
- ThinkNode M1 (nRF52840)
- Role
- CLIENT
- Preset
- MEDIUM_FAST
- Power
- battery
KYKR — Solar Router
The fleet's one piece of infrastructure: an unattended solar relay destined for a boat-lift piling. Everything about it is tuned for relaying and surviving on solar.
- Hardware
- Seeed SenseCAP Solar Node (nRF52840)
- Role
- ROUTER
- Preset
- MEDIUM_FAST
- Power
- solar
KYKN — Travel & Work Office
Portable node for the work office and out-of-town travel. Quiet at home so it never competes with the router; promoted to CLIENT at the office.
- Hardware
- ThinkNode M5 (ESP32-S3)
- Role
- CLIENT_MUTE
- Power
- battery
KYKB — Base & MQTT Gateway
Indoor home base and the fleet's single MQTT gateway — the one door between the RF mesh and the internet. Temporary hardware pending the RAK WisMesh Station HP.
- Hardware
- ThinkNode M2 (ESP32-S3)
- Role
- CLIENT_MUTE
- Preset
- MEDIUM_FAST
- Power
- mains
KYKT — GPS Tracker
Card-format GPS tag carried on a bag. Position only, excluded from routing, and power saving must stay off.
- Hardware
- Seeed SenseCAP Card Tracker T1000-E (nRF52840)
- Role
- TRACKER
- Power
- battery
Start here
Architecture & rationale
- ADR — Multi-Master Remote AdministrationThe three-master PKC design: every node carries all master public keys except its own, so no single lost device strands the fleet.
- Gateway & MQTT ArchitectureOne gateway, one bridge: why uplink can be redundant but downlink must be singular per RF neighbourhood, or the mesh loops.
- Hop-Limit JustificationWhy hop limit 5, argued from a 10-minute RF capture: 100% of distinct nodes were within 4 hops, 95% of traffic within 5.
Reach Ed on the mesh
An end-to-end encrypted direct message to KYKM, or the shared Reach-Ed channel joined by QR scan. No keys to type either way.
Configuration values shown are the author's own. COM-port numbers and the example IP are illustrative — check your own device (Device Manager on Windows). Public keys are safe to share; private keys and channel encryption keys are never published.