NH Mesh
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NHMesh Reaches Critical Mass—Now We Need You

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We've come a long way. What started as a handful of nodes scattered across New Hampshire has grown into one of the most active Meshtastic networks in the country. But here's the thing: we're just getting started, and we need your help to finish what we've built.

Where We Stand

The numbers are real. NHMesh now has thousands of nodes in our database, with hundreds online at any given time. That puts us alongside the largest regional networks in the US—communities like Austin Mesh, Bay Area Mesh, and SoCal Mesh that are proving what's possible when people build infrastructure together.

Coverage has expanded far beyond our original borders:

  • The Merrimack Valley has dense, overlapping coverage from Manchester to Nashua
  • Concord and the Capital Region are well-connected with reliable relay paths
  • The Seacoast stretches into southern Maine, from Portsmouth to Kittery and beyond
  • Points West are filling in as hill town enthusiasts deploy solar-powered nodes on ridgelines
  • The Pioneer Valley in Massachusetts is bridging southward, creating a multi-state mesh corridor

We've hit critical mass. Messages find their way. The network routes around failures. It actually works.

But we have gaps. Big ones.

What We Still Need

Let's be honest about where we fall short:

More hilltops. The backbone of any mesh network is high-elevation repeaters. We need nodes on ridgelines, fire towers, tall buildings—anywhere with line-of-sight to multiple valleys. A single well-placed hilltop node can connect entire communities that otherwise can't reach each other.

More nodes in rural areas. The valleys between our coverage zones are dark. Route 4 between Concord and the Seacoast. The Lakes Region. The North Country. These areas need dedicated operators willing to deploy and maintain infrastructure.

More people. Not just more hardware—more humans. People who will experiment with antenna placements, troubleshoot problems, mentor newcomers, and keep their nodes running. The mesh is only as strong as the community behind it.

More redundancy. Right now, some critical relay paths depend on single nodes. If that one node goes offline, entire regions lose connectivity. We need backup paths everywhere.

Coverage Maps: Coming Soon

We're building better tools to visualize all of this. Coverage heatmaps are coming soon to NHMesh.LIVE—you'll be able to see exactly where the network reaches and where the gaps are. In the meantime, the real-time node map and trace route history show you how messages actually travel through the mesh.

You can help us build these maps. When you're mobile, enable SMART position broadcasts:

  1. Open your Meshtastic app
  2. Go to Settings → Position
  3. Enable "Smart Position"
  4. Set broadcast interval to 5-15 minutes when traveling

Every position report from a moving node helps us understand actual coverage. Drive with your node. Hike with your node. The data you generate shapes what we build next.

Part of Something Bigger

NHMesh isn't operating in isolation. Across the US, Meshtastic communities are building the same thing we are—resilient, community-owned communication networks that don't depend on cell towers or internet infrastructure.

Check out what others are building:

We're all learning from each other. When one network figures something out—a better antenna design, a smarter node placement strategy, a fix for a common problem—that knowledge spreads. This is what open-source community infrastructure looks like.

How You Can Help

Deploy a node. Even a basic handheld in your window adds to the network. A solar-powered node on your roof? Even better. A repeater on a hilltop you have access to? You become critical infrastructure.

Fill a gap. Look at NHMesh.LIVE. See where nodes are sparse. If you're in one of those areas—or know someone who is—that's where we need you most.

Share what you learn. Figured out a good antenna setup? Found a way to extend battery life? Join our Discord and tell people. The best ideas come from operators in the field.

Mentor newcomers. Meshtastic has a learning curve. If you've been running nodes for a while, help someone new get started. Answer questions. Share your config. The network grows when we make it easy for people to join.

Keep your nodes running. This might be the most important one. A node that's online 24/7 is worth more than ten nodes that come and go. Reliability builds trust, and trust builds networks.

The Work Continues

We've proven the concept. Thousands of nodes. Hundreds online at any moment. Messages traveling dozens of miles through multiple relays. Coverage spanning from the Pioneer Valley to the Maine coast.

But proof of concept isn't the finish line—it's the starting point.

The gaps won't fill themselves. The hilltops won't deploy their own repeaters. The rural areas won't magically get coverage. That's on us. All of us.

If you're already part of NHMesh: thank you. Keep your nodes running. Keep experimenting. Keep showing up.

If you're not part of NHMesh yet: we need you. Check out our Channel Setup Guide and get connected. It takes minutes.

The mesh is alive. The mesh is growing. But it's not done—not until we can get a ping from anywhere.

Let's finish what we started.

Track the network at NHMesh.LIVE. Join the community on Discord. Get started with our Channel Setup Guide.