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MeshCore Observers

Observers are software services that listen to MeshCore traffic and forward messages or raw packets to other resources over the internet. They are commonly used to feed maps, dashboards, analyzers, and other visibility tools through MQTT.

An observer should be a listen-only service. It should not inject messages into the mesh, bridge internet chat into LoRa, or automate replies back onto the radio network.

MQTT Destinations

IATA refers to the nearest major airport code used to identify the approximate observer location.
Examples include SYD for Sydney, NTL for Newcastle, BHS for Bathurst, and WOL for Wollongong.
This is used for topic grouping and regional filtering within MQTT services and mapping tools.

The following MQTT services can receive MeshCore observer data. Confirm the current settings with each service before deploying a permanent observer.

ServiceServerPortProtocolAuthFormatConfigStatus
NSWMeshmqtt.nswmesh.au1883MQTTUser/pass: nswmesh/nswmeshmeshcore/{IATA}/{PUBLIC_KEY}/packetsTBC
EastMeshmqtt2.eastmesh.au443WebSockets + TLSauth tokenmeshcore/{IATA}/{PUBLIC_KEY}/packets
LetsMeshmqtt-us-v1.letsmesh.net or mqtt-eu-v1.letsmesh.net443WebSockets + TLSauth tokenmeshcore/{IATA}/{PUBLIC_KEY}/packets

Notes

Use observers to improve visibility of the mesh, not to create another active node. A good observer placement is somewhere that can hear useful mesh traffic and has stable internet access.

If you are unsure which destination to use, ask in the NSW Mesh Discord before setting up a public observer.