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<li class="nav-item nav-item-this"><a href="">Communications Hardware</a></li>
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<div class="section" id="communications-hardware">
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<span id="hardware-main"></span><h1>Communications Hardware<a class="headerlink" href="#communications-hardware" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h1>
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<p>One of the truly valuable aspects of Reticulum is the ability to use it over
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almost any conceivable kind of communications medium. The <a class="reference internal" href="interfaces.html#interfaces-main"><span class="std std-ref">interface types</span></a>
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available for configuration in Reticulum are flexible enough to cover the use
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of most wired and wireless communications hardware available, from decades-old
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packet radio modems to modern millimeter-wave backhaul systems.</p>
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<p>If you already have or operate some kind of communications hardware, there is a
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very good chance that it will work with Reticulum out of the box. In case it does
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not, it is possible to provide the necessary glue with very little effort using
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for example the <a class="reference internal" href="interfaces.html#interfaces-pipe"><span class="std std-ref">PipeInterface</span></a> or the <a class="reference internal" href="interfaces.html#interfaces-tcpc"><span class="std std-ref">TCPClientInterface</span></a>
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in combination with code like <a class="reference external" href="https://github.com/simplyequipped/tcpkissserver">TCP KISS Server</a>
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by <a class="reference external" href="https://github.com/simplyequipped">simplyequipped</a>.</p>
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<p>While this broad support and flexibility is very useful, an abundance of options
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can sometimes make it difficult to know where to begin, especially when you are
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starting from scratch.</p>
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<p>This chapter will outline a few different sensible starting paths to get
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real-world functional wireless communications up and running with minimal cost
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and effort. Two fundamental devices categories will be covered, <em>RNodes</em> and
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<em>WiFi-based radios</em>.</p>
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<p>While there are many other device categories that are useful in building Reticulum
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networks, knowing how to employ just these two will make it possible to build
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a wide range of useful networks with little effort.</p>
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<div class="section" id="rnode">
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<span id="rnode-main"></span><h2>RNode<a class="headerlink" href="#rnode" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2>
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<p>Reliable and general-purpose long-range digital radio transceiver systems are
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commonly either very expensive, difficult to set up and operate, hard to source,
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power-hungry, or all of the above at the same time. In an attempt to alleviate
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this situation, the transceiver system <em>RNode</em> was designed. It is important to
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note that RNode is not one specific device, from one particular vendor, but
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<em>an open plaform</em> that anyone can use to build interoperable digital transceivers
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suited to their needs and particular situations.</p>
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<p>An RNode is a general purpose, interoperable, low-power and long-range, reliable,
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open and flexible radio communications device. Depending on its components, it can
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operate on many different frequency bands, and use many different modulation
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schemes, but most commonly, and for the purposes of this chapter, we will limit
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the discussion to RNodes using <em>LoRa</em> modulation in common ISM bands.</p>
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<p><strong>Avoid Confusion!</strong> RNodes can use LoRa as a <em>physical-layer modulation</em>, but it
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does not use, and has nothing to do with the <em>LoRaWAN</em> protocol and standard, commonly
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used for centrally controlled IoT devices. RNodes use <em>raw LoRa modulation</em>, without
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any additional protocol overhead. All high-level protocol funcionality is handled
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directly by Reticulum.</p>
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<div class="section" id="creating-rnodes">
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<span id="rnode-creating"></span><h3>Creating RNodes<a class="headerlink" href="#creating-rnodes" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h3>
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<p>RNode has been designed as a system that is easy to replicate across time and
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space. You can put together a functioning transceiver using commonly available
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components, and a few open source software tools. While you can design and build RNodes
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completely from scratch, to your exact desired specifications, this chapter
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will explain the easiest possible approach to creating RNodes: Using common
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LoRa development boards. This approach can be boiled down to two simple steps:</p>
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<ol class="arabic simple">
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<li><p>Obtain one or more supported development boards</p></li>
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<li><p>Install the RNode firmware with the automated installer</p></li>
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</ol>
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<p>Once the firmware has been installed and provisioned by the install script, it
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is ready to use with any software that supports RNodes, including Reticulum.
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The device can be used with Reticulum by adding an <a class="reference internal" href="interfaces.html#interfaces-rnode"><span class="std std-ref">RNodeInterface</span></a>
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to the configuration.</p>
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</div>
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<div class="section" id="supported-boards">
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<span id="rnode-supported"></span><h3>Supported Boards<a class="headerlink" href="#supported-boards" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h3>
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<p>To create one or more RNodes, you will need to obtain supported development
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boards. The following boards are supported by the auto-installer.</p>
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<div class="section" id="lilygo-lora32-v2-1">
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<h4>LilyGO LoRa32 v2.1<a class="headerlink" href="#lilygo-lora32-v2-1" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h4>
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<a class="reference internal image-reference" href="_images/board_t3v21.png"><img alt="_images/board_t3v21.png" class="align-center" src="_images/board_t3v21.png" style="width: 46%;" /></a>
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<ul class="simple">
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<li><p><strong>Supported Firmware Lines</strong> v1.x & v2.x</p></li>
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<li><p><strong>Transceiver IC</strong> Semtech SX1276</p></li>
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<li><p><strong>Device Platform</strong> ESP32</p></li>
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<li><p><strong>Manufacturer</strong> <a class="reference external" href="https://lilygo.cn">LilyGO</a></p></li>
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</ul>
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</div>
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<div class="section" id="lilygo-lora32-v2-0">
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<h4>LilyGO LoRa32 v2.0<a class="headerlink" href="#lilygo-lora32-v2-0" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h4>
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<a class="reference internal image-reference" href="_images/board_t3v20.png"><img alt="_images/board_t3v20.png" class="align-center" src="_images/board_t3v20.png" style="width: 46%;" /></a>
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<ul class="simple">
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<li><p><strong>Supported Firmware Lines</strong> v1.x & v2.x</p></li>
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<li><p><strong>Transceiver IC</strong> Semtech SX1276</p></li>
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<li><p><strong>Device Platform</strong> ESP32</p></li>
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<li><p><strong>Manufacturer</strong> <a class="reference external" href="https://lilygo.cn">LilyGO</a></p></li>
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</ul>
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</div>
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<div class="section" id="lilygo-t-beam">
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<h4>LilyGO T-Beam<a class="headerlink" href="#lilygo-t-beam" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h4>
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<a class="reference internal image-reference" href="_images/board_tbeam.png"><img alt="_images/board_tbeam.png" class="align-center" src="_images/board_tbeam.png" style="width: 75%;" /></a>
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<ul class="simple">
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<li><p><strong>Supported Firmware Lines</strong> v1.x & v2.x</p></li>
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<li><p><strong>Transceiver IC</strong> Semtech SX1276</p></li>
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<li><p><strong>Device Platform</strong> ESP32</p></li>
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<li><p><strong>Manufacturer</strong> <a class="reference external" href="https://lilygo.cn">LilyGO</a></p></li>
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</ul>
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</div>
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<div class="section" id="heltec-lora32-v2-0">
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<h4>Heltec LoRa32 v2.0<a class="headerlink" href="#heltec-lora32-v2-0" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h4>
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<a class="reference internal image-reference" href="_images/board_heltec32.png"><img alt="_images/board_heltec32.png" class="align-center" src="_images/board_heltec32.png" style="width: 58%;" /></a>
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<ul class="simple">
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<li><p><strong>Supported Firmware Lines</strong> v1.x & v2.x</p></li>
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<li><p><strong>Transceiver IC</strong> Semtech SX1276</p></li>
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<li><p><strong>Device Platform</strong> ESP32</p></li>
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<li><p><strong>Manufacturer</strong> <a class="reference external" href="https://heltec.org">Heltec Automation</a></p></li>
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</ul>
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</div>
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<div class="section" id="unsigned-rnode-v2-x">
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<h4>Unsigned RNode v2.x<a class="headerlink" href="#unsigned-rnode-v2-x" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h4>
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<a class="reference internal image-reference" href="_images/board_rnodev2.png"><img alt="_images/board_rnodev2.png" class="align-center" src="_images/board_rnodev2.png" style="width: 58%;" /></a>
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<ul class="simple">
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<li><p><strong>Supported Firmware Lines</strong> v1.x & v2.x</p></li>
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<li><p><strong>Transceiver IC</strong> Semtech SX1276</p></li>
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<li><p><strong>Device Platform</strong> ESP32</p></li>
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<li><p><strong>Manufacturer</strong> <a class="reference external" href="https://unsigned.io">unsigned.io</a></p></li>
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</ul>
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</div>
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<div class="section" id="unsigned-rnode-v1-x">
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<h4>Unsigned RNode v1.x<a class="headerlink" href="#unsigned-rnode-v1-x" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h4>
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<a class="reference internal image-reference" href="_images/board_rnode.png"><img alt="_images/board_rnode.png" class="align-center" src="_images/board_rnode.png" style="width: 50%;" /></a>
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<ul class="simple">
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<li><p><strong>Supported Firmware Lines</strong> v1.x</p></li>
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<li><p><strong>Transceiver IC</strong> Semtech SX1276</p></li>
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<li><p><strong>Device Platform</strong> AVR ATmega1284p</p></li>
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<li><p><strong>Manufacturer</strong> <a class="reference external" href="https://unsigned.io">unsigned.io</a></p></li>
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</ul>
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</div>
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</div>
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<div class="section" id="installation">
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<span id="rnode-installation"></span><h3>Installation<a class="headerlink" href="#installation" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h3>
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<p>Once you have obtained compatible boards, you can install the <a class="reference external" href="https://github.com/markqvist/RNode_Firmware">RNode Firmware</a>
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using the <a class="reference external" href="https://github.com/markqvist/rnodeconfigutil">RNode Configuration Utility</a>.
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Make sure that <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">Python3</span></code> and <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">pip</span></code> is installed on your system, and then install
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the config utility with <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">pip</span></code>:</p>
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<div class="highlight-default notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="n">pip3</span> <span class="n">install</span> <span class="n">rnodeconf</span>
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</pre></div>
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</div>
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<p>Once installation has completed, it is time to start installing the firmware on your
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devices. Run <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">rnodeconf</span></code> in auto-install mode like so:</p>
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<div class="highlight-default notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="n">rnodeconf</span> <span class="o">--</span><span class="n">autoinstall</span>
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</pre></div>
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</div>
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<p>The utility will guide you through the installation process by asking a series of
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questions about your hardware. Simply follow the guide, and the utility will
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auto-install and configure your devices</p>
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<p><strong>Important Note!</strong> It is currently recommended to use the v1.x line of the RNode firmware,
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even though the v2.x line is available for early testing. The v2.x line should still be
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considered an experimental pre-release. Only use the v2.x firmware line if you want to test
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out the absolutely newest version, and don’t care about stability.</p>
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</div>
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<div class="section" id="usage-with-reticulum">
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<span id="rnode-usage"></span><h3>Usage with Reticulum<a class="headerlink" href="#usage-with-reticulum" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h3>
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<p>When the devices have been installed and provisioned, you can use them with Reticulum
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by adding the <a class="reference internal" href="interfaces.html#interfaces-rnode"><span class="std std-ref">relevant interface section</span></a> to the configuration
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file of Reticulum. For v1.x firmwares, you will have to specify all interface parameters,
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such as serial port and on-air parameters. For v2.x firmwares, you just need to specify
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the Connection ID of the RNode, and Reticulum will automatically locate and connect to the
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RNode, using the parameters stored in the RNode itself.</p>
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</div>
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<div class="section" id="suppliers">
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<span id="rnode-suppliers"></span><h3>Suppliers<a class="headerlink" href="#suppliers" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h3>
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<p>Get in touch if you want to have your RNode supplier listed here, or if you want help to
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get started with producing RNodes.</p>
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</div>
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</div>
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<div class="section" id="wifi-based-hardware">
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<h2>WiFi-based Hardware<a class="headerlink" href="#wifi-based-hardware" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2>
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<p>It is possible to use all kinds of both short- and long-range Wifi-based hardware
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with Reticulum. Any kind of hardware that fully supports bridged ethernet over the
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WiFi interface will work with the <a class="reference internal" href="interfaces.html#interfaces-auto"><span class="std std-ref">AutoInterface</span></a> in Reticulum.
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Most devices will behave like this by default, or allow it via configuration options.</p>
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<p>This means that you can simply configure the physical links of the WiFi based devices,
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and start communicating over them using Reticulum. It is not necessary to enable any IP
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infrastructure such as DHCP servers, DNS or similar, as long as at least Ethernet is
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available, and packets are passed transparently over the physical WiFi-based devices.</p>
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<a class="reference internal image-reference" href="_images/radio_rblhg5.png"><img alt="_images/radio_rblhg5.png" src="_images/radio_rblhg5.png" style="width: 49%;" /></a>
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<a class="reference internal image-reference" href="_images/radio_is5ac.png"><img alt="_images/radio_is5ac.png" src="_images/radio_is5ac.png" style="width: 49%;" /></a>
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<p>Below is a list of example WiFi (and similar) radios that work well for high capacity
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Reticulum links over long distances:</p>
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<ul class="simple">
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<li><p><a class="reference external" href="https://store.ui.com/collections/operator-airmax-devices">Ubiquiti airMAX radios</a></p></li>
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<li><p><a class="reference external" href="https://store.ui.com/collections/operator-ltu">Ubiquiti LTU radios</a></p></li>
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<li><p><a class="reference external" href="https://mikrotik.com/products/group/wireless-systems">MikroTik radios</a></p></li>
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</ul>
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<p>This list is by no means exhaustive, and only serves as a few examples of radio hardware
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that is relatively cheap while providing long range and high capacity for Reticulum
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networks. As in all other cases, it is also possible for Reticulum to co-exist with IP
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networks running concurrently on such devices.</p>
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</div>
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<div class="section" id="combining-hardware-types">
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<h2>Combining Hardware Types<a class="headerlink" href="#combining-hardware-types" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2>
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<p>It is useful to combine different link and hardware types when designing and
|
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building a network. One useful design pattern is to employ high-capacity point-to-point
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links based on WiFi or millimeter-wave radios (with high-gain directional antennas)
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for the network backbone, and using LoRa-based RNodes for covering large areas with
|
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connectivity for client devices.</p>
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</div>
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</div>
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<h3><a href="index.html">Table of Contents</a></h3>
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<ul>
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<li><a class="reference internal" href="#">Communications Hardware</a><ul>
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<li><a class="reference internal" href="#rnode">RNode</a><ul>
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<li><a class="reference internal" href="#creating-rnodes">Creating RNodes</a></li>
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<li><a class="reference internal" href="#supported-boards">Supported Boards</a><ul>
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<li><a class="reference internal" href="#lilygo-lora32-v2-1">LilyGO LoRa32 v2.1</a></li>
|
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<li><a class="reference internal" href="#lilygo-lora32-v2-0">LilyGO LoRa32 v2.0</a></li>
|
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<li><a class="reference internal" href="#lilygo-t-beam">LilyGO T-Beam</a></li>
|
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<li><a class="reference internal" href="#heltec-lora32-v2-0">Heltec LoRa32 v2.0</a></li>
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<li><a class="reference internal" href="#unsigned-rnode-v2-x">Unsigned RNode v2.x</a></li>
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<li><a class="reference internal" href="#unsigned-rnode-v1-x">Unsigned RNode v1.x</a></li>
|
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</ul>
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</li>
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<li><a class="reference internal" href="#installation">Installation</a></li>
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<li><a class="reference internal" href="#usage-with-reticulum">Usage with Reticulum</a></li>
|
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<li><a class="reference internal" href="#suppliers">Suppliers</a></li>
|
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</ul>
|
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</li>
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<li><a class="reference internal" href="#wifi-based-hardware">WiFi-based Hardware</a></li>
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<li><a class="reference internal" href="#combining-hardware-types">Combining Hardware Types</a></li>
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</ul>
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</li>
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</ul>
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