Blackout Comms User Guide

Off-Grid Mesh Communications

Firmware Version: 3.6.3
Date: July 2026
Author: Matt Calhoun – Altware Development LLC

Blackout Comms logo or hero image showing T-Deck and Heltec devices

Table of Contents

Introduction

Blackout Comms is a practical, decentralized mesh networking system built for reliable off-grid text and data communications.

T-Deck and Heltec V4 devices in field use

It uses LoRa hardware to create a private mesh that requires no internet or cellular service. Messages automatically route through available nodes.

Within Blackout Comms, we use specific terms for clarity:

  • Comms — These are the user-facing devices you actively message from (typically T-Deck units with screens and keyboards). They are what most people carry or keep at their location for sending/receiving messages.

  • Links — These are dedicated repeater devices (often Heltec V4 or similar) whose main job is to extend the mesh by automatically relaying messages. They usually run in a low-power mode and may be placed in elevated or strategic locations.

  • Node — A generic term that can refer to either a Comm or a Link. You will see “node” used when talking about the overall mesh.

Why this matters:
A strong mesh usually consists of a mix of Comms (for people) and Links (for coverage). Understanding the difference helps when planning your deployment.

Examples of Comms and Links

Supported Hardware

Blackout Comms supports a range of devices for both Comms (messaging devices) and Links (repeaters). All devices require the Blackout Comms firmware.

Communicator Options

  • Lilygo T-Deck / T-Deck Plus — Popular choice with keyboard and display. SD card highly recommended for T-Deck Plus.
  • Lilygo Pager — Nice form factor, portable. SD card highly recommended.
  • Heltec V4 Touchscreen — Easy setup, compact. No SD card support.
  • Lilygo T-Beam Supreme — Easy to deploy, good performance, GPS capable. Ready to go right out of the box.
  • Heltec Vision Master E290 — Top performer with better display. You have to add GPS and/or realtime clock.
  • Heltec V4 — Versatile for both Comms and Links. Ready right out of the box.
  • Lilygo T-Beam 1W — Higher power option. Realtime clock recommended, but ready to go right out of the box (add a battery).
  • Lilygo T3S3 OLED / ePaper — Good for compact or low-power setups. Requires adding GPS and/or realtime clock.

Note: Compatible SD cards are recommended for many communicators for easy backup and device swapping (PNY Elite is good, max of 32 GB). Full DIY builds are also supported for custom communicators and mesh links.

For the latest compatible device list and build guides, visit chatters.io/build.

Core Technical Features

Frequency Hopping

Blackout Comms uses frequency hopping to improve reliability and reduce interference. The system automatically switches between allowed channels according to the selected regional plan. This helps maintain connections in noisy RF environments and complies with regulatory limits. Blackout Comms Frequency Hopping

Encryption

All messages are encrypted end-to-end using strong AES-256 encryption. Only nodes with the correct network key can decrypt traffic. The encryption key should be treated as sensitive information and changed periodically for high-security meshes.

Blackout Comms Message Security

Digital Signatures

Every message is cryptographically signed with the sending devices’s private key. This allows receiving devices to verify the message truly came from the claimed sender and was not tampered with in transit. This provides strong authenticity in addition to confidentiality. The message expiry time is also part of the signed messages. This prevents replay attacks.

Mesh Memory

Blackout Comms devices maintain a local store called mesh memory that holds encrypted message packets in flight, current locations of all devices in the cluster, and connectivity patterns between devices. Every device keeps its own complete copy of the mesh memory, making the system fully decentralized. As new information arrives, each device continuously updates its local copy. Blackout Comms Mesh Memory Illustration This design improves reliability for delayed delivery and gives users better situational awareness even in dynamic or intermittent off-grid conditions. Mesh memory is automatically managed to stay within hardware limits by dropping older data as needed.

Range & Distance

Distance Examples for T-Deck Real-world range with Blackout Comms depends on many variables. Here are practical expectations and tips:

Typical Range

  • Urban / Forested areas: 0.5 – 3 miles per hop (line-of-sight is rare)
  • Open countryside / rural: 4 – 6+ miles per hop with stock antennas
  • Elevated / hilltop nodes: 10 – 20+ miles possible with good elevation and clear line-of-sight

Important: These are per-hop distances using low power equipment (~0.2 watts). The mesh extends total coverage by relaying messages through multiple nodes.

Factors That Affect Range

  • Antenna height and type — Elevation is the #1 improvement - for large gaps between your mesh, directional (yagi) antennas often make a huge difference
  • Terrain — Hills, dense trees, and buildings reduce range significantly
  • Transmit power — Higher power increases range - check into 1 watt amps if you need more power
  • Weather — Heavy rain or snow can reduce performance
  • Interference — Other radio sources in the area

Good antenna placement on a ridge or rooftop

Practical Tips for Better Range

  1. Place antennas for stationary links as high as possible (rooftops, hills, towers).
  2. Use higher-gain antennas on stationary links.
  3. Test your actual range in your environment — results vary widely.
  4. Build a mesh with multiple links rather than relying on long single hops.
  5. Consider using amps or amped devices (T-Beam 1W) for stationary links

How Mesh Hops increase distance

Using Blackout Comms

Blackout Comms automatically boots up to the home screen. If your device is already part of the cluster, it will immediately join up with any nearby devices and you'll see connectivity established (antenna icon in lower-right area of the screen)

Home Screen

This is your default view on a comm. Any time, click the scroll wheel to return to this screen.

Home Screen on a T-Deck Plus

  • One-touch access to messages, neighbors, location, contacts, settings, or commands
  • A red star indicates you've received a message
  • Colored GPS icon means you've got a good location fix
  • Time shown upper right, should always be accurate. If not, you'll be invisible to the cluster
  • Icon - upper left, shows your device role (root or non-root)

Viewing Neighbors

This shows you who is currently within direct RF range. Toggle the switch at the bottom of the screen to see beyond-range (mesh range) devices.

Home Screen on a T-Deck Plus

  • Icon for each neighbor shows the device type (see appendix for icons)
  • Strength signal, device name/nickname, and timestamp for last ping received are shown
  • Battery level is shown (if other device supports it)
  • Location relative to you is shown for each device (heading, distance)
  • Touch the GPS icon to view a map of the other device's last known position, heading, and speed
  • Touch the message icon to send a text message to the device

Viewing Location

Locations can be viewed directly on the device, or on Blackout Comms Live app, if you are connected via BLE. This guide shows on-device location information. Watch a video demo showing how mapping works on T-Deck.

Ways to Access Location

  • You can view location on device as a map (if you have a licensed device and have downloaded maps)
  • You can also touch the QR button to view a QR code, which contains scannable lat/lon coordinates for any device
  • Alongside the QR or map, you can see the coordinates, heading, speed, and timestamp of the location

Viewing Map on T-Deck

Contacts

The contacts screen shows all the known contacts in your cluster. If new devices are onboarded by your root device, they'll eventually show up in your contacts list automatically, due to zero touch trust (unless you lock your truststore).

Viewing Map on T-Deck

  • Scroll to see all contacts
  • Touch the icon next to their alias to set a nickname
  • Marking contacts as critical makes them appear on your default map, and allows you to filter quickly in other locations of the firmware
  • See last ping, last known location, and device type
  • Send a message by touching the message button
  • The handshake button broadcasts the selected device identity to all in-range devices. This can speed up the trust process, if the device is showing as "unidentified" to some devices.
  • The path button shows the likely hops a message would take to reach the selected device from you
  • The link button shows the selected device's connectivity with other devices
  • The command/game button allows you to issue a remote command to the selected device. The selected device must have remote commands enabled.

Viewing Messages

On the messages screen, scroll up and down by swiping. You can reply, delete, or filter to specific people.

Viewing Mesages on T-Deck

Sending Messages

Touch any message icon in the firmware to begin sending a message. If you choose "All Devices", you'll be sending a secure broadcast. Otherwise, you'll be sending a direct message. Scroll down to the message types in the appendix to see the difference.

Sending Mesages on Blackout Comms

  • Expiry controls how long the message delivery should be attempted before failing. In a large, moving, or intermittently-connected mesh network, you may want to allow hours for the receiving device to power-on or come within range
  • When devices are within direct range, delivery usually happens and is confirmed within seconds
  • Force mesh skips immediate delivery attempt, and queues it for mesh delivery
  • The Nodes/Links checkbox (if it'd a broadcast and not DM) will instruct mesh links to display the broadcast, if they are equipped with a display
  • Direct messages are only viewable to the end recipient, no matter how many devices the message hops through
  • Priority (Normal, Critical, etc) controls how the message appears to other devices. In the future, this may also control how often retries happen or how mesh queues are ordered.

Remote Commands

This section is coming soon.

Configuration

Configuration of comms can be changed on the settings screen. For links, configuration changes must be done via remote commands. All of the following settings are available for comms, not all are available for change on links.

Device Settings

These are settings specific to just your device (display settings, alerts, etc).

Name Description
Firmware Version Displays version of Blackout Comms you're running (read-only)
Bluetooth Enabled If enabled, allows connectivity via BLE (Blackout Comms Live app). Disable to increaes battery life.
Sound Enabled Play a sound (if equipped) when messages are received
Vibrate Enabled Vibrate (if equipped) when messages are received
Backlight Level Controls how bright the screen is
Firmware License Whether the device has a Pro License
Screen Sleep Length of inactivity before the screen powers off
DST Enabled Whether DST is enabled or not. This must be manually enabled/disabled as necessary
Time Zone Which timezone the device is in. This is for display only, as all devices follow GMT
Language Language of the device
Device ID The unique ID of the device
Uptime How long the device has been running since last reboot
Time Current time - only the root can manually change time
Reset Day Zero If your device has somehow skipped ahead in time, you may want to choose this to force it to sense the current time again
Factory Reset Deletes all device settings (including license). You can also do this simply by replacing the SD card or deleting SD card contents.

Cluster Settings

These are settings related to the private cluster(s) your device is part of.

Name Description
Enable Nicknames On any comm, you can choose private "nicknames" for other devices. They're only visible on YOUR comm. Nicknames can be set on the contacts screen.
Show Ping Log If enabled, a panel shows up on the home screen displaying each ping as it arrives. If you need this functionality, it's recommended to use the Blackout Comms Live app instead.
Broadcast Time Broadcasts the current time, unencrypted, on 915.0, 868.0, or 433.0 mHz, depending on your country / RF zone. This can allow nearby devices that are stuck on the "acquiring GPS" screen to skip past it.
Broadcast Identity This is typcially unnecessary, but can help if you're showing up as "unidentified" to another device in your cluster. It broadcasts your device's public key and root-signed proof of identity (see zero touch trust).
Your Address Shows your unique numeric address within your private cluster. You typically would never need to know this.
Change Cluster If your device has more than one cluster configured, this allows you to switch to the other cluster. You can also accomplish this by using multiple SD cards instead (switch SD cards per-cluster)
Join Cluster Join an existing cluster. Must be near a root device which is also in onboard mode.
Onboard Device Add a new device to your cluster. Only root can do this.
Onboard Anon Link Experimental feature that allows you to add an unlimited number of anonymous links to your cluster. This enables adding basic "repeaters" without using any of the 90 device slots of your cluster.
Create Cluster Create a new cluster, of which this device will be the root
Delete Cluster Delete this device's connection to the cluster. The cluster itself runs completely independent of any device - even the root. So deleting a cluster has no effect on other devices that are already in the cluster.
Receive Time If your device's time has separated from the rest of the cluster's time, you may need to adjust it. The easiest way (barring GPS) is to receive time, while another trusted device is broadcasting it.

Mesh Settings

This group of settings is for controlling interaction between this device and Meshcore nodes. For more information about this capability, see here.

Blackout Comms Native is the default protocol for Blackout Comms, offering the best functionality and highest security. It enforces encryption + digital signatures + frequency hopping.

Blackout Comms via MeshCore enables Blackout Comms to float atop the MeshCore protocol, by using MeshCore's channel feature. This can allow Blackout Comms to utilize MeshCore repeaters, depending on their configuration. In this mode, all messages are still encrypted and signed, but are also wrapped inside a MeshCore message (or set of messages).

MeshCore Native is simply acting as a basic MeshCore client, sitting on a single frequency, and offers the lowest security and no digital signatures. It's available in the firmware in case you want to communicate with non-Blackout Comms devices.

Name Description
Current Network Which network (Blackout Comms, Blackout Comms via Meshcore, or Meshcore) your device is currently on (may change after reboot)
Default Network Which network your device should use at startup
Meshcore Network Frequency / RF settings you want to use for MeshCore-enabled modes.
Network Mixing Whether your device should automatically hop between Blackout Comms and Meshcore networks
Meshcore Alias What alias your device should use when sending messages using Meshcore protocols
Channel 1 When using meshcore channels to communicate with non-Blackout Comms devices, which default channel should be used
Channel 2 When using meshcore channels to communicate with non-Blackout Comms devices, which secondary channel should be used

Smart Mesh Settings

These settings control how your device interacts with your Blackout Comms cluster.

Name Description
Stealth Mode To avoid detection (or just reduce RF footprint) you may want to experiment with stealth modes. See the appendix for more info. Stealth Disabled is the default and allows full normal functionality. Stealth Low stops pings if no trusted devices are around. Medium disables pings, but still allows messaging, acknowledgements, and mesh forwarding. High basically makes the radio invisible, even to trusted devices, but allows you to receive pings and broadcasts (not DMs).
Prompt Before Mesh If you send a DM and it's not immediately acknlowledged, your device will queue it for automatic meshing. If you'd rather be prompted in this case (to resend or cancel), enable this.
Clear Mesh Cache If you want to remove any cached packets from your mesh queue, this will do it. You can also touch the mesh cache icon on the home screen
Mesh Syncing If you want to disable meshing and only to immediate / RF range messaging, you can disable meshing here. This will also disable your location sharing, since that's done using meshing.
Mesh Reset Clears your device's copy of the cluster's mesh memory. It will automatically be re-built for you by nearby devices.
Remote Commands Allows this device to receive and automatically respond to remote commands from trusted devices. Note that one remote command that can't be disabled is "Remote Wipe". The root device can remotely factory reset any on-cluster device within mesh range.
Auto-Broadcast Time Automatically broadcast time on your RF zone's center frequency (915.0 mHz in the USA). This helps other nearby devices start without GPS, if they have no onboard clock, but you can disable this.

Security Settings

The default security settings are good for most cases. If you are very concerned with security, it's recommended to use devices with a built-in realtime clock (DS3231) and consider enabling Time Lock to prevent GPS spoofing from affecting your cluster.

Name Description
SD Locked/Portable Whether the SD card is allowed to be moved to another comm
Change Password Set or change password on this device. It cannot be recovered if lost, and encrypts all data on your device using this password.
Truststore Lock Newly onboarded devices are automatically added to your device's "truststore" (zero touch trust). You can disable that here, if you think your root device may be compromised.
Time Lock Keeping accurate time is crucial for your Blackout Comms cluster. This is why realtime clocks are highly recommended. If you are concerned with GPS spoofing (and have an RTC), locking time is recommended, once accurate time has been acquired and stored on your RTC. Time Lock will ignore all sources of time besides your onboard RTC.
Key Forwarding Part of zero touch trust involves devices notifying one another of newly-onboarded identities and their public keys. This controls whether your device will trust or forward public keys on behalf of other devices, or whether public keys are only trusted/exchanged directly between their respective devices
Ignore Expiry All messages have an expiration and digital signature to prevent replay attacks. You can disable this expiration check, although if meshing is involved, other devices along the way will continue to ignore and not forward expired packets.
Connect Serial Attempts to establish a serial connection (115200 baud) for viewing logs

Location Settings

You can enable/disable various location-related features of your device, as well as how it does (or doesn't) display maps. Some mapping features require a pro license. See the Blackout Comms Location page for more information about mapping and location features.

Name Description
GNSS Type Which GNSS receiver (if any) is detected on the device
Location Sharing Whether to automatically broadcast location (encrypted) via mesh
Map Downloads Whether to automatically download maps as needed, when WiFi is available. A Pro License is required for this.
Pre-Download Area Immediately download maps for the current area or other lat/lon coordinates you choose. WiFi and a pro license are required
Clear Locations Removes locations of all other devices from this device's copy of mesh memory. This will automatically be re-built by nearby devices after a while
Altware Map Experimental feature, which can make your cluster device positions visible publicly via a web browser. This is not recommended, except for experimentation purposes.
Tracking Mode Increases the number of location broadcasts coming from this device, so other devices have a more live picture of where the device is located
Location Log Logs all device locations to serial (if connected)
Publish Locations Experimental feature, which can make your cluster device positions visible publicly via a web browser. This is not recommended, except for experimentation purposes.
Location Enabled Enables or disables GNSS on the device. This can save battery, but you lose location capability.
Use GPS Use GPS (American) satellites for location
Use Glonass Use Glonass (Russian) satellites for location
Use BeiDou Use BeiDou (Chinese) satellites for location

Storage Settings

All potentially sensitive data is stored encrypted on your SD card or flash memory.

Name Description
Clear Messages Removes all messages from storage. This does not remove stored locations.
Message History If disabled, messages are only stored in RAM (encrypted) and disappear after reboot.
Prune Storage If your device becomes sluggish or starts extremely slowly, it may need "Pruned". This setting forces a full pruning. It can take quite a while (5-10 minutes or more), but should improve performance afterwards.

BC Channel Settings

Blackout Comms supports encrypted/open channel functionality where any number of devices can co-exist outside a private cluster (with somewhat-reduced functionality), but still communicate using encryption, signatures, and frequency hopping. In this mode, devices don't have an assigned identity. Channels are essentially a series of 4 passwords that control frequency hopping, encryption, and signature validation.

Name Description
Change Channel Switch to a different channel
New Channel Create a new channel
Receive Channel Receive full configuration for a channel, which must be broadcast by a nearby device
Delete Channel Delete the configuration for this channel

LoRa Settings

LoRa is the default way Blackout Comms devices communicate, but there are other ways.

Name Description
LoRa Enabled At least one communication method must be enabled. If your device has Cloud, MQTT, or UDP enabled, you may disable LoRa.

WiFi Settings

If you want to use WiFi for downloading maps or using Cloud/MQTT, this is where you add WiFi connections. Only 2.4 GHz is supported, and the devices are quite picky about which routers can work.

WiFi uses additional battery and can make your device sluggish when joining a network.

Name Description
Add Network Configure a new SSID / network
Delete Network Delete an existing SSID / network
Current Network Which WiFi network you are currently connected to
Auto Reboot If your device loses and can't re-establish WiFi connectivity, this will cause it to automatically reboot, resetting the WiFi hardware

Mesh Cloud Settings

In addition to LoRa communication, Blackout Comms supports MQTT and Cloud. These options allow you to form long distance bridges between devices or device groups in your cluster. All messages and locations are still E2E encrypted.

Name Description
Cloud Setup Configure cloud or MQTT on your device. For cloud, configuration is simply scanning a QR code. For MQTT, you'll enter MQTT server settings.
Cloud Enabled Whether to use cloud (if configured & WiFi connected)
MQTT Eanbled Whether to use MQTT
Prefer Cloud If a device is reachable both via LoRa and cloud, Blackout Comms will generally prefer LoRa. You can adjust it to prefer cloud in this case.

Backpack Settings

For DIY setups, you can add various sensors and other hardware modules (known as backpacks) directly to a communicator. This allows you to enable/disable backpack-related settings.

Name Description
Remote Commands Whether to allow any attached backpacks to auto-respond to remote commands from trusted devices
Analog Relay Whether or not an analog relay is attached
Motion Notify Whether to notify other devices if motion is sensed (via attached motion sensor)
Notify Who Who to notify if motion is sensed
Motion Reset Amount of time to ignore further motion after motion is sensed
Motion = Relay If motion is sensed, automatically trigger relay (if attached) for 5 seconds

UDP Settings

Not enabled in current version of the firmware

Quick Start – 15 Minute Setup

Online Guides: - Set Up a Cluster in 15 minutes (includes video demos) - Set Up a Cluster of T-decks (super easy)

Step 1: Install Firmware

  1. If using SD card (recommended), insert it now. The SD card should be fat formatted. Most new SD cards are already formatted. The max SD size supported is 32 GB. Not all SD cards work. PNY Elite is a good choice.

Device connected via USB ready for flashing

  1. Connect your device to your computer via USB.

Device connected via USB ready for flashing

  1. Disconnect and power cycle the device.

T-Deck boot screen showing Blackout Comms

  1. In Chrome, Brave, or othe "mainstream" browser, go to chatters.io/flash to install Blackout Comms in a few clicks.

Step 2: Initial Configuration

Configuration screen - setting node name and network

  1. Power on the device. It may take a moment to acquire a GPS signal. If necessary, move outside or near a window.
  2. Choose your language and time zone. These can be change later if you need to.
  3. Set your device name (any letters/numbers up to 12 digits). Examples: "Matt", "mom", "comm1", etc. This can NOT be changed later, unless you factory reset the device or use more than one SD card.
  4. Choose "Root" or "Standard". If this is the first device, it will be the root (admin) of your cluster, so choose "Root". For all remaining devices, choose "Standard".
  5. If you chose root, the last step is to set up the cluster, which is just naming the cluster and choosing some final cluster-wide settings. Your cluster name can any 12 digits, ex: "home", "Smith1", etc. The remaining cluster settings are more technical and you can just choose "Simple" setup type to use defaults, which are good for the USA. If you are outside the USA, choose advanced.
  1. Repeat flashing & configuration on one or more additional comms/links
  2. On Links, there is no setup, other than flashing the device. The rest of link setup is done automatically during onboarding.

Onboarding

Onboarding is the one time process of adding a new device (Comm or Link) to your existing Blackout Comms cluster so it can securely communicate with the other devices. Only the root device can onboard new devices to your private cluster.

For onboarding, you put the root device into "Onboard New Device" mode, and you also put the new device in "Join Cluster" mode. This is done in device settings on each device. New Links are already in onboard mode, so they skip that step.

Onboarding screen - entering network credentials

During onboarding, the devices will automatically exchange information (encrypted) over LoRa, including everything the new device needs to participate in the private mesh cluster.

After onboarding, your new device will be able to fully participaate in your private cluster, and it will have proof it belongs to the cluster, which is automatically recognized by your existing devices. This is called zero touch trust, and is a core security feature of Blackout Comms.

IMPORTANT: When onboarding, ensure no other devices (including links) are currently in Onboard Mode!! They would likely interfere.

Onboarding a Comm

  1. On your root device, go to settings and choose: Cluster / Onboard New Device
  2. On the new comm, go to settings and choose: Cluster / Join Cluster
  3. The devices will automatically exchange information for a few minutes and reboot
  4. Your new comm is now part of your cluster! You can verify by checking the neighbors screen of any comm. For the first few minutes, it may show as "unidentified" to some devices. That should autmomatically resolve, just by leaving the devices alone for a while.
  5. (Optional) If you're in a hurry, you can go into the new device's settings and choose "Broadcast Identity".
  1. Ensure the new link is powered on and showing "Onboard" somewhere on its display. This happens automatically when it's first powered on (or if you change its SD card)
  2. On your root device, go to settings and choose: Cluster / Onboard New Device
  3. The devices will automatically exchange information for a few minutes and reboot.
  4. Your new link is now part of your cluster! You can verify by checking the neighbors screen of any comm. For the first few minutes, it may show as "unidentified" to some devices. That should autmomatically resolve, just by leaving the devices alone for a while.
  5. (Optional) If you're in a hurry, you can go into the root's contacts screen, selecting the new node, and clicking the "handshake" button.

Troubleshooting

Issue Possible Cause Solution
Device Invisible to Others Not yet onboarded Onboard the device
Device Invisible to Others Inaccurate Time Verify the time/date are correct, reset to day zero and reacquire time if necessary, check RTC battery
Mapping not working on device A Pro License and WiFi are required Get a license, check WiFi connectivity

Safety, Legal, and Support

Important Legal Note:
Operation must comply with local radio regulations. Frequency hopping and transmit power are constrained to legal limits for unlicensed or licensed operation. Check your local regulations for frequency restrictions. In the USA, it is recommended to use the "Simple" option during cluster setup, which is intended to keep your RF usage within legal limits. This is not legal advice.

Security Best Practices: - Protect your root device. If compromised, it can add more devices to your cluster. - Use SD cards on all devices possible and back them up. If you lose a device, you can insert a backed-up SD card into a new T-Deck / Pager / etc, and you're still up and running.

Support:
Website / Updates: https://chatters.io https://x.com/altwaredev

Appendix

Blackout Comms Important Icons

Legend of Various Icons

Blackout Comms Message Types

Blackout Comms Message Types

Blackout Comms Stealth Modes

Blackout Comms Stealth Modes For reducing RF footprint / detection

Glossary

  • Cluster — A private group of Blackout Comms devices (Comms and Links) that share the same network name, frequency hopping schedule, RF settings, and symmetric keys. All devices in a cluster can communicate with each other securely. A cluster is essentially your own off-grid mesh network.

  • Communicator (Comm) — A user-facing device intended for active messaging. Comms usually have screens, keyboards, or other interfaces that let you read and write messages (examples: T-Deck, T-Deck Plus, Pager, Heltec V4 Touchscreen).

  • Link — A non-user-facing mesh device whose primary role is to extend the range and coverage of the cluster by automatically relaying messages. Links are often placed in elevated or strategic locations and may run with minimal user interaction. Some links can offer user-facing functionality via the Blackout Comms Live app.

  • Node — A general term that refers to any device (either a Comm or a Link) connected to the mesh.

  • Onboarding — The process of adding a new device to an existing cluster. This happens after flashing the firmware. During this process, a root device connects with a new device that wants to join, they exchange various information (via encrypted LoRa), after which the new device is a fully trusted member of the mesh cluster.

  • Mesh Memory — An encrypted, decentralized store on each device that holds message packets in flight, locations of devices in the cluster, and connectivity patterns. Every device maintains its own complete copy and continuously updates it as new information arrives.

  • Mesh — The overall network formed when multiple nodes relay messages to one another, allowing communication beyond direct radio range.

  • Frequency Hopping — The automatic switching between different radio channels to improve reliability, reduce interference, and stay within regulatory limits.

  • Digital Signature — A cryptographic proof attached to each message that verifies the sender and ensures the message was not altered in transit.