Introducing Nodak Mesh
Nodak Mesh is a growing community of hobbyists, tinkerers, and curious newcomers building resilient mesh networks across North Dakota and beyond.
Nodak Mesh is a growing group of people from many different walks of life, brought together by a shared passion: building resilient, community-driven mesh networks across North Dakota and beyond.
We’re hobbyists, tinkerers, tech folks, outdoor enthusiasts, and curious newcomers. Some of us came for the radios, some for emergency communications, some for learning. All of us stayed for the community.
Why Mesh?
Mesh networking represents something powerful to us: communication that’s local, decentralized, and resilient.
We’ve spent time experimenting with both Meshtastic and MeshCore, and we genuinely believe both have their place and purpose. Each platform brings unique strengths depending on goals, terrain, hardware, and use cases.
Rather than picking sides, Nodak Mesh is about learning, experimenting, and building together. If you’re curious about the differences, check out our MeshCore vs Meshtastic comparison.
A Unique Environment, A Unique Opportunity
North Dakota gives us a very different testing ground than many of the larger, urban mesh communities.
We are:
- Sparsely populated
- Extremely flat
- Often blessed with long, uninterrupted lines of sight
This creates a rare opportunity to push the limits of mesh networking, especially when it comes to long-distance links, relay placement, antenna experimentation, and real-world performance testing.
Our environment allows us to explore what this technology can do in ways that simply aren’t possible in dense cities or mountainous regions. In many ways, Nodak Mesh is a living lab for mesh networking at scale.
How It All Started
Our spark came from watching the MSP Mesh group in action.
They were well-organized, welcoming, and had built an impressive, functional mesh. Seeing that level of coordination made something clear: North Dakota needed a similar home for mesh networking.
Nodak Mesh was created to bring people together locally. We organize efforts, share knowledge, coordinate node placement, and grow a mesh that serves the community.
Looking Ahead
One of our long-term dreams is ambitious and exciting:
To one day send a message that travels across the entire state of North Dakota, and maybe even reaches into South Dakota, Minnesota, or Montana.
That kind of reach doesn’t happen overnight. It happens through collaboration, patience, learning, and a whole lot of experimentation. That’s exactly what we’re here for.
Everyone Is Welcome
Whether you:
- Are brand new and don’t own a device yet
- Have a single node on your desk
- Are already running a long-range relay
- Prefer Meshtastic, MeshCore, or just want to learn
You belong here.
We’re excited to help newcomers, answer questions, and grow together.
Get Involved
Ready to join? Here’s how to get started:
Join the Discord. This is where the community lives. Head over to our Community page for the invite link.
Check out the guides. New to mesh networking? Start with our MeshCore Getting Started Guide or Meshtastic Getting Started Guide.
Explore resources. Browse our Resources page for recommended hardware, firmware links, and helpful tools.
We’re happy you’re here, and we’re excited to build Nodak Mesh together.
Welcome to Nodak Mesh.