Troubleshooting Dixie Mesh

Before you dig into settings or suspect your hardware, start here:

Most problems are not hardware or configuration problems — they’re antenna placement and RF-environment problems. LoRa needs a clear path. In Southern Utah’s terrain, a ridgeline, a mesa, or even a building between you and the nearest repeater can be the difference between solid coverage and silence.

A huge help when diagnosing anything is the Dixie Mesh Analyzer. You can:

• Find your node — type your node name into the Analyzer home to see if (and how) the network is hearing you.
• Inspect packets — watch live traffic on the packets view to see what’s actually making it onto the mesh.
• Check the live map — see active nodes and coverage on the live map.

Make sure you’re running MeshCore firmware, not Meshtastic — they are not compatible and won’t talk to each other.

Check who’s hearing you with the Health Check

The Dixie Mesh Health Check answers the single most useful question directly: is my signal actually being heard out on the mesh? Several observers — nodes scattered across the network that report what they hear — listen for a test message from you and tell you exactly who picked it up. It’s the fastest way to gauge how effective your signal really is.

How it works:

1. Open the Health Check. It generates a short test code for you.
2. Send that code as a message on the #dixie-hc channel — the same idea as the #test channel check from setup, on the channel the observers watch.
3. The tool watches for observers reporting your packet and scores your coverage — how many of them heard you.

For every observer that received your message you’ll see RSSI and SNR (how strong and clean your signal was), the path it took and which repeaters relayed it, timing details, and a map of who heard you and roughly how far your packet traveled. That makes it easy to tell a solid, well-heard signal from one that’s barely scraping in — and to see which directions your coverage is strong or weak.

“I can hear others, but they can’t hear me”

This is the most common issue, and it almost always means your transmit path isn’t reaching a repeater.

1. Run the Health Check. Send a test code and see whether any observers hear you. No receipts is a clear sign your TX path isn’t reaching the mesh; weak RSSI/SNR points to a marginal one.
2. Look yourself up in the Analyzer. Search your node name on the Analyzer. If the network isn’t seeing your transmissions, that points squarely at your TX path.
3. Watch for “repeats heard.” When you send a message, the app indicates if a repeater relayed it. No repeat = your signal isn’t getting out.
4. Check the path on messages you receive. Note which repeater they came through, and test whether you can reach that repeater directly.
5. Review geography. Use the live map or the in-app line-of-sight tools to see what’s between you and the nearest repeater.
6. If none of that helps, the likely culprits are antenna placement, an indoor setup, or hardware limits. Get the antenna higher and outdoors.

“It used to work”

Usually a configuration drift or a change at a repeater — less often hardware.

1. Trace your local repeater to confirm the link is still there.
2. Test a known nearby repeater, and watch for your message being repeated.
3. Check the Analyzer to confirm your packets are still landing on the mesh.
4. Review recent changes — did you adjust settings, swap an antenna, or update firmware? Reapply the standard US preset and check your antenna connection.

“I’m not hearing anything at all”

1. Confirm you’re on MeshCore, on the correct frequency/preset (910.525 MHz, SF7, BW 62.5, CR5).
2. Treat it as a link problem: check the live map to see whether any repeater is even within reach of your location.
3. Get outdoors and elevate the antenna, then try again.

“Messages are inconsistent or random”

This is the classic signature of a weak or marginal signal — you’re at the edge of range.

• Raise the antenna and remove obstructions.
• Aim for a stable path to one repeater rather than barely reaching a distant one.
• Use the packets view to see how reliably your traffic is landing.

“I only connect sometimes”

Same root cause as inconsistent messages: an edge-of-range link that shifts with weather, foliage, and who’s transmitting. Prioritize a stable connection over maximum distance.

“I see activity, but nothing useful”

You may be hearing distant nodes without having a usable path to them. Seeing traffic isn’t the same as having a working two-way link.

• Focus on reliably reaching one specific nearby repeater.
• Confirm in the Analyzer that your own packets — not just everyone else’s — are being relayed.

Common gotchas

• Line of sight beats power. Height and a clear path matter more than turning TX power up.
• Indoors badly underperforms outdoors. A window helps; outside helps more.
• Below the roofline, the horizon is blocked. Get above it where you can.
• Reception can be one-directional — hearing a node doesn’t guarantee it hears you.
• “It worked once” ≠ stable. A single successful message isn’t proof of a reliable link.

Getting help

When you ask the community for help, share:

• Your hardware (board and antenna).
• Your general location (and antenna height / indoor vs. outdoor).
• Signal metrics — RSSI / SNR if you have them.
• What you’ve already tried.

Change one variable at a time, test temporary setups, and remember: when in doubt, get the antenna higher and outdoors.