# getuncabled

> Technical reference for community mesh networks: what they can really carry, how to join one, and how to build your own node.

## Networks
- [Network directory](https://getuncabled.com/networks): Broadband-capable, low-bandwidth/off-grid and licensed community networks.
- [NYC Mesh](https://getuncabled.com/networks/nyc-mesh): Volunteer-run, community-owned rooftop Wi-Fi mesh in New York City that provides internet access to members
- [Guifi.net](https://getuncabled.com/networks/guifi): Catalan community-owned telecom commons with its own wireless and fibre infrastructure
- [Freifunk](https://getuncabled.com/networks/freifunk): German-origin movement of local volunteer groups sharing Wi-Fi routers
- [People’s Open Network](https://getuncabled.com/networks/peoples-open-network): Community-owned, open-source peer-to-peer internet project in Oakland, California
- [Philly Community Wireless](https://getuncabled.com/networks/philly-community-wireless): Community-controlled Wi-Fi network in North Philadelphia
- [Meshtastic](https://getuncabled.com/networks/meshtastic): Open-source LoRa mesh for off-grid text messages, positions and telemetry
- [MeshCore](https://getuncabled.com/networks/meshcore): Open-source LoRa mesh messaging with repeaters and path-based routing, popular in the UK
- [Cascadia Mesh](https://getuncabled.com/networks/cascadiamesh): Volunteer collaboration building a MeshCore network across British Columbia, Washington and Oregon
- [Reticulum](https://getuncabled.com/networks/reticulum): Cryptography-based networking stack that runs over LoRa, Wi-Fi, TCP and other links
- [AREDN](https://getuncabled.com/networks/aredn): Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network: a high-speed IP mesh on amateur radio spectrum

## Guides
### Getting connected
- [Which mesh is right for you?](https://getuncabled.com/guides/which-mesh-is-right-for-you): Match your goal (replacing broadband, off-grid messaging, or licensed amateur data) to the type of mesh network that can actually deliver it.
- [Zero-hardware start](https://getuncabled.com/guides/zero-hardware-start): What you can do before buying a radio: run Reticulum over the internet, understand Meshtastic MQTT, install free apps, and plan the move to real hardware.
- [Find a local mesh](https://getuncabled.com/guides/find-a-local-mesh): Maps and directories for checking whether a Wi-Fi community network, Meshtastic, MeshCore or Reticulum mesh already covers your area, with a Coventry and West Midlands case study.
- [Join a community Wi-Fi mesh](https://getuncabled.com/guides/join-a-community-wifi-mesh): What joining NYC Mesh, Guifi.net or Freifunk involves: checking coverage, requesting an install, hardware, donations and etiquette, and what to do if there is no network near you.
### Hardware
- [Hardware buyer's guide](https://getuncabled.com/guides/hardware-buyers-guide): Boards, radios and antennas for LoRa meshes, and routers for Wi-Fi meshes.
### Software
- [Flash Meshtastic](https://getuncabled.com/guides/flash-meshtastic): Flash firmware onto a LoRa board, set your region and send a first message.
- [Flash MeshCore](https://getuncabled.com/guides/flash-meshcore): Flash MeshCore firmware and connect a companion app.
- [RNode and Reticulum setup](https://getuncabled.com/guides/rnode-reticulum-setup): Set up an RNode and the Reticulum stack for encrypted off-grid networking.
- [Clients and apps](https://getuncabled.com/guides/clients-and-apps): Phone, desktop and web clients for the main mesh networks.
### Power & placement
- [Antenna placement](https://getuncabled.com/guides/antenna-placement): Height, line of sight, the Fresnel zone, cable loss and the UK e.r.p. limit: where to put the antenna of a 868 MHz LoRa node.
- [Power](https://getuncabled.com/guides/power): Powering a LoRa mesh node: USB, power banks that switch off, 18650 and LiPo safety, ESP32 versus nRF52 draw, and solar as an option.

## Explainers
### Foundations
- [How mesh routing works](https://getuncabled.com/explainers/how-mesh-routing-works): Flooding, managed flooding and routing protocols in plain terms.
- [LoRa vs Wi-Fi mesh](https://getuncabled.com/explainers/lora-vs-wifi-mesh): Range, data rate and power trade-offs between the two families of mesh.
### Why it matters
- [The ISP as a single point of failure](https://getuncabled.com/explainers/isp-single-point-of-failure): What depending on one access provider means for resilience.
- [Resilience in practice](https://getuncabled.com/explainers/resilience-in-practice): How community networks have behaved during outages.
### Reality check
- [What you can actually do](https://getuncabled.com/explainers/what-you-can-actually-do): A realistic account of what a mesh can and cannot replace.
### Privacy
- [Privacy and encryption](https://getuncabled.com/explainers/privacy-and-encryption): What mesh networks do and do not protect.
### Emerging tech
- [Wi-Fi HaLow and emerging tech](https://getuncabled.com/explainers/wifi-halow-and-emerging-tech): Newer radio technologies that may change the trade-offs.

## Site
- [Resources](https://getuncabled.com/resources): Curated links: communities, documentation, hardware vendors, regulators and tools.
- [About](https://getuncabled.com/about): What this site is and is not, the editorial policy, and exactly how the live node counters are defined.
- [Disclaimer](https://getuncabled.com/disclaimer): Spectrum law and UK 868 MHz limits, realistic bandwidth, what a mesh does not give you, ISP terms, safety and no warranty.