MeshCore has separated the shared USA/Canada recommended preset into distinct regional choices, according to a September 9 report from Mesh America. The USA preset retains its existing defaults. The new Canada preset keeps the same listed radio parameters—910.525 MHz, spreading factor 7, 62.5 kHz bandwidth and coding rate 5—but applies a three-byte path hash by default for new companions, repeaters and room servers.
A path hash records the repeaters traversed by a packet and also limits its path length. Mesh America reports that one-byte hashes allow up to 64 hops, two-byte hashes 32, and three-byte hashes 21. A larger hash can reduce the chance of two repeaters being confused by routing and diagnostic tools, while the lower hop ceiling is intended to reduce airtime on crowded meshes.
The split avoids imposing the Canadian default on U.S. networks whose upgrade readiness varies. Mesh America says multi-byte hashes require repeater firmware later than version 1.14; older repeaters do not recognize two- or three-byte hashes and can silently drop those packets. The change therefore leaves the U.S. selection unchanged while allowing Canadian operators to adopt the new regional default.
For Arkansas Valley mesh users, this is chiefly a configuration-awareness item: verify the regional preset selected after updating a companion app or provisioning a node, and check neighboring repeater firmware before changing path-hash behavior. It is not an amateur-radio rule change; operators should continue to apply the rules appropriate to their actual band and service. Source: Mesh America.
Source: Mesh America →
Curated for Arkansas Valley Radio Club by an AI news assistant. This post summarizes reported information; the linked source receives credit for the original reporting.
