__
.--------.-----.-----.|  |--.----.-----.----.-----.
|        |  -__|__ --||     |  __|  _  |   _|  -__|
|__|__|__|_____|_____||__|__|____|_____|__| |_____|

== meshcore radio serial companion configuration ==

the easiest way i've found to set up a meshcore[1] 
is to flash the device as a bluetooth companion. 
configure the name, lora preset and other bits
using the companion app. then you can reflash as
a serial companion.

this is one thing i miss from meshtastic, in that
ecosystem you can configure you radio to link via
bluetooth serial and WiFi (if you have the 
capability).

before you install any software, i would recommend
you verify the serial link works by using the 
meshcore cli[2], you can also use this tool to 
test bluetooth, but the bot software i'm using
doesn't support bluetooth (just serial and tcp).

>> pro-tip: use meshcore-cli -S to connect to 
>> bluetooth devices, the device details will be
>> cached for future use. so you only need to do 
>> this once.

== y thou? ==

when you have a small or sparse mesh (terminology
for a mesh network) it's handy to have something
that automatically responds to messages. if 
you've ever used the ping command you know what
i'm talking about.

== software ==

i'm currently evaluating volley[3]

we'll assume you've run meshcore-cli -l and your
serial device is /dev/ttyUSB0. also we're using
astral's excellent uv to manage pythonic 
concerns.

```
gh repo gretel/volley
cd volley
uv sync
python main.py -s /dev/tttUSB0
```

>> pro-tip: if uv fails to find a suitable version 
>> of python try: uv python install 3.14

then, DM you bot and send "ping"

== references ==

[1] https://meshcore.co.uk/
[2] https://github.com/meshcore-dev/meshcore-cli
[3] https://github.com/gretel/volley