📡 Observer Matrix — SLC Mesh

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📡 Got a node? Add your packet data to the live map ↓
Observer Key Prefix Model Firmware

Connecting to MQTT sources…

Connect Your Observer

Configure a MeshCore observer node to publish packet data to the SLC Mesh MQTT broker. Your node's data will appear in the matrix above and feed into CoreScope, Live Map, and Health Check.

What's an observer? An observer is a MeshCore node running firmware that captures packets heard over LoRa radio and publishes them to an MQTT broker over WiFi. It's like a packet sniffer for the mesh — you don't need to be a repeater or route traffic, just listen and report.

Prerequisites

Recommended Salt Lake Cityland Firmware (chioff-flex)

Flash the Salt Lake Cityland firmware — all MQTT brokers and radio settings are baked in. Just add WiFi and identity.

Serial Configuration

Connect via serial (115200 baud) and run:

# Configure WiFi
set wifi.ssid YourNetworkName
set wifi.pwd YourPassword

# Set region and identity
set mqtt.iata SLC
set name MyObserver
set lat 40.7608
set lon -111.8910

# Save and reboot
reboot

What's Baked In

Advanced Plain TCP (Any Firmware)

If you're running standard MeshCore firmware (not chioff-flex), use plain TCP to our Mosquitto broker:

set mqtt.server mqtt.slcoffline.com
set mqtt.port 1883
set mqtt.iata SLC
reboot

Connection Details

Alternative: mctomqtt Bridge

If you're running meshcore-packet-capture (mctomqtt) on a Raspberry Pi or similar, it can bridge packets from a USB-connected node to the MQTT broker — no observer firmware needed.

# TCP (production)
mctomqtt --broker mqtt://mqtt.slcoffline.com:1883 --topic meshcore/SLC

# WSS (dev — requires WS support in mctomqtt)
mctomqtt --broker wss://wsmqtt.slcoffline.com/mqtt --topic meshcore/SLC

Verification

After configuring and rebooting, confirm your node is connected:

  1. Check serial output — look for [MQTT] Connected
  2. Check the matrix above — your node should appear within a few minutes
  3. Check CoreScope — look for your packets at scope.slcoffline.com

Troubleshooting

More Resources