// hardware
RNode is firmware that turns LoRa boards into radio interfaces for Reticulum. With it you can let a phone or computer talk over LoRa without LoRaWAN, cloud or an extra network layer.
Depending on the board, an RNode connects to your computer or phone over USB serial, Bluetooth LE or a TCP bridge. Reticulum does the encryption end-to-end before packets reach the radio. More on antenna placement and range is on the antennas page. Which apps you can use is on software.
| Range | 1-50+ km (terrain/antenna dependent) |
| Speed | ~37 bps to ~11 Kbps |
| Protocol | Custom MAC layer (no LoRaWAN) |
| Encryption | End-to-end via Reticulum |
| Connection | USB, BLE, TCP bridge |
| Power draw | Low, runs on solar or battery |
| Cost | ~25-100 USD per board |
1. A supported board from the table below
2. An antenna for your frequency band (SMA, usually included)
3. A USB cable (USB-C or micro-USB, depending on the board)
4. A computer to flash firmware and run Reticulum
Note: never power on a LoRa radio without an antenna. Transmitting without an antenna can damage the radio module.
| Board | Radio chip | MCU |
|---|---|---|
| Heltec LoRa32 v2.0 | SX1276/SX1278 | ESP32 |
| Heltec LoRa32 v3.0 | SX1262/SX1268 | ESP32 |
| Heltec LoRa32 v4.0 | SX1262 | ESP32 |
| Heltec T114 | SX1262/SX1268 | nRF52 |
| LilyGO T-Beam | SX1262/SX1276 | ESP32 |
| LilyGO T-Beam Supreme | SX1262/SX1268 | ESP32 |
| LilyGO T3S3 | SX1262/SX1276 | ESP32 |
| LilyGO LoRa32 v1.0-v2.1 | SX1276/SX1278 | ESP32 |
| LilyGO T-Deck | SX1262/SX1268 | ESP32 |
| LilyGO T-Echo | SX1262/SX1268 | nRF52 |
| RAK4631 | SX1262/SX1268 | nRF52 |
| OpenCom XL | SX1262 + SX1280 | nRF52 |
The boards above are RNodes: the radio for a phone or computer. With firmware based on microReticulum the whole node runs on the board itself. You can then put a repeater on a roof or mast without a computer next to it.
| Board | Firmware | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Heltec LoRa32 V3 / V4 | RTNode-HeltecV4 | With WiFi a gateway to the internet, without WiFi a LoRa only repeater. Configured through a web portal. |
| SenseCAP Solar Node P1 | ScotMesh | LoRa only repeater (no WiFi on board). Remote management over NomadNet, battery voltage readable. |
The SenseCAP Solar Node P1 from Seeed is a ready made solar repeater: a 5 W solar panel, room for four 18650 cells, an SX1262 radio and a waterproof enclosure (IPX6). It is widely used as a repeater for MeshCore and Meshtastic. Since September 2026 there is Reticulum firmware for it too, from ScotMesh.
Flashing is simple. The USB-C port on the outside also carries data, so you do not need to open the enclosure. Double click RESET (or open the serial port at 1200 baud) and a USB drive XIAO-BOOT appears. Drag the .uf2 file from the releases onto it and the board restarts by itself. We run one at home on the ReticulumNet settings.
Without these steps the radio does not start. After a .uf2 flash the firmware does not know its own hash and stays stuck at device init failed.
# make the board recognisable
rnodeconf -r --product 10 --model 12 --hwrev 1 /dev/ttyACM0
# set the target hash after a .uf2 flash
rnodeconf -H e3b0c44298fc1c149afbf4c8996fb92427ae41e4649b934ca495991b7852b855 /dev/ttyACM0
# ReticulumNet radio settings, 21 dBm (rnodeconf only accepts up to 17 via --txp)
echo 21 | rnodeconf -T --freq 869463000 --bw 125000 --sf 8 --cr 5 /dev/ttyACM0
Then check with rnodeconf --info: Device mode TNC, 869.463 MHz, 125 kHz, SF8, CR5.
Note: the P1 has no WiFi. To show up on the map it needs a LoRa neighbour that does have internet. ScotMesh only exists since September 2026 and is maintained by a small group. You start a firmware update remotely, but the upload itself goes over Bluetooth from a phone nearby.
Connect the board over USB. The tool automatically detects which board it is and installs the right firmware. After flashing, the board is an RNode.
pip install rns
rnodeconf --autoinstall
Board not detected, or not starting after flashing? See troubleshooting.
| Setup | Draw |
|---|---|
| RNode (LoRa only) | ~50-80 mA |
| RNode (LoRa + WiFi) | ~150-200 mA |
| Raspberry Pi + RNode | ~500-800 mA |
The RNode firmware was developed by Mark Qvist. Since his withdrawal (December 2025), long-term maintenance depends on the community. All boards in the table above work; for new boards it remains to be seen whether someone adds support.