Building a resilient mesh network benefits from good planning tools. Below are useful, publicly available resources that help with coverage estimation, placement decisions, and general planning.
These tools are optional — they help inform decisions, not replace real-world testing.
📍 Range & Visual Planning Tools
Free Tools to Estimate Coverage and Line-of-Sight
When planning repeater placement — especially solar-powered backbone nodes — it helps to have tools that estimate line-of-sight, terrain interactions, and range potential. While no tool can guarantee real-world performance, these free options are great starting points that anyone can use.
🛰️ RF Line-of-Sight Tool (SCADACore)
What it Does
This tool lets you visualize whether two points have a line-of-sight (LOS) path between them. Line-of-sight is one of the biggest factors in how well two radios can “see” each other, especially in hilly or coastal terrain — like ours in Nova Scotia.
👉 Use it here:
https://www.scadacore.com/tools/rf-path/
How It Helps
- Shows whether terrain blocks the path between two locations
- Helps compare hills, towers, or building heights
- Good for checking if a proposed repeater site might see another site
How to Use It
- Open the tool in your browser.
- Enter your first location (latitude/longitude or place name).
- Enter a second location (another site you’re comparing).
- Adjust antenna heights if needed.
- The tool draws a profile graph showing terrain between those points.
📌 Useful for:
- “Is this hilltop visible from the town center?”
- “Will these two repeater candidates see each other?”
- Comparing elevation profiles between sites
What It Doesn’t Do
- It does not estimate radio propagation strength
- It does not consider atmospheric conditions
- It is strictly a terrain profile and line-of-sight estimate
For simple repeater planning, that’s often half the battle.
🌐 Meshtastic Site Planner
What It Is
Meshtastic provides a simple site planning tool intended for mesh networks. While it’s originally aimed at Meshtastic users, it’s still a useful visual tool for LoRa-based mesh planning.
👉 Use it here:
https://site.meshtastic.org/
What It Shows
- Graphical interface for placing sites on a map
- Visual estimates of coverage based on simple assumptions
- Helps you think about node spacing, terrain, and coverage overlaps
- Works with standard map data (OpenStreetMap)
How It Helps
- Shows rough potential coverage zones
- Allows you to visualize proposed repeater locations
- Great for community planning discussions
- It’s easier for most people to understand than some RF propagation calculators
How to Use It
- Open the planner in your browser
- Pan/zoom to your area of interest
- Place markers for potential repeater sites
- Adjust parameters (height, power, etc.)
- Observe how coverage areas change
📌 Good for:
- Comparing candidate sites
- Seeing where coverage might overlap or gap
- Visualizing relationships between multiple nodes
📊 Tips for Effective Use
Here are some practical tips when using these tools:
🧭 Use Both Tools Together
- SCADACore RF LOS tells you terrain barriers
- Meshtastic Site Planner helps you visualize coverage patterns
Running both gives you terrain and potential coverage context.
📍 Don’t Expect Perfect Predictions
Real-world performance depends on:
- Actual antenna patterns
- Local clutter (trees, buildings)
- Mounting quality
- Ground conditions
- Frequency interference
These tools are useful for planning and comparison, not for guarantees.
🔧 Adjust Antenna Height
One of the biggest levers in coverage planning is antenna height.
- Adding even a few meters (mast, pole, tower) can dramatically improve line-of-sight.
- Use the tools above to compare scenarios (e.g., 6 m vs 12 m mast).
🛠 Simple Planning Workflow (Recommended)
- Use SCADACore RF LOS
- Compare candidate sites
- Look for clear sightlines
- Use Meshtastic Site Planner
- Visualize coverage areas
- Play with placement to explore overlaps
- Discuss with Community
- Share proposed sites in the group
- Use screenshots from tools to support suggestions
- Test In Field
- Deploy a temporary node or handheld test
- Verify coverage predictions with real signals
📝 Reminder
These tools are aid tools — they help estimate and visualize, not guarantee performance. The true test of any repeater location comes from field testing with actual hardware.