Arizona notes

Local networks

Network	Firmware	Where	Links
Arizona Meshtastic Community	Meshtastic	Phoenix metro, reaching toward Tucson	azmsh.net, Discord
AZCOREMSH	MeshCore	Arizona (statewide project, with a node map)	azcoremsh.net, Discord

A Phoenix-area user on a radio forum reported tracing a route from Avondale all the way to Tucson, and said the West Valley still needs more nodes. For more groups, see the regional directory.

Arizona Meshtastic Community settings

The group publishes some of its recommendations and shares the rest in its Discord:

Primary channel: MediumFast (not the LongFast default). The exact preset and frequency slot are shared in their Discord.
Community channels: azmsh (general and testing), Weather (hourly rooftop weather reports), Traffic and Trivia, each with a public key listed on their site.
Roles: CLIENT_MUTE for anything mobile, CLIENT for fixed home or rooftop nodes, and ROUTER or ROUTER_LATE only on high, permanent sites with good line of sight.
MQTT: uplink on, downlink off unless agreed with the community.

Terrain

Arizona’s mountains are great for radio. A repeater on a high ridge can see across whole valleys, and the dry desert air doesn’t hurt. But the same mountains block handhelds on the valley floor from each other. Expect strong links to high sites and weak links between people separated by a ridge or a wash. See Range and antennas.

Heat

Shade everything outdoors. A light-colored or shaded, vented enclosure runs far cooler than a dark sealed box in direct sun.
Batteries suffer first. Keep lithium cells out of direct sun, and check the cell maker’s charging temperature limits before building a solar node.
Nothing on the dashboard. Pack radios in a bag on the floor or in a cooler spot.

Monsoon season

Ground outdoor antennas and masts for lightning protection.
Seal cable entries with drip loops and weatherproof glands; blowing dust and rain get everywhere.
Plan solar for cloudy stretches: size the battery for several days without sun.
Monsoon outages are a good reason to have a mesh: see Emergency preparedness.

Sources

Checked on October 18, 2026.