Lilygo Meshtastic and Captive portals

Lilygo Meshtastic and Captive portals

Using LilyGo devices to activate captive portals and Meshtastic nodes is a great idea! LilyGo devices, such as the T-Beam or T-Display, are popular for IoT projects due to their ESP32-based architecture, which supports Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and LoRa capabilities. Below is a step-by-step guide to help you achieve your goal: --- ### **1. Understand the Components** - **Captive Portal**: A web page that users are redirected to when they connect to a Wi-Fi network. It’s often used for authentication or information sharing. - **Meshtastic**: A project that uses LoRa to create a mesh network for communication without relying on traditional infrastructure like cellular networks or the internet. --- ### **2. Hardware Setup** - **LilyGo T-Beam**: Ideal for Meshtastic due to its built-in LoRa module and GPS. - **LilyGo T-Display**: Great for captive portals due to its built-in display for user interaction. - Ensure you have the necessary antennas (LoRa and GPS for T-Beam) and a power source. --- ### **3. Software Setup** #### **For Captive Portal** 1. **Install Arduino IDE or PlatformIO**: - Download and install the Arduino IDE or PlatformIO (recommended for advanced projects). - Add the ESP32 board package via the Board Manager. 2. **Install Required Libraries**: - Install the `ESPAsyncWebServer` and `AsyncTCP` libraries for handling the captive portal. - Use the `DNSServer` library to redirect users to the portal. 3. **Write the Captive Portal Code**: - Create a Wi-Fi access point (AP) using the ESP32. - Set up a DNS server to redirect all requests to your portal. - Serve a simple HTML page for user interaction. Example code snippet: ```cpp #include <WiFi.h> #include <AsyncTCP.h> #include <ESPAsyncWebServer.h> #include <DNSServer.h> const char* ssid = "LilyGo-Portal"; const char* password = "12345678"; DNSServer dnsServer; AsyncWebServer server(80); void setup() { WiFi.softAP(ssid, password); dnsServer.start(53, "*", WiFi.softAPIP()); server.on("/", HTTP_GET, [](AsyncWebServerRequest *request){ request->send(200, "text/html", "<h1>Welcome to LilyGo Captive Portal</h1>"); }); server.begin(); } void loop() { dnsServer.processNextRequest(); } ``` 4. **Upload the Code**: - Connect your LilyGo device to your computer via USB. - Select the appropriate board (e.g., `LilyGo T-Beam` or `LilyGo T-Display`) and upload the code. --- #### **For Meshtastic** 1. **Install Meshtastic Firmware**: - Download the Meshtastic firmware from the [official Meshtastic GitHub repository](https://github.com/meshtastic/Meshtastic-device). - Use the Meshtastic Flasher tool to upload the firmware to your LilyGo T-Beam. 2. **Configure Meshtastic**: - Use the Meshtastic app (Android/iOS) or the web interface to configure your node. - Set up the LoRa frequency, encryption keys, and other parameters. 3. **Test the Mesh Network**: - Deploy multiple nodes and ensure they can communicate with each other. --- ### **4. Combine Captive Portal and Meshtastic** - Use the LilyGo T-Beam for Meshtastic communication and the T-Display for the captive portal. - Alternatively, if using a single device (e.g., T-Beam), you can alternate between Wi-Fi (for the portal) and LoRa (for Meshtastic) by switching modes in your code. --- ### **5. Advanced Integration** - Use the ESP32’s dual-core capabilities to run both Wi-Fi (captive portal) and LoRa (Meshtastic) simultaneously. - Implement a user interface on the T-Display to show Meshtastic messages or portal status. --- ### **6. Resources** - [LilyGo GitHub Repositories](https://github.com/Xinyuan-LilyGO) - [Meshtastic Documentation](https://meshtastic.org/docs/) - [ESPAsyncWebServer Library](https://github.com/me-no-dev/ESPAsyncWebServer) - [Arduino ESP32 Core](https://github.com/espressif/arduino-esp32) --- Let me know if you need help with specific code or configurations!