Repeater Daemon in Python using the pymc_core Lib.
I started pyMC_core as a way to really get under the skin of MeshCore — to see how it ticked and why it behaved the way it did. After a few late nights of tinkering, testing, and head-scratching, I shared what I’d learned with the community. The response was honestly overwhelming — loads of encouragement, great feedback, and a few people asking if I could spin it into a lightweight repeater daemon that would run happily on low-power, Pi-class hardware.
That challenge shaped much of what followed:
- I went with a lightweight HTTP server (CherryPy) instead of a full-fat framework.
- I stuck with simple polling over WebSockets — it’s more reliable, has fewer dependencies, and is far less resource hungry.
- I kept the architecture focused on being clear, modular, and hackable rather than chasing performance numbers.
There’s still plenty of room for this project to grow and improve — but you’ve got to start somewhere! My hope is that pyMC_repeater serves as a solid, approachable foundation that others can learn from, build on, and maybe even have a bit of fun with along the way.
I’d love to see these repeaters out in the wild — actually running in real networks and production setups. My own testing so far has been in a very synthetic environment with little to no other users in my area, so feedback from real-world deployments would be incredibly valuable!
The repeater daemon runs continuously as a background process, forwarding LoRa packets using pymc_core's Dispatcher and packet routing.
Supported Hardware (Out of the Box)
The following hardware is currently supported out-of-the-box:
Waveshare LoRaWAN/GNSS HAT
Hardware: Waveshare SX1262 LoRa HAT
Platform: Raspberry Pi (or compatible single-board computer)
Frequency: 868MHz (EU) or 915MHz (US)
TX Power: Up to 22dBm
SPI Bus: SPI0
GPIO Pins: CS=21, Reset=18, Busy=20, IRQ=16
HackerGadgets uConsole
Hardware: uConsole RTL-SDR/LoRa/GPS/RTC/USB Hub
Platform: Clockwork uConsole (Raspberry Pi CM4/CM5)
Frequency: 433/915MHz (configurable)
TX Power: Up to 22dBm
SPI Bus: SPI1
GPIO Pins: CS=-1, Reset=25, Busy=24, IRQ=26
Additional Setup: Requires SPI1 overlay and GPS/RTC configuration (see uConsole setup guide)
Frequency Labs meshadv-mini
Hardware: FrequencyLabs meshadv-mini Hat
Platform: Raspberry Pi (or compatible single-board computer)
Frequency: 868MHz (EU) or 915MHz (US)
TX Power: Up to 22dBm
SPI Bus: SPI0
GPIO Pins: CS=8, Reset=24, Busy=20, IRQ=16
Frequency Labs meshadv
Hardware: FrequencyLabs meshadv-mini Hat
Platform: Raspberry Pi (or compatible single-board computer)
Frequency: 868MHz (EU) or 915MHz (US)
TX Power: Up to 22dBm
SPI Bus: SPI0
GPIO Pins: CS=21, Reset=18, Busy=20, IRQ=16, TXEN=13, RXEN=12, use_dio3_tcxo=True
...
Real-time monitoring dashboard showing packet statistics, neighbor discovery, and system status
statistics and performance metrics
Before You Begin
Make sure SPI is switched on using raspi-config:
sudo raspi-config- Go to Interface Options
- Select SPI
- Choose Enable
- Reboot when prompted:
sudo rebootAfter reboot, you can confirm SPI is active:
ls /dev/spi*You should see something like:
/dev/spidev0.0 /dev/spidev0.1Clone the Repository:
git clone https://github.com/rightup/pyMC_Repeater.git
cd pyMC_RepeaterQuick Install:
sudo bash manage.shThis script will:
- Create a dedicated
repeaterservice user with hardware access - Install files to
/opt/pymc_repeater - Create configuration directory at
/etc/pymc_repeater - Setup log directory at
/var/log/pymc_repeater - Launch interactive radio & hardware configuration wizard
- Install and enable systemd service
After Installation:
# View live logs
sudo journalctl -u pymc-repeater -f
# Access web dashboard
http://<repeater-ip>:8000Development Install:
pip install -e .The configuration file is created and configured during installation at:
/etc/pymc_repeater/config.yaml
To reconfigure radio and hardware settings after installation, run:
sudo bash setup-radio-config.sh /etc/pymc_repeater or sudo bash manage.sh
sudo systemctl restart pymc-repeater
To upgrade an existing installation to the latest version:
# Navigate to your pyMC_Repeater directory
cd pyMC_Repeater
# Run the upgrade script
sudo bash manage.shThe upgrade script will:
- Pull the latest code from the main branch
- Update all application files
- Upgrade Python dependencies if needed
- Restart the service automatically
- Preserve your existing configuration
sudo bash manage.shThis script will:
- Stop and disable the systemd service
- Remove the installation directory
- Optionally remove configuration, logs, and user data
- Optionally remove the service user account
The script will prompt you for each optional removal step.
- Public Map Integration - Submit repeater location and details to public map for discovery
- Remote Administration over LoRa - Manage repeater configuration remotely via LoRa mesh
- Trace Request Handling - Respond to trace/diagnostic requests from mesh network
I welcome contributions! To contribute to pyMC_repeater:
- Fork the repository and clone your fork
- Create a feature branch from the
devbranch:git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name dev
- Make your changes and test with real hardware
- Commit with clear messages:
git commit -m "feat: description of changes" - Push to your fork and submit a Pull Request to the
devbranch- Include a clear description of the changes
- Reference any related issues
# Install in development mode with dev tools (black, pytest, isort, mypy, etc)
pip install -e ".[dev]"
# Setup pre-commit hooks for code quality
pip install pre-commit
pre-commit install
# Manually run pre-commit checks on all files
pre-commit run --all-filesNote: Hardware support (LoRa radio drivers) is included in the base installation automatically via pymc_core[hardware].
Pre-commit hooks will automatically:
- Format code with Black
- Sort imports with isort
- Lint with flake8
- Fix trailing whitespace and other file issues
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.