Configuring Channels
The initial installation of Raven comes with three channels (see below). You can access this list by pressing the cog icon at the top/right of the channel box.
The channels provide access to the primary AREDN, Meshtastic and MeshCore messaging channels. If neither Meshtastic or MeshCore are available on your network you can easily remove the (or any other channel) by hitting the minus button to the right of each row.
Note that messages on the default AREDN channel are never shared on the Meshtastic or MeshCore networks.
Channels are never automatically added to your Raven node; you must add them yourself.
You add a new channel by pressing the plus icon on the right of any current channel. A new channel entry will be created immediately below that row, looking like this:
A new channel needs a Name and a ID or Key. Together these items uniquely identify this channel within the messaging system. The key is also used to cryptographically secure the channel data when it is transmitted across Meshtastic or MeshCore networks. We do not encrypt traffic within the AREDN network. Any MeshCore or Meshtastic encryption/decryption happens at the network edge.
If you have been given a channel name and key by another party, just copy those value into the fields here. We support both Meshtastic and MeshCore key formats. If not, you can add your own channel name and then generate a key using the new key dropdown shown below:
The dropdown offers you a number of options for keys:
- 1 byte & 256 bit - These keys are compatible with Meshtastic. If you intent to use this channel on a Meshtastic device then these keys will work there.
- 128 bit - These keys are compatible with Meshtastic and MeshCore. Using these gives you the most flexibility in how you share your channel.
- Meshtastic - The next group of keys match the various modem presets of Meshtastic devices (see https://meshtastic.org/docs/configuration/radio/lora/#modem-preset) and lets your Raven node share messages with the appropriate primary Meshtastic channel. When using these keys you should select the one which matches the Meshtastic modem preset for your local Meshtastic network. For example, in the Bay Area the Meshtastic modem preset is MediumFast.
- MeshCore - MeshCore uses a single, well known, key for its primary channel. This options provides this.
Any of these key choices work within Raven to identify your channel, but you may choose specific ones to be compatible with other networks if you want to see your message there too.
If you start the name of channel with a hash # symbol, the key will be automatically generated for you based on the name and cannot be changed. This is a MeshCore feature to allow people quick create shared channels without having to share complex keys. Channels created in this way can be used in Raven, MeshCore and Meshtastic.
AREDN devices have limited space, so we don't want to store messages for ever. This option allows you to specific the maximum number of messages this channel can store.
AREDN is a high-bandwidth network so we are able to share images. Enabling this option allows this channel to send images to others and to see images others send you. If this channel is shared with Meshtastic of MeshCore, placeholder text is send on those networks as they cannot support the large image sizes.
Images are not stored in FLASH but stored in RAM, and deleted if RAM becomes too full. Images are also reduced to a reasonable (about 1MB) size before posting.
Raven can create and share Winlink documents using standard Winlink forms. When enabled on a channel, you have access to whatever Winlink forms you have installed; and can create, send, and read them.
Any channel, except the primary AREDN channel, can be remove simply by pressing the minus button on the right of it.