Getting Started
A Raven instance is unique to the node it's installed on. It's your place to send and receive message. This means you must be logged into your node to access Raven. If you are logged in, you'll see the Raven icon in the left hand icon bar.
Here you see the Raven icon outlined in red. Clicking this icon launches the Raven application in a new browser tab.
Below is the main screen with each of the four main application areas circled in a different color.
Channels are where you have conversations with other users of Raven (or Meshtastic or MeshCore). By default you have three channels:
- AREDN
- Meshtastic
- MeshCore
Of these AREDN is the default and is shared with everyone running Raven. It cannot be deleted and is a common place for everyone to start talking. However, you'll probably create more channels over time for specific topics or purposed, or for channels you want to share with Meshtastic or MeshCore users.
You can select different channels here just by clicking on their names.
Each channel is badged showing how many unread messages are currently waiting. These badges will increase in real time as message arrive.
By default, the Meshtastic channel looks for Long Fast Meshtastic messages. This is the Meshtastic default, but may not be what your region uses. To change this see Configuring Channels.
Nodes is an actively updating list of recently seen nodes. Every time a node sends out a message is will appear at the top of this list. This gives you some idea of who is active on the platform.
The top of the Node list has a filter box allowing you to search for nodes based on their name and platform.
The message compose is where you write and post your messages to the currently selected channel. On the bottom/right of the compose screen is a character counter letting you know how long you message can be and how much more you can type.
Some channels, such as the AREDN one, let you post images which are shared with other users.
This shows the most recently received messages on the currently selected channel. This window is updated in real time as messages arrive. If you are already at the bottom of the message list, new message scroll in automatically. If not, message are added "below the fold" waiting for you to scroll down to read them, and the channel badge will be incremented to show how many are pending.
To post a message simply select the Message Composer box at the bottom of the page (show in yellow) and start typing. To send your completed message just hit RETURN. The message will be posted on the current channel. To post on a different channel just click the appropriate channel name first.