Field tests / Measured, not modelled

Field tests

What we measured, where, and on which hardware. Every result here is a single link between two or three nodes. A mesh with more nodes reaches further.

Most of these tests ran on earlier hardware (versions 1.0 to 1.2) with a 159 mW LoRa radio. Version 3 has a 500 mW WiFi radio and a 1 W LoRa radio. We'll add version 3 results here as we measure them.

00Summary

All results

Date	Test	Hardware	Result
2026-05-02	WiFi and LoRa in an apartment complex	1.2	WiFi blocked by about 75 m. LoRa held past 250 m.
2025-11-30	Maximum range over a lake	1.1	WiFi to 1.6 km out, reconnected at 5.5 km in. LoRa held to 12.26 km.
2025-08	WiFi throughput, three nodes	1.0	Good to about 300 m, lost past about 500 m.
2025-08	WiFi throughput, obstructed	1.0	About 1 Mbps at 300 m, lost by 400 m.
2025-05	WiFi range, open field	1.0	Under 1 Mbps at 800 m, lost between 900 m and 1 km.
2025-08	LoRa range	1.x	Easy connections at about 8 miles.

Dates with a day come from the test photos. Dates with only a month are when we first published the result. Jump to the videos.

012026-05-02

Hardware 1.2 / Software 2.9.2 / LoRa 159 mW

WiFi and LoRa in an apartment complex

How far the 2.4 GHz WiFi mesh and LoRa reach between buildings, with no nodes in between to give line of sight.

Setup

Node 0023, fixed: on a second-floor balcony, with a yogurt-cup antenna (FIG. 01).
Node 0022, mobile: stock antennas, carried in a pack (FIG. 02).
Site: apartment complex built in 2014, large units of about 1,000 ft² (FIG. 03).
LoRa: both radios disconnected from the Nucleus and set to Meshtastic range-test mode in the official app. Node 0023 sent every 15 s.
WiFi: link quality read from the web UI at each stop.

Hardware 1.2 node on a second-floor balcony railing with a yogurt-cup antenna on a mast — **FIG. 01**Node 0023 on the balcony. Hardware 1.2.

Grey backpack with two antennas sticking out of the top, carrying the mobile node — **FIG. 02**Node 0022 in a pack. Hardware 1.2.

Two-storey apartment building behind a lawn and trees, typical of the test site — **FIG. 03**Typical building on the site.

Results

Green markers: WiFi link, with link quality. Yellow: intermittent or poor WiFi. Red diamonds: LoRa pings once WiFi was gone. LoRa didn't miss a ping for the whole run.

ATAK map with range rings at 25 m steps and green WiFi markers close to the fixed node — **FIG. 04**WiFi markers near the fixed node.

ATAK map with yellow intermittent-WiFi markers and red LoRa markers out past 150 m — **FIG. 05**WiFi drops out. LoRa continues.

Link	Result
2.4 GHz WiFi mesh	Blocked by a single large building at about 75 m.
LoRa	Held across the whole complex, past 250 m. No missed pings.

That's about what we expected. Without a node in between to give line of sight, one building is enough to stop the WiFi mesh. Compare the lake and open-field tests below to see how much line of sight matters.

022025-11-30

Hardware 1.1 / Software 2.0 / LoRa 159 mW

Maximum range over a lake

The longest WiFi link we could get under very favourable conditions, with LoRa checked across the whole lake.

Setup

Fixed node about 48 m above the lake, its Meshtastic radio in range-test mode (FIG. 06).
Mobile node on a boat (FIG. 07). WiFi tracked in its web UI, LoRa pings counted by its Meshtastic radio.

Grey hardware 1.1 node with two antennas on a rocky ledge high above a lake — **FIG. 06**Fixed node, 48 m above the water. Hardware 1.1.

Hand holding the grey hardware 1.1 mobile node over the side of a moving boat — **FIG. 07**Mobile node on the boat. Hardware 1.1.

Results

Leg	Distance	Result
Outbound, WiFi	~1,600 m	Throughput fell from 5.7 to about 2.9 Mbps, then cut out before 1,700 m (FIG. 08).
Outbound, LoRa	12.26 km	No missed pings. We ran out of lake and turned back (FIG. 09).
Return, WiFi	~5.5 km	On a slightly different heading, the mesh reconnected at about 5.5 km (FIG. 10). About 4 Mbps between 2 and 2.5 km, rising as we got closer.
Return, WiFi	~500 m	Throughput dipped, likely terrain between the fixed node and the dock (FIG. 11).

ATAK map over water with yellow markers labelled with falling WiFi throughput on the outbound leg — **FIG. 08**Outbound: WiFi throughput falls off, then cuts out.

ATAK map of the lake with a line of green LoRa ping markers out to 12.26 km — **FIG. 09**LoRa pings out to 12.26 km.

ATAK map with the marker where the WiFi mesh reconnected on the return leg — **FIG. 10**Return: WiFi reconnects at about 5.5 km.

ATAK map with WiFi throughput markers on the return leg toward the dock — **FIG. 11**Return: throughput toward the dock.

032025-08

Hardware 1.0 / Software 0.9

WiFi throughput, three nodes

Three nodes with stock antennas, over mixed terrain with trees.
Node 1, mobile, carried at about 4 ft. Node 3 fixed at about 4 ft. Node 2 on the ground in clutter, with line of sight to node 3, to force the mesh to hop.
Throughput read from the mesh statistics of the time (BATMAN, used before V3 OS).

ATAK map over woodland with markers labelled with WiFi throughput and hop count — **FIG. 12**Throughput markers. Points labelled "lora switch" came from an older LoRa setup and don't apply here.

Conditions	Result
Clear line of sight	Good throughput to about 300 m, then a sharp drop.
Trees in the way	Lost completely past about 500 m.

042025-08

Hardware 1.0 / Software 0.9

WiFi throughput, obstructed

Two nodes with stock antennas, both at about 4 ft, linked directly.
More obstructions than the three-node test. Throughput from BATMAN statistics.

ATAK map over woodland and ponds with range rings and WiFi throughput markers — **FIG. 13**Throughput markers. Points labelled "lora mode" came from an older LoRa setup and don't apply here.

Distance	Result
250 to 320 m, mostly clear	Only a mild drop in throughput (north side of the site).
300 m, obstructed	About 1 Mbps.
320 to 370 m, obstructed	Throughput cut sharply.
350 m	Noticeable dropouts.
400 m	Link mostly lost.

Obstructions cut WiFi throughput and stability much faster than distance does.

052025-05

Hardware 1.0 / Software 0.9

WiFi range, open field

Two nodes with stock antennas, both at about 4 ft, in an open field with clear line of sight.
One fixed, one on an off-highway vehicle. Data rate from BATMAN statistics.

ATAK map with range rings and WiFi data-rate markers out to about 900 m — **FIG. 14**Data-rate markers. The link still held at 900 m.

Distance	Result
800 m	Below 1 Mbps.
900 m	Link still up.
900 m to 1 km	Link lost.

062025-08

Hardware 1.x / RAK4631 / LoRa 159 mW

LoRa range

We've connected easily at about 8 miles. We spend most of our test time on WiFi, because Meshtastic range is already well documented by its users. See the Meshtastic range tests.

Not yet tested All LoRa results on this page used the older 159 mW radio. Version 3 has a 1 W LoRa radio, which we haven't range-tested yet.

07Videos

Videos

Demos and walkthroughs, newest first. Videos from before the version 3 release (2026-08-24) show earlier hardware. Each one loads from YouTube (youtube-nocookie.com) only when you press play.

Video thumbnail: Nucleus v3 release — **2026-08-24**Nucleus v3 release, voice integrations and the 1 W Meshtastic radio.

Video thumbnail: ATAK video streaming through OpenTAKServer on an older grey node — **2026-05-03**ATAK video streaming through OpenTAKServer on a node.

Video thumbnail: two phones showing the node web UI — **2026-05-03**Nucleus update for May 2026.

Video thumbnail: a node board and a phone on a desk — **2025-08-31**Reticulum on the node, a quick walkthrough.

Video thumbnail: two phones next to an older node — **2025-07-11**Node walkthrough.

Test it yourself

Range depends on where you put the nodes and how many you have. A mesh needs at least two.

Buy Nucleus Questions? Email us