Currently, when initially flashing any type of hardware with Meshcore repeater/room server firmware, the radio settings default to the UK/EU preset in the 868 MHz band and the radio sends a zero-hop advert after booting (and periodically thereafter?). This results in the radios potentially repeatedly making unlawful transmissions in regions around the world where 915 MHz is used for ISM-type devices, and forces the end user to make additional unlawful transmissions to steer the new device to the proper frequency band if controlled over-the-air.
I understand the rationale of this is to make it easier for companion radios to populate with the new device's public key information for remote management; however, the tradeoff as Meshcore grows in popularity is not worth knowingly "shipping" firmware that violates regulations in much of the world. In the US, for example, the 868 MHz band is allocated by the FCC to Parts 22, 25, and 90 use (public mobile, satellite communications, and private land mobile, respectively), see https://www.fcc.gov/sites/default/files/fcctable.pdf internal page 30/PDF page 73.
In order to help Meshcore users in 915 MHz parts of the world be in compliance with their various regulatory authorities, I propose one of the following:
- Disable transmit on boot until configured by the end user. This could be done by initializing new flashes with the transmitter disabled and/or no presets loaded
- Incorporate region selection into the web flasher and start offering two firmware builds going forward: one for 868 MHz regions and one for 915 MHz regions
Currently, when initially flashing any type of hardware with Meshcore repeater/room server firmware, the radio settings default to the UK/EU preset in the 868 MHz band and the radio sends a zero-hop advert after booting (and periodically thereafter?). This results in the radios potentially repeatedly making unlawful transmissions in regions around the world where 915 MHz is used for ISM-type devices, and forces the end user to make additional unlawful transmissions to steer the new device to the proper frequency band if controlled over-the-air.
I understand the rationale of this is to make it easier for companion radios to populate with the new device's public key information for remote management; however, the tradeoff as Meshcore grows in popularity is not worth knowingly "shipping" firmware that violates regulations in much of the world. In the US, for example, the 868 MHz band is allocated by the FCC to Parts 22, 25, and 90 use (public mobile, satellite communications, and private land mobile, respectively), see https://www.fcc.gov/sites/default/files/fcctable.pdf internal page 30/PDF page 73.
In order to help Meshcore users in 915 MHz parts of the world be in compliance with their various regulatory authorities, I propose one of the following: