Observers

Observers are software services that listen to MeshCore traffic and forward packets to internet tools - maps, dashboards, and analysers - usually over MQTT. They give the community visibility of the network: coverage, routing, and node health.

Observers are receive-only by design. They should not inject messages into the mesh, bridge internet chat onto LoRa, or automate replies back onto the radio network.

NZ observer destinations

Service	Host	Port	Transport	Auth	Format
LetsMesh	mqtt-us-v1.letsmesh.net	443	WebSockets + TLS	MeshCore auth token (Ed25519 JWT)	meshcore/{IATA}/{PUBLIC_KEY}/packets
MeshMapper	mqtt.meshmapper.net	443	WebSockets + TLS	MeshCore auth token (Ed25519 JWT)	meshcore/{IATA}/{PUBLIC_KEY}/packets
waev	mqtt.waev.app	443	WebSockets + TLS	MeshCore auth token (Ed25519 JWT)	meshcore/{IATA}/{PUBLIC_KEY}/packets
CoreScope	meshcore-mqtt-1.baird.io	443	WebSockets + TLS	MeshCore auth token (Ed25519 JWT)	meshcore/{IATA}/{PUBLIC_KEY}/packets

• {IATA} is your nearest town or city’s IATA code (akl, hlz, wre, tga, chc, …) - the same codes proposed for regions. It groups topics so tools can filter by area. {PUBLIC_KEY} is your observer node’s public key.
• LetsMesh: see the onboarding guide.
• MeshMapper: see the config docs; the NZ map is at nz.meshmapper.net.
• waev: supports openHop, observer firmware, Python packet capture, Home Assistant, and meshcoretomqtt - the setup guide covers each.
• CoreScope: self-hosted by a community member at meshcore.baird.io. WebSocket path /, status topic meshcore/{IATA}/{PUBLIC_KEY}/status, JWT audience meshcore-mqtt-1.baird.io, TLS required.

Notes

• Use observers to improve visibility of the mesh, not as another active node.
• Anything an observer hears may end up on the public internet - a good reason to treat public channels as public.
• Thinking of deploying a new public observer? Talk to the community first in the NZ Discord thread.