GTA Repeater Region Settings
A quick reference for our neighbours in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area (YYZ).
Credit where it's due: the region settings on this page were approved by the GTA MeshCore community at meshcore.ca. WNY MeshCore helped put this page together so GTA operators have a single link to share. For local questions, please reach out to the GTA community directly.
Heads up: meshcore.ca is still being updated and may show the older town short codes. The GTA has moved to IATA-style airport codes like yyz. Until the site catches up, the poster and region list on this page are the current, up-to-date settings. For the latest news, join the GTA MeshCore Discord.
🛠️ Approved Regions for GTA Repeaters
GTA repeater operators are encouraged to load this tiered list, from the broadest scope down to local Toronto traffic:
| Region | Scope |
|---|---|
| na | Broad North American scope |
| can | Nationwide Canada traffic |
| on | Ontario provincial scope |
| onny | Cross-border Ontario / New York link |
| yyz | Toronto & Greater Toronto Area local scope |
The onny region is shared with Western New York, so traffic scoped to it can cross Lake Ontario between the two meshes.
🧭 What Are Regions?
Scoped Flooding
Normally a flood message is repeated by every repeater that hears it, until it runs out of hops. A region (or scope) is a named tag a sender can attach to a flood message. A repeater only forwards a scoped message if it knows that region and allows flooding for it, so the message stays inside the area that cares about it.
Why Tiers?
Loading every tier, from na down to yyz, lets your repeater carry traffic at each level. Senders can then choose how far a message goes: just the GTA, all of Ontario, across the border, or further.
Unscoped Traffic Still Works
Messages without a region are handled by the wildcard region *. Adding regions doesn't break anything that works today. It only lets your repeater take part in scoped traffic as well.
Why It Matters
As a mesh grows, unnecessary flood packets drive up channel utilization and crowd out real traffic. Consistent region settings across every repeater keep MeshCore viable as the GTA and its neighbours keep adding nodes.
⚙️ How to Apply
Pick whichever method suits you. All three end with the same result: five regions, each placed directly under the wildcard with flooding allowed.
Option 1: One-Line region def
Run these two commands one at a time in the serial / CLI console. Paste and send the first, then paste and send the second. The |* after each name returns to the top level, so every region sits side by side instead of being nested inside the previous one.
Step 1: Define Regions
region def na|* can|* on|* onny|* yyz|*
Step 2: Save Regions
region save
Option 2: One at a Time with region put
Prefer to add regions individually? Send each region put command on its own and wait for OK - (flood allowed) before sending the next. With no parent given, each region is placed under the wildcard *, which matches Option 1.
Step 1: Add Each Region (one command at a time)
region put na region put can region put on region put onny region put yyz
Step 2: Save Regions
region save
Option 3: Mobile App / Web UI
- Connect to your repeater.
- Open Settings ➔ Manage Regions.
- Add na, can, on, onny, and yyz at the top level (ensure flood allowance is toggled on / checked).
- Save your configuration.
Verify
After saving, check that all five regions are present and allow flooding:
Verify Current Regions
region region list allowed
Already have other regions loaded? region def and region put don't clear what's already on the repeater. If you see regions that aren't on the approved list, remove them with region remove <name> (child regions must be removed before their parent), then run region save.
📢 3-Byte Path Hash Mode 📡
GTA repeaters use path.hash.mode 2 (3-byte path hashes). Larger hashes greatly reduce repeater ID collisions as the mesh grows.
CLI Commands
To apply this update, sync your device's time, and verify the changes, use the following commands:
Apply 3-Byte Setting & Sync Clock
set path.hash.mode 2 reboot clock sync
Verify Current Settings (After Reboot)
get path.hash.mode
Path hash mode requires firmware 1.14 or newer. To check that the reboot happened, open the "Status" tab and verify the uptime and clock.
Channel Scoping
There are no channel scoping recommendations for the GTA yet. Keep an eye on meshcore.ca for updates once the site refresh is complete.
📚 Further Reading
- meshcore.ca: the GTA MeshCore community. Currently being updated and may still list older town short codes; use the regions on this page in the meantime.
- Meshtender: Regions: background on how MeshCore regions work.
- Upstate Mesh: Regions: region guidance from our Upstate NY neighbours.
- MeshCore CLI Reference: full documentation for every region command.
These region settings are very important if we want MeshCore to stay viable as it grows on both sides of the lake. If you know GTA operators who don't follow the community channels, please share this page with them.