Without ROOM_PASSWORD the guest password defaults to empty, and a client
sending a blank password is granted read+write access (can post). Every
other board's room_server env sets ROOM_PASSWORD; the ThinkNode M6 and M1
were the only two shipping an open room. Default them to "hello" to match
the rest of the tree; operators can still change it at runtime with
'set guest.password'.
next_check and next_gps_update stored a future millis() value in a signed
long and compared with a naive '>'. After the ~24.8-day millis() sign flip
the deadline sits above the wrapped millis(), so the block never runs again
and GPS->RTC time-sync (and the location cache refresh) stall permanently
until reboot. Switch to unsigned deadlines with the wrap-safe signed-
difference compare '(long)(millis() - deadline) > 0', matching the idiom in
Dispatcher::millisHasNowPassed.
Also: reorder the MicroNMEALocationProvider ctor init-list to declaration
order (silences -Wreorder) and drop the always-true 'if (_claims > 0)' guard
in claim() (claim() always runs after _claims++, so it is >= 1).
The M6 is the only board whose simple_repeater env ships with MESH_DEBUG=1
and GPS_NMEA_DEBUG=1 enabled. MESH_DEBUG=1 adds a 5-second boot delay
(examples/simple_repeater/main.cpp) plus verbose per-packet serial prints on
the hot RX/TX path; GPS_NMEA_DEBUG=1 echoes every GPS UART character to the
serial console (MicroNMEALocationProvider.h). Every sibling repeater env
(M1, M3, t1000-e, RAK, Heltec) ships these off, and the M6 room_server env
in this same file already has them commented. Comment them out to match.
External watchdog support was added (but never merged) for MeshTower V1. The update's V2's #defines to follow the conventions set there and piggy back off the support already written for V1.
The host-side build/verify/inspect/serve CLI now lives as a standalone Rust
project at https://github.com/vk496/motatool. Remove the in-tree C++ copy
(tools/motatool/) and repoint the docs (ota_protocol.md, ota_user_guide.md,
tools/mota/README.md) at the standalone repo.
No cross-dependency either direction: MeshCore's firmware build never invoked
motatool (only tools/mota/ Python glue runs in the build), and motatool depends
only on the shared .mota wire spec in docs/ota_protocol.md. tools/mota/
(pio_endf.py EndF hook, motalib.py reference lib, gen_targets.py) is unchanged.
The T096 is an nRF52840 with the same S140 v6 SoftDevice and flash geometry as
the RAK4631, so it can reuse the shared rak4631_hw OTA recipe (ENABLE_OTA +
OtaFlashLayout_nrf52.h — APP_BASE 0x26000, staging ceiling 0xD4000, all
static_asserts satisfied by the stock nrf52840_s140_v6[_extrafs] ldscripts).
With the OTAFIX bootloader (oltaco PR #42 adds the T096 board) a node applies
in place; without it the node still discovers/relays/serves OTA and merely
fetch-refuses apply — so a T096 is a useful OTA relay/seeder regardless.
MOTA_HW_ID='"Heltec_t096"' tags the EndF trailer so a .mota built for other
hardware is refused. Propagates to every T096 role via ${Heltec_t096.*}.
Verified: repeater + companion_radio_usb build clean, 14 OTA objects each,
EndF stamped (hw='Heltec_t096', v1.17.0).
Second-channel pipeline for mqtt-observer-plus, mirroring
build-observer-firmwares.yml with full channel isolation:
- rolling tag observer-mqtt-plus-latest (never shared: per-tag asset pruning
would cross-delete on a shared tag)
- FIRMWARE_VERSION v1.16.0-plus, separate build counter
- OTA_MANIFEST_BASE overridden to /v-plus at build time so device pull-OTA
can never hop a plus node back onto the stable channel (env build flags
append after ini flags, so the override wins — verified in the binary)
Not enabled: workflow_dispatch only (push trigger staged in comments), and
the flasher-repo sync is gated behind SYNC_FLASHER=false with a fail-closed
guard so a premature enable cannot clobber the stable config.json. The
header documents the flasher-side prerequisites (channel-aware
update-firmware.py, SPA channel picker, v-plus manifests, plus changelog).
Manual dispatch already works for publishing hand-flashable test builds to
the release page.
The observer firmware workflow depends on three build.sh behaviors that the
keymindCascade merge dropped:
- embedded-version tagging: observer builds report
v<base>[.<FIRMWARE_BUILD_NUMBER>]-observer-<hash> via ver/MQTT/SNMP while
asset filenames stay <env>-v<base>-<hash>
- -DOTA_VARIANT injection (selects the slim per-variant manifest for pull-OTA)
- per-env .partsig emission (OTA partition-compatibility gate)
Re-applied inside the keymind build_firmware/collect_esp32_artifacts
structure. Verified by building Heltec_v3_repeater_observer_mqtt with the CI
flags set and checking the embedded version/URL strings in firmware.bin.
Integrates Mike Carper's transmission-reliability work (direct retries with
SNR-adaptive backoff and CR, flood retry controls, alt-path replies, flood
channel gates) plus its upstream/dev base (as of 2026-07-06) on top of the
observer stack. The flex branch is untouched; this branch is the experimental
integration line.
Conflict-resolution decisions, for future re-syncs (git rerere is enabled and
has recorded these):
- NodePrefs adopts keymind/upstream member order + retry/flood tail. Member
order is in-memory only: /com_prefs stays field-by-field with the same
canonical file order both sides already share through offset 294; keymind
appends the retry tail at 295+ (new canonical size 676). Flex fleet files
load unchanged; retry fields default via direct_retry_prefs_magic.
- loadPrefsInt keeps the fork's legacy MQTT-gap recovery but moves its
detection boundary from 'extra > 5' to 'extra > LEGACY_MQTT_GAP_3SLOT (864)'
so keymind-size tails take the normal read path. COM_PREFS_TAIL_BYTES
retired.
- Dispatcher/RadioLibWrappers: fork watchdog additions + keymind TX overrides
and CAD busy counter are unioned; RxReservePacketManager::queueOutbound
follows upstream's new bool return (false when shedding).
- CommonCLI: fork observer dispatch + versioned /mqtt_prefs machinery kept;
keymind CLI (retry/flood/radioat) taken; duplicate CAD/FEM handlers and
sanitise lines deduped (kept keymind placements to minimize future diff).
- MyMesh (repeater/room): fork alerter/OTA/observer wiring kept; keymind
scheduled-radio system replaces the old pending_* temp-radio members;
applySavedRadioParams() replaces raw setParams at startup.
- ESP32Board: fork manifest-OTA + keymind powerOff/deepSleep and stopOTAUpdate
unioned; startOTAUpdate keeps fork's STA-aware IP with keymind's idempotency
guard.
- build.sh taken wholesale from keymind (fleet builds use GH Actions).
Verified: Heltec_v3_repeater_observer_mqtt, Heltec_v3_repeater,
heltec_v4_repeater_observer_mqtt, Heltec_v3_room_server_observer_mqtt build;
host migration harness (13 MQTT + non-MQTT scenarios) passes with updated
expectations (676-byte /com_prefs; odd-size files normalize on save, not
load); native unit tests 13/13.
Merges three stacked PRs in one push so the rolling release only builds
the final state:
#20 — Complete observer settings migration and upstream-seam cleanup
- Implement the missing one-time /com_prefs -> /mqtt_prefs observer
settings migration (silent data loss on upgrade before this).
- Harden /mqtt_prefs into a versioned format (magic + version +
payload_len header); legacy headerless layouts detected by size and
migrated once. Drop vestigial _legacy_* fields.
- Deployed flex layout pinned by static_assert (Legacy6SlotMQTTPrefs ==
2904 bytes); verified with the host migration harness and on-device
(Heltec V4: presets, WiFi, and origin survive upgrade and reboot).
#21 — Restore upstream duty-cycle enforcement and CAD
- Restore Dispatcher/StaticPoolPacketManager verbatim from upstream/dev
(token-bucket duty cycle, CAD interface); re-apply the MQTT radio
watchdog as pure additions behind WITH_MQTT_BRIDGE.
- Restore cad_enabled and radio_fem_rxgain persistence at upstream's
/com_prefs offsets (byte-parity with upstream, tail 3 -> 5 bytes).
- Add RxReservePacketManager for observer builds: priority-aware shed +
30s stale expiry so heavy throttling can't park the packet pool and
make the node un-administrable.
- Device-confirmed on Heltec V4.2: throttling holds at set dutycycle 1
on a busy mesh, CAD persists across boots, capture continues at full
rate under throttle.
#22 — Drive LoRa FEM RX gain from radio_fem_rxgain
- MainBoard gains setLoRaFemLnaEnabled/canControlLoRaFemLna/
isLoRaFemLnaEnabled; wired for heltec_v4, heltec_t096, and
tracker_v2. radio.fem.rxgain CLI gated on board capability.
- Persisted pref applied at app startup; defaults ON (upstream parity),
so LNA-capable boards gain RX boost on upgrade.
- Guard path device-confirmed on V4.2 (GC1109, PA-only: reports
unsupported). LNA toggle on V4.3/KCT8103L pending hardware.
Multi-hour soak on the full stack: no memory issues or regressions.
Duty-cycle throttling, CAD-under-load, capture decoupling, remote admin under
throttle, and radio-watchdog fire/recover all device-confirmed on a Heltec
V4.2 (busy mesh + off-frequency bench). Notes the watchdog observability
gotchas found during testing: silent on release builds (check stats-radio-diag
err_flags bit 8) and armed only after first radio activity.
mikecarper
ripplebiz
liamcottle
Jody Bentley
Alex Beal
Valentin Kivachuk Burda
agessaman