By default, Raven provides messaging within the AREDN network. But Raven also support other messaging protocols. Currently these are:

• Meshtastic
• MeshCore

You do not have to have your own Meshtastic or MeshCore node to talk to these networks from Raven. It only matters that, somewhere on your local network, someone has installed the necessary bridge device and software. With that in place, your Raven node will appear as a Meshtastic node on the Meshtastic network, and as a MeshCore node on the MeshCore network.

Meshtastic and MeshCore messages are transported as third-party, unencrypted traffic across the AREDN network with messages tagged with the callsign of bridge.

Raven does not link Meshtastic or MeshCore networks together between regions, and it does not link Meshtastic and MeshCore networks together even in the same region. AREDN can see your local Meshtasticore networks, and they can see you but not each other. Everything remains in your local area.

Meshtastic

Meshtastic (https://meshtastic.org) is probably the best well known off-grid messaging platform. It uses LoRa radios to send small text messages between an adhoc arrange of nodes.

MeshCore

MeshCore (https://meshcore.co.uk) is an increasingly popular messaging platform which also uses LoRa radios. From a high-level its very similar to Meshtastic, but achieves its goals using a very different network philosophy.