meshtastic: added meshtastic and a basic setup guide

wiki/meshtastic.md

@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+# Meshtastic
+
+[Meshtastic](https://meshtastic.org/) is an off-grid protocol using LoRa.
+To use Meshtastic a node and a phone using the corresponding Meshtastic app to connect to it is
+needed.
+
+## Setting Up a Meshtastic Node
+
+To setup a Meshtastic Node a device that is capable of communicating via LoRa is needed.
+Often used devices are [microcontrollers](/wiki/microcontroller.md) based on the
+[ESP32-chip](/wiki/microcontroller.md#esp32) like the LILYGO TTGO T-BEAM or the Heltec V3, devices
+based on the nRF52-chip like the RAK4631 and the LILYGO TTGO T-Echo or devices based on the
+RP2040-chip like the Raspberry Pi Pico or the RAK11310 are needed.
+
+After the device acquisition the meshtastic firmware needs to be flashed on the device.
+This can be done using the [official Meshtastic Web Flasher](https://flasher.meshtastic.org/).
+After selection of the device and the firmware the flashing process can be started.
+The flasher works especially well on [Chrome-based Browsers](/wiki/web_browser.md).
+
+The firmware can also be flashed using the command line.
+To first check if the device is connected correctly the 
+[Python-package](/wiki/programming-languages/python.md) `esptool` can be used which can be
+installed using [pip](/wiki/programming-languages/python.md#modules).
+Some [package managers](/wiki/linux/package_manager.md) of
+[Linux-based operating systems](/wiki/linux.md) also feature a standalone `esptool` package.
+The following command will output the chip of the device connected.
+
+```sh 
+esptool chip_id
+```
+
+Please note that on Linux sometimes the command varies a bit.
+`esptool.py chip_id` is also common depending on the used distribution.
+Because the command needs hardware access it also is possible that `sudo`-rights are needed.
+
+After confirming that the device is recognized by esptool the flashing can be achieved by
+downloading the firmware that corresponds with the selected device and running the
+`device-install.sh` (for Linux and Mac) or the `device-install.bat` script (for
+[Windows](/wiki/windows.md)).
+
+The firmware can be downloaded from the [official website](https://meshtastic.org/downloads/) or
+[the GitHub page of the project](https://github.com/meshtastic/firmware/releases).
+Make sure to select the firmware (starting with `firmware-`) `zip`-archive that corresponds with
+your target device.
+Afterwards unzip it and run one of the following commands depending on your operating system.
+Make sure to adjust `<Board>` and `<Version>` accordingly.
+
+```sh 
+./device-install.sh -f firmware-<Board>-<Version>.bin
+device-install.bat -f firmware-<Board>-<Version>.bin
+```
+
+To update a device to a newer firmware version one of the following commands can be used.
+
+```sh 
+./device-update.sh -f firmware-<Board>-<Version>-update.bin
+./device-update.bat -f firmware-<Board>-<Version>-update.bin
+```
+
+After this the flashing of the firmware is done.
+Connect the Meshtastic app of your mobile phone to the node via Bluetooth and continue by
+configuring the node.
+Then the node and you are ready to communicate with other nodes and users.

wiki/microcontroller.md

@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@ It contains a processor, memory and programmable in- and output.
 
 The ESP32 is a cheap and low-energy microcontroller made by Espressif Systems.
 It features Wi-Fi and [Bluetooth](/wiki/bluetooth.md).
+Some variants of this chip also include LoRa-capability and can be used to communicate via
+[Meshtastic](/wiki/meshtastic.md).
 
 ### Flash Firmware on the ESP32