KELLY PAGE🚲 Mesh Buddy
A little GPS tracker you build yourself. It sends your position over the MeshCore LoRa mesh, and a Kelly iGate puts it on aprs.fi under your callsign. No SIM, no phone, no internet on the tracker.
🛒 The parts (about $77)
Everything in one order from Core Electronics:
| Part | SKU | Price |
|---|---|---|
| WisBlock Meshtastic Starter Kit 9xxMHz (RAK19003) RAK4631 radio + brains, base board, LoRa antenna, USB-C cable | RW-115093 | $39.30 |
| RAK12500 GNSS GPS module | RW-110016 | $32.05 |
| SMA to U.FL cable joins the antenna to the radio | FIT0219 | $5.46 |
Plus a 3.7 V LiPo battery with a JST PH 2.0 plug (check the + and − before plugging in!) and a weatherproof case. Prices checked 31 October 2026, inc GST.
How it works
- Build it. No soldering: two modules click onto the base board, two antennas, one battery.
- Flash it from Kelly. LoRa Mesh › 🚲 Mesh Buddy. Your callsign comes from Kelly, so it's set up as you. About 70 seconds over USB, right here on this site (USB needs Chrome or Edge).
- Add it to an iGate. Your own Kelly at home, or a friendly local iGate operator's.
- Ride! It beacons as you move, every MeshCore repeater passes it on, and you're on the map. 🗺️
What it reports
Besides your position, Mesh Buddy sends a health report that aprs.fi graphs: battery voltage, how well the nearest repeater heard you (EchoSNR and Echo%), GPS satellites, temperature, and lights for charging, low battery, fix, moving and more.
📡 MeshPRS inside. Mesh Buddy speaks MeshPRS,
the open standard for APRS over MeshCore. Any MeshPRS iGate can gate it, not only Kelly.
📜 Hams only. It sends your callsign. Its name always starts with your call, and
iGates only gate stations whose name carries a VK or ZL callsign.