Channels

Channels are how conversations stay organised on the mesh. Think of them like rooms: everyone in a room hears each other, and you can be in several at once.

The channels you already have

Every node automatically belongs to a few channels:

• General - the network-wide channel. Every node on Mode-X Mesh can hear it, everywhere. It's the place to say hello, ask a question, or reach the network bot.
• Your region - for example, West Midlands. Everyone in your wider area shares it.
• Your town - for example, Birmingham. Your most local channel.

You don't set these up. Your node works out where it is and joins the right ones, and updates them if you move to a new area. If your node doesn't share its location, it simply stays on General and any channels you add by hand.

Finding more channels

The app's channel browser shows other channels you can reach - including neighbouring towns and regions you have a good radio path into. For each one you'll see:

• How many nodes are active there right now, so you can tell a busy channel from a quiet one.
• How you reach it - whether you're already in that area ("you're here"), or whether you'd reach it through a neighbour, and how strong that link is.

This is what makes Mode-X Mesh feel alive: you're not just on your own channel, you can see the network reaching out into the areas around you and hop into the conversation there.

Joining and leaving

Tap a channel in the browser to join it. Your node starts hearing that channel's traffic and your messages reach it. Leaving is just as easy.

If you'd rather your channels never changed automatically - handy if you've set up a node for a specific job - you can pin them in the channel settings. Your node will then keep exactly the channels you chose, regardless of where it is.

Public vs private

Communal channels like General and the geographic ones are open: anyone on the mesh can join and read them, and recent public messages appear on the website. Private conversations are encrypted end to end - they never appear anywhere public, and not even the servers can read them.

Why geographic channels? They keep local chatter local. A message meant for your town doesn't need to use up airtime three counties away - but General is always there when you want to reach everyone.