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openHop Repeater Installation Guide

Installing a MeshCore repeater on a Raspberry Pi with openHop Repeater and the optional openHop Console.

Setting up a MeshCore repeater on a Raspberry Pi using openHop Repeater, a Python repeater daemon, and the optional openHop Console web UI.

Renamed projects

openHop Repeater was pyMC_Repeater; openHop Console was pyMC Console. Guides referencing /etc/pymc_repeater, the pymc-repeater service, or github.com/dmduran12/… are out of date. The paths below are current.

Requirements

  • Raspberry Pi 3, 4, 5, or Zero 2 W
  • Raspberry Pi OS Bookworm or later, 32- or 64-bit
  • A supported SX1262 or SX1268 LoRa HAT
  • Network connection; SPI available, which the installer configures

1. Install the repeater

git clone https://github.com/openhop-dev/openhop_repeater.git
cd openhop_repeater
sudo bash ./manage.sh install

The installer creates a repeater service user with hardware access, installs to /opt/openhop_repeater in its own venv, creates config, log, and data directories, runs an interactive hardware wizard, and enables the systemd service.

In the wizard, select your exact board. That selection sets your TX power, and the wrong variant gives the wrong power level.

PathContents
/opt/openhop_repeater/venv and application files
/etc/openhop_repeater/config.yamlconfiguration
/var/lib/openhop_repeater/repeater.db, metrics, radio presets
/var/log/openhop_repeater/logs, also in the journal
openhop-repeater.servicethe systemd unit

2. Verify TX power before transmitting

Immediately after install, and after any config change:

sudo grep -n tx_power /etc/openhop_repeater/config.yaml

Expect exactly one line, under the radio: section, at or below the maximum your board’s manufacturer specifies. A board with a power amplifier is damaged by a value meant for a bare transceiver.

Warning

tx_power belongs under radio:, not under sx1262:. A value placed under sx1262: is silently ignored and the radio runs at whatever radio.tx_power says.

3. Install the Console (optional)

The Console is a static web UI with no backend of its own; the repeater serves it. Install the repeater first.

git clone https://github.com/Treehouse-00/pymc_console-dist.git pymc_console
cd pymc_console
sudo bash manage.sh install

Browse to http://<pi-ip>:8000/ and log in with your repeater credentials.

Note

Follow the repo’s README.md, not its INSTALL.md. The latter is stale and still refers to pre-rename paths and services.

4. Managing the service

sudo systemctl status openhop-repeater
sudo systemctl restart openhop-repeater
sudo journalctl -u openhop-repeater -f

Upgrading

manage.sh upgrade installs whatever is in your working tree; it fetches nothing. git pull first.

cd ~/openhop_repeater
git pull
sudo bash ./manage.sh upgrade

The same applies to the Console, so the script itself is current before it runs.

cd ~/pymc_console
git pull
sudo bash manage.sh upgrade

The Console does not restart the repeater, because the assets are static. Hard-refresh the browser with Ctrl+Shift+R.

The Console’s web UI can also upgrade, offering a release channel: main for stable snapshots, dev for latest commits. main is updated infrequently.

Before you upgrade

  • Back up. There is no rollback command.

    sudo cp -a /etc/openhop_repeater/config.yaml /root/config.yaml.bak
sudo cp -a /var/lib/openhop_repeater/repeater.db /root/repeater.db.bak

  • Re-check tx_power afterwards, since upgrades touch config.yaml.

  • Upgrading overwrites /var/lib/openhop_repeater/radio-presets.json and radio-settings.json. Local edits there are lost.

  • Database migrations run on first start of the new version and are forward-only.

References

Node Configuration