The Meshtastic 64 Gets Commodore's Classic Home Computer Connected to the Popular Mesh Network
A Heltec LoRa V3 inside a cartridge shell bridges a three-decade gap, allowing the Commodore 64 and compatibles to become Meshtastic nodes.
Pseudonymous maker and Commodore enthusiast "64jim64" — hereafter simply "Jim" — has combined the new with the old by building a cartridge to allow Commodore 64 and compatible microcomputers to join a Meshtastic LoRa mesh network — complete with two-way communication.
"My goal was to release this at the VCF [Vintage Computer Federation] Midwest show (VCFMW) in Chicago on September 13th and 14th. I barely made it," Jim says of the Meshtastic 64 project. "I had heard some things about Meshtastic, but I was no expert. As I looked into it, I learned that it is an open source, decentralized, peer-to-peer, text messaging network designed for long-range mesh communication. This seems to attract people that are either interested in the technology, interested in a decentralized/non-monetized communication system, interested in emergency communication — or any combination. My take was a nerdy eight-bit project to get a 1980s computer on the mesh."
The Commodore 64, if it requires an introduction, launched in 1982 as Commodore's follow-up to its earlier VIC-20, and thanks to impressive-for-the-time graphics and impressive-even-now audio capabilities would become the best-selling single model of home computer. What it never had, though, was a LoRa radio — mostly because the LoRa long-range low-power wireless communication standard wouldn't be released for another three decades or so.
The Meshtastic 64 bridges that gap, putting the popular Heltec LoRa V3 development board inside a cartridge that can slot straight into the Commodore 64's User Port. A BASIC program handles the communication between host and radio, converting between standard ASCII text and the commodore-specific PETSCII character set — and retaining the ability to communicate in PETSCII if you know the receiving device on the other end is a fellow Commodore.
"Because the Meshtastic 64 modules have a built-in rechargeable 1,000mAh battery," Jim notes, "they can operate independently from the C64 like a typical Meshtastic radio. That meant I was able to keep up with the conversations when I wasn't on the [VCF] show floor - even catching up on overnight messages over my Sunday morning breakfast. VCFMW had set up a special Meshtastic channel for the show and there were up to 200 nodes all talking at once!"
The project is documented in full on Jim's blog, while a small number of pre-assembled Meshtastic 64 devices are available to pre-order on the BIT Zeal store.