Nick Farrow Uses a Raspberry Pi to Launch a Text-Based Meshtastic Bulletin Board System

Inspired by computer BBSes of the 1970s and 1980s, this Python-powered project includes messaging and interactive games.

Developer and radio ham Nick Farrow is bringing a little taste of the 1970s and 1980s to the Meshtastic mesh-based LoRa network with MeshBoard β€” a text-based bulletin board system (BBS), complete with interactive games.

"This project lets you navigate menus and play games like Tic Tac Toe and an Escape Room, all live on a mesh network with no internet required," Farrow explains of the MeshBoard project. "It's powered by [a] Raspberry Pi and designed to showcase how games and modular systems can run seamlessly over decentralized networks. Perfect for fans of mesh networking, retro BBS vibes, and creative tech projects."

The Meshtastic network now boasts the height of 1970s and 1980s communications technology: a BBS. (πŸ“Ή: Nick Farrow)

The MeshBoard software is inspired by text-based bulletin board systems (BBSes), pre-Internet text-based communication systems that launched in 1973 with Community Memory in Berkeley, California β€” though the coin-operated terminals and expensive mainframe would soon give way to hobbyists running similar systems on minicomputers and later microcomputers, with Ward Christensen and Randy Suess launching the first publicly-accessible dial-up BBS, CBBS, in 1978.

Meshtastic, meanwhile, is a community-driven project to create a mesh network of LoRa radios, free for anyone to access. In this case, the node in question is a Raspberry Pi running Farrow's software. "While ham radio is a fantastic tool for long-distance voice communication, it does come with costs that add up quickly β€” from the fees to take the test and get licensed to the equipment itself," he explains. "This is where Meshtastic really shines β€” offering a low-cost, accessible, and flexible option for local communication with the added ability to use encryption when needed.

"And the best part? Getting started won't break the bank. You can't really beat a $35 entry fee for the device! It’s super accessible β€” kind of like the Raspberry Pi in its early days, where affordability drove adoption and innovation. Meshtastic's low cost makes it easy for anyone to get started and start experimenting. This modular BBS works entirely on the mesh and currently features menu navigation and games like Tic Tac Toe and an Escape Room. I've also worked on a file transfer service over Meshtastic as part of another project, with the idea that future updates could decentralize this BBS even further by allowing it to run across multiple Raspberry Pi nodes in the network."

The Python source code for the MeshBoard is available on GitHub under an unspecified license; more information is available in Burrow's Reddit post.

Gareth Halfacree
Freelance journalist, technical author, hacker, tinkerer, erstwhile sysadmin. For hire: freelance@halfacree.co.uk.
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