OpenMANET Project

OpenMANET is a Raspberry Pi–based MANET (Mobile Ad-Hoc Network) radio built on Wi-Fi HaLow (802.11ah).
It’s designed around Raspberry Pi HATs and currently built specifically for the Seeed HaLow board, with plans to add support for other devices later.

Description

This project aims to provide a flexible HaLow mesh radio using Raspberry Pi hardware and HaLow HATs. A number of optional components are supported; current testing includes the WaveShare 1850 UPS for power and the Panda Wireless PAU06 USB Wi-Fi adapter (additional drivers are included but not yet fully tested).

Note: On SDIO-based HaLow builds, the onboard Wi‑Fi usually shares the SDIO bus and cannot be used. On SPI-based HaLow builds (for example Seeed boards), onboard Wi‑Fi works for client access (AP mode).

Networking Model

  • The mesh exposes a flat 10.41.0.0/16 LAN to end users, even though BATMAN-V may send frames over multiple HaLow hops in the background.
  • A single Mesh Gate runs strictly in router mode and NATs the MANET into whatever uplink you connect it to, your upstream network stays separate.
  • Every mesh point keeps its own DHCP scope and unique 2.4/5 GHz SSID, so clients can join over Ethernet or Wi-Fi and still get a lease during disconnected operations.
  • HaLow radios should share the same SSID/password/channel settings so the mesh forms reliably.
  • mDNS (hostname.local) works across the mesh (on supported clients), so you can do https://manet01.local or ssh root@manet01.local.
  • If your end user device gets a 10.41.x.x IP, it is on the mesh.

This design is deliberately opinionated to reduce the amount of networking knowledge you need to bring a cluster online. See the dedicated Networking page for the full breakdown.

See Firmware & Releases for download guidance, naming conventions, and 1.6.x release notes.

If you run into issues, start with Troubleshooting (including the recommended “wipe and re-flash” recovery path).

Advantages vs. the Seeed image

  • Different BCF radio file increases TX power (≈21 dBm → 27 dBm)
  • Newer build than the Seeed image
  • Includes 802.11s and batman-adv support

📡 Range Testing

Want to see how OpenMANET performs in the field?
Check out the dedicated Wi-Fi HaLow Range Testing page for detailed results, images, and notes from real-world testing.