Features/Position Sharing
Position Sharing · PLI

Keep your team visible without cellular coverage.

Share position location information (PLI) across a LoRa mesh, so every connected ATAK client sees where the team is — even when there's no network at all.

Get it on Google Play Read the FAQ
LANCE inside ATAK — team positions (PLI) on the live map, synced over the LoRa mesh
01

Send PLI through the LoRa mesh

Your position is packaged into a compact frame and forwarded hop-by-hop across the mesh. Each connected ATAK client rebuilds it as a native contact on the map, with call sign and grid reference intact.

02

Understand range, delay and mesh limits

LoRa trades bandwidth for range. Updates arrive on an interval — not continuously — and travel as far as the mesh can carry them. LANCE surfaces hop count, RSSI and SNR so you can read the link honestly before you depend on it.

LoRa limitationPosition updates are periodic, not real-time. Plan intervals around air time and team size.
03

Designed for low-bandwidth environments

Every byte counts on LoRa. LANCE optimizes the PLI payload and lets you tune update frequency, so a larger team doesn't saturate the channel. The result is a usable picture within the constraints of the radio.

04

Works with your existing ATAK workflow

There's nothing new to learn. Position sharing happens inside ATAK exactly as it always has — LANCE simply changes the transport underneath from cellular and TAK Server to Meshtastic and LoRa.

Field planning figures
Configurable
Position reporting interval
~1.6%
Airtime per device · 30 s PLI
1–3
Hop limit (by preset)
−112 dBm
Usable RSSI floor

Figures are indicative LongFast planning guidance and depend on hardware, terrain, region, preset and channel load. Roughly five devices at a 30 s cadence already approach 8% aggregate channel airtime before markers, shapes or chat. See the wiki for details.

FAQ

Position sharing, answered.

How often are positions transmitted?
Position reporting runs on a configurable interval rather than continuously — for example every 30 seconds. Shorter intervals give a fresher picture but consume more air time, which matters as team size grows. You tune this to balance freshness against channel capacity.
What are the limits of LoRa?
LoRa is long-range but very low-bandwidth. Payloads are small, latency is in seconds, and throughput is shared across every node on the channel. LANCE is built around these constraints rather than hiding them — telemetry like RSSI, SNR and hop count is always visible.
Does this replace TAK Server?
No. LANCE is a resilient transport for when TAK Server and cellular are unavailable. It carries essential, field-relevant data over the mesh — it is not a drop-in replacement for a full server's feature set or bandwidth.
Does it work without internet?
Yes — that's the point. Once your Meshtastic radio is paired, position sharing runs entirely over LoRa with no internet, LTE or Wi-Fi required.
Which Meshtastic devices are supported?
LANCE works with standard Meshtastic-compatible LoRa radios connected over Bluetooth. See the Resources wiki for the current tested-hardware list and regional frequency notes.

Put your team back on the map.

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