Operations overview

First visit: a useful view in five minutes

1. Open Home. Read any current orange official-alert banner and the source time.
2. Choose Weather alert area. Select ZIP + distance, enter a supported Colorado-area ZIP, then choose the miles around it. Keep alerts with unclear areas included unless you deliberately want to hide them.
3. Open Layers & map settings. Turn on the information you need: roads, cameras, radar, warnings, aircraft, mesh observations or lightning. Choose a light or dark basemap.
4. Select a camera marker. Read its capture time; click Play live video when a live stream is available.
5. Use Reading & theme in the header for five themes and four text sizes. Changes are saved in this browser.

The website is a public monitoring view. You can customize your display and submit approved contributor formats; radio sending and server administration use separate controls. The phone app connects to your own companion radio.

PhryktorCore: install, update and connect

What you need

An ARM64 Android phone or tablet running Android 7.0 or newer, a supported MeshCore companion radio, its antenna and power. Bluetooth Companion firmware provides the usual phone connection. Grow the mesh explains beginner hardware, firmware, repeaters and solar options.

1. Download the APK from the button above. The file is hosted directly on PhryktorNET. Compare its SHA-256 with the displayed hash or open the hash record for version, build and file size.
2. Open the downloaded file on Android. If prompted, allow this browser or file manager to install apps, then complete installation. You can turn that source permission off afterward.
3. For an update, install over the current app. The current release retains the preceding APK’s package and signing identity. Keep app data rather than uninstalling when you want to retain your history and settings.
4. Attach the radio antenna, power the companion and turn on Bluetooth. Open PhryktorCore, select Bluetooth LE, grant the requested permissions and choose your radio. USB and TCP options are also available for compatible setups.
5. Wait for contacts and channels to synchronize. Confirm the local frequency, bandwidth, spreading factor and coding rate with your mesh community; the other radios must match.
6. Open Channels and verify your rooms. With Add starter rooms enabled, the app adds #wirereports, #emergency and #phryktor to confirmed empty slots after the first synchronization. If the radio is full, make room deliberately or use the public QR.

To join manually, open Grow the mesh and scan the public #phryktor QR using Settings → Tools → Scan room or contact QR. Review the imported room before saving. A connected companion and matching radio settings are still required.

PhryktorCore: conversations, history and replies

Channels, direct messages and room servers

1. Use Channels for a shared room, or Contacts for a direct conversation or supported room server.
2. Read the destination name before sending. Shared channels require the same channel key; public hashtag channels use a key derived from the exact hashtag.
3. Type a short message and use Send. Check any send error and the received response instead of repeatedly submitting the same message.
4. Use the plus menu to add a location or a structured MECP message. Review the source of coordinates before sharing them.
5. Long-press a message for its available actions. Reply with observed path prepares a text reply for review when captured metadata exists. It does not remotely change another radio’s route.

Long messages and packet colors

The app divides longer text into numbered radio packets and combines matching received pieces by default. A tear line such as Missing part 2/3 marks text that was not received. Late parts can fill gaps. Settings → App Settings → Messaging → Combine multipart messages lets you show each original packet instead. A long message consumes more airtime and every piece can arrive independently.

Colored routing badges describe bytes per hop hash when known, rather than text size or the number of hops. Defaults use green for one byte, blue for two and purple for three. Customize bubble colors in Appearance or conversation settings. Short hashes can identify more than one possible node.

Tests, emergencies and MECP

Messaging → Hide test messages starts on. It hides recognized drills and testing-room traffic while retaining original history. Turn it off to read a practice exchange. Notifications has separate in-app emergency popup and phone notification choices; phone alerts also depend on Android permissions. Stored history does not replay a new emergency alert.

Open Settings → Tools → Emergency inbox to view MECP reports from loaded histories. Use its priority and drill filters, open the source chat or copy the visible log. The MECP Guide covers every code, composer field, training label and acknowledgement.

Optional Extra AES

In a conversation, use the key beside Extra AES to configure a matching case-sensitive code with the other participant. This adds an app-specific text-encryption layer. Turning it off locks encrypted incoming/history text while retaining the saved code; turning it on permits reading with that code. Other clients need compatible support. Images are unavailable while this extra text encryption is enabled.

The QR beside Extra AES can contain the secret code and channel setup. Share it privately. The public #phryktor QR is separate from your private encryption setup. Mesh transport metadata remains visible to compatible observers.

PhryktorCore: maps, contacts and tools

• Location: use the conversation plus menu for phone GPS, the radio’s reported coordinates, an OpenStreetMap pin, or pasted coordinates/a full map link. GPS needs location permission; map tiles require connectivity or cached data. A radio-reported position can be configured or stale.
• Phone contact library: under Settings → Tools, store contacts on the phone and restore selected contacts to available radio slots. This does not expand the radio firmware’s contact capacity.
• Signal monitor: under Tools, view received packet RSSI/SNR, trace and waterfall; choose a time window or pause the view. It is a packet measurement display, with gaps when no packets were measured.
• Appearance: App Settings groups themes, light/dark/system appearance and routing-bubble colors. Contact and channel custom icons are local display choices.
• Radio settings: set the node name, permitted radio configuration, location-advertising policy and other supported device options. An advertisement can share your selected identity/location; review privacy before sending one.
• Repeater management: use supported remote controls only for a repeater you manage with the required credentials. Connection, firmware and permissions determine the available actions.
• Images and translation: supported inherited features may need compatible receivers, models, storage and setup. Optional natural-language translation is separate from MECP’s bundled code lookup. It is not required to read MECP.
• Backup and licenses: review the app’s About/backup options before changing phones or removing app data. Preserve private channel keys and encryption codes separately and privately.

The current APK’s signing and content checks are verified. App guides describe implemented behavior and automated-test screenshots; a physical phone/radio session is needed to confirm your own permissions, device compatibility and reception.

Android Auto messaging & the 1.1 hub

The verified public download below remains stable build 2012. Car hub adds the new compact website view. The separate PhryktorCore Trial 1.1 APK is distributed privately for the owner and friends; it installs alongside stable and starts with its own setup. Close the other client before connecting the same radio.

The 1.1 trial adds native Hub, Channels, MECP and Weather tabs, chosen under Settings → App Settings → Notifications → Car & PhryktorNET hub. Select NET-only or Radio + NET, your city and the local radio rooms to display. NET-only can browse public observer rooms without a companion; Radio + NET provides local channel voice-to-text replies and direct-message notification replies. Local radio conversations and offline MECP decoding stay on the phone; NET observations come from this site's bounded public feed. The website does not transmit or receive your private phone chats.

A sideloaded APK can provide messaging notifications with Android Auto's Unknown sources setting. A native dashboard icon and Car App Library tabs require a trusted installation, such as private Google Play testing, or development testing with the Desktop Head Unit. Unknown sources does not unlock these templates. Read the complete trial setup and parked checklist.

PhryktorCore 1.0.0 build 2012 adds Android Auto message notifications, read-aloud, voice replies and mark-as-read actions. The phone runs the app and keeps its MeshCore companion connected.

1. Install the current APK over the existing app, open it and connect your companion radio. Let contacts and channels synchronize.
2. Open Settings → App Settings → Notifications. Enable Android Auto messaging and Enable notifications, grant Android notification permission, and choose the direct/channel notifications you want.
3. Connect the phone to a compatible Android Auto head unit. Receive a new mesh message, open its notification and use Android Auto's read-aloud and Reply controls. Voice transcription depends on Android Auto and its assistant.
4. For this directly installed APK, open the phone's Android Auto settings, expand Version, tap Version and permission info ten times and accept developer mode. Open the three-dot menu → Developer settings → Unknown sources, then reconnect. Google documents this option for messaging notifications.
5. Review the phone chat if a reply reports an uncertain handoff before retrying. A disconnected app/radio cannot send. Longer voice replies use up to three numbered packets; use the phone composer for longer text.

Mark-as-read updates local unread counts and notifications; it sends no mesh read receipt. MECP emergency text can be read aloud when emergency phone notifications are enabled. Drills retain their test filtering and do not trigger emergency priority.

Voice replies use the same radio send path and the conversation's Extra AES setting. Turning Extra AES off or changing its code removes protected notifications and blocks stale protected replies. The shared secret is not passed to the car reply action.

This release integrates messaging notifications. Radio settings, maps, QR setup and full history are available on the phone. Android Auto phone/head-unit operation still needs a real-device check; the source and automated tests were reviewed. Google's messaging integration reference.

Customize website weather alerts

1. At Home, use Weather alert area above the official-alert banner, or open it within the map’s settings.
2. Choose ZIP + distance. Enter a five-digit ZIP in the local Colorado-area catalog. Choose a preset radius or enter a custom distance from 1 to 250 miles.
3. Use City + distance, County or Visible map area for other views. Map-area filtering follows the visible Home map.
4. Read the count of displayed alerts and those outside your area. Alerts with an unclear area remain included by default and are labeled accordingly.
5. Open Popup alerts · area, types & interruptions to enable only the warning types you want or turn popups off while keeping the banner. The default waits for a chosen area before weather popups. When a warning popup appears, Choose weather alert area returns you to the filter. Understood acknowledges the displayed notice; new or updated qualifying alerts can appear again.
6. Use All Colorado to restore statewide weather coverage. Settings are kept in this browser and travel with saved display profiles and casting.

A ZIP radius is measured from a Census representative point, not your home address or the ZIP boundary. A warning matches when its official polygon intersects that radius. Official non-weather emergency notices remain statewide. The website never infers that a warning ended merely because a source stopped updating.

The website’s official-warning filters and the phone app’s received-radio emergency notification settings are separate. Change each where you use it.

TV screens, ticker, camera rotation and Cast

1. Start with the Traffic TV or Weather TV quick tab. Both include aircraft; Traffic emphasizes road conditions and Weather emphasizes weather layers.
2. Open map settings to choose layers, basemap, clocks, legend, text size and feeds. Mission presets provide reusable starting layouts; save your modified setup in this browser.
3. Within TV feeds, scrolling ticker & cameras, choose the feeds to scroll. Select Slow, Comfortable or Quicker; the updated default is 20 pixels per second. Use Pause ticker to stop it for reading.
4. Choose camera rotation speed and area: visible map, Colorado statewide or pinned cameras. Start live rotation enables one muted stream at a time when supported; snapshots remain the fallback.
5. Enable current crash or severe-warning focus if desired. The map focuses a reported area and nearby cameras, then returns to the overview. A nearby camera is a possible view, not proof that it shows the incident.
6. For Cast, put a compatible Google Cast TV/device and your sender on a network where they can discover one another. Open the secure site in a supported browser and use its Cast button when available. Select the receiver and wait for the dashboard to load.
7. If discovery is unavailable, open the shared display link on the TV/computer or use the browser’s Cast menu where supported. A Samsung phone still needs a browser or casting feature that supports the receiver; support varies by browser and TV.

A Cast receiver needs internet access to this HTTPS site. Private LAN admin pages are separate from the public cast dashboard. Each receiving display renders current source data and can have different connectivity or stream availability.

Find every website page

Top tabs contain the everyday pages. Their shortcuts lead to detailed views. This directory also links directly to analysis, archives, sources and display tools.

Overview & maps

Weather & environment

Cameras & travel

News & briefings

Live mesh & messages

History & analysis

Equipment & collectors

Help & display

Check the result and solve common problems

For radio bot commands and report sections, use the current command reference. Requests and RF broadcasts consume radio airtime; avoid repeated test floods.

Guide reviewed 12 October 2026 against PhryktorNET 1.1, stable PhryktorCore 1.0.0 build 2012 and the separate private 1.1 trial. Screenshots contain example app test fixtures or dated website observations. Source availability and hardware behavior can vary.

1. The format, piece by piece

MECP/<severity>/<codes> [details]

1. MECP/ tells a compatible reader to interpret structured text.
2. 0, 1, 2 or 3 is the sender’s chosen severity.
3. Codes are an uppercase category letter followed by two digits. Separate codes with spaces and keep them together before any written details.
4. Details provide context such as people, coordinates, an incident reference and a short description. These words are carried as text.

Example to read locally: MECP/3/D02 L15 2pax #DEMO @1200 ~TRAIN. D02 identifies a test; L15 is a check-in; 2pax means two people. This page does not transmit the example.

The MECP composer has a 200 UTF-8 byte ceiling. A destination’s available radio text budget can be smaller after sender and encryption overhead. PhryktorCore displays the applicable budget and rejects an oversized structured report. Keep an MECP report in one packet; shorten details rather than separating its header from its codes.

Ordering matters: MECP/3/D02 L15 P05 2pax 0.00000,0.00000 places every code before details. Once details start, a later code-like word remains detail text in the current Phryktor readers. The coordinates here are fictional training values.

2. Choose the correct severity

Training and corrections

D01 means drill; D02 means test. Both produce a visible training label in Phryktor. D03 marks the end of a drill; D04 says a previous message was sent in error. Use D01 or D02 throughout practice exchanges. Removing a training label changes the meaning of the report.

Responses and beacons

R01 acknowledges a report, R02 says help is coming, and R07 reports resolution. B01 reports an active automated distress beacon, B02 acknowledges it, and B03 cancels it. These are statements made by the sender. A decoder does not activate a beacon or verify a rescue. Keep a matching incident reference when replying; confirm the original sender, location and current situation before treating a response as actionable.

3. Optional details and conventions

The original MECP tool recognizes these conventions. PhryktorCore provides dedicated people, coordinates and incident-ID fields, and shows the remaining text literally. PhryktorNET’s room card shows every recognized code and the original details; the practice reader below also explains these conventions.

MECP is a text format. MeshCore supplies transport, routing and channel encryption separately. Public hashtag channels are shared community conversations; avoid including information you would not share publicly. Compatible language dictionaries decode codes offline. This website needs connectivity to load new radio observations.

4. Use MECP in PhryktorCore

1. Install the APK and connect a companion. Download above or from Grow the mesh. Grant the connection permissions, connect your MeshCore companion radio and wait for channels and contacts to synchronize.
2. Open the intended conversation. In a channel or supported chat, open the plus menu and select Structured message. Confirm the destination before composing.
3. Start with a practice report. The composer starts with routine severity and its drill option on. Select a category and the descriptions that apply.
4. Add precise context. Use People, coordinates and Incident ID where relevant. GPS adds P05. Use short additional details and check the location source; a configured radio position can be old.
5. Review both previews. Check the readable meaning, original wire text and byte counter. Keep the drill option on for a test. Send only when the selected conversation and content are correct.
6. Check the receiver. Ask another connected participant to confirm the received original text and interpretation. A send action alone does not establish mesh-wide receipt.

For offline preparation, open Settings → Tools → Structured emergency message. With no conversation selected, Copy packet copies the reviewed text. It does not send a radio message.

Read received reports

Supported incoming MECP messages display code descriptions using the app’s language pack, with English fallback. Expand Original packet to inspect or copy the exact text. Unknown identifiers remain visible. Open Settings → Tools → Emergency inbox for reports in the currently loaded channel and contact histories; use its priority and drill filters, open the original chat or copy the visible report log.

Test visibility and phone alerts

Settings → App Settings → Messaging → Hide test messages starts on. Turn it off to view retained practice reports; hiding them does not delete history. The inbox’s Include drills chip controls that view. Under Notifications, configure Emergency popups in the app and Emergency phone notifications separately. Live valid severity 0, 1 and 2 reports can qualify; drills and testing-room traffic do not. Phone notifications also require the general notification switch and Android permission.

Replies from the emergency inbox prepare an acknowledgement for you to review and explicitly send. Received reports and acknowledgements are peer communications. PhryktorCore does not turn them into an official warning.

5. Read MECP on PhryktorNET

1. Open MeshCore and select or tag a public room. MECP reading works across monitored public rooms.
2. Use the room’s follow control to keep new arrivals at the bottom, or search retained conversation history.
3. Read the original message, sender and source time. A recognized report receives an English MECP card underneath.
4. Read each code and its meaning, plus the sender’s written details. Check the drill label and ask the sender to explain unknown codes.
5. Use the original developer tool for a separate local composition or decode preview. Copying there does not transmit.

The live room feed checks for new arrivals approximately every three seconds; RF reception, processing and connectivity affect when a message appears. Private direct-message histories are excluded from the public archive.

Packet orbs visualize received route metadata with usable node matches. A readable MECP report is not automatically matched to an encrypted packet by timing, and its coordinates do not identify the private observer. The website sends no acknowledgements from its reader and creates no official emergency banner from a community MECP report.

Home warning popups use current official weather and agency sources. Customize those separately with Weather alert area → ZIP + distance, a city, county or the visible map. Community radio reports keep their own sender attribution.

6. Practice the reader locally

Paste a packet or choose a training example. This reader runs in your browser and has no send control.

7. Full English code reference

All 108 codes in the installed MECP dictionary, organized into 12 categories. Search an identifier or its meaning. The category is part of the identifier, so M01 and T01 mean different things.

Loading the installed dictionary…

8. Developer, sources and licenses

MECP is maintained by xiang-dev-1. The quotation above is from the project README. This guide documents Phryktor’s installed dictionary and current integration, reviewed 11 October 2026. Phryktor does not claim authorship of MECP or endorsement by its developer.

• Developer’s comprehensive protocol reference
• Installed English language dictionary · CC BY 4.0 language-pack license. Code labels are reproduced unchanged with attribution to xiang-dev-1/MECP.
• Locally hosted original browser tool and its source · GPL-3.0 tool license
• CC0 protocol dedication · Installed upstream revision and source notes

App screenshots show development test fixtures with example data, not a live emergency or a physical-device verification. Website screenshots and diagrams are supplied by Phryktor. Installation and hardware troubleshooting are covered in the App & site guide.