ATAK + Meshtastic Guide

Introduction

What is ATAK

ATAK (Android Team Awareness Kit) is a map-based coordination app for Android, originally developed by the U.S. Air Force Research Lab and now maintained by the TAK Product Center. It's widely used by both professionals and civilians to improve teamwork and situational awareness.

The app shows your position on a live map, lets you track teammates, share markers and tasks, exchange short messages, integrate data from drones or sensors.

ATAK works both online and offline, connecting over Wi-Fi, mobile networks and LoRa radios. Its plugin system allows customization for secure messaging, radios, drones, sensors and more, making it adaptable to missions ranging from emergency response to outdoor expeditions and tactical scenarios.

In practice, ATAK has proven to improve coordination, reduce radio clutter and provide teams with a clearer shared picture of the situation.

We offer field cards for ATAK use with Meshtastic to get on track faster. You can view it here: MeshTak Field Cards

Meshtastic Plugin

Meshtastic ATAK Plugin is a community-created extension that connects Meshtastic devices to the ATAK, allowing teams to communicate and share information without relying on traditional networks.

Key Features:

Location Sharing – Broadcast GPS positions from Meshtastic devices directly into ATAK, so team members can see each other on the map.
Offline Messaging – Send and receive short text messages over the Meshtastic mesh network, independent of internet or cellular networks.
Voice Support – Record and send voice notes.
File Transfers – Share small files or mission data using chunked transmissions across the mesh network.
External GPS Integration – Use Meshtastic device GPS as an external location source for ATAK.
Relay to TAK Servers – Forward CoT (Cursor-on-Target) events to TAK servers if connected, enabling broader situational awareness.

Technical Overview:

The plugin operates by binding to the Meshtastic Android App's IMeshService to send data and intercepting outgoing ATAK Cursor-on-Target (CoT) messages to forward them to the mesh network. It listens for broadcasts from the Meshtastic app on a specific port to receive data.

Requirements

Hardware:
A Meshtastic-compatible device.

Software:
Android ATAK (CivTAK version), the Meshtastic app.

Firmware:
Ensure your Meshtastic device is running the latest firmware.

If you haven't set up your Meshtastic device yet, you can follow our Meshtastic Guide to configure your device, flash the firmware, set names, channels, and encryption keys before connecting it to ATAK.

Plugin Installation

Download ATAK from Play Store
Download the latest release Meshtastic ATAK Plugin APK
Install the plugin APK on to your Android device
Launch ATAK, allow all permissions
ATAK should automatically prompt you to load the plugin. If that doesn't happen, you can manually load it in plugins menu.
Green Meshtastic icon in the bottom right corner indicates the plugin is working.

Meshtastic Configuration

Change device role in the Meshtastic app to TAK. TAK role is optimized for ATAK system communication and it reduces routine broadcasts.

You can access the Meshtastic device roles settings by navigating to: Settings > Device > Role > Change to TAK role

Plugin Settings

Settings Overview

Note: You can access these settings via Menu > Meshtastic Plugin > Gear Icon or by Settings > Tool Preferences > Specific Tool Preferences > Meshtastic Preferences

Mesh Settings

Channel Index – Choose which Meshtastic channel (0–7) to use. Default is 0.
Filter by Channel Index – Only receive messages from the specified channel.
Hop Limit – Define how many times a message can be relayed across the mesh (1–8, default is 3).
Request ACK – Request delivery acknowledgment - do note that this will increase channel usage and you might hit the hourly rate ceiling faster.

PLI and Reporting

Limit PLI Reporting Rate – Reduce PLI frequency to conserve mesh bandwidth
PLI Reporting Interval – How often to send position updates (requires rate limit enabled)
Only Send PLI and Chat – Use optimised protobuf format
Send Read/Delivery Receipts – Send delivery and read receipts for chat messages. Useful if you're not sure if the recipient will receive the packet.

Display Settings

Show Meshtastic Devices – Show every Meshtastic node on the map as a sensor marker.
Hide Devices Without GPS – Filter out nodes that only report coordinates at (0,0).
Hide Local Node – Don't display your own Meshtastic device on the map.

Server Relay

Relay to Server – Send CoT events (except direct messages) from the mesh into connected TAK servers.
Relay from Server – Bring position updates and chat messages from TAK servers back into the mesh.

File Transfer

Enable File Transfer – Allow sending files via Meshtastic (requires Short Turbo preset, max 56 KB). The presets should auto switch when sending larger files. Useful for sending routes for example.

Audio & Voice

Text-to-Speech – Have incoming Meshtastic messages read aloud.
PTT KeyCode – Assign a hardware button to trigger voice memo recording.
PTT Momentary Mode – Hold button to transmit the memo recording, release to stop (disable for latching mode)
Time Out Timer (TOT) – Maximum transmission length. Prevents accidental long transmissions to conserve mesh bandwidth.

GPS Settings

Use Meshtastic GPS – Use the GPS built into your Meshtastic node as ATAK's location source.

Encryption

Enable Extra Encryption – Encrypt all outgoing messages with AES-256-GCM using PSK. PSK has to match across all devices in the mesh network.
Encryption PSK – Set the pre-shared key for encryption (all users must have the same key).

Settings Configuration

Adjust callsign and GPS settings.

P. = Preferences

Menu > Settings > Callsign and Device P. > Device P. > GPS P. > GPS Option > Select Ignore Internal GPS/Use External or Network GPS only or select External or Network GPS/Fallback Internal GPS

Menu > Settings > Callsign and Device P. > Callsign P. > Change your Callsign

Now adjust Meshtastic plugin settings. You can access these settings by navigating to: Settings > Tool P. > Specific Tool P. > Meshtastic P. or Menu > Meshtastic Plugin > Gear Icon

Settings marked with ON/OFF are to let user decide whether or not they should utilise them.

Meshtastic channel index – User dependable. Set on encrypted channel.
Send Read/Delivery Receipts – ON/OFF
Hide Local Node – ON
Enable relay to server – ON/OFF
Enable relay from server – ON/OFF
Use Meshtastic GPS as external GPS – ON/OFF
Enable File Transfer – ON
Use Meshtastic GPS – ON/OFF
Other settings are OFF

These are basic settings that will allow good operational use when getting started.

External GPS Source

Requirements:

Expeditus Systems radio with GNSS module or other Meshtastic device with a built-in GPS.
GPS turned on and properly set up on the device
Position packets enabled in your Meshtastic settings

ATAK setup steps:

In the Meshtastic plugin settings, turn on Use Meshtastic GPS as External GPS
To avoid showing duplicate location markers, switch off Show All Meshtastic Devices

Voice Memo Feature

The Voice Memo tool allows hands-free message transmission:

Open it from Meshtastic Plugin > Voice Memo
Hold the set PTT button to start recording
Let go to automatically turn speech into text and send
On the receiving side, if TTS is active, the message will be played aloud
Works only in English for now, using the Vosk speech recognition engine

Our experience: It can feel somewhat cumbersome to operate; however, it remains a valuable and innovative addition to the plugin.

Technical Details

Architecture Overview

The plugin is built around several core components that manage communication between ATAK and the Meshtastic app:

MeshServiceManager – Maintains the connection and data exchange with the Meshtastic Android application.
CotEventProcessor – Translates data between Cursor-on-Target (CoT) and Meshtastic message formats.
ChunkManager – Handles segmentation of larger payloads for transmission in multiple packets.
NotificationHelper – Provides user notifications during file transfers and related operations.

Data Flow

ATAK CoT events are intercepted by the plugin.
Events are converted into Meshtastic protobuf format.
If data exceeds 236 bytes, it is broken into chunks.
Packets are delivered to the connected Meshtastic device through IMeshService.
Incoming packets from Meshtastic are converted back into CoT format.
The resulting CoT events are dispatched into ATAK's event system.

Supported Message Types

Position Location Information (PLI)
GeoChat messages (both direct and group)
Sensor data reported by Meshtastic nodes
General CoT events (EXI compression)

ATAK Maps

Overview

What is ATAK-Maps?

ATAK-Maps is a collection of XML configuration files formatted for Mobile Atlas Creator (MOBAC). These files serve as connectors to online map sources, enabling the Android Team Awareness Kit (ATAK) to access live geospatial imagery. The project helps users - from military to public safety and emergency response - tap into current mapping data when it matters most. (Note: ATAK-Maps is community-driven and not affiliated with TAK.gov.)

How it Works

The XML files don't contain map data themselves. Instead, they define where ATAK should fetch imagery and how to display it. This approach provides real-time map access while still supporting ATAK's built-in ability to cache data for offline use.

Key Capabilities

Live Map Access – Connects ATAK to multiple online map sources for the most up-to-date imagery.
Offline Support – Download and save maps for use when no internet connection is available.
Flexible Setup – Choose map areas and adjust quality settings to fit your operational needs.

Installing ATAK-Maps

Download the ATAK-Maps.zip package from the Releases page.
Open your file manager and go to the Downloads folder.
Extract the contents of the ZIP file.
Copy the map files (excluding those with grg_ prefix) into the ATAK/imagery directory.
Copy the overlay files (those starting with grg_) into the ATAK/grg directory.
Launch ATAK and confirm the new maps appear under the map list and overlays under the overlay list.

Troubleshooting

Plugin not connecting to Meshtastic:

Ensure the Meshtastic app is running.
Confirm that your Meshtastic device is paired and connected.
Ensure that the plugin is loaded. You can check that in Menu > Plugins > Load
Verify that the plugin has the required permissions.
Reinstall the plugin if the problem persists.

Messages not being received:

Confirm that channel settings are consistent across all devices.
Check that the hop limit is sufficient for your network.
Ensure that nodes are within effective radio range.

GPS not working:

Verify that the Meshtastic device has a valid GPS fix.
Confirm that position packets are enabled in Meshtastic.
Check ATAK GPS settings to ensure external GPS is selected and properly configured.