| Public | everyday chat for people (holiday greetings only from the bot) |
| #ackrequest | post anything; the bot replies with your hop count |
| #test | send Test / ACK / ACK Request for hops and path |
| #bot | general commands: time, sun, moon, dice, weather, air quality, pollen, lake |
| #weather | forecast for any ZIP, NWS alerts, air quality, pollen |
| #sports | live score for a team |
| #notices | copies hazard posts from other channels |
| #watchduty | AMBER Alerts, word for word |
| #quake | earthquakes M3+ near Fort Worth / Texas |
| #bot-ercot | Texas power grid status |
| #oncorcheck | Oncor outage check by ZIP |
| #dfwpower | power outages and report numbers by electric company |
| #aviation | airport weather and FAA delays |
| #river | North Texas river gauges and lake levels |
| #burnban | Texas burn bans and drought index |
| #ham | ham radio tools |
| #meshinfo | what this mesh has heard |
| #dfwtraffic | Dallas + Arlington police-reported crashes and blockages |
| #txdot | TxDOT road closures (switched on, waiting for a key) |
| #meshtools | line of sight, distance, elevation, airtime |
| #storm | severe-weather outlook and storm reports |
| #wildfire | fire weather, Red Flag warnings, fires near you |
| #space | launches, space station, space weather, meteors |
| #prepare | emergency and safety cards |
| #meshhelp | newcomer guide to MeshCore |
| #dadjokes | dad jokes (one posted every 2-6 hours) |
| #logic-bot | finds the logic in a one-line statement; logic puzzles |
| #net | weekly check-in net -- SWITCHED OFF |
| Channel | Public |
| Usage | Everyday chat for people. The bot does not answer commands here; its commands live in the other channels. It only posts holiday greetings. |
| Commands | (none) |
| Help | send !help in #bot instead |
| Posts by itself | holiday greetings only |
| Channel | #ackrequest |
| Usage | Post any message and the bot replies with your hop count and the time. Test, ACK or ACK Request get the full reply: where the bot is, your hops and the path. |
| Commands |
|
| Help | !help - what the channel does |
| Posts by itself | Replies only to commands |
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#test [ON]
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Send Test, ACK or ACK Request and the bot replies with where it is, your hop count and the path
your message took.
Commands:
Test / ACK / ACK Request - the reply described above
!help - what the channel does
Help: !help.
Note: replies are limited to one per person every 20 seconds.
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#bot [ON]
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The general command channel: quick utilities, plus weather, air quality, pollen and lake levels.
Commands:
!ping - your hop count
!time - the time
!sun - sunrise and sunset
!moon - moon phase
!roll [2d6] - roll dice
!8ball <question> - magic 8-ball
!aqi [zip] - air quality (with pollen)
!pollen [zip] - pollen
!lake [name] - one lake's level
!lakes - the main lakes
!weather [zip] - forecast
!alerts - weather alerts in effect
!channels - the channel list and what each is for
Help: !help lists the commands.
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#weather [ON]
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National Weather Service forecasts for any ZIP, plus air quality, pollen and lake levels. Posts
NWS alerts for the Fort Worth area and a daily forecast.
Commands:
a 5-digit ZIP - forecast for that ZIP
!weather [zip] - forecast
!alerts - alerts in effect now
!aqi [zip] - air quality
!pollen [zip] - pollen
!lake [name] - one lake's level
!lakes - the main lakes
Help: !help.
Posts by itself: NWS alerts (Moderate or worse) as they are issued, and a daily forecast at 7:00
AM.
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#sports [ON]
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Live score or the most recent final for a team: NFL, MLB, NBA, WNBA, NHL and the top soccer
leagues.
Commands:
a team name - for example Cowboys, Dallas or Dallas Cowboys
!score <team> - the same thing
Help: !help.
ALERTS AND WARNINGS
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#notices [ON]
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Copies posts from other channels that contain a watch word (emergency, auto accident, severe
weather, dangerous conditions, snow, ice, hail) so they are all in one place. It also gets a
one-line pointer when Oncor reports a large outage.
Commands:
(none)
Help: !help shows the watch words.
Posts by itself: repeats matching posts from other channels.
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#watchduty [ON]
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Official AMBER Alerts for the DFW counties, word for word, in numbered messages (1/3, 2/3 ...).
Please keep chat out so alerts stay easy to find. Blue Alerts need the FEMA IPAWS feed, which is
off.
Commands:
(none)
Help: !help. Emergency? Call 911.
Posts by itself: AMBER Alerts (via the National Weather Service).
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#quake [ON]
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Earthquakes of magnitude 3 and up from the USGS.
Commands:
!quake - latest within 250 miles of Fort Worth
!quakes - the last 5
!texas - latest in Texas
!world - strongest in the last 24 hours
Help: !help.
Posts by itself: new nearby earthquakes only (within about 250 miles of Fort Worth, or M4+
anywhere in Texas).
POWER
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#bot-ercot [ON]
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Texas power grid from ERCOT: reserves and grid condition, and the fuel mix.
Commands:
!grid - grid reserves and condition
!fuel - the power mix
Help: !help.
Posts by itself: ERCOT's own wording, only when the grid condition changes.
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#oncorcheck [ON]
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Tells you whether Oncor reports a power outage in your ZIP: customers affected and the estimated
restoration time. Gives Oncor's report line (888-313-4747, or text OUT to 66267).
Commands:
a ZIP, for example 76107 - outage check for that ZIP (each ZIP once per 10 minutes)
!active - outages now
!affected - customers out
!updated - when the data was updated
Help: !help.
Posts by itself: only for a new large outage (5,000+ customers system-wide or 500+ in one ZIP),
at most one per ZIP per hour.
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#dfwpower [ON]
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Power-outage help for the electric companies serving Dallas/Fort Worth: live outage data where the
company publishes it, otherwise the phone number, text number and map for reporting and watching
an outage. Also power-safety cards.
Commands:
!<company> <request> - for example !oncor outage 76107. Requests: outage [ZIP], etr [ZIP],
report, map, info (not every company supports every request)
Live data - !oncor !tnmp !coserv !gcec !dme !gpl
Report / map / info only - !tcec !united !wise !tvec !weatherford !atmos
!outage <ZIP> - asks every company at once
!grid - ERCOT grid status
!power safety|food|generator|medical|gas|211|who - power-safety cards
Also accepted: company names Oncor (!oncor, !oncore), TNMP (!tnmp, !txnmp), CoServ (!coserv,
!coserve), Grayson-Collin (!gcec, !grayson, !graysoncollin), Denton DME (!dme, !denton),
Garland GP&L (!gpl, !garland), Tri-County EC (!tcec, !tricounty), United Co-op (!united,
!ucs), Wise EC (!wise, !wiseec), TVEC (!tvec), Weatherford Electric (!weatherford, !wel),
Atmos Energy gas (!atmos, !gas); !outages = !outage; !tips = !power; !ercot = !grid.
Help: !help, and !help <company> for one company.
TRAVEL, WATER, WEATHER AND INFORMATION TOOLS
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#aviation [ON]
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Airport weather and FAA delays. With no airport code it uses KNFW (NAS JRB Fort Worth).
Commands:
!metar [KDFW] - weather now
!taf [KDFW] - forecast
!raw [KDFW] - raw METAR
!delays [DFW] - FAA delays
a code like KDFW - just send it, no command needed
Also accepted: !wx = !metar; !faa = !delays.
Help: !help.
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#river [ON]
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North Texas river levels from National Weather Service gauges, and whether any gauge is in flood.
Also lake levels.
Commands:
!river - the key gauges
!river <name or id> - one gauge, for example !river FWOT2
!rivers - the gauge list
!flood - any gauge in flood
!lake [name], !lakes - lake levels (same answer as #weather and #bot)
Help: !help.
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#burnban [ON]
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Texas county burn bans and the drought index, from the Texas A&M Forest Service. The default
county is Tarrant.
Commands:
!burnban [county] - ban status
!burnbans - DFW-area counties
!drought [county] - dryness index
Also accepted: !ban = !burnban; !bans = !burnbans; !kbdi = !drought.
Help: !help.
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#ham [ON]
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Ham radio tools: license lookup, grid square, solar and HF conditions, space weather (Kp), the
radio-frequency cheat sheet, phonetic alphabet, Q-codes and UTC.
Commands:
!call <callsign> - license lookup
!grid [ZIP] - grid square
!solar - solar and HF conditions
!kp - space weather (same answer as #space)
!freq - radio frequency cheat sheet (same card as #prepare)
!phonetic <text> - phonetic alphabet
!q <code> - Q-code meaning
!utc - UTC time
Also accepted: !frequencies = !freq.
Help: !help.
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#meshinfo [ON]
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What this bot's radio has heard on the mesh: nodes, repeaters, when a node was last heard, the
busiest channels, and the bot's own status.
Commands:
!nodes - nodes heard
!repeaters - repeaters heard
!lastheard <name> - when a node was last heard
!busy - messages per channel
!uptime - bot and radio status
Also accepted: !heard = !nodes; !reps = !repeaters; !seen = !lastheard.
Help: !help.
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#dfwtraffic [ON]
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Police-reported crashes and blockages in Dallas and Arlington, from the two cities' open
police-call data. It does NOT cover Fort Worth, Plano or Irving, and has no construction. For
closures see drivetexas.org.
Commands:
!traffic - all current calls
!crash - crashes
!blocked - blockages
!hwy <road> - one road, for example !hwy 635
a road like I-30 - just send it
Also accepted: !crashes = !crash; !road = !hwy.
Help: !help. Emergency? 911.
==================================================================================================
#txdot [ON, but no data yet]
==================================================================================================
TxDOT road closures and work zones around DFW (DriveTexas data). The channel is switched on, but
the bot has no TxDOT API key yet, so every data command answers "TxDOT data is not set up on this
bot yet (no API key). Ask the bot owner." Only !help works fully. It starts answering with real
data once a key is put in bot_secrets.py and the bot is restarted.
Commands:
!closures - road and lane closures
!full - full road closures only
!hwy <road> - one road, for example !hwy 635
!near <ZIP> - closures near a ZIP
!work - everything TxDOT lists: closures and work zones
Also accepted: !closed = !closures; !road = !hwy.
Help: !help.
NEWER REQUEST-ONLY CHANNELS (added October 25)
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#meshtools [ON]
==================================================================================================
Radio-planning calculators for the mesh: line of sight, distance, elevation, horizon, path loss,
airtime and unit conversion. Terrain only: trees and buildings are not counted.
Commands:
!los <A> to <B> [@30/60 ft] - line of sight between two places, with optional antenna heights
!dist <A> to <B> - distance
!elev <place> - elevation
!horizon <ft> - how far an antenna of that height sees (radio horizon); give two heights for a
link
!fspl <miles> [MHz] - free-space path loss
!airtime <bytes> - LoRa airtime for a message size
!conv 5 mi km - unit conversion
Also accepted: !distance = !dist; !elevation = !elev.
Help: !help.
Note: a place is a ZIP, lat,lon, a grid square (EM12) or the name of a node the bot has heard.
One place alone is measured from this radio.
==================================================================================================
#storm [ON]
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Severe weather: the Storm Prediction Center outlook, storm reports, forecaster notes, SKYWARN
status and current warnings. From NOAA SPC and the NWS.
Commands:
!storm - snapshot
!outlook [ZIP] - SPC risk for a ZIP
!lsr [hail|wind|tornado|flood] - storm reports
!afd - forecaster discussion
!spotters - SKYWARN status
!alerts - warnings in effect now (same answer as #weather)
Also accepted: !spc = !outlook; !reports = !lsr; !discussion = !afd; !skywarn = !spotters;
!warnings = !alerts.
Help: !help.
Note: tornado warning? Take shelter first, ask the bot later. 911 for emergencies.
==================================================================================================
#wildfire [ON]
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Fire weather, Red Flag warnings and wildfires near you (NOAA, NWS, NIFC). The national fire list
is thin for Texas and the replies say so.
Commands:
!fire [ZIP] - fire weather + Red Flag + the nearest fire
!fires [ZIP] - wildfires within 150 miles
!fires rx - prescribed burns
!redflag - Red Flag warnings
!aqi [ZIP] - smoke and air quality (same answer as #weather)
!burnban [county], !burnbans - same answer as #burnban
Also accepted: !rfw = !redflag; !smoke = !aqi.
Help: !help.
Note: see flames or smoke? Call 911.
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#space [ON]
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Rocket launches (including Texas / Starbase), the space station, space weather and HF blackouts,
and the next meteor shower.
Commands:
!launch [texas|spacex] - next launches
!iss [ZIP] - the space station
!kp - space weather and HF blackouts
!meteor - next meteor shower
!sun, !moon - same answers as #bot
!space - summary
Also accepted: !launches, !starbase = !launch; !sw, !solar, !aurora, !spaceweather = !kp;
!meteors, !showers = !meteor.
Help: !help.
Note: launch times slip: check the launch provider before driving to watch.
==================================================================================================
#prepare [ON]
==================================================================================================
Short emergency and safety cards (Ready.gov, NWS, CDC) and a radio frequency cheat sheet. Fixed
text, not training. In an emergency call 911.
Commands:
!kit - emergency kit
!tornado - tornado safety
!flood - flood safety
!heat - heat safety
!freeze - freeze / cold safety
!co - carbon monoxide
!outage - what to do in a power outage
!evac - evacuation
!comms - keeping in touch when voice calls fail
!aid - first aid reminders
!numbers - numbers to know (911, 988, 211, 811 ...)
!freq - radio frequencies
Also accepted: !supplies = !kit; !twister = !tornado; !cold, !winter = !freeze; !monoxide =
!co; !evacuate = !evac; !firstaid = !aid; !phone, !phones, !who = !numbers;
!frequency, !frequencies, !radio = !freq.
Help: !help.
==================================================================================================
#meshhelp [ON]
==================================================================================================
A newcomer's guide to MeshCore: roles, adverts, channels, range, repeaters, etiquette, hops and a
glossary. Fixed text; your local mesh may differ.
Commands:
!start - where to begin
!roles - node roles
!advert - what an advert is
!channels - points you to the full channel list (!channels in #bot)
!range - how far it reaches
!repeater - repeaters
!etiquette - good manners on the mesh
!hops - what hops are
!words - glossary
Also accepted: !begin, !new = !start; !join = !channels; !glossary, !dictionary, !define =
!words; !rules, !manners = !etiquette; !distance = !range; !advice = !repeater.
Help: !help.
FUN (ADDED OCTOBER 27)
==================================================================================================
#dadjokes [ON]
==================================================================================================
Dad jokes. The bot posts a random one by itself every 2 to 6 hours, tells one on request, and
laughs, groans or compliments a joke someone sends in. It ignores every other message. Clean jokes
only: a joke with a rude word gets "keep it clean".
Commands:
!joke - the bot tells a dad joke
!joke <your joke> - the bot reacts to yours, for example !joke What do you call a fake noodle?
An impasta.
Also accepted: !jokes, !dadjoke = !joke.
Help: !help.
Posts by itself: one random dad joke every 2 to 6 hours (the wait is new and random each time).
==================================================================================================
#logic-bot [ON]
==================================================================================================
Finds the logic in a one-line statement and sets you one-line puzzles. It uses fixed logic rules,
not AI: it handles if/then, either/or, all/some/no, who-is-taller, knights and knaves, number
patterns, arithmetic, classic brain-teasers and named fallacies. It cannot check facts or read
free-form English, and says so. Paradoxes, tricks and orders such as "ignore your instructions"
get a short fixed answer.
Commands:
!logic <statement> - the bot looks for the logic, for example !logic If it rains the ground
gets wet. It rains. Is the ground wet?
!logic - (nothing after it) the bot gives YOU a one-line puzzle
!answer <text> - the bot says whether your text is right for ITS puzzle (two tries, a hint
after the first miss, then it shows the answer; !answer give up shows it at once)
!correct (or !right) - tell the bot its last answer was right
!wrong - tell the bot its last answer was wrong
!correct_answer <text> - tell the bot the right answer; it compares yours with its own and
reacts
Also accepted: !incorrect = !wrong; !correctanswer, !correct-answer = !correct_answer.
Help: !help, !help examples, !help <command>.
Note: ratings and corrections are saved for the owner to read; the bot does not learn from them.
Note: it remembers each person's last statement and puzzle for 24 hours.
SWITCHED OFF
==================================================================================================
#net [OFF]
==================================================================================================
Weekly mesh check-in net (Sunday 7:00 PM, 30 minutes) and event reminders. It is off, so the
channel is not on the radio and these commands do not exist until it is switched on (ENABLE_NET =
True in bot_settings.py, then restart the bot).
Commands:
!checkin [note] - check in while the net is open
!roster - who has checked in
!net - information about the net
!events - upcoming events
Help: !help.
Posts by itself: when on: a net start reminder, and event reminders 24 hours and 1 hour ahead.