Add configurable transmission delay to prevent message collisions

config.ini.example

@@ -50,6 +50,11 @@ rate_limit_seconds = 10
 # Prevents bot from overwhelming the mesh network
 bot_tx_rate_limit_seconds = 1.0
 
+# Transmission delay in milliseconds before sending messages
+# Helps prevent message collisions on the mesh network
+# Recommended: 100-500ms for busy networks, 0 for quiet networks
+tx_delay_ms = 250
+
 # Timezone for bot operations
 # Use standard timezone names (e.g., "America/New_York", "Europe/London", "UTC")
 # Leave empty to use system timezone

modules/command_manager.py

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ Handles all bot commands, keyword matching, and response generation
 
 import re
 import time
+import asyncio
 from typing import List, Dict, Tuple, Optional, Any
 from meshcore import EventType
 
@@ -33,6 +34,12 @@ class CommandManager:
         
         self.logger.info(f"CommandManager initialized with {len(self.commands)} plugins")
     
+    async def _apply_tx_delay(self):
+        """Apply transmission delay to prevent message collisions"""
+        if self.bot.tx_delay_ms > 0:
+            self.logger.debug(f"Applying {self.bot.tx_delay_ms}ms transmission delay")
+            await asyncio.sleep(self.bot.tx_delay_ms / 1000.0)
+    
     def load_keywords(self) -> Dict[str, str]:
         """Load keywords from config"""
         keywords = {}
@@ -176,6 +183,9 @@ class CommandManager:
         # Wait for bot TX rate limiter (prevents network overload)
         await self.bot.bot_tx_rate_limiter.wait_for_tx()
         
+        # Apply transmission delay to prevent message collisions
+        await self._apply_tx_delay()
+        
         try:
             # Find the contact by name (since recipient_id is the contact name)
             contact = self.bot.meshcore.get_contact_by_name(recipient_id)
@@ -231,6 +241,9 @@ class CommandManager:
         # Wait for bot TX rate limiter (prevents network overload)
         await self.bot.bot_tx_rate_limiter.wait_for_tx()
         
+        # Apply transmission delay to prevent message collisions
+        await self._apply_tx_delay()
+        
         try:
             # Get channel number from channel name
             channel_num = self.bot.channel_manager.get_channel_number(channel)

modules/core.py

@@ -64,6 +64,7 @@ class MeshCoreBot:
         self.bot_tx_rate_limiter = BotTxRateLimiter(
             self.config.getfloat('Bot', 'bot_tx_rate_limit_seconds', fallback=1.0)
         )
+        self.tx_delay_ms = self.config.getint('Bot', 'tx_delay_ms', fallback=250)
         self.message_handler = MessageHandler(self)
         self.command_manager = CommandManager(self)
         self.channel_manager = ChannelManager(self)
@@ -148,6 +149,11 @@ rate_limit_seconds = 2
 # Prevents bot from overwhelming the mesh network
 bot_tx_rate_limit_seconds = 1.0
 
+# Transmission delay in milliseconds before sending messages
+# Helps prevent message collisions on the mesh network
+# Recommended: 100-500ms for busy networks, 0 for quiet networks
+tx_delay_ms = 250
+
 # Timezone for bot operations
 # Use standard timezone names (e.g., "America/New_York", "Europe/London", "UTC")
 # Leave empty to use system timezone