you need to fund your bitcoin wallet on the node to open a channel. you don't need a channel to fund your node bitcoin wallet...it is like a regular bitcoin wallet transfer to node wallet. then open a channel with the funds on the node wallet. viola! yw
Alright….I need some help. I haven’t had enough Scotch for this and I am losing it!
I am trying for the dear love of Satoshi to open some Lightning channels, but you can’t open one without funding it, you can’t fund it without open a channel, you cant open a channel without having at least one channel open, see step 2, then see step 3 again, then fall down the stairs and break your neck and just go spend fiat the rest of your life…..HELP!!!!
nostr:npub1aeh2zw4elewy5682lxc6xnlqzjnxksq303gwu2npfaxd49vmde6qcq4nwx was trying to open a #nodestrich channel, but it says I need one channel first. Any thoughts?
Discussion
I’ve got 500k sats on my BTC wallet…how do I fun the lightning node though?
https://plebnet.wiki/wiki/Opening_channels
Great source and group.
Thanks, seems easy….until I try it. Just not my night. Time for bed I guess.
It’s probably easier if you ask your question in the #nodestrich TG where you can get some 1:1 assistance.
nostr:npub1pslg9txv2jz62zadkt247vqxgmsy5fxn3rwzua7rkxxdkgsqg26sav7haf What’s your node ID?
02cfb5ba68f510b3b29b8d2e179ef9ab0e2e5f3601ca60eb9e20e5319aeeeece68@bmmf3zkzuxwgtt6zyywa4levwh6j5qbzzdfkrhr6j5mudtqnjisvbrqd.onion:9735
Okay, I just added you as a peer. You can find my node ID (Tor address) here and try opening a channel. It will have to be less than the total amount in your on-chain wallet to leave sats available for channel opening and closing fees. This is a good time to open since mempool fees are low. Make sure you manually set the fee rate to avoid overpaying.
https://amboss.space/node/022ea68ac7588959a6a4829a5ff176c296329d614b90b3f5f4456b5d6130ea50f6
Ok, it looks like it’s opening for 100k sats, so let’s see what happens. Happy to increase that to sizable channel once I figure out what is going on with my node. Appreciate it brother! 🤙
👏🏻
Awesome! Good first start. I see the channel. 🙌
You should probably also connect to @lightningwatch on Telegram, it’s a bot that keeps an eye on your node and alerts you of downtime. It was created by #nostr user nostr:npub10rrv9ky5fwzf4s8cylqe2pn5jpxlslxy7svkmskjw5ks5yw67x5qvz4zhg also in the #nodestrich group. 
So dumb question…I entered 100k and I see the capacity as 100k, but why is the remote balance less? Do I need to account for the fee/channel open-close when calculating the liquidity I want?
The capacity is the initial channel size but it also has to leave a reserve on both sides to cover closing fees. The good news is, we’re already routing! Make sure to set a node name so it isn’t just your pubkey. 
