I’ve tried some of the Heltec devices as well (bought from AliExpress) and they work well too. Lilygo also make some good devices for Meshtastic. I started with a Lilygo T-Beam myself as it came pre-built with everything so just needed a battery:

https://www.lilygo.cc/products/t-beam-meshtastic-us

The thing I like about the RAKwireless stuff is that it is modular so that you can add different sensors, GPS modules etc to suit what you are doing with it, and they also use the Nordic nRF module which seems much more power efficient than the esp32 so great for solar powered nodes.

Reply to this note

Please Login to reply.

Discussion

Pretty good sell point.

Phil, would you possibly recommend one of the prebuilt models for an absolute beginner? This will be my introductory dive into anything radio-related. I learned soldering basics when I was younger (guitar pickups and related electronics were probably the most relevant), but it’s been at least a decade.

I’m wondering whether it makes sense to get one that basically just works, to get familiar with it from that angle, connect it to my phone or computer and start messing around.

Then I could go back, order the parts, build a second one, and experiment with comms over distance, until I find other people somewhere near me that are also involved. What do you think?

And just checking, from link you shared above and the previous link from a couple months ago, am I correct that they’re the same item, just from different sellers and at different stages of assembly?

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001178678568.html

https://www.lilygo.cc/products/t-beam-meshtastic-us

That is basically what I did - ordered the T-Beam initially to have something prebuilt that was easy to get running and the ordered some others afterwards once I had a better idea of what I was doing.

The AliExpress and Lilygo store links are the same device. I ordered the one from AliExpress with the screen already soldered so that it was ready to go and then just bought a battery locally and 3d printed a case for it.

Word, this approach seems to make the most sense to me. Like I want to get my hands dirty but I also know that jumping into the deep end, before learning to swim, doesn’t always train the best athletes lol

Thanks again ser. I’ll report back when I have something I can pick up and use 🤝🙏🫡