Hardware FAQ Which board should I buy as a beginner? Short answer: Heltec WiFi LoRa 32 V3 or T-Beam Supreme For most beginners in North America, either of these is an excellent first choice: Board Price (approx) Best for Notes Heltec WiFi LoRa 32 V3 $18-25 Lowest cost, quick start Small OLED display built-in; ESP32-S3; USB-C charging; no GPS LilyGO T-Beam Supreme $35-45 All-in-one handheld Integrated GPS; large battery connector; OLED display; good antenna connector RAK WisBlock Starter Kit $40-55 Best battery life nRF52840-based; excellent for portable use; modular expansion T-Echo $55-65 Best handheld device E-ink display; GPS; nRF52840; weeks of battery; premium feel What to Avoid as a Beginner 868 MHz boards - Common on AliExpress. Check the listing carefully for "915 MHz" or "US version." 868 MHz hardware will not work on North American mesh networks. No-name ESP32 LoRa clones - Very cheap boards with no external antenna connector. The PCB trace antenna provides poor range. Pay the extra $5 for a board with an SMA connector. LoRaWAN gateways - These are different from LoRa mesh nodes and will not run Meshtastic or MeshCore. Check for "Meshtastic compatible" in the listing. Where to Buy Reliably Amazon - Faster shipping; check seller carefully; returns are easy. Official distributors - Rokland (US), Heltec official store (AliExpress), LilyGO official store (AliExpress). Ships from source but slower delivery from China. Local ham radio events and swaps - Other operators often sell tested hardware at reasonable prices. Do I Need to Buy an Antenna? The stock rubber duck antenna included with most boards is functional but not optimal. For a handheld or portable device, the included antenna is fine. For a fixed repeater or rooftop node, upgrading to a fiberglass vertical (5-6 dBi) on a short coax run provides significantly better performance. See the Antennas & RF book for details. Why isn't my GPS getting a fix? GPS fix time expectations Getting a GPS fix takes time - particularly on a cold start (first power-on or after being stored). Under normal outdoor conditions: Condition Expected fix time Cold start, outdoors, clear sky 30 seconds - 5 minutes Warm start (powered recently) 5-15 seconds Indoors, near window 2-10 minutes (often fails entirely) Indoors, no window Will not get a fix Common Causes of No GPS Fix Indoors GPS signals are extremely weak (-130 dBm from satellites). They cannot penetrate buildings, concrete, or metal. Take the device outdoors with a clear view of the sky. Antenna not connected or loose Boards with a U.FL GPS antenna connector (T-Beam, some RAK boards) have a small snap-fit U.FL connector between the GPS module and the antenna. This connector can come loose in shipping. Open the case and verify the connector is fully seated - it should click into place. GPS module disabled in firmware If you (or a previous configuration) disabled GPS to save power, the module will not attempt to acquire satellites: meshtastic --set position.gps_mode ENABLED In the app: Radio Config → Position → GPS Mode → set to Enabled. Power brownout If the GPS module is not receiving adequate voltage (often seen when running from a nearly depleted battery), it may fail to initialize. Try with a freshly charged battery or USB power. AGPS data expired Some boards support AGPS (Assisted GPS), which provides almanac data to speed up acquisition. If the AGPS data is stale (more than 2 weeks old), fix time increases significantly. Re-upload AGPS data via the app when connected to the internet. Testing GPS Without Going Outside Place the device on an outdoor windowsill with the GPS antenna facing up toward the sky. This is the minimum viable indoor setup for GPS - results vary significantly by window direction and whether metal frames or low-E glass are present. T-Beam GPS Note The T-Beam uses a Quectel L76K or NEO-6M GPS module. The NEO-6M found in older T-Beam versions has been discontinued; Quectel L76K in newer units is generally faster to acquire. The GPS is connected to the ESP32 via UART2 - if you see GPS-related errors in the serial console, check that the GPS power is enabled (some T-Beam versions have a GPS power pin that must be asserted). Can I use my node inside my house or vehicle? Short Answer Yes, with significant range reduction. Interior use is practical for connecting to a nearby outdoor repeater or for testing. It's not suitable as a repeater location. What Signal Loss to Expect Location Typical Signal Loss Notes Near a window, wood frame house 3-6 dB Manageable; equivalent to halving your range Interior room, wood frame 6-15 dB Significant; may still reach nearby repeaters Concrete/brick building 10-25 dB Severe; may not reach anything without a nearby repeater Metal building, basement 20-40+ dB Effectively unusable for mesh Vehicle (windshield path) 3-8 dB Acceptable for personal use; mount near windshield Vehicle (metal roof path) 20-30 dB Much worse; magnetic mount external antenna required Improving Indoor Performance Windowsill placement - Even 6 inches from a window vs deep in a room makes a measurable difference. Place the node as close to a window facing the direction of the nearest repeater as possible. External antenna on a cable - Many setups run the node indoors with a short coax to a small external antenna mounted outside or near a window. 3-5 meters of low-loss coax costs under 1 dB of loss and puts the antenna in a dramatically better RF environment. Higher floor - Upper floors have less obstruction from building materials and more line-of-sight above street-level clutter. A third-floor window is significantly better than a ground-floor window. Vehicle Use A node placed on the dashboard or near the windshield can typically receive and send to nearby repeaters. For best vehicle performance: Mount near the windshield on the upper dash, antenna pointing up For dedicated vehicle installations, use a magnetic mount external antenna on the roof (NMO or SMA-compatible magnetic mounts are available for 915 MHz) Power from the 12V accessory port via a USB adapter