Heltec Wireless Tracker

ESP32-S3 and SX1262 board with onboard GNSS and a colour TFT. V1.x is rated 21 dBm; V2 is rated 28 dBm. Meshtastic and MeshCore supported.

Specifications
Maker	Heltec Automation
MCU	ESP32-S3FN8
LoRa radio	SX1262
GNSS	UC6580 (GPS, GLONASS, BDS, Galileo, NavIC, QZSS)
Max TX power	V1.0/V1.1: 21 +/-1 dBm; V2: 28 +/-1 dBm
Connectivity	Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5 LE
Screen	0.96 inch 160x80 colour TFT
Battery	SH1.25-2 connector with onboard charger
Vendor price (USD)	$22.90 on heltec.org (read 2026-10-29); no UK price verified

What it is

The Heltec Wireless Tracker combines an ESP32-S3FN8, an SX1262 LoRa radio, a UC6580 satellite-navigation receiver and a 0.96 inch 160x80 colour TFT on one board, with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5 LE and an SH1.25-2 battery connector with a charger.

Two generations are listed:

V1.0 / V1.1: 21 +/-1 dBm maximum. Heltec's product page lists 470-510, 863-870 and 902-928 MHz versions.
V2: 28 +/-1 dBm maximum, 863-870 or 902-928 MHz, with "battery and solar smart power management" per Heltec and Meshtastic.

Who it suits

Best for: a pocket tracker or GPS beacon on ESP32 with a colour screen, running Meshtastic or MeshCore.

Not for: RNode and Reticulum users. The board is not named in the Reticulum manual's hardware list and we found no RNode board definition for it. That means "not listed", not "does not work". Also not for the lowest-power battery use, where an nRF52 tracker such as the T-Echo or SenseCAP T1000-E is the usual pick.

UK 868 MHz notes

Buy an 863-870 MHz (868) version, not 902-928 MHz. We did not capture Heltec's exact SKU wording for the 868 versions, so check the listing. See Buy the right frequency.

The arithmetic (ours): e.r.p. = TX power in dBm + antenna gain in dBi - 2.15 - cable loss.

Version	Conducted TX	Antenna	e.r.p.	25 mW sub-bands	500 mW slot (869.40-869.65 MHz)
V1.x	21 dBm	0 dBi	18.85 dBm = 77 mW	Over	Within
V2	28 dBm	0 dBi	25.85 dBm = 385 mW	Over	Within
V2	28 dBm	2 dBi	27.85 dBm = 610 mW	Over	Over

Limits are from Ofcom IR 2030 v1.16 (published 7 April 2026).

Firmware

Meshtastic: supported (listed for the Wireless Tracker and the V2).
MeshCore: supported (heltec_tracker and heltec_tracker_v2 in the repository; "Heltec Wireless Tracker" and "v2" in the flasher catalog).
RNode / Reticulum: not listed in the Reticulum manual and no board definition found. Status unconfirmed.

Flashing: Flash Meshtastic, Flash MeshCore.

Known quirks

Meshtastic's page notes the USB-C to USB-C charging issue on V1.0 and V1.1; use a USB-A to USB-C cable.
Attach the antenna before power.

Power

No reliable current figure is published for this board that we could find. The Meshtastic forum has a power-configuration thread for the V1 and V1.1 boards, but we did not read it in full and do not quote it. Measure your own node. See Power.

Guides: Flash Meshtastic, Flash MeshCore, Power, Antenna placement
Tools: Link budget calculator, Solar node sizing
Other boards: Heltec WiFi LoRa 32 V3, Heltec WiFi LoRa 32 V4, LILYGO T-Echo
Comparison: Meshtastic vs MeshCore