Hardware buyer's guide

Overview

A LoRa mesh node is a small board with a microcontroller, a sub-GHz radio, an antenna and usually a USB port. Many boards run more than one of Meshtastic, MeshCore and RNode (Reticulum) firmware, but support differs board by board, so check the firmware you want before you buy. This guide covers what to look for, compares the common boards, and explains the UK power limit that catches out people who buy a high-power board.

For the choice between networks see Which mesh is right for you. If you only want to look around first, Zero-hardware start needs nothing at all.

Buy the right frequency

In the UK, LoRa mesh radios use the 868 MHz short-range-device band (Meshtastic region EU_868). 915 MHz is the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand band and is the wrong choice here.

Some listings say "863-928 MHz". That is the hardware tuning range of the radio, not a legal UK band. Heltec sells variants labelled 470-510, 863-928 and 902-928 MHz. For the UK, buy the 868 MHz (863-870) variant. Boards labelled 863-928 MHz cover the UK band too, but you must set the EU_868 region in firmware. Avoid the 915-only and 470-510 versions. The region you configure in firmware decides which frequencies the radio actually uses.

Sub-band (MHz)	Max power	Access rule
868.0-868.6	25 mW e.r.p.	LBT/AFA, or 1% duty cycle
868.7-869.2	25 mW e.r.p.	0.1% duty cycle (or equivalent)
869.30-869.40	10 mW e.r.p.	25 kHz channel, 10% duty cycle
869.40-869.65	500 mW e.r.p.	LBT/AFA, or 10% duty cycle
869.7-870	25 mW e.r.p.	LBT/AFA, or 1% duty cycle

Source: Ofcom IR 2030 v1.15, non-specific short-range devices. Meshtastic's UK entry is EU_868 (869.4-869.65 MHz, 10% duty cycle), and Meshtastic's docs cite Ofcom IR 2030 for it.

Transmit power and antenna gain

500 mW e.r.p. is about 27 dBm e.r.p., or about 29.1 dBm e.i.r.p. The e.r.p. figure includes antenna gain, so a high-power radio feeding a gain antenna can break the limit.

Comparison table

"Power class" is qualitative. Forum snippets suggest ESP32-S3 boards idle at roughly three times the current of nRF52 boards, but we have not verified measured figures, so none are given here. "Not confirmed" means the research behind this page did not establish it, not that the answer is no.

Board	MCU / radio	Power class	Battery	GPS	Meshtastic	MeshCore	RNode
Heltec WiFi LoRa 32 V3	ESP32-S3FN8, SX1262	Higher (ESP32)	SH1.25-2 connector	Not confirmed	Yes	Yes (search snippet)	Yes
Heltec WiFi LoRa 32 V4	ESP32-S3R2, SX1262, 28 dBm	Higher (ESP32)	SH1.25-2, plus solar port	External GNSS port	Yes	Not individually confirmed	Yes
LILYGO T-Beam Supreme	ESP32-S3, SX1262	Higher (ESP32)	18650 holder	Yes (NEO-M10S or L76K)	Yes	Yes	Yes
LILYGO T-Beam v1.1/1.2	ESP32, SX1276 or SX1262	Higher (ESP32)	18650 holder	Not re-checked	Not re-checked	Yes	v1.1 yes
LILYGO T-Deck / T-Deck Plus	ESP32-S3, SX1262	Higher (ESP32)	Plus has 2000 mAh	Not confirmed	Yes	Yes	Listed; display disabled in RNode firmware
RAK WisBlock RAK4631	nRF52840, SX1262	Lower (nRF52)	Depends on base board	Not confirmed	Yes	Yes	Yes
Heltec Mesh Node T114	nRF52840, SX1262	Lower (nRF52)	Not confirmed	Not confirmed	Family listed	Yes (search snippet)	Yes
Seeed SenseCAP T1000-E	nRF52840, LR1110	Lower (nRF52)	Not confirmed	Yes	Yes	Yes (search snippet)	Not in supported list

Notes on the table:

Heltec V3 vs V4. V4 adds a solar port and an 8-pin GNSS port, and uses native ESP32-S3 USB. The V3 doesn't need an SD card: firmware and settings live in its onboard flash. Meshtastic's firmware file naming is per board, for example firmware-heltec-v4-..., so pick the right one. A "V4.3" kit appears in one retailer listing; we have not confirmed what changed.
T-Beam Supreme. The 18650 holder takes unprotected flat-top cells. Protected or button-top cells longer than 65 mm do not fit.
T-Deck. A standalone messenger with screen and keyboard, so no phone is needed. Ratspeak (see Clients and apps) targets the T-Deck Plus.
T1000-E. It uses an LR1110 radio rather than SX1262, and it is absent from the Reticulum manual's RNode list (reason not established). Check firmware support before buying.
MeshCore support for RAK4631, Heltec V3, T114 and T1000-E comes from search snippets; the official flasher at flasher.meshcore.io is the authoritative list.

Your first board

For most people the Heltec V3 or V4 is the straightforward choice: cheap, widely supported, and it has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Heltec lists the V3 at $17.90-$19.90 USD. LocalMesh, a UK MeshCore group, says entry-level devices start around £40 in the UK (another of its pages says Heltec V3-class boards from around £25). Treat these as indicative, not quotes: we did not find a verified UK retailer price in GBP.

What you need to start:

The board (868 MHz variant).
An 868 MHz antenna. Boards often ship with one; if you buy a separate antenna, check it is tuned for 868 MHz, not 915 MHz (some popular listed antennas are 915 MHz parts).
A USB-C cable that carries data. Many cables are charge-only.
A laptop with Chrome or Edge, or a phone.

No SD card is required for a basic Heltec setup. You can start with just the cable and a laptop to flash and configure the board; to send messages you then use a phone over Bluetooth or the web client over USB.

Driver note: the Heltec V3 has a CP2102 USB-serial chip, so some computers need a driver (Meshtastic names CP210x and CH340 drivers). The V4 dropped the CP2102 and uses native USB, so that advice applies to the V3 and older boards. nRF52 boards use a UF2 bootloader and need no serial drivers.

Power and battery

ESP32 boards suit mains or USB power. nRF52 boards (RAK4631, T114, T1000-E) draw less and suit battery or solar repeaters, but have no Wi-Fi. One practical trap: power banks switch off when the load is too low. Zak Kemble measured cut-off thresholds of 100 mA, 30 mA and 10 mA on three banks. An efficient node on a bank may therefore be switched off; use a bank with a low-current mode or a keep-alive module. Check battery connector polarity before plugging in, as it varies between vendors. See Power for more.

Indoors and at a window

Height and clear line of sight matter more than most specifications. Meshtastic's antenna guidance says a tuned quarter-wave stubby antenna (under 10 cm) should manage a couple of kilometres without significant obstacles. A node by a window usually does better than one in the middle of a room. Metallised coatings on glass attenuate more than clear glass, but we have no measured 868 MHz figure for low-E glazing. Details are in Antenna placement.

What next

Flash the board: Flash Meshtastic, Flash MeshCore or RNode and Reticulum setup.
Pick an app: Clients and apps.
See who is already nearby: Find a local mesh.
Wi-Fi meshes use ordinary routers instead of LoRa boards; see Join a community Wi-Fi mesh and LoRa vs Wi-Fi mesh.