Getting Started: Pre-assembled options for jumping into Meshtastic and lora

[emory]

i'm pretty new to Meshtastic, but i love the technology and am going to tinker a bit but i need some devices that will allow me to get started and have a meshtastic environment in use for future projects and neighborhood services.

much of what is available for long-range communications via 915MHz Lora radios are development boards and components you can use to assemble and build other things, and sometimes those made devices end up on Etsy where it's pretty easy to spot some cool gadgets for the lab.

## communicator

something like a blackberry for messaging and using that meshtastic BBS service (omg waaaannt) is made by many people using the Lilygo T-Deck and T-Deck Plus (or is it pro? those are all sold out anyway the regular T-Deck is what people are selling right now.

### components

- lilygo T-Deck https://www.lilygo.cc/products/t-deck

 

### assembled and for sale 

- Lilygo T-Deck w SMA, 915MHz, antenna, a blackberry-esque form-factor https://www.etsy.com/listing/1716914571/lilygo-t-deck-wsma-complete-with 

- T-teck Complete with jumbo 8000mAh battery https://www.etsy.com/listing/1740148840/t-deck-complete-with-8000-mah-battery

- with a helix GPS antenna and different design https://www.etsy.com/listing/1710513412/lorameshtastic-lilygo-t-deck "Anyhow! This is a standard Lilygo T-Deck (915mhz), they will all be shipped out flashed with the latest stable firmware, keyboard colors are either black or black, i install 7M-NEO GPS modules and now I’m using helix external antennas for the GPS, and I’ve come to be very fond of the antennas pictured (20cm) as their SWR is at 1.36 which is good enough for the girls I go out with."

- Spec5 NOMAD is a bit of a dark horse fake-out; a tiny linux computer with a small qwerty thumboard and a lot of CPU - can operate a Lora radio and be flashed i believe a device like this is necessary (or a raspi in my rack i suppose) for that meshtastic BBS system so i want one of these https://www.etsy.com/listing/1773501856/spec5-nomad-lora-radio-linux-arm

 

## nodes

nodes can be little sensors or compact communications devices, some have eink or OLED displays for stats/power/connectivity. the intended use case is a mobile app on your phone you pair the node to your phone or other device, and then you can send messages and telemetry to people. you can have multiple nodes and use them for different contact with different users. at conferences like defcon these are extremely common and considering the nature of meshtastic and it's privacy features i'm surprised i'm not hearing more alarmist coverage about using things like for black markets and contacting your coke dealer or something. lots of variety on the assembled consumer side, here is a short list i haven't used but have in a shopping cart.

### assembled nodes for sale

- heltec v3 meshtastic in a durable shell but the cool part about this one is the strong magnet on it. attach to a vehicle and follow it across town https://www.etsy.com/listing/1718195697/heltec-v3-running-meshtastic-by-ukielab

- dashy pro is similar with a 3000mAh battery https://www.etsy.com/listing/1716029292/dashy-pro-complete-device-running

- another heltec v3 meshtastic variant https://www.etsy.com/listing/1728849681/complete-device-powered-by-meshtastic 

- another one USD $61 https://www.etsy.com/listing/1703350315/heltec-v3-running-meshtastic-lora 

- i just ordered one of these heltec v3s in a pager-style form-factor and i'm super psyched with the pricing too https://www.etsy.com/listing/1766587323/complete-heltec-v3-device-running 

 

## infrastructure

nodes made for outdoor applications or for handling more traffic for larger mesh environments.

 

- solar 'repeater' for your yard USD $90 https://www.etsy.com/listing/1776350396/micro-meshtastic-solar-node-rak-wisblock?frs=1

 

***

Anything else that is ready to use and suitable for getting started that you've found? I'd love to see it before I start ordering! 

 

 

Edited September 22 by emory
added the WSSAT pager device i just odered