Board Comparison¶

This page is meant to help you choose a board, not just list every technical detail.

If you only want a quick answer:

• for a roof-mounted or set-and-forget MQTT repeater, start with heltec_v4, heltec_v4_tft, Station_G2, or T_Beam_S3_Supreme_SX1262
• for an app-first Wi-Fi companion, headless boards are fine and often simpler
• if you want an onboard screen people will actually use, prefer TFT boards
• if you want a low-power status screen, prefer e-paper boards

The tables below are built from the repo's PlatformIO board metadata and variant build flags.

• Target is the short board name used in this comparison page. Release filenames and local build commands still use the full env names such as heltec_v4_repeater_mqtt.
• MCU shows the chip family only. Actual runtime clock can vary by env and board configuration.
• RAM is the MCU's built-in RAM.
• PSRAM is extra memory on some boards. More PSRAM usually means more headroom for UI, MQTT, and future features.
• GPS uses ✅ when present and is blank when absent.
• SD uses ✅ when the board is currently known to support the SD-backed archive path in EastMesh, 🧪 when the hardware likely supports TF/microSD but the board-specific integration still needs validation, and is blank when there is no current SD/archive support note.

Start Here¶

• Pick an ESP32-S3 board with 16MB flash and PSRAM if you want strong overall headroom for MQTT plus UI: heltec_v4_tft, heltec_v4, Station_G2, LilyGo_TBeam_1W.
• Pick a TFT board if this will be used as a human-facing companion or field node: heltec_v4_tft, heltec_tracker_v2, LilyGo_TDeck, Heltec_T190.
• Pick e-paper if you want a status screen with lower idle draw and less frequent refresh: Heltec_E213, Heltec_E290, Heltec_Wireless_Paper, ThinkNode_M5.
• Pick a headless board if this is mainly a fixed MQTT gateway and screen space is not useful: RAK_3112, Generic_E22, Meshimi, Xiao_C6.
• Pick a headless Wi-Fi companion if the phone app will be the primary UI anyway: RAK_3112_companion_radio_wifi, Xiao_S3_WIO_companion_radio_wifi, Station_G2_companion_radio_wifi.
• Pick a GPS-capable board if location-aware/mobile use matters: the T-Beam family, heltec_tracker_v2, Heltec_v3, heltec_v4, Station_G2, ThinkNode_M5.
• If you want the most conservative, older radio family choices, the SX1276 boards are LilyGo_TLora_V2_1_1_6, Tbeam_SX1276, and Heltec_v2.

Additional Signals¶

If you are deciding between otherwise similar boards, these target-level settings often matter more than flash alone.

• CPU cfg is the runtime clock MeshCore sets for that target. default means MeshCore does not override the board's default clock.
• TX cfg is MeshCore's configured LORA_TX_POWER, not guaranteed antenna output. Boards with a PA or RF front-end may radiate much more than the configured value suggests.
• Power is how the target exposes power in the repo: ADC batt, PMU, custom 2S, fixed/ext, or none.
• Extras lists notable RF or peripheral extras exposed by the target, such as PA/FEM, RF switch, BME280, NeoPixel, or ext ant.

* These targets use a PA or RF front-end, so effective output can be much higher than the configured LORA_TX_POWER.

repeater_mqtt Boards¶

This table includes all repeater MQTT targets currently defined in variants/eastmesh_mqtt/platformio.ini.

SD notes:

• ✅ means the board is currently known to work with the SD-backed archive path in EastMesh.
• 🧪 means the board hardware likely supports TF/microSD, but the EastMesh board-specific integration still needs validation before it should be treated as supported.
• For the current stats archive, a 4 GB FAT32 microSD card is more than sufficient. Larger cards are also supported.

companion_radio_wifi Boards With A Display¶

These are the Wi-Fi companion targets that have a display configured for local status, setup help, or occasional direct interaction.

companion_radio_wifi Headless Boards¶

These are the Wi-Fi companion targets that rely on the companion app as the primary interface. For many users, this is the best everyday option.

Practical Picks¶

• Best all-round MQTT repeater with screen and overall headroom: heltec_v4_repeater_mqtt, heltec_v4_tft_repeater_mqtt, Station_G2_repeater_mqtt, LilyGo_TBeam_1W_repeater_mqtt.
• Best MQTT repeater if you want a simple headless install: RAK_3112_repeater_mqtt, Generic_E22_sx1262_repeater_mqtt, Meshimi_repeater_mqtt, Xiao_C6_repeater_mqtt.
• Best low-power display MQTT builds: Heltec_E213_repeater_mqtt, Heltec_E290_repeater_mqtt, Heltec_Wireless_Paper_repeater_mqtt, ThinkNode_M5_Repeater_mqtt.
• Best companion choices if you want the richest local UI: heltec_v4_tft_companion_radio_wifi and heltec_tracker_v2_companion_radio_wifi.
• Best companion choices if you want maximum memory headroom: T_Beam_S3_Supreme_SX1262_companion_radio_wifi, Station_G2_companion_radio_wifi, LilyGo_TBeam_1W_companion_radio_wifi.
• Best companion choices if you are happy with an app-first, mostly headless setup: RAK_3112_companion_radio_wifi, Xiao_S3_WIO_companion_radio_wifi, Station_G2_companion_radio_wifi.
• Best companion choices if you prefer OLED over TFT: T_Beam_S3_Supreme_SX1262_companion_radio_wifi, heltec_v4_companion_radio_wifi, LilyGo_TBeam_1W_companion_radio_wifi.