Troubleshooting Heltec v2, no Nodes

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1

Hey,

I found a cheap Heltec v2 on Aliexpress, for around 8€ with Shipping so I bought it.
Which was a nobrainer to try meshtastic.
aliexpress.com/item/1005005967763162.html

I got it yesterday, however I was told, the Antenna is kinda shite, so I looked on Aliexpress for another one.
aliexpress.com/item/4000979589012.html

None of them picked up any nodes.
I didn’t touch any other settings other than setting my region and a different name.

I am still in the LongFast channel, I put the Heltec on a few books looking out of the Window.

According to a bunch of People there should be a bunch of nodes here.
meshtastic.discourse.group/t/any-active-nodes-in-berlin-germany/10535

Any ideas how to troubleshoot that?
I don’t have a second device yet, so can’t verify anything sadly.

Gonna get a second one, which one would you suggest?

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2

I don’t see the Heltec V2 on the getting started page of supported ESP32 devices (Getting Started | Meshtastic)
Maybe that’s causing you some issues?

Personally I started with two Heltec V3 as they were officially supported and shipped faster than the RAK wireless WisBlock starter kits I also ordered.

3

Would suggest connecting a battery (or even just a USB-Power Bank)
… and going for a walk around the area, looking for high-spots. Might be able to find a tall building to try, or a park with a bit of view.

It might just be bad luck that your window ledge is not a good place. a RF ‘deadspot’.

Can you confirm you havent tried powering on the device without any antenna connected?

Also go into settings → Device, and Node Info Broadcast Seconds. Device Configuration | Meshtastic
The default might rather long, such very slow to find nearby nodes. Try say 900 seconds.

Have had good experience with the Heltec v3, not much more than v2.

4

I flashed the latest Beta firmware on it, according to the wiki the versions for the v2 would be “firmware-heltec-v2.1-X.X.X.xxxxxxx.bin” which where available.
The Firmware I flashed on it was the 2.3.7-30fbcab, which worked on the first run.

However, they tell you to setup new nodes only with v3.
I did placed an order for a v3 board, should be here next week, with 2 new antennas.

So will check out if I can see my v2 and how far I can go with it.

5

Yea, will do that on the weekend and see if I can pick something up.
The Antenna is definitely connected, double checked that.

I set it to 900, will see if something pops up, thanks.

6

However I just saw that this version was revoked, whatever that means I guess its not stable or has big unexpected bugs.

Gonna try

7

I run several Heltec V2 via USB port.

Recommented firmware 2.3.4 or lower for this device. Newer versions has a bug with shutdown and resume, what is needed for SDS low voltage protection.

From Aliexpress I had one order where the shop send the wrong frequency 433 MHz to me. I tryed to operate with 868 MHz and it doesn’t work.

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8

https://a.aliexpress.com/_Eu743yx
18cm 868Mhz ca. 5€

Works perfect to me. Over 30km traceroute with my Heltec V2 to the router at Salzburg (line of sight). At Munich city with building in between I reached only 800 meters (street level).

9

I have plugged it into my Raspberry PI 4, so its powered via USB.
The Heltec box mentioned the correct frequency, so I guess that one is fine.

Antenna might be not, hence I got an additional 868mhz when I ordered my v2.
Thanks for the Antenna suggestion, ordered one, will try it when its here.

10

I took my v2 with a powerbank and the same antenna on a field trip.
Found 13 Nodes in my City, its definitely not a issue of the board or antenna.

I tried it with the Antenna mentioned from Aliexpress, as far as I know the Antenna delivered in the box is not tuned for 868 but for 915, so I didn’t bother testing that one.

Will report back again when I get the new antenna / v3 board delivered.

11

Hello there, HeltecV2 is supported, I have two here in Argentina, and works just fine with many other Heltec V3, RAK, etc

12

I wasn’t saying V2 wouldn’t work, just that if OP was already planning on getting a second device that it might be good to get a more supported one.

13

Got my v3, yea v2 works just fine.
However someone mentioned something about the new LORA chip, apparently its better but can’t tell though.

14

@ roha-github Dear Robert, today I tested the latest firmware (2.5.6.d55c08d Beta) on a Heltec Wi-Fi LoRa 32 V2.1 board, and it runs as expected (powered by USB cable). How can I verify that the bug you are describing (“bug with shutdown and resume”) were fixed in the meantime ? I didn’t find any open or closed issue on GitHub for this issue.
Thanks, Michael.