Hardware guide
Radios that work great
What Coop can talk to
Anything running Meshtastic firmware with its client API exposed — which is essentially every Meshtastic device — over three transports:
| Transport | How | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| USB serial | plug it in | Default. Exclusive: one program owns the port at a time. |
| WiFi / TCP | firmware's TCP API on :4403 | ESP32 boards with WiFi configured. Multiple clients OK. |
| Bluetooth LE | optional Coop build (-tags ble) | Handy for sealed/portable nodes; macOS build available. |
Recommended boards
| Board | ~Price | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Seeed XIAO ESP32-S3 + Wio-SX1262 kit | $40 | The reference rig — tiny, case included, WiFi capable. Perch is tested against it daily. |
| Heltec V3 / V4 | $20–35 | Cheap, everywhere, has a screen. Great second node. |
| RAK WisBlock (4631) | $25–60 | nRF52 — sips power; the solar/battery champion for rooftop relays. |
| LILYGO T-Deck Plus | $60–80 | Keyboard + touchscreen + GPS; a standalone communicator that also pairs with Perch. |
| LILYGO T-Beam | $30–40 | GPS + 18650 battery holder; classic tracker/mobile node. |
Things that actually matter
- The antenna. More range than any other dollar you'll spend. Never transmit without one attached; match it to your region's band (915 MHz US / 868 MHz EU).
- Placement beats power. A mediocre node in a window beats a great node in a basement — that's measured experience, not theory. Height is everything on LoRa.
- Data cables. Charge-only USB cables are the top support issue in every Meshtastic community. Keep one known-good data cable sacred.
- One port, one owner. Over USB, only one process can hold the radio — Coop, the Meshtastic CLI, or the phone app via BLE, but not simultaneously over the same transport. Over TCP/WiFi this restriction disappears.
Pocket devices (SpecFive, T-Deck, etc.)
Standalone handhelds that run Meshtastic — SpecFive Ranger, flashed T-Decks and friends — are just Meshtastic nodes: they mesh with your Coop radio automatically, appear in Perch like any node, and need nothing special. One caveat if you shop around: devices running MeshCore firmware speak a different, incompatible protocol — a MeshCore radio is invisible to a Meshtastic mesh (and to Perch).