[Feature Request] Add support for Heltec Mesh Pocket

[stuartmayor]

Hi,

Would it be possible to add support for the Heltec Mesh Pocket?

I've had a crack at it myself, by cobbling together code from the T1000-E (same MCU), RAK4631 (same radio), and some pin definitions, etc, from the Meshtastic repository.

I'm almost there, but getting an error on compile. Sadly, my knowledge of PlatformIO and my coding skills have reached a brick wall.

[recrof]

did you try to change pin defs for heltec t114 and run with it? I don't have device, so I can't port it & test, but it should be pretty straight forward.

[stuartmayor]

Thanks for the heads-up.
I'll give it a go when I'm next at the computer.

[stuartmayor]

Ooops. Accidentally closed it.

[stuartmayor]

I had a crack at compiling the firmware for the T114, but with different pin assignments.
It compiled fine, and flashed fine.
However nothing appears in the Meshcore app when I scan for USB devices. I would have thought it should show up even if I have the pins wrong, since it's the same MCU? Or am I over simplifying things?

[recrof]

when I scan for USB devices.

are you using companion BLE firmware? you could enable -D MESH_DEBUG=1 and -D CFG_DEBUG=1 to see what debug messages you get in serial console. if you have radio pins wrong, it will give you: radio init failed: (code) those numbers can be then looked up here.

[stuartmayor]

Yes, sorry, USB was a typo. I meant Bluetooth.

I had a go at adding those build flags and debugging through serial, but still no joy. Although if I haven't got the serial pins set correctly, it wouldn't work, right?

What I do find odd is that I never see it as a Bluetooth device with any flavour of Meshcore firmware. I expected it would at least boot far enough to appear since it is the same MCU as many other devices.

[recrof]

I don't think you need to setup serial pins - nrf52 exposes usb serial by default on all devices. I would look at init code in MT - variant.cpp to see if there are any special steps needed before it's ready.

[stuartmayor]

(Partial) Success!!

I have managed to get debugging output to the serial interface. I've also got it connecting via BLE to the Meshcore app. A real step forward.

Now, it would appear I can receive (flood) messages. However it seems I can't advert, or send a message to a contact I received an advert from. The search continues...

[stuartmayor]

It seems the problem is likely to either be that the radio isn't switching into TX mode, or the PA isn't getting enabled or powered up.

Thankfully, Heltec have published a schematic. If it's correct, I should hopefully be able to sort it. Although, given my skill level, it will mostly be trial and error!

[stuartmayor]

Argh! Frustratingly close!

I've managed to receive fine but transmission is still eluding me.
The schematic show a UPG2179 switch connected to the SX1262's DIO2. That is controlling the TX/RX path to the antenna, so I know I need the SX126X_DIO2_AS_RF_SWITCH flag in my variant.

Still, it doesn't seem to be switching to TX.

I've tried enabling the debug flags in RadioLib to try and get me info, but no joy. Weirdly, the only flag that works is RADIOLIB_DEBUG_SPI, which just floods the serial console. RADIOLIB_DEBUG_BASIC doesn't sem to output anything to the console.

[unix85]

Please , make a dedicated firmware for this . I have one Heltec Mesh Pocket , but with Meshtastic :(

[aquarat]

I also have this device. Did you push a branch somewhere with your work @stuartmayor ?
It may be possible to compare against Meshtastic and see how they're initialising the components?

[recrof]

apparently there was support added in #713
and you can try nightly build here: https://files.brazio.org/meshcore/nightly/companion/RAK_4631_companion_radio_ble_firmware.uf2