Do you have any recommendations for a cheap Meshtastic-compatible board? I don’t need GPS or a battery, since I’ll power it with a solar panel or a power bank. Having a case isn’t important; what really matters is avoiding any soldering.
I’m basically looking for a low-cost board with an integrated LoRa antenna. The goal is just to experiment, connecting it via Bluetooth to a PC or smartphone.
The go to answer, unless I misunderstood your requirements, is always a heltec or a rak wisblock.
https://heltec.org/product-category/lora/meshtastic/
https://store.rakwireless.com/products/wisblock-meshtastic-starter-kit?variant=43884034621638
Yeah, I have a node that’s just a RAK Wisblock kit just hooked up to a USB power adapter and taped together. Works great. Looks like the ESP based boards are a bit cheaper, and should be fine if you don’t need to run off battery (they use considerably more current).