# fakeTec_pcb is a carrier board that turns a ProMicro and a LoRa module into a 10 euro Meshtastic node
> gargomoma/fakeTec_pcb is a bare PCB in the Heltec v2 and v3 form factor that hosts an nRF52840 ProMicro board, an EByte or HT LoRa module, battery sensing resistors and side i2c ports for an SSD1306 OLED. Two firmware variants exist, with and without TCXO, and the bill of materials adds up to roughly 10 euros with the radio module included.
**gargomoma/fakeTec_pcb** — A low-cost nrf52 device.
- Repository: https://github.com/gargomoma/fakeTec_pcb
- Stars: 574 · Forks: 36
- Language: Unknown
- License: not declared
- Published: 2026-10-22 · Updated: 2026-10-22 · Language: en
- Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/gargomoma-faketec-pcb
## A carrier board, not a finished radio
The repository describes itself as a low-cost nRF52 device with the form factor of the Heltec v2 and v3 devices, compatible with Meshtastic. What ships in the repository is a printed circuit board and the files to make it, and the board is a carrier rather than a complete radio. The microcontroller is a separate ProMicro board, described in the README as a ProMicro/SuperMini and linked to an nRF52840L alternative, and the radio is another separate part. The design and its firmware variant are based on the DIY ProMicro variant in the MeshtasticCustomBoards project, and the README is explicit that as an MCU board it uses the ProMicro/SuperMini. So the build is a stack: the bare board, a ProMicro, a LoRa module, and two buttons, with an OLED and a battery connector as the optional additions. The headline number in the bill of materials is a total of 10 euros, and that figure is what makes the project interesting for people building mesh nodes in quantity.
## The features are soldering decisions, not software features
The feature list is short and every item on it is a physical choice the builder has to make. The first is size, based on the Heltec v3, and the consequence is stated plainly: you can use the same cases. That is the most valuable line in the README for anyone who already owns printed enclosures for Heltec hardware, because a board that fits an existing case removes the need to design or buy one. The second is i2c side ports ready to connect an OLED SSD1306 screen, brought out to the edge of the board so a display can be added without redesigning anything. The third is battery sensing, which the README says you can do with SMD resistors or through-hole, and the bill of materials records that the author uses 2x 1M ohm resistors. The fourth is 2mm mounting holes, small enough for thin printed shells. The fifth is LoRa module compatibility, with the HT-RA62 and RA-01SH named explicitly and probably others with a similar footprint. None of these are configurable in software, which is the point: they are decisions fixed at solder time.
## Two firmware variants, and the radio you buy decides which
The variants table is the part of the repository that decides whether the board works at all, so it deserves careful reading. A variant here means a firmware file, and there are two. The With TCXO row covers the EByte E22/E220-xxxM-22S modules and the HT-RA62, and points at the official Meshtastic firmware tree entry nrf52_promicro_diy_tcxo, with an unofficial equivalent in mrekin's MeshtasticCustomBoards project at promicro_diy_m. The Without TCXO row covers the E22/E220-xxxMM-22S modules and the RA-01SH, and points at nrf52_promicro_diy_xtal in the official tree, with the unofficial counterpart at promicro_diy_mm. The distinction is a crystal versus a temperature compensated oscillator on the radio module, and the letters in the module part numbers, M against MM, are what tell you which one you are holding. Choosing the wrong variant leaves a module that does not lock onto its frequency properly, so the pairing is not a formality. If you would rather not build a firmware image at all, the README points at mrekin's flasher as a way to flash without doing that yourself.
## The bill of materials is the real specification
The cost table is the most useful document in the repository, because it tells you both what to buy and where the money goes. Two rows are worth quoting as they stand, since they cover the radio and the board itself:
```text
| HT-RA62 | AliExpress | 5€ | You can also use RA-01SH |
| PCB | | 2€ pack of 5
0.4€/unit | Use your favourite company to get the PCB. |
```
The ProMicro, the NiceNano, comes from AliExpress at 5 euros for one or two for 5 euros, and the row carries a warning link to issue 30 that asks you to read it before buying red ProMicros. The resistors are sold as a pack of multiple values for a few euros or individually at 0.1 euro, and you choose the value depending on what you already have and how comfortable you are soldering. The OLED is optional at 1.5 euros and needs no soldering of its own, though the note asks you to be careful and put tape between the boards to avoid a short. The antenna pigtail is marked recommended, with the observation that a cheap black pigtail underperformed and a different one worked fine. The two buttons are cheap enough to buy in hundreds, and the MOSFETs and resistors in the last rows come from a community revision described as lupusworax's v4 in issue 16. Add the optional battery connection at 2 euros and the total lands on the stated 10 euros.
## The cases came from the community, not from the author
The community contributions table lists printed enclosures contributed by a single person under the handle lupusworax, and they are the reason this board has the shapes it has. The list includes FakeCAP, a super slim nRF52 GPS node, FakeCAP Solar for the Maximus variant, Tamameshi as a portable node, Meshformer as a communicator node, WayPoint as a water resistant outdoor solar case, MeshTAK as a tacticool unit, SCOUT as an ultra portable node, F1 Micro, and Amade 2 in a duo colour vintage finish. Every one of them is hosted on Printables with its own model page. That is an unusual arrangement for a hardware project, because the enclosures are effectively a second product line maintained outside the repository, and it changes the economics. The board is a cheap carrier, and the case is what turns it into a node you can put on a roof, in a jacket pocket or on a bike, and both halves are now available. The same author also points readers to a related project, xiaoWa_pcb, for anyone looking for a compact e22 or e80 node.
## Where this board is the wrong tool
Several things disqualify it for a given job. The first is that you must solder. There is no assembled product, no enclosure in the box and no test report, and the BOM's resistor rows make it plain that the sensor divider and the MOSFET stage are populated by hand, so a first build carries the risk of a dead board. The second is the firmware dependency. The board does not run on its own; it needs a ProMicro, a LoRa module, and a matching firmware variant flashed from the Meshtastic firmware tree or from mrekin's custom boards, and the flash step requires a flasher or a build of your own image. The third is that a radio module has to arrive from a marketplace listing, so the part you receive may not be exactly the part the variant assumes. The fourth is the paperwork: the repository records no licence, and a board you intend to fabricate and sell is exactly the case where that matters. Finally, there is no battery charging path described here, only a battery connection row in the bill of materials, so if you want a sealed rechargeable node you are adding hardware the README does not cover.
## What is in the repository, and what it costs to stay with it
The repository is four entries at the top level, README.md, design_files/, gerbers/ and pics/, and that is the whole shape of the project. The design files are the editable source, the gerbers are what you send to a board house, and the pictures are the front and back renders shown in the README. There is no firmware in this repository, no build system and no configuration file, because the firmware lives in the Meshtastic project and the variants are named there. The maintenance picture is correspondingly simple. The last push was on 2026-07-28, the default branch is main, and the repository publishes no GitHub releases, so there is no versioned artefact to pin and no changelog to follow; a board you order is ordered against whatever is in the gerbers at that moment. The licence field could not be classified automatically and the README states none, which leaves the terms for personal use, modification and redistribution unstated in writing. That is a documentation gap rather than a prohibition, but it is the first thing to raise with the author if you plan to make more than a handful.
## Conclusion
Adopt fakeTec_pcb if you build Meshtastic nodes yourself and want a small board that reuses the cases you already own for Heltec v2 and v3 hardware, and if you are comfortable ordering parts from AliExpress and soldering a ProMicro and a LoRa module into place. Do not adopt it if you need a finished, orderable product, a warranty, or a documented licence, since the repository records no licence and publishes no releases. Verify three things before you order boards: that the LoRa module you plan to fit matches the firmware variant you flash, that the ProMicro you buy is not one of the red variants flagged in issue 30, and that the gerber and design files in the repository are the revision you intend to fabricate.
## FAQ
### How much does it cost to build a fakeTec_pcb Meshtastic node?
The bill of materials totals about 10 euros per node. That covers the ProMicro/NiceNano at 5 euros, the HT-RA62 LoRa module at 5 euros, the PCB itself at roughly 0.4 euros each in a pack of five, plus resistors, buttons, an antenna pigtail and optionally an OLED screen and a battery connection.
### Which firmware variant does my fakeTec_pcb need?
It depends on the LoRa module you fit. The With TCXO variant is for the EByte E22/E220-xxxM-22S and the HT-RA62, pointing at nrf52_promicro_diy_tcxo in the official Meshtastic firmware tree. The Without TCXO variant is for the E22/E220-xxxMM-22S and the RA-01SH, pointing at nrf52_promicro_diy_xtal.
### Can I add a display and a battery to a fakeTec_pcb?
Both are optional and both are provided for. The board has i2c side ports ready to connect an OLED SSD1306 screen, which needs no soldering of its own, though the README advises putting tape between the boards to avoid a short. Battery sensing is handled with SMD or through-hole resistors, with the author using two 1M ohm resistors, and a battery connection is listed as an optional part.
### Do I need to print an enclosure for a fakeTec_pcb node?
Not necessarily. The board is based on the Heltec v3 form factor, so existing Heltec v2 and v3 cases fit it. A set of community printed cases also exists, contributed under the handle lupusworax and hosted on Printables, including FakeCAP, FakeCAP Solar, Tamameshi, Meshformer, WayPoint, MeshTAK, SCOUT, F1 Micro and Amade 2.
## Sources
- [gargomoma/fakeTec_pcb on GitHub](https://github.com/gargomoma/fakeTec_pcb)
- [Issues](https://github.com/gargomoma/fakeTec_pcb/issues)
- [README](https://github.com/gargomoma/fakeTec_pcb/blob/main/README.md)
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Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/gargomoma-faketec-pcb