Skip to main content

I can't for the life of me get this stupid Heltec V4 #MeshCore repeater to connect over serial. I'm trying to reconfigure it (I can't use the Web flasher, devs! >:( ), but I can't get into it at all because it defaults to the EU band and I'm in the US. How do I get the thing to respond?
#MeshCore

#meshcore reshared this.

in reply to Neil E. Hodges

Neil E. Hodges
Neil E. Hodges
•

It just hangs here whenever I try to connect like this:

meshcore-cli -s /dev/ttyACM0 -b 115200 -r

#MeshCore

#MeshCore

#meshcore reshared this.

in reply to Neil E. Hodges

enot
enot
• •
that cli program is for companion radio only. The "simple way" is to configure a companion to eu and then login to the repeater and change it.
in reply to enot

Neil E. Hodges
Neil E. Hodges
•

Thanks. I'll give that a shot since it doesn't seem like there's another way to do it.

What does this flag for meshcore-cli actually do, then?

-r              : repeater mode (raw text CLI, use with -s)
in reply to Neil E. Hodges

enot
enot
• •

that looks like it should give you a raw serial console, but it might be new and maybe not working?

What happens if you hit return? Or enter some text?

in reply to enot

enot
enot
• •
what does it look like when it hangs?
in reply to enot

Neil E. Hodges
Neil E. Hodges
•

Nothing. It's not ready to receive input. :(

Neil E. Hodges

2026-01-16 02:36:29


It just hangs here whenever I try to connect like this:
meshcore-cli -s /dev/ttyACM0 -b 115200 -r

#MeshCore


in reply to enot

fdlamotte 🇩🇴
fdlamotte 🇩🇴
• •

@enot
`-r` should work, it has been contributed by Bram Mittendorff, but it's not raw serial, it interprets (a little) and adds line editing, completion and history

But for testing purposes, I would remove this layer and use a raw terminal (`picocom -b 115200 /dev/ttyACM0`) should work

@enot
in reply to fdlamotte 🇩🇴

Neil E. Hodges
Neil E. Hodges
•
Just tried this and Minicom said the port was offline. :(
minicom -b 115200 -D /dev/ttyACM0
in reply to Neil E. Hodges

enot
enot
• •
@fdlamotte you might have to unplug and plug it in again, ls /dev/tty* to check
@fdlamotte 🇩🇴
in reply to Neil E. Hodges

enot
enot
• •

you could choose to use the web tool. Can't is probably a stretch, if you dont have chrome you could or you could install chromium which also works.

Just might save you a lot of headache.

This entry was edited (6 days ago)
in reply to enot

Neil E. Hodges
Neil E. Hodges
•
So I set up my T-Deck+ for EU and it still can't find the repeater despite being a foot away from it. :(
in reply to Neil E. Hodges

enot
enot
• •
have you power cycled the repeater since? to catch and advert from it
in reply to Neil E. Hodges

Neil E. Hodges
Neil E. Hodges
•
Okay, after reconfiguring my T-Deck+ to use the exact same settings that are displayed on the Heltec V4, it can find it. Thanks for the help. :3
in reply to Neil E. Hodges

LievenBlancke
LievenBlancke
• •
have you tried holding the upper (user) button pressed in while pushing the lower (reset) button? When the PCB is oriented with the buttons on the left side. That should put an ESP based device in a flashable mode.
in reply to Neil E. Hodges

juliadream
juliadream
• •

have you tried

region get {* | name-prefix}

Which searches for region with given name prefix (or '*' for the global scope). Replies with "-> {region-name} ({parent-name}) {'F'}"

got this from the cheat sheet

https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/wiki/Repeater-&-Room-Server-CLI-Reference


Repeater & Room Server CLI Reference

A new lightweight, hybrid routing mesh protocol for packet radios - meshcore-dev/MeshCore
GitHub
in reply to juliadream

Neil E. Hodges
Neil E. Hodges
•
Thanks, but the issue is that I can't get to the point where it's accepting commands. Serial doesn't connect at all over USB, but I'm able to flash the firmware just fine. :(
in reply to Neil E. Hodges

juliadream
juliadream
• •
also.. thinking out loud.. why are you putting the -r ? .. it's not in any of my command lists.. and try a few different baud rates maybe? .. that is zero not an "O" isn't it (spent n hour mashing my head against a wall one day over that)
in reply to juliadream

Neil E. Hodges
Neil E. Hodges
•

This is what -r does.

Neil E. Hodges

2026-01-16 04:14:26


Thanks. I'll give that a shot since it doesn't seem like there's another way to do it.

What does this flag for meshcore-cli actually do, then?

-r              : repeater mode (raw text CLI, use with -s)

in reply to Neil E. Hodges

juliadream
juliadream
• •
mostly I deal with crap like scrapped Cisco routers etc.. so these things are unfamiliar to me.. it's connected by a usb>serial?.. shouldn't it be dev/USBxx then??
in reply to juliadream

Neil E. Hodges
Neil E. Hodges
•
All I know is that /dev/ACM0 shows up when I plug it in, and flashing worked when I pointed esptool at it.
[ 2134.200736] usb 1-10: new full-speed USB device number 13 using xhci_hcd
[ 2134.454250] usb 1-10: New USB device found, idVendor=10c4, idProduct=ea60, bcdDevice= 1.00
[ 2134.454254] usb 1-10: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[ 2134.454257] usb 1-10: Product: CP2102 USB to UART Bridge Controller
[ 2134.454259] usb 1-10: Manufacturer: Silicon Labs
[ 2134.454261] usb 1-10: SerialNumber: 0001
[ 2134.482271] cp210x 1-10:1.0: cp210x converter detected
[ 2134.488259] usb 1-10: cp210x converter now attached to ttyUSB0
[ 7194.421598] usb 3-2.4.3: new full-speed USB device number 11 using xhci_hcd
[ 7194.542171] usb 3-2.4.3: New USB device found, idVendor=303a, idProduct=0002, bcdDevice= 1.00
[ 7194.542176] usb 3-2.4.3: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[ 7194.542178] usb 3-2.4.3: Product: heltec_wifi_lora_32 v4 (16 MB FLASH, 2 MB PSRAM)
[ 7194.542181] usb 3-2.4.3: Manufacturer: Espressif Systems
[ 7194.542183] usb 3-2.4.3: SerialNumber: B0A604C675F4
[ 7194.613215] cdc_acm 3-2.4.3:1.0: ttyACM0: USB ACM device
⇧