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Summary

  • Apply undocumented SX1262 register 0x8B5 patch (set LSB=1) on Heltec V4 and Wireless Tracker V2 boards with the GC1109 FEM
  • Patch recommended by Heltec engineer (@Quency-D) based on Semtech guidance
  • Guarded by USE_GC1109_PA so only affects GC1109 boards

Background

Testing in MeshCore PR #1398 showed this register patch significantly improved RX sensitivity on the Heltec V4, reducing packet loss from ~55% to ~25% — bringing it in line with a RAK4631 reference node at the same location.

The patch was originally identified via discussion in meshtastic/firmware#9029 and MeshCore PR #1249.

Test plan

  • Flash Heltec V4, verify RX sensitivity improvement via RSSI/SNR comparison with a reference node
  • Verify TX still works correctly
  • Verify no regression on other SX1262 boards (patch is behind USE_GC1109_PA guard)

@github-actions github-actions bot added the hardware-support Hardware related: new devices or modules, problems specific to hardware label Feb 8, 2026
@fifieldt fifieldt added the bugfix Pull request that fixes bugs label Feb 8, 2026
@weebl2000 weebl2000 force-pushed the fix/gc1109-sx1262-register-patch branch from f652731 to a327833 Compare February 9, 2026 21:21
@compumike
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@weebl2000 Did you have to do anything special to get this to compile? I tried and it looks like RADIOLIB_GODMODE or RADIOLIB_LOW_LEVEL flags are needed to get at lora.readRegister / lora.writeRegister:
https://github.com/jgromes/RadioLib/blob/87bf5785a3ca58dae184cff7b9860bef84a09b5c/src/modules/SX126x/SX126x.h#L826-L837

(I don't think any of the CI builds would catch this because none have USE_GC1109_PA defined.)

@weebl2000 weebl2000 force-pushed the fix/gc1109-sx1262-register-patch branch from a327833 to a6cb9e0 Compare February 11, 2026 01:59
@weebl2000
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@weebl2000 Did you have to do anything special to get this to compile? I tried and it looks like RADIOLIB_GODMODE or RADIOLIB_LOW_LEVEL flags are needed to get at lora.readRegister / lora.writeRegister: https://github.com/jgromes/RadioLib/blob/87bf5785a3ca58dae184cff7b9860bef84a09b5c/src/modules/SX126x/SX126x.h#L826-L837

(I don't think any of the CI builds would catch this because none have USE_GC1109_PA defined.)

I haven't tried to compile this on meshtastic. Thanks. Modified the code now to use higher level function to set the register value - this should work now.

@weebl2000 weebl2000 force-pushed the fix/gc1109-sx1262-register-patch branch 2 times, most recently from 9da97d7 to fe80e09 Compare February 11, 2026 02:10
Sets the LSB of undocumented SX1262 register 0x8B5 on Heltec V4 and
Wireless Tracker V2 boards with the GC1109 FEM. This patch was
recommended by Heltec/Semtech and tested in MeshCore PR meshtastic#1398, where
it significantly reduced packet loss on the Heltec V4.
@weebl2000 weebl2000 force-pushed the fix/gc1109-sx1262-register-patch branch from fe80e09 to 9262d88 Compare February 11, 2026 02:11
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3 participants