LILYGO T-Echo Lite - A 1.22-inch e-Paper display board with nRF52840 SoC, LoRa transceiver, GPS

LILYGO T-Echo Lite is a small Nordic Semi nRF52840 board with a 1.22-inch e-Paper display, a Semtech SX1262 LoRa transceiver, and an L76K GPS module, that’s especially suitable for Meshtastic off-grid messaging firmware. It looks like it could even serve as the base for a Meshtastic watch.

The T-Echo Lite is a lightweight version of the earlier T-Echo that ships with a larger 1.54-inch e-paper display. Three Lite versions are available:

T-Echo Lite Core – Castellated module with nRF52840, LoRa, power, and battery management
T-Echo Lite Base – A breakout board for the Core module with battery and solar panel connectors, Qwiic connector, USB port, an interface for a 1.22-inch e-paper display, and an optional GPS expansion header
T-Echo Lite Main Unit – Complete solution built around the Base version, a 1.22-inch e-paper display, and an acrylic enclosure. The L76K GPS module is still an option.

T-Echo Lite specifications:

LILYGO T-Echo Lite Core module
- SoC – Nordic Semiconductor nRF52840
  - CPU – 32-bit Arm Cortex-M4F microcontroller @ 64 MHz
  - MemoryStorage – 1 MB Flash, 256 KB RAM
  - Wireless – Bluetooth 5, Thread, ANT, Bluetooth Mesh, 802.15.4 (Zigbee), 2.4 GHz proprietary
- LoRa transceiver – Semtech SX1262 with global coverage support: 433 MHz, 868 MHz, 915 MHz, 923 MHz
- Power management circuitry
Display – 1.22-inch SPI e-paper display with 192 x 176 resoltion (GDEM0122T61)
GNSS – Optional L76K module with support for GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, QZSS
USB – 1x USB Type-C port for power and programming
Expansion
- 2x 10-pin female GPIO headers
- 2x Qwiic connectors
Sensor – 9-axis IMU (ICM20948)
Misc – Reset and User buttons
Power Supply
- 5V via USB-C port
- Solar panel connector for 4.5 – 6V input
- Battery connector via 3.7V Li-ion battery
- Deep sleep power consumption – As low as 2μA to 10μA
Dimensions – 41 x 41 x 14.5mm
Weight – TBD

T-Echo Lite E-Paper breakout and Core module — T-Echo Lite Base breakout board with T-Echo Lite Core module

LILYGO L76K GPS module — With optional L76K GPS module

While many people will run the Meshtastic firmware on the board, LILYGO provides Arduino samples for BLE, LoRa, e-paper, GPS, and most features, as well as a factory test sketch. They can be found on GitHub along with firmware, PDF schematics, and basic instructions to get started.

LILYGO sells four versions of the T-Echo Lite on AliExpress for $16.18 to $40.98, depending on whether you only need the Core module, the Base module, or the main unit with or without GPS. Sadly, the main unit options are all out of stock. Another option would be the company’s Amazon store, but only the T-Echo is sold there, and not the T-Echo Lite.

T Echo Lite pinout diagram — Pinout diagram

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.