Challenger RP2040 LoRa

Challenger RP2040 LoRa board combines Raspberry Pi RP2040 MCU with RFM95W LoRa module

Invector Labs is now offering a variant of the WiFi-based Challenger RP2040 board with a LoRa radio. The Challenger RP2040 LoRa board features the Hope RF RFM95W LoRa radio transceiver module instead of the ESP8285 WiFi chip found in the original board. Raspberry Pi RP2040 has already been used in combination with a LoRa module, notably in Rakwireless RAK11300 WisDuo LPWAN module and the “LoRa Expansion for Pico“, a baseboard for Raspberry Pi Pico equipped with a LoRa module, but it’s the first time I see the combination in a development board form factor, which as a potential bonus following Adafruit Feather form factor. Challenger RP2040 LoRa board preliminary specifications: MCU – Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Cortex-M0+ MCU @ 133MHz with 264KB SRAM Storage – 8MB flash Wireless module – Hope RF RFM95W connected via SPI channel and some GPIOs 168 dB maximum link budget. +20 dBm – 100 mW […]

CubeCell LoRa Board

$10 HelTec CubeCell LoRa Board Features Cypress PSoC 4 MCU

HelTec CubeCell is an Arduino-compatible LoRa module based on Semtech SX1262 transceiver and a Cypress PSoC 4 mixed-signal MCU. The module itself currently sells for $6.90, but you’ll also find a more convenient board for $9.90, as well as a $13.90  IP67 “capsule” housing a battery, an antenna, and a sensor board. All three are available on the same Aliexpress page. CubeCell LoRa board specifications: SoC – ASR Microelectronics ASR6501 with MCU – Cypress PSoC 4 Arm Cortex-M0+ @ 48 MHz with 128KB flash, 16KB SRAM LoRa Transceiver –  Semtech SX1262 LoRa Connectivity Bands – EU433, CN470-510, EU863-870, US920-928 Output Power – 21 dB +/- 1 dB max LoRaWAN standard protocol support USB – 1x Micro USB port for power and programming Expansion – 2x 11-pin headers with GPIO’s, UART, I2C, SPI, ADC, Reset, and VIN, 5V, 3.3V, and GND power signals Misc – User and boot buttons, RGB LED […]

Advertisement
MRK WAN 1310

Arduino MKR WAN 1310 LoRa Board Gets HW Security, Longer Battery Life and a 2MB SPI flash

Two year ago Arduino launched MKR WAN 1300 board powered by Arduino Zero compatible Microchip Atmel SAMD21 32-bit ARM Cortex M0+ MCU and a Murata CMWZ1ZZABZ LoRa module based on Semtech SX1276 and STMicro STM32L microcontroller. The company has now announced a new improved LoRa board – MKR WAN 1310 – with lower power consumption thanks to a new battery charger , a 2MB SPI flash  which enables data logging and other OTA (Over-the-Air) functions, and a crypto chip that can securely store credentials and certificates. Specifications: MCU – Microchip Atmel SAMD21 32-bit ARM Cortex M0+ MCU @ 48 MHz with 32 KB SRAM, 256 KB flash (8KB for bootloader) External Storage – 2MB SPI flash Digital I/O Pins – 8x digital I/Os, 12x PWM, UART, SPI, and I2C, 8x external interrupts Analog Pins – 7x analog inputs (8/10/12-bit ADC), and 1x analog output (10-bit DAC) DC Current per I/O […]

Pi Supply LoRa Gateway HAT

Pi Supply IoT LoRa Boards are made for Raspberry Pi & BBC Micro:bit Boards (Crowdfunding)

We’ve already covered plenty of LoRa boards or solutions designed for nodes or gateways such as TTGO T-Beam ESP32 + LoRa board, RAK Wireless RAK811 GPS Lora tracker board, MatchX Matchbox LoRa gateway, and many others,, but Pi Supply offers yet more options with LoRa node and gateway add-on boards designed to work with Raspberry Pi, Arduino, and BBC Micro:bit boards. Pi Supply LoRa Gateway HAT for Raspberry Pi The IoT LoRa Gateway HAT is based on RAK Wireless RAK833 mPCIe LoRa gateway concentrator module and connects to Raspberry Pi 3 B/B+ board via the 40-pin header. There are two hardware version using 868 MHz or 915 MHz frequencies, but as we’ve seen in previous reviews those are configurable for other frequencies such as AS923 or IN865. Pi Supply IoT LoRa Node pHAT for Raspberry Pi LoRa Node pHAT is designed for node specifically, and with a smaller form factor […]

ESP32 to ESP32 LoRa Communication

How to Make a Cheap Single Channel Gateway with an ESP32 LoRa Board

Actual LoRaWAN gateways based on Semtech SX1301 concentrator  can be pretty expensive,  and even if you take a LoRa gateway design based on Raspberry Pi for indoor placement or experimentation, price is still around $200. A much cheaper way (~$70)  is to use a single channel LoRa gateway, which as the name implies only support one channel, which limits the number of nodes, and forces you to set the nodes at the same frequency as your gateway. Those are not really suitable for commercial offerings, but if you manage your own gateway and nodes that should be usable. If you only plan to implement a network with a dozen nodes or so, you could even use much cheap ESP32 LoRa board like the ESP32 LoRa 1-Channel Gateway sold on Sparkfun for $29.95. Hardware specifications: Connectivity WiFi and Bluetooth 4.2 LE via ESP32-WROOM-32 module with integrated PCB antenna LoRa @ 868 […]

Badgerboard Arduino Compatible LoRa Board Goes for $43 and Up (Crowdfunding)

Here comes one more LoRa board to play with. Badgerboard combines an Arduino compatible Atmel/Microchip AVR MCU with a Microchip RN2483 or RN2903 module in a breadboard compatible board powered via  micro USB port or an external battery. Badgerboard specifications: MCU – Atmel ATmega32U4 MCU Connectivity – LoRaWAN via Microchip RN2483 (EU – 868MHz) / RN2903 (US – 915 MHz) modem with SMA connector and antenna USB – 1x micro USB port for power and programming Expansion – 2x 18-pin unpopulated headers with SPI, I2C, 13x GPIOs, 6x 10-bit ADC, 3.3V and GND signals; open drain output for relays up to 24V 100 mA Sensors – STM HTS221 temperature and humidity sensor Misc – Reset button; user and Tx/Rx LEDs; power on/off switch Power Supply – 5V via micro USB port, or Li-Ion/ Li-Po battery via JST connector Dimensions – 56 x 26 mm The board can be programmed with […]

Advertisement

LILYGO T Beam 1W

LILYGO T-Beam 1W – An ESP32-S3 + SX1262 high-power LoRa dev board with 32 dBm output, GNSS support

The LILYGO T-Beam-1W is an ESP32-S3-based high-power LoRa development board featuring an SX1262 RF transceiver, an onboard 1W power amplifier (32 dBm), a L76K GNSS module, a 1.3-inch SH1106 OLED, a microSD slot, USB-C, Qwiic connectors, and an AXP2101 PMU. The board runs on a 7.4V battery and includes a cooling fan for high-power RF operation. We first wrote about the original LILYGO T-Beam (then branded as TTGO) in 2018, and since then, the company introduced various revisions of the T-Beam as it became popular. The T-Beam 1W is the most powerful version so far, with a built-in 1 Watt amplifier that allows the board to transmit data over longer distances without needing to buy separate, bulky amplifiers. LilyGO T-Beam-1W Specifications: Core module – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 SoC – ESP32-S3 CPU – Dual-core LX7 processor with up to 240MHz Memory – 512KB SRAM, 8MB PSRAM Storage – 384KB ROM Wireless – […]

LILYGO MySondy GO

LILYGO MySondy GO LoRa32 board tracks radiosondes (weather balloons) with a 433MHz LoRa module

“LILYGO MySondy GO LoRa32” is a small ESP32-PICO-D4 board with a 433 MHz LoRa module and a 0.96-inch OLED designed to track (RS41) radiosondes, which are units attached to weather balloons used to collect meteorological data like temperature, humidity, and atmospheric pressure. It looks to be an older TTGO T3 board with a 433 MHz LoRa32 module from the company preloaded with the MySondo firmware that allows hobbyists in the amateur radio and weather enthusiast communities to track weather balloons and potentially recover them. LILYGO MySondy GO LoRa32 specifications: SiP – Espressif Systems ESP32-PICO-D4 system-in-package with ESP32 dual-core Xtensa processor @ 240 MHz, 2.4GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2 dual-mode, 4MB flash LoRa module – LORA32 RF Transceiver – Semtech SX1268 connected over SPI to the ESP32 SiP Frequency – 433 MHz (The T3 board has options for 868 and 915 MHz, which I suspect are not suitable for radiosondes) Tx […]

Boardcon MINI1126B-P AI vision system-on-module wit Rockchip RV1126B-P SoC