ESP32 to ESP32 LoRa Communication
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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 […]

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Want Long WiFi Range? This $10 Directional Antenna Should Help

A typical WiFi router range is limited to around 50 meters, and even less in a building with walls and competing WiFi routers. But it’s also possible to use WiFi for longer range communication, and for example, CNLohr managed to get an ESP8266 module answering ping requests over 4km away with a powerful antenna that is supposed to allow for up to 20km range and costs around $80 (NB-2G18 model). But if you’re budget is more limited, Banggood has started to sell a “10dB directional antenna” for $9.84 shipped. It is said to be for TTGO ESP32 board, but I don’t see why if would not work with other WIFI boards with a u.FL or SMA connector. Specifications listed for the antenna: Frequency – 2400~2500MHz S.W.R.: <=1.5 Antenna Gain – 10dbi Radiation – Directional antenna Polarization – Linear Impedance – 50 Ohm Wire distance – 1m Connector: IPEX The main cable features an SMA […]

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BPI-UNO32
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Banana Pi BPI-ESP32 Board Follows Arduino UNO Form Factor, Works with Webduino and Arduino IDE

SinoVoIP has been pretty busy those days, as beside launching a BBC Micro:bit clone based on ESP32, and BPI-AI-Voice speech recognition board (also a clone or MicroSemi AcuEdge kit), the company has now started to take orders for Banana Pi BPI-ESP32 board for $10.99 plus shipping on Aliexpress. As the name implies, the based is based on ESP32 WiSoC, supports Arduino shields since it follows Arduino UNO form factor, and can be programming with web based Webduino visual programming IDE, or the Arduino IDE. BPI-ESP32 (aka BPI-UNO32) board specifications: Wireless module – ESP-WROOM-32 WiFi 802.11b/g/n, and Bluetooth 4.2 LE module; 4MB flash Expansion – Arduino headers with GPIOs, ADC, Ethernet, VP/VB, UART, I2C, Touch interface, etc… (See pinout table below) Misc – Buzzer, Tx/Rx LEDs, power LED, RGB LED, buttons Power Supply 5V/1A via micro USB 12V via 5.5mm DC jack Dimensions – 68 x 53 mm The company has […]

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ESP32-PICO-KIT v4 Board Based on ESP32-PICO-D4 SiP Now Available for $10

A little while ago, I received a bunch of ESP32 PICO Core development boards which were based on Espressif Systems ESP32-PICO-D4 system-in-package with ESP32, 4MB SPI Flash, and other components. The advantage of such chip is that is requires less external component, and allows for smaller designs. For example, the boards I received would leave two row of pin on each side of the board, while most other ESP32 boards will only expose one row on each side. I used the board to play with Micropython ESP32 port, and later-on when I launched a giveaway of 8 of the boards, I found out the name had changed to ESP32-PICO Kit, with the documentation listing v3 with all pins connected to male headers, and v4 with 6-pin not connected to a male header as shown in the photo below. Both versions of the board also have a different pin layout. But […]

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ESPDUINO-32 & Wemos D1 R32 ESP32 Boards Support (Most) Arduino UNO Shields

The compact ESP32 NodeMCU like board are great for many project, but in case you plan to leverage your existing Arduino shield, it’s more convenient to have a compatible board. We’ve previously seen Noduino Quantum board sold for 99 RMB on Taobao, and $25.90 on AnalogLamb, but doit.am has designed a cheaper model called ESPDUINO-32 that supports shields compatible with Arduino UNO, and sold for $13.73 on DealExtreme. ESPDUINO-32 board specifications: Wireless Module – ESP-WROOM-32 based on Espressif ESP32 dual core Tensilica LX6 processor with 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 4.2 LE Expansion – Arduino UNO headers with SPI, I2C, digital I/Os, 1x analog input up to 3.2V, 5V, GND USB – 1x USB device port Misc – Button Power Supply – 5 to 12V input via DC jack or Vin pin Dimensions – 66 x 53.3 x 13.5 mm The board can be programmed with the Arduino IDE selecting […]

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