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When looking at the modern world we live in, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to imagine modern life without wireless Communications, as they open up a world of opportunities for learning, development, connecting with loved ones and much, much more – easily reachable through the devices that we all carry around in our pockets. However, while we have the freedom to chat with friends or family in foreign countries near-instantly, and even do business with people who speak other languages in isolated or remote locations, many of our Hobbyist Electronics simply don’t have that kind of freedom of communication, and this is what sparked the development of the LoRa framework, which focuses on Long Range, low bandwidth communications for very small chunks of data from sensors in a sensor network.
This FireBeetle Covers-LoRa Radio is an expansion board for the awesome FireBeetle IoT Microcontroller, and operates on the 433MHz channel that we use here in South Africa. This allows Makers to build custom sensor networks for various purposes and within various different industries, which can operate for days, weeks or even months on end due to the low power and low bandwidth communications that simple sensors require. This FireBeetle cover typically operates on around 120mA or less, with a receiving current of 15mA or less, and an exceptionally low sleep current of ≤1μA, meaning that your Sensors use almost no power whatsoever when not in use, and then still utilise extremely low levels of power even in full operational mode. This is precisely what makes LoRa ideal for sensor networks, which typically only need to function when they need to send sensor data, meaning that if you only take sensor readings once a day or even as often as once an hour, you can expect your Batteries and network to last for a remarkably long time before needing any kind of charging.
FireBeetle Covers-LoRa Radio 433MHz - Technical Specifications: |
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– 3.3V DC |
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– 403MHz to 463MHz – 433MHz Typical |
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– LoRaTM | FSK | GFSK | OOK |
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– ≤20dBm |
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– -139dBm |
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– ≤120mA |
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– ≤15mA |
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– ≤1μA |
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– -1dBm to +20dBm |
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– FIFO / DMA |
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– 1km (Can extend to ≤10km with External Antenna) |
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– Included, Jamming-Resistant |
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– 127dB |
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– 256 bytes |
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– Supported |
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– SPI & GPIO (5 Pins with Interrupt Support) – 5-Pin GPIO (With Interrupt Support) |
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– 1 x 433MHz Spring Antenna (IPEX) – 1 x SMA-KE Antenna Connector – 2 x 18-Pin 2.54mm Pin Header – 2 x 18-Pin 2.54mm Long Pin Header |
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– -20° to +70°C |
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– 58 x 29mm |
Typical Applications for the FireBeetle Covers-LoRa Radio 433MHz:
Because of the unique low power and low bandwidth properties of the LoRa protocol, the FireBeetle LoRa Radio Cover allows Makers to deploy custom sensor networks in almost any location, with the size of the network simply limited by the infrastructure that you’ve put in place. As such, this means that you could easily deploy a sensor network on a farm to monitor soil health and environmental factors of various plots, a sensor network within a factory or workshop to keep track of temperatures, pressures and other critical variables, or even within your home so you can remotely monitor it while at work or travelling.
These, of course, are just some examples of how the FireBeetle Covers-LoRa Radio can be utilised, and there are still so many more possibilities that you can explore. Just remember though, that this FireBeetle Cover will require a FireBeetle IoT MCU or similar type of development board to take advantage of the awesome features that this FireBeetle LoRa Radio Cover offers.
Additional Resources:
- This is a the official DFRobot FireBeetle Covers-LoRa 433MHz Wiki Page, which is an excellent place to start, as it offers technical details, further insights into how the board operates, as well as example code to test and being experimentation with your FireBeetle LoRa Cover.
- This next link is a really handy Link Budget Calculator, to help you work out an accurate estimation of just how much link budget your project is expected to consume. Bear in mind that the typical link budget for LoRa is around 150dB.
- Once you are accustomed to the hardware and LoRa protocol, this next link is a great ESP32/ESP8266 LoRa Project Guide that will help you understand how LoRa works and how to take advantage of it, with OLED display integration for extra onsite convenience.
Finally, this is an awesome video from Andreas Spiess, “The guy with the Swiss accent”, which is an awesome introduction to the LoRa protocol, as well as the nuances that revolve around this, such as the link budget, the typical capabilities, as well as both commercial and community developments within the industry:
As self-proclaimed “Robo-holics”, DFRobot is a company comprised of over 100 staff members, of which 30% are engineers who love to build robots. It was started in 2008 with the goal of embracing and promoting open-source hardware, with a core focus on Arduino, Raspberry Pi and their very own LattePanda development boards. Since then, DFRobot have manufactured over 1300 unique modules, sensors and components that all work together and complement each other, allowing users like us to enjoy a full spectrum of cutting edge robotics and electronics without having to pay premium prices.
With the primary goal of developing and manufacturing great quality products, while making them accessible to as many people as possible, DFRobot are rapidly becoming one of the most common-place brands in the world of open-source robotics and electronics. With more than 1300 products developed in-house, and an impressive range of different categories and specialisations, there are few brands in the world who can compete in terms of quality, accessibility and genuine innovation.
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