Seeed Studio has launched two 900 MHz WiFi HaLow modules for long-range, low-power communication based on Quectel FGH100M-H: the Wio-WM6180 Wi-Fi HaLow mini-PCIe module designed to be installed in hardware such as OpenWrt routers or even Raspberry Pi SBCs, and the Wi-Fi HaLow module for Seeed Studio XIAO designed to take XIAO boards with Espressif, Raspberry Pi, or Nordic Semi microcontrollers.
These solutions can be useful for Smart Home devices, industrial automation, Smart City infrastructure, Smart Agriculture, and environmental monitoring systems. The most typical use cases are WiFi HaLow cameras with up to one kilometer range.
Wio-WM6180 Wi-Fi HaLow mini-PCIe Module
Specifications:
- Quectel FGH100M-H Wi-Fi HaLow module compliant with IEEE 802.11ah standard.
- Chipset – Morse Micro MM6108
- Wi-Fi Frequency Band – 902–928 MHz
- Operating mode – Access Point (AP) or Station (STA)
- Modulation – OFDM, BPSK, QPSK, 16QAM, 64QAM
- Data Rate – Up to 32.5Mbps link rate
- Range – Up to 1km
- Security – AES, SHA-256, SHA-384, SHA-512, WPA3
- Interface – SDIO or SPI
- IPEX connector for 900 MHz antenna
- Dimensions – 13.0 x 13.0 x 2.2mm
- Host interfaces – Mini PCIe connector (using which interface, Seeed Studio did not say, I’d assume SPI instead of SDIO)
- Power Supply – 3.0 to 3.6V (Typ. 3.3V)
- Dimensions – Not mentioned (mini PCIe card)
- Temperature Range
- Standard: -30°C to +85°C
- Extended: -40°C to +85°C (Note: Seeed Studio was quite lazy here, as they just copied the specs from the Quectel module. It’s safe to assume they only offer the standard version…)
The main use case here is to connect the Wio-WM6180 to a Raspberry Pi (4) board. You’ll also need an mPCIe HAT, a microSD card to flash the OpenWrt image with HaLow drivers, a power supply, and an antenna.
The wiki guides you through all steps until the Morse Micro’s OpenWrt LuCi web interface, and explanations on how to setup the Pi as an access point. But the documentation is garbage for any other platform since we are not told which interface is used on the mini PCIe connector nor given a link to drivers.
Having said that, it looks to reproduce the setup of Morse Micro MM6801-EKH01 evaluation kit so you can always refer to the documentation for the official devkit. It’s not quite the first Wi-Fi HaLow mini PCIe module, and we previously covered the Gateworks GW16146 relying on USB signalling.
The Wio-WM6180 Wi-Fi HaLow mini PCIe module can be purchased for $14.90 on Seeed Studio, but remember you’ll also need to bring your own ~900 MHz antenna, or purchase the 2.6dBi model on Seeed Studio along with an u.FL to SMA adapter ($4.39 in total).
Wi-Fi HaLow module for Seeed Studio XIAO
Specifications:
- Quectel FGH100M-H Wi-Fi HaLow module as described above
- Compatible with XIAO MCU module via female header
- Expansion – Breakout headers for XIAO module
- Dimensions – 42 x 25mm
The documentation only applies to XIAO ESP32 modules for now, since it relies on the ESP-IDF v5.1.1 along with Morse Micro MM-IoT-SDK Framework for ESP32 boards. The XIAO ESP32S3 Sense is an ideal candidate since it comes with a camera, only of the most common use cases for WiFi HaLow.
The Wi-Fi HaLow module for Seeed Studio XIAO also sells for $14.90 on the company’s online store. The XIAO ESP32S3 Sense adds $13.99, and you’d also need to add around $4+ for the antenna as mentioned for the mini PCIe module. An alternative would be the larger LILYGO T-Halow with ESP32-S3, WiFi HaLow, Ethernet, and support for OV2640/OV5640 cameras.
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.
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Related only in that it refers to HaLo: I’d like to find a card that I can put in the WWAN slot in my laptop. It’s got an antenna intended for cell use, so I assume it covers the lower 900MHz band (probalby not well). And an AP to go with it that I can mount in my attic. Then I can drag my laptop anywhere around the house/yard where wifi just doesn’t quite make it.
Do you think that tiny SMD ceramic antennas would work for this ? Of course they’re much less effective than a real antenna, but we’ve seen them used quite a bit with low-end wifi, and even LoRa devices often propose just a short coil as antenna for long range. If you could cover all your yard with such an antenna, maybe you could have it entirely integrated into a USB device that would just need to be plugged when going outside ?
No, chip scale antennas perform little better than a resistor of the same size, so I wouldn’t count on one doing well for such a long wavelength. You’d need a good 1/4 wave antenna or better. Given the lack of ground plane, a 1/2 wave would make more sense. In free space that’s 16-18cm–which would be an antenna most the width of a laptop screen. Given the metal case construction, it probably would need to be some other kind of antenna due to the shielding. Now, if I had a cheap plastic laptop, I’d be better off. 🙁