Docker Pi IoT Node(A) Adds LoRa, GPRS and GPS to Raspberry Pi Board

The Docker Pi IoT Node(A) is the latest addition to the Docker Pi series of modules meant to enhance IoT capability and expand on the Raspberry Pi family of SBCs. Although it is mountable on the Raspberry Pi SBC, the HAT form factor allows it to be used with other similar single board computers such as Rock64 board.

The Docker Pi IoT Node(A) supports GPS/BDS (Beidou), GSM, and LoRa. The add-on board interfaces to the host over I2C, in order to control LoRa & GSM connectivity, as well as the GPS/BDS module through SC16IS752 chip. There are a number of code examples and instructions that can be found on the Wiki.

The unit can also be controlled directly without programming, and all the GPIO pins are extended so the board can stack on other HAT compatible boards, in appropriate layers.

Specifications

GPRS section

• Low power consumption, standby sleep current <1mA
• Support GSM/GPRS, four frequency bands, including 850, 900, 1800, 1900MHZ
• GPRS Class 10
• Support GPRS data service, maximum data rate, download 85.6Kbps, upload 42.8Kbps
• Support standard GSM07.07, 07.05 AT commands, and access the serial port through I2C interface conversion
• AT commands support standard AT and TCP/IP command ports
• Support standard SIM card

GPS section

• Support BDS/GPS joint positioning
• Support A-GPS, A-BDS

LORA section

• Transmission distance – 500 meters (RF parameters: 0x50 @ China City)
• Support FSK, GFSK, MSK, GMSK, LoRaTM, and OOK modulation methods
• Ultra-high receiver sensitivity as low as -141 dBm
• Support preamble detection
• Packet engine with CRC, up to 256 bytes
• LORA transceiver indicator

The unit comes with two antennas for long-range sensor applications and a high gain built-in ceramic active antenna for GNSS. The units are available for pre-order on Seeed Studio with an estimated availability date of July 22, 2019. The units cost $36.99 each.

Stephen Vicinanza

Stephen started writing about technology after publishing sci-fi short stories. His first White-Paper, written in 2008, was well received and inspired him to continue writing about technology. Today he writes in the technology space full time, covering a multitude of topics. During the time he wrote part-time he edited hundreds of titles for large publishers, in science and technology. He lives in Staten Island, with his wife and children.

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