unPhone – An ESP32-S3 IoT development platform with LoRaWAN, touchscreen, open-source ecosystem

unPhone All in one LoRa, WiFi and BT dev device with touchscreen and LiPo battery

Pimoroni, in partnership with the University of Sheffield, introduced the unPhone – an open-source non-cellular IoT development platform built around the ESP32-S3 wireless microcontroller. The unPhone isn’t meant to replace phones but can simplify tasks and give you more control over your data. In addition to the ESP32-S3, it features a 3.5″ 320×480 touchscreen display, LoRaWAN, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a vibration motor, an accelerometer, and various other features. Designed with these capabilities, this module can be used for teaching and rapid prototyping, while also finding applications in aquaponics. unPhone key features and components Wireless module – ESP32-S3-WROOM-1U-N8 MCU – ESP32-S3 dual-core Tensilica LX7 up to 240 MHz with 512KB SRAM and 8MB PSRAM Storage – 8MB Quad SPI flash Wireless – 2.4 GHz WiFi 4 and Bluetooth LE 5 Hardware Features LCD touchscreen for debugging and UI creation. LoRaWAN for free radio communication Vibration motor for notifications. IR LEDs for remote control. […]

RAKwireless launches SX1303 based M.2 LoRaWAN concentrator modules and full-duplex gateway

Wislink M.2 2242 2280 LoRaWAN SX1303 concentrator modules

RAKwireless has recently introduced two new LoRaWAN products with the RAK5166/67 WisLink M.2 3042/2280 concentrator module based on the Semtech SX1303 RF transceiver and the RAK7285 WisGate Edge Ultra Full-Duplex gateway for high-density network deployments, particularly for smart city infrastructure, metering applications, and other scenarios requiring reliable two-way communication at scale. RAK5166 and RAK5167 M.2 3042 and 2280 LoRaWAN concentrator modules RAK5166/RAK5167 specifications: Wireless Semtech SX1303 baseband processor with 8 x 8 channels LoRa packet detectors, 8x SF5-SF12 LoRa demodulators, 8x SF5-SF10 LoRa demodulators, one 125/250/500 kHz high-speed LoRa demodulator, and one (G)FSK demodulator Tx power up to 27 dBm Rx sensitivity down to -139 dBm @ SF12, BW 125 kHz Supports global license-free frequency band (EU868, IN865, RU864, US915, AU915, KR920, AS923-1, AS923-2, AS923-3, AS923-4) Listen Before Talk (LBT) support Fine Timestamp Built-in ZOE-M8Q GPS module (optional) 2x MHF4 IPEX connectors for the LoRa and GNSS (optional)  antennas Host […]

Murata Type 2GT tiny LoRa module features Semtech LR1121 with Sub-GHz ISM, 2.4GHz, satellite S-Band support

Murata LR1211 LoRa module

Murata Type 2GT module is a tiny multi-band, low-power radio LoRa module based on the Semtech LR1121, the successor of the LR1120, that supports 860 to 930 MHz and 2.4GHz ISM bands, as well as the 2.1 GHz Satellite S-Band meaning it can work globally. The Type 2GT module measures just 9.98 x 8.70 x 1.74mm and is built on a PCB housed in a metal case and packaged as a land grid array. It combines the Semtech LR1121 RF transceiver IC, a thermally compensated crystal oscillator (TCXO), a second 32KHz crystal, an RF switch, and an RF matching network. Murata Type 2GT module (LBAA0XV2GT-001) specifications: Transceiver – Semtech LR1121 LoRa transceiver LoRa frequencies 860 to 930 MHz (ISM) 2.4 GHz ISM 2.1 GHz satellite S-Band Technology – LoRa, LR-FHSS (Long Range – Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum) 32 MHz TCXO for maximum frequency accuracy Peripheral I/F – SPI and GPIOs […]

LoLRa project – Transmitting LoRa packets without radio using CH32V003, ESP8266, or ESP32-S2 MCU

LolRa

The LoLRa project is a firmware-only LoRa transmission open-source project that works without a Semtech radio and instead relies on an I2S or SPI interface (so not exactly bit-banging) to transmit data with microcontrollers such as WCH CH32V003, or Espressif Systems ESP8266 and ESP32-S2 microcontrollers. LoRa is a proprietary protocol by Semtech, but people have been trying to reverse-engineer the LoRa PHY for years, and this culminated with a LoRa GNU Radio SDR implementation last year. But CNLohr found out you don’t even need a radio to send LoRa packets and you can instead use SPI or I2S interfaces from general-purpose microcontrollers to send packets that can be decoded by commercial off-the-shelf LoRa gateways and other chips. The current implementation is designed for the  ITU Region 2 (aka The Americas) targeting the 902-928MHz frequency band, but the code could be changed for Region 1 (EU, Russia, Africa) to target 863-870MHz […]

Quectel KG200Z LoRa module is now secured by The Things Stack

LoRa KG200Z with The Things Industries LoRa Support

In January of this year, Quectel launched the KG200Z LoRa Module, an Arm Cortex-M4-based module boasting a self-proclaimed range of 2-5 kilometers in urban settings and 10-15 kilometers in suburban areas. At that time, it was just another LoRa module with some additional features. However, in the latest development, Quectel and The Things Industries have announced a partnership that ensures this LoRa module comes integrated with “Works with The Things Stack” and “Secured by The Things Stack” certifications, enhancing its value and utility. In simpler terms, it’s been tested and proven to operate smoothly within The Things Stack ecosystem. Earlier this year, we saw STMicro and  Particle Industries release their LoRa-based modules and devices. Feel free to check those out if you are interested. KG200Z LoRa Module Specification: Arm Cortex-M4-based standalone LoRa module (STM32WL) Frequency support – 470–510MHz and 862–928MHz bands Low power – 1.7 μA in deep sleep mode […]

Comparing the latency of various wireless standards

Wireless Latency

If you’ve ever wondered which wireless standard may deliver the smallest lag (latency) when transmitting small packets, we’ve now gotten an answer thanks to Scott at Electric UI who benchmarked various wireless links in common MCU development boards. More specifically the following hardware and wireless standards were tested: SiliconLabs 10×0-GM RF+8051 microcontroller with 240–960 MHz EZRadioPRO transceiver running SiK firmware HopeRF RFM95W LoRa module (on an Adafruit Breakout board) connected to an STM32F429 MCU Nordic Semi nRF24L01 2.4GHz transceiver module ESP32 board for ESP-NOW and WiFi testing is shown as ESP32 WS (WebSockets) or ESP32 TCP in the chart below. Raspberry Pi boards were also used for comparison ESP32-C6 board for 802.15.4 transfers (Thread) ESP32 and HC-05 modules for Bluetooth SPP (Serial Port Profile) ESP32 board with NimBLE and Bluedroid stacks and nRF52 for Bluetooth LE testing Here are the results for 12 bytes, 128 bytes, and 1024 bytes data transfers. […]

STMicro STM32WL5MOC SiP Module is pre-certified for LoRaWAN & Sigfox networks

STM32WL5MOC wireless prototyping board

STMicroelectronics has recently introduced the STM32WL5MOC system in package (SiP) module with a dual-core STM32 microcontroller, sub-1 GHz RF radio, power supply, and passive components into a 10×10 mm LGA package. According to ST, the new chip uses the STM32WL module which we have seen used in Arduino MKR-inspired MKR Windy board, smart building, and many other LoRa devices. STMicroelectronics’ STM32WL, an Arm Cortex-M0+ microcontroller, operates in sub-GHz ISM bands (413-479MHz, 826-958MHz, and 169MHz later in 2024) for protocols like wireless M-Bus (mode N) and Wize. It supports multi-protocol and multi-modulation (4-(G)FSK, 2-(G)FSK, (G)MSK, DBPSK, DSSS, OOK, ASK) for various wireless standards (Sigfox, KNX, WiSun, mioty, M-Bus, etc.) and introduces power-saving features for up to 15 years of battery life. STM32WL5MOC SiP module specifications: Core Specifications:  STM32WL55JC SoC with 32-bit Arm Cortex-M4 and Cortex-M0+ CPUs, up to 48 MHz. Adaptive real-time accelerator (ART Accelerator) for efficient flash memory execution. DSP instructions […]

Entry-level Industrial Shields ESP32 PLC 14 sells for 100 Euros

ESP32 PLC 14

Boot & Work Corp has just introduced an entry-level PLC based on ESP32 wireless microcontroller with the “Industrial Shields ESP32 PLC 14” that comes with seven inputs and five outputs, as well as I2C, RS485, Ethernet, WiFi, and Bluetooth communication interfaces. We first covered “Industrial Shields” automation devices in 2017 when the company introduced panel PCs based on Banana Pi, Raspberry Pi, and Hummingboard (NXP i.MX 6) SBCs, as well as a few Arduino and Raspberry Pi PLCs. Boot & Work Corp then launched a Raspberry Pi 4-based PLC in 2021, and now the company has introduced the ESP32 PLC 14 part of a larger family of PLC devices as we’ll see further below. ESP32 PLC 14 specifications: Wireless module – ESP-WROOM-32U with ESP32 dual-core wireless microcontroller @ 240 MHz with 4MB SRAM, 4MB flash, 2MB PSRAM I/Os through terminal blocks 4x Digital Outputs 12/24 V DC (can also act […]

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