Pycom has made some interesting IoT boards running MicroPython in the past starting with WiFi capable WiPy in 2015, and followed by various others supporting various wireless standard including Bluetooth, LoRa, Sigfox, and NB-IoT with LoPy and Fipy. The company launched all their boards via crowdfunding campaigns, and they are now back on Kickstarter for their PyGo plug-n-play wearable devices creating PyMesh networks with up to 12km range between nodes, and managed using Pylife mobile app. Typical use cases include basic connectivity (e.g. messaging) in remote areas without cellular access, and assets / pets / kids location tracking, There are two version of PyGo: PyGo1 with mesh networking only, and PyGo2 that adds cellular network access. Pygo hardware specifications: SoC – Espressif Systems ESP32 dual core WiFi 4 + BLE SoC System Memory – 64 Mbit (8MB) RAM Storage – 8MB flash Display – 128×36 OLED display Connectivity PyMesh up […]
Allwize K2 IoT Board Supports 169MHz Wize LPWAN Protocol (LoRa alternative)
LoRa, Sigfox, and NB-IoT are probably the most popular low power long range wireless protocols for the Internet of Things, but there are several others, including one I had never heard of: Wize. The Wize Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) protocol has been created in late 2017, leverages the “old and refurbished” 169 MHz frequency, support up to 20 km range, 20-year battery life, and is managed by the Wize Alliance with members including STMicroelectronics, Suez, Sagecom, Renesas, Analog Devices, Silicon Labs and many others. Despite being a recent protocol, the table below claims 3 millions of deployment for Wize, and showcases some of differences against LoRa, NB-IoT, and Sigfox. You may be confused as how the standard was created in at the end of 2017, but there are so many deployments, and 13 years experience. It appears Wize is derived from the older EN 13757 standard for gas […]
Arduino PRO Gateway for LoRa Features Raspberry Pi 3 Board
Arduino has just introduced the Arduino PRO Gateway for LoRa based on Raspberry Pi 3 development board, a LoRa gateway mPCIe module, and a metal enclosure. The strange thing about this product is that it does not feature any Arduino MCU, so why did Arduino design it? That’s because it works as a LoRa gateway for their Arduino MKR WAN 1300 IoT nodes. The gateway is sold as a kit with a LoRa gateway Embit EMB-LR1301-mPCIe card with SX1301 baseband chipset, an adapter for Raspberry Pi, an aluminum enclosure, a Raspberry Pi 3 model B+, a 5V power supply, an Ethernet cable, and an external antenna. Specifications for the LoRa part of the gateway: Chipset – Semtech SX1301 Modulation – LoRa Spread Spectrum, FSK, GFSK 868MHz (EU) / 915MHz (US) Number of Channels – 8 LoRa Channels Operating Frequency – 868MHz (EU) / 915MHz (US) Frequency Range – 860MHz to 1020MHz Operating […]
Sigfox Introduces Access Station Micro Sigfox Gateway
There are plenty of long range LPWAN standards for the Internet of Things, but the most common ones include LoRaWAN, NB-IoT, and Sigfox. LoRaWAN lead the way in terms of deployments, while NB-IoT and eMTC leverage existing cellular infrastructure but cost a bit more to operate. Sigfox works with $2 modules, but AFAIK so far you had to subscribe to the company network, and if your area was not covered you were out of luck. Sigfox Access Station Micro gateway promises to change the situation, as companies can now add their own Sigfox gateway(s) where coverage is not available, and this could make Sigfox more popular, especially if one or more communities similar to The Things Networks form(s) around it. Sigfox Access Station Micro SMBS-T4 specifications: Radio characteristics: Standard – Sigfox Ultra Narrow Band Protocol for M2M and IoT Max range of operating frequencies – 865 to 928 MHz Max […]
Pi Supply IoT LoRa Boards are made for Raspberry Pi & BBC Micro:bit Boards (Crowdfunding)
We’ve already covered plenty of LoRa boards or solutions designed for nodes or gateways such as TTGO T-Beam ESP32 + LoRa board, RAK Wireless RAK811 GPS Lora tracker board, MatchX Matchbox LoRa gateway, and many others,, but Pi Supply offers yet more options with LoRa node and gateway add-on boards designed to work with Raspberry Pi, Arduino, and BBC Micro:bit boards. Pi Supply LoRa Gateway HAT for Raspberry Pi The IoT LoRa Gateway HAT is based on RAK Wireless RAK833 mPCIe LoRa gateway concentrator module and connects to Raspberry Pi 3 B/B+ board via the 40-pin header. There are two hardware version using 868 MHz or 915 MHz frequencies, but as we’ve seen in previous reviews those are configurable for other frequencies such as AS923 or IN865. Pi Supply IoT LoRa Node pHAT for Raspberry Pi LoRa Node pHAT is designed for node specifically, and with a smaller form factor […]
WisCellular Certified Global LTE IoT Arduino Shield Enters Beta Testing
RAK Wireless introduced WisLTE Arduino shield last year based on Quectel BG96 module with support for NB-IoT (Cat NB1), eMTC (Cat M1), and 2G fallback as well as GPS location. WisLTE worked globally, but the company did not go through the certification process, at least not for the global market, meaning the shield could not be used in commercial applications. That’s why Rak Wireless has been working on WisCellular shield, also based on Quectel BG96, but this time with global certification. WisCellular specifications: Cellular Module – Quectel BG96 (based on Qualcomm MDM9206) Cellular Network 2G/GSM (GPRS/EPGRS) 4G/LTE-M (Cat M1) NB-IoT (Cat NB1) Global Bands EDGE/EGPRS: 850/900/1800/1900MHz LTE FDD: B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B8/B12/B13/B18/B19/B20/B26/B28 LTE TDD: B39 (For Cat M1 Only) Data Rate Cat M1: Max. 300Kbps (DL), Max. 375Kbps (UL) Cat NB1: Max. 32Kbps (DL), Max. 70Kbps (UL) EDGE: Max. 296Kbps (DL), Max. 236.8Kbps (UL) GPRS: Max. 107Kbps (DL), Max. 85.6Kbps (UL) Voice – […]
Samsung Introduces Exynos i S111 NB-IoT Modem + GNSS Chip
Samsung has just announced their first NB-IoT solution with Exynos i S111 chipset with a single chip integrating an NB-IoT capable LTE modem, RF IC, an on-chip security sub-system, and a PUF (Physical Unclonable Function) security solution along with various components such as CPU, and SRAM. The chip apparently also integrates GNSS hardware with support for GPS, Galileo, etc… Exynos i S111 specifications: CPU – Arm Cortex-M7 @ 200MHz On-chip Memory – 512KB SRAM Modem – LTE Release 14 NB-IoT GNSS – GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, BeiDou Interfaces / Peripherals – USI, UART, I2C, GPIO, eSIM I/F, SDIO (Host), QSPI(Single/Dual/Quad IO mode), SMC Security – eFuse, AES, SHA-2, PKA, Secure Storage, Security Sub-System, PUF The chip is also said to features Samsung’s “advanced algorithms for wider coverage”. Many NB-IoT GPS trackers currently implement a two modules solution, so the latest Exynos chip should enable more compact designs. Samsung did not publish […]
n-fuse LoRaWAN Concentrator mini PCIe Card Comes with either SX1301 or SX1308 Chip
Most gateways are based on Semtech SX1301 chip, but the company unveiled a SX1308 chip for picocell gateways back in 2016 that’s supposed to be cheaper and used indoors. Designs have been slow to come to market, but a few have been launched recently including n-fuse LRWCCx-MPCIE LoRaWAN concentrator mini PCIe card that comes with either SX1301 or SX1308 chip, and is compatible with Semtech’s Pico Gateway design. n-fuse LRWCCx-MPCIE key features & specifications: LoRa Connectivity SX1301/ SX1308 digital base band processor with dual SX1257 Tx/Rx front-ends Output power level up to 23 dBm u.FL connector (50 Ω impedance) for external antenna 868 MHz model Frequency Range – 863 to 870 MHz Sensitivity – Up to -124 dBm at SF7 (BW 125 KHz), up to -138 dBm at SF12 (BW 125 KHz) 915 MHz model Frequency Range – 915 to 928 MHz Sensitivity – Up to -125 dBm at SF7 […]