LoRaWAN/Nodes

Research

Wat kind of node options are out there?

Arduino shields

Stuff you can put right onto your Arduino and make it talk LoRaWAN

• Dragino LoRa shield
  • Based on HopeRF RFM95W
  • Severin has one
• Dragino LoRa BEE
  • based on SX1276/SX1278
  • Heiko ordered some

Complete boards

A complete combination of LoRaWAN radio and microcontroller, straight from the shelf.

• PyCom LoPy (WiFi, LoRa & BLE) - 34,95€ @ EXP-Tech
• Adafruit Feather 32u4 with LoRa (LoRa, LiPo Charger) - 36,95€ @ EXP-Tech
• SODAQ LoraOne (LoRa, LiPo, Solar) - ~95€
• Badgerboard (LoRa, LiPo, Temp/Humidity) - ~55€
• ESP32 with OLED and SX1278 - "Heltec WiFi LoRa 32"
  • Some blog post - Uses other LoRa lib
  • TTN Forum topic
  • Buy on AliExpress
  • TTN Labs Story - Contains pin assingment for LMiC on that device

  const lmic_pinmap lmic_pins = {
    .nss = 18,
    .rxtx = LMIC_UNUSED_PIN,
    .rst = 14,
    .dio = {26, 33, 32},
  };

• Other ESP32 LoRa Board
  • Newer version of the Heltec Board?
  • TTGo
  • Article on how to start using it

Simple Dev Boards

• Our own board: Arduino Pro Mini + RFM95 (based on TTN Amsterdam design below)
  • Documentation
  • Design Files
  • Buy the PCB
• TTN Amsterdam: Arduino Pro Mini + RFM95 + BMP280
  • HowTo (Some more information in the comment of this meetup)
  • Buy the board (via [1])
  • Complete Kit
  • Design files on GitHub
• TTN Stuttgart: BluePill + RFM25 + BMP280
  • Presentation
  • GitHub Repo (w/o Hardware design still)
  • Made by @orangeway
• Other BluePill (STM32) + RFM95 based board
  • GitHub Repo
  • TTN Labs Story
• TTN Ulm PCB: Arduino ProMini, RFM95
  • GitHub Repo
• Mini-LoRa
• TTN Madrid: Arduino, RFM95, Sensors
  • GitHub Repo
• ablexomat: ProMini, RFM95, Energy Harvesting IC:
  • Design Files
  • Pictures

LoRaWAN Testers

• LoRa Probulator
• LoRa Gateway Locator

Our Nodes

Some of the nodes we build at the lab

Test Unit One

Built by Severin

• Arduino Uno
• Dragino LoRa shield
• GPS module

ProMini Node

ProMini Node in case

• The TTN Amsterdam node, in a small power distribution box, with I2C sensor (BME/P 280)
• Built as part of our first LoRa workshop
• Powered by 2 AAA batteries, which also fit inside the case

Ideas for Sensors & Nodes

Traffic counter

Count cars on a road. (Maybe also bikes on bike lanes?)

• Slidedeck with different measurement types [2]
• Guide for building one using air pressure tube
• Sensor using ultrasound, SR04 sensor
  • More information on ultrasound sensors
  • Description of Oxford Floud Network Sensor (also uses ultrasound sensors, by Maxbotix)

Weather & Air Quality Monitoring

• City Air Quality
  • hackadayio project
  • NOx, CO, O3, PM2.5, ..
• Arry Of Things
  • Project from Chicago
  • Loads of sensors [3]
  • Twitter

Others, no futher details yet

• Weather station (Temperature, Humidity, Air Pressure)
• Water temperature (lake, garden pond)
• Water level (cistern, garden pond, river)
• PIR sensor for movement (garage, selfstorage, ...)
  • Also Door openings
• Offgrid solar monitoring
• Postbox status -> "You got mail!"
• Garden/Plant monitoring
• NOx