I know this may be a broad question, but I looking if there is a ‘go-to’ LoRa module to use for the circuit I’m designing, it will be just have a few sensors and a LoRa module for transmission.
I’m from Australia so would need a 915MHz module but I’m not sure if buying a module off AliBaba like this one would be suitable, first and foremost they don’t seem to supply a datasheet.
Should I be buying LoRa modules of certain manufacturers?
Kind of going through the same thing and bought several different ones for testing. My recommendation would be to buy the one that is best supported with the best documentation that you can afford. Once you get it working then consider backing off to the cheap stuff in the future. Good luck!
It would be wise to purchse from a local supplier that can at least provide a datasheet for the part you are buying.
When buying from sites such as you linked to you may not actully get the part shown and if they dont work as intended are you in a good position to return the items ?
There are warning signs in the advert, its a picture of a well know LoRa module, yet they dont give you the actual part number. Buyer beware.
Oh, and one other thing, since you are building TTN nodes check that the part number you buy does have a TTN compatible library for it, not all ‘LoRa’ modules do.
This is generally an issue for parts that an MCU between the radio chip and the outside world, or parts that are on the wrong frequency or use an unsupported chip, or don’t bring out necessary signals.
That would primarily be things that are sold as point to point serial links or implement custom network protocols, rather than for generic LoRa usage including LoRaWAN.
Yes, it would be helpful if advertisers would quote the scope of what they were selling, but as in the link the OP provided, this is often not the case.
Someone in a position to buy things should know what an SX1276 is. They even included the front page of the data sheet of the Hope version.
If those things aren’t meaningful to you, you should probably not be buying SPI interfaced LoRa radios, but rather stick with something that implements LoRaWAN itself and takes an AT command set.
As I am sure you realise, I am fully aware of the diffence between SPI and UART interfaced LoRa devices.
My point was that adverts often do not quote the scope of the use of the ‘LoRa’ devices they are selling.
You will find adverts for Ebyte ‘SX1276’ modules that are UART front ended and there is no TTN library for them and thus they are unsutable for TTN use. In this case knowing what an SX1276 is does not help.
My point was that adverts often do not quote the scope of the use of the ‘LoRa’ devices they are selling.
You are, I am afraid, being rather unfair to seller of the item at the askers link, because while there are pieces of information which are not well stated, the sorts of things you are claiming are missing, are actually right there.
If you will take time to actually visit the link, you will see that not only is it a bare SX127x, the SPI and DIO pins are clearly silkscreened on the module itself. Most forum members and most of their likely customers would also presumably recognize the board design - it happens to be that of the most widely known family of SPI lora modules on the planet, or a copy thereof. People using that do not expect software from the board seller, they use standard open source code as documented in several threads on this forum.
In contrast, if you visit ebyte’s site you will see that they show UART rather than SPI pins.
I did look at the link, from earlier;
> "When buying from sites such as you linked to you may not actully get the part shown and if they dont work as intended are you in a good position to return the items ?
There are warning signs in the advert, its a picture of a well know LoRa module, yet they dont give you the actual part number. Buyer beware."*
The muRata Type-ABZ module is a popular choice. It’s more or less pre-certified, has an on-board STM32L0 MCU, SX1276 and available with a full development kit: B-L072Z-LRWAN1
I designed a node myself from the schematics to the embedded software. During development I changed from a LoRa module to a LoRaWAN module (the difference is the on board protocol stack and quite some trouble saved). The Microchip RN2483 has a comprehensible datasheet / manual and I managed to join the TTN and send data within 2 days of work, including programming of the UART driver on my controller.
https://www.microchip.com/wwwproducts/en/RN2483
that’s great… show it to us then 
Hey have a look at this.
Also with the micro chip.
But I plan to redesign it because I don’t like the Mikrocontroller.
If somebody has a perfect low power Design please share it.
It uses a ATmega328, which is capable of very low power operation, so what the problem with it ?
If you tell us the problem, its easier for others to suggest something ‘better’
Not in the modern sense. Most of what an ATmega gets you is the least “porty” Arduino port, or the ability to run from a wider range of supply voltages. But in this case you need the SX127x which doesn’t have the ATmega’s higher voltage capability, and they design isn’t trying to use a lithium cell anyway. Most importantly, because it has an RN2903 there are actually two MCUs, which is one more than needed.
That’s not to say it can’t work or that it may not solve some problems the asker would otherwise have to solve on their own.
I didn’t found any good I2c library. That is the problem. Can the RN2903 used stand alone?
Also to get values from an I2c device?
At the moment the plan is an esp32. But also from point of power consumption and operation range is not optimal.
I found nothing perfect that smal can uses one cell 1.5V Bettery and has modern architecture.
At the moment I am testing the heltec module. But the SX127x has the problem of not an integrated LaroWanstack. If their existing an one single chip it where great.
Being more descriptive helps, so in what way is the I2C library for the Atmega not good ?
OK I thought it is an Software I2C.
Isn’t it? What library u use for i2c?
