LoPy Antenna Setup / Installation
-
@Xykon said in LoPy Antenna Setup / Installation:
@bartvandeenen According to the specification sheet LoRa is using a Semtech LoRa transceiver SX1272 while Wifi/BT is using Espressif ESP32 Dual Core Microcontroller,
Not sure how the Semtech transceiver can be tested other than sending data between two LoRa devices.
If you want to see the transmitted signals on the physical level you can go for an SDR (software defined radio) with a free SdrSharp software and a cheap DVB-T USB stick (RTL)., see http://airspy.com/
For LoRa test you need a proven, working LoRa device instead of two LoPy, at least in this stage. There are many vendors, e.g. Microchip's http://www.microchip.com/wwwproducts/en/RN2483 This module requires only a serial terminal and you can configure, send, receive with simple text commands. There are evaluation boards also with sensors and USB interface with this chip to connect to Linux, Windows via USB serial. Or the mikroelektronika click module http://www.mikroe.com/click/lora/
-
@bartvrancken said in LoPy Antenna Setup / Installation:
running without antenne might break your radio! never turn on without antenna!
I don't think transmitting without antenna you can break the LoRa transceiver. I'm using gateways and devices without antenna many times for testing or just by accident with no issues (not LoPy but others with the same Sx127x chips).
-
@bartvandeenen According to the specification sheet LoRa is using a Semtech LoRa transceiver SX1272 while Wifi/BT is using Espressif ESP32 Dual Core Microcontroller,
Not sure how the Semtech transceiver can be tested other than sending data between two LoRa devices.
-
@bartvrancken
Ok, I did run lorawan, without the antenna (well it was actually on the wrong connector!).So can I tell if the radio chip is broken ? wifi runs fine, is this the same hardware? Does wifi interfere with the lora radio? Where can I find this info?
Greetings
-
running without antenne might break your radio! never turn on without antenna!
-
This information should really be somewhere among the "things you should do before starting your board" -stuff.
-
@te-bachi There is an internal wifi antenna and two connectors for external antennae, both U.FL. The one near the LED and reset button is for LoRa, the white block in the other end is the WiFi antenna. LoRa's longer wavelengths require the use of an antenna such as the one at Pycom's webshop. Without it, the radio still works but the long range (measured in kilometers!) is reduced to a few centimeters; but the store page also recommends not trying this, apparently it really can harm the radio. You can select WiFi antenna (the internal one is used by default) with the network.WLAN().antenna() method.
