You are welcome! For the moment I do not plan it. These measurements are very time-consuming. In this video, the focus was on LoRa, not on the whole board.

I do not know which boards you compared. There are other ways of comparing output power. You do not need a Spectrum Analyzer. But everything else (also the antennas and its position) have to be completely the same (to the millimeter).

You can send your colleague further away (if you watch my world record video)...

Thank you for your support!

The box for the CNC would probably be quite big ;-) So better finish it!

You are welcome!

No.

Thank you for your offer. This is a beast with 15mm diameter! As I said I try to avoid antenna cable on these high frequencies. But good to know the offer.

Yes the diameter is not that small. However, there are all kinds of adapters that you can use even to downsize to the smallest sizes like for the LoRa boards. Here's an example of a site that is interesting, for a change, not BangGood etc... : www.bazaargadgets.com/15cm-u-fl-ipx-to-rp-sma-female-antenna-pigtail-jumper-cable-html

You are right. I have a nearly complete set of Adapters;-)

Thank you for the update. Mine is really a few months old. So they changed in the meantime.

These boards, use the same chip as yours. So you can configure it as a node or a single channel gateway

You are welcome!

Thank you for your feedback!

What parameters are you using? SF, bandwidth, power, frequency?

For this test I used power level 20 and SF9 to create a signal long enough for the spectrum analyzer to measure.

Thanks Andreas, I was asking to Georges but thanks anyways. Have you tried the LoRa modules from nicerf? I'm using them with the default small helical antenna and I'm getting very short range (about 300m) using SF11, 125kHz bw and 17dBm power

Sorry totoxahc. With SF7. You see in TTN in Santander Spain. Santander- Maliaño. With a rak831 and a RPI3B. Only one time for minute.

Welcome to the channel!

You are welcome!

true. I also feel this way. I also found out that there are two output pins in the SX1276 for the RX output. One for the Low power o/p and another for the higher power transmissions. Have these manufacturers utilised both outputs Andreas? Thanks.

I do not know because I do not see the traces. But I would be surprised if they would not connected the PA pin

Actually you highlighted what could be a big bug in design. It doesnt even come close to the rated 2dBm. Thats sad.

I did not measure the output of the concentrator as I so not have Software to create a continuous signal for these chips.

Have you ever measure the output power with the arduino RFM95 shield which you used in here? ukposts.info/have/v-deo/mZSZi3-mZG2Y02g.html I wonder the output power because even assumming the shield and smd connectors are perfectly match to 50ohms, a have still question mark in my head about RFM95 moule itself.

Maybe you can measure the peak power of the concantrator but with the spectrum analyser you can not measure it right? You need an GHz oscilloscope to capture the peak voltages.

As I said: yes

That's suspicious. I've to check it on RAK811 and RAK813.

You are right. The question is how you program these chips (toolchain, libraries)

The STM32F103C8T6 is well supported by Roger Clark Melbourne's STM32Duino ( github.com/rogerclarkmelbourne/Arduino_STM32 ), so I don't see any good reason why Sandeep Mistry's LoRa-library ( github.com/sandeepmistry/arduino-LoRa ) wouldn't work with it. I'll at least give it a try and if it doesn't, I'll fix it and send him a patch for it. The OLED-display works fine with the STM32Duino, I've got a couple of them and I have used them with STM32. This is to say, it should work just fine with the Arduino IDE, as long as one understands how to set up STM32Duino from github. Personally, though, I am not planning to stick to STM32Duino; I'll use STM's official STM32CubeMX and Eclipse in the long run and port Sandeep's library over to it. STM32Duino isn't quite as good for low-power operation, so that's my reason for going with STM32CubeMX + Eclipse. (If there's someone here reading this comment who'd like to use STM's official tools and libraries for the STM32 MCUs, leanpub.com/mastering-stm32 is a very good book for learning the stuff. It's not quite as easy to do quick projects with it as it is with the Arduino-environment, but on the other hand, you get a lot more capabilities and better control over the MCU.)

I know Roger and used his library. But since the ESPs the speed was no issue anymore for me.

It is now merged. So I pulled the actual library and will test it next week. Thanks for the hint!

Actually the legal maximum TX power for 868 MHz is +14dBm according to ETSI.

It is ok to test a device at higher power into a test instrument. The SX127x chips are rated for a maximum output of +20dBm, I believe Andreas was just testing to see if the RF matching on the PCB was done correctly so as to let the device put out the full power. Also in North America, Australia, and India power levels up to +30dBm are allowed.

I know that, was just mentioning it, because if you use a proper designed stack, the designer of the stack may take care of those limitiation. What I also heard, from guys who used to work pretty close with Semtech, the SX1272 for example is rated for a maximum output power of +20dBm, it also delivers it...But those +20dBm is basically marketing fuzz, which means those +20dBm are possible, but may damage the chip over time. (Basically what absolute maximum rating means)

The main thing with the +20dBm setting is that you make sure your antenna is tuned properly, I believe they specify an SWR below 2.1, the supply voltage also has to be above a certain level to get the full power, I think it has to be above 3 volts.

The new library should set the registers right. But I did not try yet.

These boards are made for a particular frequency. So no change is possible :-(

But this is the power at the antenna. Including all losses before (like bad SWR and cables). I have no fears for most of the antennas I saw so far ;-)

You need a sort of network protocol on top of the LoRa protocol for that. Maybe you find one if you google. I do not know one.

@@AndreasSpiess Thanks, this was also my thought. I have a lot of experience with Modbus TCP&RTC. Is that a good candidate with or without CRC?

I do not know. I found this one: nootropicdesign.com/projectlab/2018/10/20/lora-mesh-networking/ And the radiohead library also has a mesh support

@@AndreasSpiess Seems interesting I'll check it out

I did this in a previous video. It works.

Maybe they did not have enough space?

All of the mentioned methods should work if there are no obstacles between the transmitter and the receiver. So I would start my tests with ESPnow or WiFi (both have similar properties) and only move to LoRa if it does not work. LoRa SF7 is fast enough for your purpose

Do you have more details on how to check the GPS?

I do not remember. Their names should be in the sketch.

I have no influence on TTGOs price policy and I do not see why the prices should have gone up because of these minor changes. I checked the prices I paid and did not find a price increase. The first Heltec cost 15 dollars and the first TTGO 14 dollars. Currently, 2 TTGO boards still cost 27 dollars. If you buy huge quantities I am sure you can contact TTGO directly and ask them.

Hi Víðarr, do you have a link to your work? I expect may readers would benefit by reading about your plans.

I had once a whisper node with the RFM69 and it did well. I assume the ones with the RFM95 will also perform well. AFAIK they mainly changed the transceiver.

Maybe you measure the current in the two different situations? And also the voltage. Maybe it stops and the battery is still nearly full. I never did such tests.

Maybe. I cannot check.

Maybe you watch my videos about LoRa nodes or ESP deep sleep. Depending on the coverage of the network one or the other is ok

Here are some links that may be helpful for low energy use. First work by our beloved Andreas :-), then CNLohr work for ESP8266, then Kevin Darrah using an external wake-up circuit. 1. ukposts.info/have/v-deo/gYmmjYqdhmyasKc.html #58 ESP8266 Sensor runs 17 days on a coin cell/transmits data to sparkfun.com and ubidots.com Andreas Spiess Published on May 5, 2016 "In this episode I show how a ESP-07 or ESP-12 measures its voltage and transmits it to data.sparkfun.com and ubidots.com. If it transmits every 2 minutes, it ran 26 hours on a small LIR2450 button cell. If it would transmit each hour, it would last for 17 days and on 2 AA batteries 425 days" 2. ukposts.info/have/v-deo/gWOdfo2aiYmdtnU.html Aggressively Low Power with the ESP8266 CNLohr Published on Jan 16, 2018 I wanted to see how low power the ESP8266 could be if it was no longer constrained by the infrastructure of 802.11. The results were shocking. Power savings was INCREDIBLE. Watch this video to see the results and my process. ... from 5-6 sec to 100 ms. Uses Victor's pvvx/MinESPSdkLib. ... Running OpenWRT router that reads raw packets, so no UDP or TCP. ... OR you could use an attiny + nrf24l01+ and run it two years on a single CR2032 coincell (replacing the router with an ESP8266 with a nrf24l01+ slapped on it). ... Andreas Spiess has a video about ESP Now, which is designed for such short messages. But i like your approach better and it seems to take half the time. 3. TrigBoard - uses TPL5111 Nano Timer www.trigboard.com/ www.kevindarrah.com/wiki/index.php?title=TrigBoard#What_is_the_trigBoard.3F ukposts.info/have/v-deo/p56jgK-LmIuiw6s.html trigBoard DEMO + CODE Walkthrough & Tutorial - ESP8266 EXTREME Low Power by Kevin Darrah Uses TPL5111 for low sleep Can do OTA (Over-The-Air) update #include ESP8266WebServer, WiFiManager, WiFiClientSecure, AdruinoJson, ESP8266mDNS, WiFiUdp, AruinoOTA

Nate Welch below created a change in the library which should enable the 20 dBm. I will try it next week.

Maybe you watch my other videos about LoRa there you might find answers

It usually works with batteries.

Thank you!

I agree.

You get most of these boards also in a 433MHz version. I never tested 433 antennas so far.

Thank you Andreas for your reply.

I only had 1 connector more than with a normal antenna. And the coax I used (RG316) should have less than 1 dB loss for the 30 cm. Nate Welch below created a change in the library which should enable the 20 dBm. I will try it next week.

Hi Andreas - yes you are right the coax will have very little loss but the crimped connection will have some as well. While the connector as such will most probably have very little, the crimp if not done perfectly will add some loss as well. I have taken as a habit to add 0.5 to 1 dB of loss for every mounted connector. So while you may indeed have 20 dBm power on the output pin, you may not have this by the time it reaches the on board connector. It would be worth trying this with a known (and expensive) measured coax cable from R&S/Telegärtner versus a cheap crimped cable in a factory of Guangzhou or Shenzen ;-)

I agree and I think I will try the library first. If we get more power, we take it. If not I use your explanations to accept that I measure a little wrong. Because it would not produce more power if I invest in an expensive cable ;-) When I started to buy equipment I decided to go for a good price/performance, not highest quality. I would anyway not be able to afford it.

@@AndreasSpiess It's been a long time but did a software fix it?

The attenuator is as a protection for my Spectrum analyzer. Not necessary here, but good practice as the analyzer only supports 30 dBm. And I hope, I added it to the result ;-)

I never used the T-beam

you did review it though... I though you may have tried it further@@AndreasSpiess

I do not know.

All have the same SX1278 chip

@@AndreasSpiess I am truly grateful for your valuable reply.

There are plenty of videos around I think. Sometimes you have to press the "boot" button.

I did not test them.

I did videos about range testing (wardriving)

@@AndreasSpiess Merci villmol ;)

Cables are generally bad at these frequencies and should be avoided because they lose a lot of signal in both directions. If you cannot avoid them, use the thickest you can afford. I usually use RG316 in my lab.

@@AndreasSpiess thanks :) It's not possible to avoid cables in my application, the shortest I can use is roughly 4".

Because the modules are so small I usually place them at the antenna and use DC cables for the distance...

@@AndreasSpiess with something like those lora modules i would do the same but with the 2.4ghz amps i use on my rc transmitter i have to use patch cables from the output of the rc transmitter to the amplifiers, i have my antennas mounted directly to the amps.

As all other ESP32 boards. Using an Arduino IDE, for example

I stopped to cover GSM modules because the networks are or will be switched off.

@@AndreasSpiess ohk..

No. I use my iPhone for that purpose. Much nicer...

I only used Nextion displays for that purpose.

@@AndreasSpiess Do you have a connection layout ;-)

@@AndreasSpiess Is the power from the Lora enough for the display or do you use the external power to the Nextion

I made videos about Nextion displays.

Go to the Espressif homepage. There you find a flasher software for binaries. UKposts does not allow links anymore

Unfortunately I cannot do remote debugging. I would add distance between the sensor and the Lora board for a test.

@@AndreasSpiess Yes, If I add 2-3 meters distance then everything is ok but why wifi doesn't trigger RCWL-0516 motion but LoRa does? I'm going also to reduce RCWL-0516 sensivity by adding resitor to "R-GN" on RCWL-0516 board. It seems RCWL-0516 is triggered by the LoRa only when I set the higest "TxPower" and the higest "SpreadingFactor". For default LoRa settings it is working fine. I've tested that LoRa works better with XYC-WB-DC motion sensor. I can set max "TxPower" on LoRa and motion won't be triggered during sending data.

Did you search on the TTN forum? (www.thethingsnetwork.org/forum/ )

LoRaWAN has a different address for all nodes.

It needs Serial Monitor open (see sketch)

You're my hero! It wasn't working on a battery because of "while (!Serial);". I commented that out and now it works like a charm! Thanks Andreas! You rock!

Unfortunately, I cannot do remote debugging :-(

No, I do not think so. It has no BLE

You find it on Github

I do not know :-( Check the power supply.

:-)

Thanks. You are right. I am not intelligent enough to learn this system :-( So I am glad we have a simple metric one here.

:-)

... again.

If you mean circuitpython; I made a video where I used it.

You can try. But the Wi-Fi protocol is not made for such slow connections. Better is to engineer the LoRa part differently and only transfer what is really needed.

@@AndreasSpiess Thanks!

Maybe it's possible to use several in parallel?

The first hit on google if you search "lora.h" is github.com/sandeepmistry/arduino-LoRa

Thanks,that solved my problem. Now IDE fails with: OLED_LoRa_SenderTTGO:4:21: error: SSD1306.h: No such file or directory i googled and installed several wrong not working SSD1306.h libraries. Can not find the wright Lib.

@@buckfastimker that's exactly what i don't like with arduino and especially arduino IDE because it downloads library anbd hide them in a user fodler, and usually it's very difficult to take a code and compile it from scratch. i prefer when libraires are included in a folder in the project, so you can include them in the source control and so you provide a full coherent set of code.

I covered Wi-Fi and NRF24L01 and 433MHz. Zigbee modules are expensive for my taste. I am also not sure how often this is used by makers.

@@AndreasSpiess thank you! Yes you are right... Zigbee is expensive... I will look at your other videos.

Unfortunately, I cannot do remote debugging. Maybe you use a different sketch and check if your display works. Pay also attention to the pins. Different T-Beams have different pinouts.

Schön. Das freut mich!

Yes. This function is called OTA

@@AndreasSpiess THX !

@@AndreasSpiess OTA Works perfekt!!! I watched a lot of your videos(Great stuff), i use a lipo to power a TTGO without OLED (de.aliexpress.com/item/32845370112.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.3d274c4dsltACr) Now the question: Is it possible to measure my own lipo without extra hardware/soldering? To do something like "My battery is low, charge me". I cannot believe there no "clear/easy/working" example available.

I’ll check it and come back

Thanks Andreas! I was able to fix it by deleting a LoRa library that was installed previously.

:-)

I do not know SoftRF. But it seems to communicate through a web interface. At a quick look at the code I did not find serial commands.

@@AndreasSpiess sorry, what I mean is I want to write to it to load my own Arduino code. I can't figure out how to reset it like I would a standard Arduino or even like other esp32s.

Did you look at their wiki? Also check with different board definitions in the Arduino IDE

@@AndreasSpiess the serial doesn't even show up. I should test if it is in brownout or something, otherwise I'll go to something else from your vid #193.

Tell me. I do not speak Russian.

meaningless set of letters. Sounds like Linarm. Perhaps the name of the device or project, but now on the Internet about it there is nothing interesting

I do not use mail for youtube. Communication links are in the video description.

I am a UKpostsr an share my knowledge in my videos. So I am not the right person for you. But I am sure you find a lot of such projects to copy if you google.

I would even not use more than 10 cm. But Some people wanted to mount the antenna on a tower and the transmitter in their house. Like we do with HF devices.

Sometimes I use the connection to the Spectrum Analyzer. But today I did not have the time to make it work again. Sorry. For the Keysight I have no connection. It would cost as much as a cheap oscilloscope ;-)

I discovered that my oscilloscope even for super cheap can be controlled from usb, without gpib. Have you tested keysight for that? I had an experience with agilent 4ch scope without gpib extention card that can use usb the same way, the only drawback - you need more usbs in you PC :)

Labview, lol. bloated, expensive piece of software. Python can easily control test equipment.

This is the plan with all my videos ;-)

second

Zeroth

You should find all pinouts in the net. But you have to pay attention that you use the one for your board (use the photos for comparison). Many different versions exist.