Getting started in LoRa with RAK 11300

Tutorials
1

Hi guys, I’m a newbie in electronics, and I want to know what I need to start developing IoT capabilities.

I got into the rak 11300 modules, which led me to t following questions:

  • Does this module require to be installed on some board, or is it entirely autonomous?
  • If so, how do I connect the module to my laptop (Mac)

Thanks in advance for your time and help

2

Did you get a look at datasheet of it ? RAK11300 WisDuo LPWAN Module | RAKwireless Documentation Center
It’s basically a Raspberry PI 4 with a Lora module. You will need a power supply, antennas and program it with Arduino IDE, MycroPython or Platform.io :wink:
It’s mainly designed to be used on wisblock but can be used on its own but probably not the easiest if you are a newbie in electronics !
What do you want to do or give a quick description ?

1 Like
3

Thanks for answering me.

What do you mean with?

I aim to implement several sensors within my land to manage irrigation at the beginning and more things in the future.

I’m a newbie in electronics but a very senior in software engineering, so coding is not a problem at all but connecting wires is.

4

Welcome to the forum @seadiaz

There are two version of the module, both are using the Raspberry Pi RP2040 MCU and the Semtech SX1262 LoRa transceiver.

  • The RAK11300 is a stamp module that is made to be soldered to a custom PCB. It is difficult (but not impossible) to use this stamp module as a stand-alone device.
    image

  • The RAK11310 is a WisBlock Core module and is used together with our WisBlock Eco system. WisBlock offers many sensor and IO modules and all of them can be mounted on one of our Base Boards for easy evaluation. The Base Boards use USB to connect it to a computer. ==> WisBlock | RAKwireless Documentation Center

If you want to start exploring the IoT world, the WisBlock Starter Kit with the RAK11310 is an easy way and you can add any of the WisBlock sensors and IO modules to it.
We have Quick Start Guides for the WisBlock RAK11310 in our Documentation Center

5

Beautiful @beegee, thanks a lot

2 more questions.

  • What is a custom PCB?
  • Is it mandatory to connect the RAK 11310 to a Base Board in order to connect sensors?
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Custom PCB is one designed by yourself :wink:
You are not obliged to use a base board to connect sensors but it’ll make thinks a lot more reliable and efficient ! Pins on RAK11300 are designed to be connected on a PCB not with wires ! and so the advice of @beegee to use it with RAK11310 that is designed for that goal :wink:

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Awesome, guys. Thank you for lending me a hand.