Would like to share the project I have been working on the last few months.
I call it LoRaWiFi Mainboard, as it has a RAK3172 and a WiFi module, both connected to a host controller. AT commands are used to communicate to the modules.
With this board it is possible to have only LoRa, only WiFi, or both modules assembled in order to buid a gateway from LoRaP2P to WiFi. Besides other inputs, outputs, external memory, Temp/Humidity sensor and a RS485 interface.
Do you still have many ESP8266 modules (personally I still have couple of those left from a dead-end project many years ago )? Or it is cheaper compared to ESP32 so that’s the one you use?
Hi @carlrowan , I still have some ESP8266-12F at home and started testing with it. Now there is a pin compatible replacement using the new ESP32 family, the model is:
ESP32-C3F or ESP-C3-12F.
I did not tested this new version yet, but should work the same as its predecessor, and it has Bluetooth 5.0 integrated.
Why do you have an extra STM32 as a host controller? you could of used the STM32WL that’s inside the RAK3172, saving you some cost and complexity and the slight annoyances of dealing with UART and strings.
Looking at the PCB, you should start doing ground via stitching, this will reduce harmonic noise and you will have a better ground plane
My initial application required lots of memory and processing power. That was the main reason to have the dedicated host controller.
Meanwhile I see the RUI developers did some improvements in the memory usage, making more space available after the V4.0.6. It is now better to use the internal STM32WL.
Thanks for the stitching vias tip, it can be improved in the next PCB review.
)? Or it is cheaper compared to ESP32 so that’s the one you use?