SparkFun's ESP32-Based 1-Channel LoRa Gateway Gets a Quadruple-Flash Boost in Its Latest Revision
Latest revision of the popular low-cost LoRa board, which can operate in gateway or device modes, ups the flash from 4MB to 16MB.
SparkFun has launched an upgraded version of its low-cost Espressif ESP32-based LoRa gateway, quadrupling the flash memory from 4MB to 16MB while retaining all the features of its predecessor.
"The SparkFun 1-Channel LoRa Gateway is a powerful 3-network capable device thanks to an onboard ESP32 WROOM module and an RFM95W LoRa modem," the company explains of its latest design. "The RFM95W handles the 915MHz band while the ESP32 takes care of Bluetooth and WiFi capabilities."
"One of the ideal uses is to convert LoRa (Long Range) radio messages into data packets that you can access via the web, but of course the flexibility it offers can be put to many more uses! It's a perfect, low-cost tool for monitoring a dozen-or-so LoRa devices and relaying their messages up to the cloud."
The board is operable in gateway or device node modes — though, SparkFun warns, not simultaneously — and can serve as a communication system for an external microcontroller or as a LoRa-capable ESP32 development platform of its own, thanks to broken-out GPIO pins.
"To use the 915MHz radio on the gateway you will need an antenna - for which you have two choices," SparkFun notes. "You may cut a length of solid-core wire to approximately three inches for a through-hole antenna connection with strain relief or you can use a 915MHz antenna with a U.FL connector for higher performance antennas."
Earlier revisions of the gateway were designed around an ESP32-WROOM-32 module with 4MB of flash memory; in its latest incarnation, the gateway offers an impressive 16MB of flash with integrated Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Bluetooth Low Energy connectivity alongside the RFM95W's 868/915MHz-capable LoRa radio. 14 GPIO pins are broken out from the ESP32, and there's a Qwiic connector to the bottom-right of the board near the micro-USB programming and power connector.
The revised SparkFun LoRa Gateway is now available on the company's store at $34.95 before volume pricing.