SparkFun's New SparkX LoRa 1W Breakout Brings a Little Oomph to Your Long-Range Wireless Projects
Limited-run SparkX design has been tested to 12 miles line-of-sight — though the company warns "your results may vary."
SparkFun has launched a breakout board for those who need a little more oomph in their LoRa communications projects: the EBYTE 915M30S 1W 30dB transceiver.
Designed for long-range communications at a relatively low bitrate, LoRa - and the LoRaWAN protocol which sits atop it — is extremely popular for sensor networks and more. Coverage, while growing, is far from universal, however - and sometimes you're just a little too far for comfort, which is where SparkFun's new product comes in.
"We've successfully broadcast 12 miles line-of-sight (thank you foothills!) using this module," the company says of its SparkX LoRa 1W Breakout, "but your results may vary."
Built around the EBYTE 915M30S module, the breakout board is compatible with any microcontroller or single-board computer (SBC) that can spare six general-purpose input/output (GPIO) pins and has an SPI bus. An edge-mounted RP-SMA connector provides support for external 915MHz antennas — not included in the bundle, but available from the company separately starting at $7.95.
Those looking to use the new part may want to get their order in quickly, however: As a SparkX "experimental product," the board is only available while stocks last — and SparkFun makes no guarantees that it will make the move to a regularly-stocked design on the company's iconic red PCBs.
The breakout board is now available on the SparkFun store at $29.95.