RAKwireless WisBlock Meshtastic Starter Kit US915 Base RAK19007 + Core RAK4631

Had the urge to do some DIY radio stuff and decided to check out Meshtastic. There are basically two controllers used for those devices, ESP32 and nrf52. This board uses nrf52. ESP32 is a bit of a power hog whereas the nrf52 is the complete opposite. Excellent for mobile use where power is a key factor. The RAK 19007 board acts as a motherboard for IoT devices and then you snap on modules to add the functionality you want for your project. This kit includes the 4630 (Bluetooth 5 and SX1262 LoRa radio) and 4631 (nrf52840 MCU) core module and then you can add others as needed in various positions that snap into place. Certain modules need to go in certain positions so be sure to consult the RAK Wireless site for details on the modules you're planning to use for compatibility with each other space-wise. For my project I chose the 12500 GNSS (GPS) receiver and will probably add a couple more. The modules usually run around $15-25 each so pretty cheap to tinker with. Setting up for Meshtastic was easy, just attach the antennas (DO THIS BEFORE POWERING ON!!! You can damage the transceiver if you do not attach the antennas prior to power on!!!), plug into your computer via USB-C, go to the Meshtastic Flash site pick the device, image version and COM port it's connected to and drop the file you download into the drive that appears, boom! It'll reboot and you're up and running! The great appeal of this kit is in the nrf52 very low power draw and customization you get with the modules. Also these include an on-board solar charge controller to charge a 3.7v LiPo battery from a solar panel! There are other base boards you can choose that take up less room or have more base features on them for expansion capabilities (Browse the RAK website for more details). These are priced a bit over what you can get them directly from China for but not really that much and you'll get them a LOT faster. Once you consider the time delay and shipping charges from China it's a fair trade I think provided they're available. I'd like to see the modules offered on Amazon as it's a pain tracking things down from various vendors. Hopefully more sellers will consider stocking the modules. If you have an IoT project you want to try out or want to try Meshtastic or other projects that support this board and use LoRa I'd recommend these, very happy with mine so far!

La placa es realmente pequeña, viene con un cable extra para conectar antena SMA y la mini-antena. Funciona muy bien y fácil de instalar firmware. Sin duda será un excelente hardware para comunicación solo imprimes el enclosure, pones baterias y listo.

Works perfectly well, as expected. Used it to build my first solar node using one 18650 battery and a 3W solar panel. Haven't had any trouble with it at all. Wish price the was lower, though.

Für die, die es nicht wissen: der Solareingang verwendet Solarenergie, wenn sie ausreichend anliegt, Akku laden geht damit NICHT!

Love this kit, just ordered another.