#169

[@chuckwilcox6997]

Andreas, again a brilliant video which is both interesting and very informative. Your explanations of why things didn't work is very helpful along with the solutions you provide. I hope to see many more video in the future. Love your work.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thank you for your nice words!

[@mralderson5627]

Literally the last 3 things ( solar power for esp8266, this mailbox notifier and Tradfri lights) i want to do as a hobby project, you have investigated! Thank you for your structured and detailed approach

[@AndreasSpiess]

You are welcome. I hope it helps!

[@joymakerRC]

Thanks bro for all your help, you have helped me with many projects, i currently have the Lora hat for the Rasp Pi , the Dragino lora shield for arduinos( i have MEGA and DUE) and 3 heltec ESP32 Lora boards , i want them all to talk , for back-up and redundancy on a long range UAV. Im still a beginner but i studied AEROSPACE ENG at Penn State and dropped out my senior year with no degree and a hard case of alcoholism. Took me 20 years to beat the Alcohol now im back at the engineer(not in school) just for fun, in a small way you are contributing to keeping me sober. So Thank you for your videos and their part in my sobriety

[@AndreasSpiess]

I am glad to read that you like my videos and that you base projects on them. That is always what I hope when I produce them.

[@ardxb123]

Hello Andreas, another wonderful hardwork presented free of cost to your channel viewers. I love your work and admire how quick you are. I am in Canada, if were near your place, I would have seek to join you in your work. However, I learn a lot from your videos, interestingly whenever I see any of your new video, I was already thinking about the same idea, and here you post the video, solving the issue climbing into my mind. Surprisingly frequency matched. About the thumbs down, it is always good to know, that people who does not like you; your work made them to see your work/videos. Keep up the good work, we all love your work and we need you.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thank you for your nice words. I care more about thumbs up and nice comments like yours ;-)

[@dhiegofc]

Great... I didn't know that it is possible to use LoRa nodes in one to one communication. I am working on LoRa in my PhD here in Italy and it will help me a lot in my research. Thank you very much for upload this video

[@AndreasSpiess]

Good luck for your thesis. What is it´s topic?

[@JonathanDeWitt1988]

I very much enjoyed watching this project. It was quite sophisticated. I feel like I learned a lot. I love how low-powered you made this project and the range it had. Mailbox notification was something I had thought would be an interesting Arduino project a while back. Now that I see what all can be involved with it...I may save this as a project to attempt until I'm a little more experienced (about to get my first Arduino Pro Mini to experiment with). Perhaps the best part of this video for me was your explanation of what is essentially a checksum for data integrity. I learned this concept in one of the grad school classes I took. But your explanation is so much easier to understand. Thank you!

[@AndreasSpiess]

You are welcome. I am sure you will succeed!

[@cymeriandesigns]

Another great video, and thank you for taking the time to make it. I made myself a mailbox notifier out of an ESP8266 (because the mailbox is close by, I can use WiFi), a normally-closed switch, and a couple of bipolar transistors. One transistor functions to cut off the power entirely when the mailbox switch is open, which lengthens the battery life considerably (so far it's lasted over 18 months)*. When the box is opened, the switch closes, the transistor conducts, and the 8266 boots and sends the notification. The second transistor lets the 8266 keep the power on while it works to establish a connection and send the notification, which can take longer than the box door is open. When it's done, the 8266 switches off that transistor and the power drain goes back to zero. (Okay, not exactly zero since there's some leakage current, but close enough.) * I took this approach because I'm using a NodeMCU, which because of its USB and LED draws a lot of current even when the 8266 is in deep sleep. I didn't feel like cutting it up to disable those pieces.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thanks for your feedback. I used this approach with one of my Amazon buttons. Just with one P-channel FET. It could also be used here to save even more energy.

[@marekpytel7694]

Andreas, I loove your sense of humor and your Sweedish (purposing mistake) accent;) I admire your experience and appreciate your willing to share all the knowledge in a practical way:)

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thank you for your nice words!

[@prlombaard]

Thankyou Mr Spiess. After two years I used your video as a QuickStart guide. Thankyou for your video. 👍🏻👍🏻

[@AndreasSpiess]

The same happens to me sometimes. I have to go back to one of my old videos...

[@abhijitborah]

Very useful project. Seeing the postman's photo (great guy) made me think this video was about some kind of HUD project.

[@AndreasSpiess]

He really is a great guy and very helpful!

[@PierAisa]

Andreas. I'm very happy to see your video. Very Very interesting and well done. It gives the opportunity to everyone to understand. Grazie. I also love your test campaign.. Regards from Italy. Juest yesterday I tested 2 Lora nodes with hand made PCB to carry them Ai-thinker Ra-02 SX1278. Regards !!

[@AndreasSpiess]

As you are on 433 with your boards you have to use point-to-point...

[@PierAisa]

Andreas Spiess perfect. Thank you. I'm OM calling IZ4OXX. Regards

[@PierAisa]

I build a raw interfaee for Rpi and Arduino at SPI level. But I'm preparing also a level translator circuit to connect LoRa sensors (3.3V) to Arduino UNO for example. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rGabfJyuisx8qbM

[@bardenegri21]

The Radiohead library is amazing, used it with many other rf modules. It has a mesh mode too that's great

[@AndreasSpiess]

Did you experiment with the mesh? I would be interested if it works and how much power it needs.

[@therishabhdhiman]

Radio head is amazing i was trying to use NRF24 module with RF24 library but didn't worked and using RadioHead it worked like charm.

[@uncleal6095]

Brilliant! Thank you Andreas - you are an inspiration to all of us. Keep up the fun work...

[@AndreasSpiess]

You are welcome!

[@midafricam]

An excellent video, love your practical applications . One of the most interesting channels around.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thank you for your nice words!

[@garrypkeogh]

Perfect timing (for me) again Andreas, thanks! I have some Heltec ESP32 LoRa boards with integrated LoRa chip and some LoRa32u4 boards with integrated RFM95 modules. The lora library looks very capable and simple from the examples too. This low power long range type project may be the architecture for applications like bee keeping or wide area security or access control like 2-step authentication. Thanks again!

[@AndreasSpiess]

Did you test the heltec modules? Are they 868 or 915 MHz?

[@garrypkeogh]

Andreas Spiess Hi Andreas. Yes, from China they ship with a basic LoRa sketch I didn't explore. I installed a LMiC LoRaWAN sketch using OTAA which works perfectly with my gateway (868MHz RAK831+Pi2+resin.io+permanent mast mounted antenna on my house. Gateway is outdoor, at the base of the 5m mast with PoE and backhaul via TTN. Super easy/robust) I want to try plain simple LoRa on the Atmel boards, timing of this vlog is 100%, thanks again!

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thanks for the update. I ordered now a few of these boards and will do a test with my spectrum analyzer to see how they perform. Stuff for another video ;-)

[@ZsomborZsombibi]

I'd just screw a raisable arm to the mailbox, but this technical solution is amazing. Thanks for sharing.

[@AndreasSpiess]

There are 6 mailboxes in one box. And I do not see it from our house ;-)

[@norm1124]

Happy postman finally he will get a hot coffee on cold days ⛄ Could be useful to see if the laudery machine is still shaking or already finished 👍

[@AndreasSpiess]

These days they do not have time for that. But he will get a gift at the end of the year that he can buy a coffee or two himself

[@GeekMustHave]

Most excellent video. The concept of precompiler directives is used in quite a few programming languages, I didn't know it was possible in the Arduino IDE. Thank you. I have a similar system that just uses a cell phone. My packages from China arrive at my UPS Store (like a post office but better), they scan the packages and send my phone a text message with the shipping number. Then I know to drive to the UPS store and something will be there for me. ;-) Keep broadcasting!

[@AndreasSpiess]

We got some SMS notice but because so many packets arrive from China they switched it off...

[@grindel80]

Hi Andreas. GREAT Video structure. Finally your Channel is my most favorite Channel on KZbin :) one more Suggestion to improve your work : in This Video you Pop up informative links to diffent topics. Most of us dont want to Interrupt the actual Video by clicking the link and later on its Hard to find the Video Position again. Solution: please add all the mentioned links in the Video description :)

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thank you for your feedback! I checked it on iPhone and in Chrome browser. In both cases, the cards stayed until the end of the video at the right end of my screen and I was able to click it then. There was no necessity to interrupt the video. Is it different in your case?

[@grindel80]

Andreas Spiess in my case the Information stayed for around 3 secound. Than its vanished...

[@AndreasSpiess]

Strange. Which device did you use?

[@grindel80]

i used the newest firefox browser on win10 64bit system... maybe it has something to do with my adblockers.... i will find a way on my own. thx

[@deangreenhough3479]

Sunday Morning with Lora😀😀😀 cool Mr Spiess.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Good morning Dean!

[@zvpunry1971]

13:40 The mailboxes of your neighbors have spam-filters installed, but not yours. All that spam will trigger false alarms of your mailbox notifier.

[@AndreasSpiess]

You are right. But I am married and therefore only have 49% of the voting power for these things...

[@zvpunry1971]

Then you must think of a way to differentiate between spam and china-packages, maybe by the time of day it is delivered. The spammers use child-labor to deliver their spam, so their workers are in school between 08:00 and 13:00, when a delivery occurs at this time, it is less likely spam. Maybe you should make notes what type of delivery occurs at what time. So you can get all your china-packages and you can tell your wife that there is something she is waiting for in the mailbox. ;)

[@thesimbon]

You could add a load Cell on the mailbox floor so you will be able to know the weight of the package :-)

[@Retro_Care]

you should have 2% more voting right :), just ad a camera in the mailbox (low quality one) and switch a screen on inside if mailbox is triggered. or/and maybe a sensor to detect hight or something, not sure if spam mail always lays flat in the mailbox, many experiments to do wit this kind of project.

[@zvpunry1971]

over-correcting an error isn't a good thing to do, it causes more problems then it solves ;)

[@publicmail2]

I find weather stations transmitters sync transmit times so the transmit and receiver 300MHz turn on, turn off, at the same time and meet back at a later time for battery consumption, pretty simple.

[@AndreasSpiess]

This is a good idea if both nodes are on batteries. In my case, one node can be connected to mains.

[@Keksstar]

And now comes the big question after more than two years: Does it still work in your mailbox? :)

[@chrisstromberg6527]

2 years later, we are still waiting for an answer. LOL.

[@MontyMontemayor]

Great video. How about just power on the node through a relay when the mailbox door opened. Zero power consumption when the door is closed

[@AndreasSpiess]

You are right. I used this method for a Amazon button (with a FET)

[@icucode]

Thanks for all the wonderful videos! You are doing a great service! 🙋‍♂️👍

[@AndreasSpiess]

You are welcome!

[@keithmaddox1469]

haha, like your videos. The accent cheers me up and makes the video even more fun. I'll bet you'd be a blast to have a drink with and discuss electronics. Keep making the great videos and stay healthy. BTW, how's the weather there in the world's ice cube?

[@AndreasSpiess]

It was quite warm these days. Around 15 degrees C during the day. I do not live in the mountains where it is much cooler.

[@teuluPaul]

Thanks Andreas - a video up to your usual high standard with lots of interesting information!

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thank you!

[@AlexSlaets]

Hello Andreas ! I've started experimenting with LoRa point-to-point. So, I've built a sender and a receiver-mqtt forwarder using ESP32's and SX1276 modules. The receiver listens to LoRa packets which must contain two subsequent c_strings (zero terminated char[]) . The first string is the MQTT subtopic , the second is the string value to be published. In this way the receiver-forwarder can handle data from any sensor I may want to build and Home Assistant MQTT platform will receive the correct values. In addition the receiver publishes the RSSI as a sub-sub topic. eg: lora/sensor1/counter = "130" incremented in every loop by the sender. lora/sensor1/counter/rssi = "-90" added MQTT message by the receiver. The modules are equipped with small wire spiral antennas. Not the best. The range I get at SF7 and BW 124E3 is about 450 meters in built-up area (city) . Not bad, and more than sufficient for sensors out of WiFi range. It stops rather abruptly at and RSSI of about -120. I tried to use a different SF and BandWidth for the sender and the receiver, and this does not work. It seems both must be set to the same values. I guess this is a limitation of building your own P2P connection instead of using LoRaWAN ? I understand the WAN implementation of LoRa, with Gateway based on SX1302 can do "adaptive data rates", i.e. modify the SF and BW parameters based on the network conditions. Did I understand this correctly or is there a way to adjust SF and/or BW built in the modules ? And BTW : thanks for the inspiring video's !

[@AndreasSpiess]

Both ends have to have exactly the same modulation selected, you are right. But you should be able to select the transmitting as well as the receiving parameters. The Gateway chip is an exception because it can adapt to the SF to match the transmitter.

[@AlexSlaets]

@@AndreasSpiess Thank you. By 'you should be able to select' do you mean the calls to LoRa.setSpreadingFactor and similar as the way to select them ?

[@AndreasSpiess]

@@AlexSlaets All parameters have to be the same, not only the SF. I do not know how you program your module.

[@AlexSlaets]

@@AndreasSpiess with arduino ide. I use a block of #defines with all Lora parameters which I use in sender AND receiver .ino . Guess I could put these #defines in a local.h file .

[@henriklind8588]

Great video Andreas. Really useful!

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thank you!

[@yashpandit832]

I had one doubt, sir. What if someone buys an RFM95 module and programs it to send a crap message continuously all the time on a channel at say SF7. As this module will not follow any MAC protocols will it block all other LoRa communication of other modules using that channel? Am I going wrong in my concept? If yes please correct me and if no it seems to be a big problem!

[@AndreasSpiess]

Every wireless transmission can be disturbed. You do not need a particular signal for that.

[@yashpandit832]

@@AndreasSpiess thanks a lot. You are always the one who replies to my doubts. Thank you!

[@MarkusFotofieber]

Hi AndreasIf you want to lower the power consumption of your arduino, you can remove the voltage regulator and disable brown out (a fuse setting).Thx for your youtube channel. Very inspiring.Markus

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thank you for your tip!

[@garycmartin]

Hi Andreas, to get to SF11 and SF12 with the RFM95 there is a poorly documented register called LowDataRate (bit-4, register 0x26) that allows receiving the slower/longer symbol transmissions. It's not obvious in the usual RFM95 datasheets, but googling should track down some examples (using the RadioHead library). The price for that extra range is the doubling of transmit air time with each step up in SF (and the extra power that takes).

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thanks for the tip!

[@r5bc]

Hello Andreas. thank you for the very good and useful video. please keep up the good work.

[@AndreasSpiess]

You are welcome!

[@hannguyen2656]

Thanks for your contribution to the community, I have a question is that in this video, the node called "Receiver" is not be called "gateway" just because it did not send data to the server right? I am quite confused

[@AndreasSpiess]

You could call it gateway if you want. Gateway is used for TTN and has a specific meaning. This is why I used the word receiver.

[@hannguyen2656]

@@AndreasSpiess Thanks for your reply sir. I just don't understand why we need to register a gateway in TTN, to save data Can I use another one like Thingspeak or Nodered?

[@AndreasSpiess]

@@hannguyen2656 TTN needs to know where to transfer your messages ;-)

[@cameron20020]

Another informative and highly detailed video. Excellent!

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thanks!

[@yonaguska2050]

I am most grateful for your LoRa videos, I have been looking for a cheap means to support remote telemetry data. I've got a little land here in Texas and I've want to monitor the back property for environment and critter concerns (we have coyotes roaming the area). I'm still in the experimental phase, right now I'm looking at the power budget and deciding what kinds of data I'd like to collect, how best to collect it, and how best to power the remotes. I also want to have the remote unit act as an autonomous coyote deterrent system. I've found coyotes are easily frightened by green lasers, so controlling one or more lasers to sweep the area would probably work. I've implemented your point-to-point LoRa nodes, and they are performing beautifully. I have those and two other simple WeMos nodes sending BME280 data to MQTT running on my Mac. Instead of the cloud, I have installed the TICK stack (Telegraf-Influxdb- Chronograf-Kapacitor) and Grafana for collection, storage and visualization of the time-series data. I'm moving these over to a Raspberry Pi as a long term solution. So far, so good. Keep up the great work you do for the community. Kind regards, -Kirk Franks

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thanks for your feedback. I also have plans to explore InfuxDB and Grafana, but might not use Telegraf, because I am on Node-Red. Fortunately, we do not have the problems with wild animals here. Our place is much more crowded than yours...

[@wombat9999]

Great video, Andreas. I really like how you're taking various previous things to build a solution to a new problem. You do a great job of explaining everything in detail (or referencing previous videos). I think the 10 thumbs-down are from people who are jealous of what you're doing... ;-) You know, if you really want to do a really, REALLY long range test, you could send me a LoRa system, and we can test to see if it'll reach your house (I'll conveniently forget to mention that I live in the US... 8-) On a different note, it seems that LoRa doesn't have great coverage in the US -- yet. A few months ago, after watching one of your LoRa videos, I checked a coverage map, and there wasn't much coverage in the Chicago (Illinois, USA) area, which I found surprising. I just checked again, and now there's some coverage, but alas, none in my area (I'm just outside the green area). Oh well, we'll get there... Here's the coverage map I used (maybe there's a better one; I don't know) : www.senetco.com/coverage/ Keep up the good work!

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thank you for your compliment! On shortwave, it would be no problem to reach the US ;-) Concerning coverage: Here you find the public LoRaWAN coverage: www.thethingsnetwork.org/map

[@wombat9999]

I believe in giving credit where credit is due. :-) Yeah, I didn't think of shortwave! LOL! Maybe do slow scan transmissions as well... 8-) Thanks for the pointer to the LorRaWAN map. I hate to say it, but this is even more depressing -- only two (yes, count 'em -- two!) nodes in the Chicago-land area. Very surprising there aren't more. Maybe there are but they aren't registered with the site...?

[@AndreasSpiess]

+Wombat999 If they are connected to LoRaWAN they are automatically shown on the map.

[@tomasallegrini2503]

Hi, i am trying to make the node on a breadboard, but i can t figure out which pins in the lora module (sk1278/rf95) are: CS, IRQ , i am using the lora module with a breadboard adapter, so far i found this tutorial and library the most simple, as i can see from your videos. Thanks

[@AndreasSpiess]

Maybe you have a look here: github.com/hallard/WeMos-Lora

[@sborkes]

Very nice tutorial. It is rasonable to have a single receiver and multiples sender sending messages at different times? I don't want to build a LoRaWan gateway, but keeping it offline

[@AndreasSpiess]

Of course you can use multiple transmitters and one receiver as long as they do not transmit at the same time.

[@ifthekharahammad5909]

As always, great tutorial, will be helpful in many applications. Thank you.

[@AndreasSpiess]

You are welcome!

[@jurglienhard5913]

Great tutorials, thanks from Switzerland and Kind Regards Jürg Lienhard

[@AndreasSpiess]

You are welcome!

[@wyealex]

Thanks Andreas. If I understand correctly, contrary to your earlier LoRaWAN videos, is there no encryption on the signal that you are sending? I am sure encryption could be added to a point to point system if it is necessary but just to aid my understanding - anyone could listen-in to hear your altitude and mailbox status if they had a LoRa setup? Also, if someone were transmitting data on the same channel, how do you filter-out unwanted transmissions on your receiver? You can easily imagine the situation where two or more people are transmitting data, e.g. drone altitude or soil moisture, on the same channel and without some filtering or encryption, there's no way of knowing if your drone is at 50m or your soil has 50% moisture content!

[@AndreasSpiess]

All wireless system share the same problem: They do not work if the frequency is occupied. The messages of these two methods are not encrypted.

[@wyealex]

@@AndreasSpiess All understood. Thanks again!

[@chrisharvie-smith486]

So why not run the power through the reed relay for 0uA off power consumption? Just add a output to a fet to hold it on until tx rx done and pass the 120mA if too much for the relay.

[@AndreasSpiess]

I did this with one of my Amazon Dash buttons. It is possible and very efficient. The problem is when the door stays open (for big things)

[@miguelburgoslopez]

And Idea could be to add second fet as trigger for the sensor fet, in case the sensor fet stays open for x time... them, controler put low the trigger fest to power off everything, is a quick solution don't know if will work, will be necessary to add a button to reset the trigger fet state.

[@woolfy02]

If I build my own gateway, can I connect to other LoRawan gateways to communicate with them? (Still confused about that). If possible, Id love to see a new updated video for 2022. thanks

[@AndreasSpiess]

Maybe you watch my LoRa introduction video. Gateways are connected to the TTN network (computer network), and not to other gateways.

[@NiagaraTridium]

Great video, I was very interested in your drone LoRa test, was this 433MHZ LoRa or another Frequency like 868MHZ ?

[@AndreasSpiess]

I do not know which test you refer. I use LoRa on 433 and on 868 but most videos are bade with 868MHz

[@kubikmann]

Hello, nice video ! I'd like to ask what kind of sensor have you used for mail presence detection in a mailbox. Thanks.

[@rominej]

Hi Andreas, thanks for the content. Can you approximate the distance from the mailbox to your kitchen? I'm curious how well these penetrate mailboxs.

[@AndreasSpiess]

The distance is not the problem. All losses are in the obstacles.

[@ufohunter3688]

Damn... I just finished my mail box notification project last night. Talking about ESP (extra sensory perception)!! It consists of an ESP2866-01 powered by a LP2985-3.3 regulator that has an enable pin, Oddly enough, this regulator has a marking of "LORA" printed on top of the IC!! The ESP8266 once powered-up, sends an email and goes back to deep sleep until the Attiny powers down the regulator. This is how it works: A magnetic switch (I have a few left over from my alarm installation), is connected to one of the pins of the ATTiny85 through a 470K resistor to a +4.8V (4x12V NiMH) supply and ground, which is also being charged by a solar panel through a schottky diode and prevented from over charge by a 1 Watt 5.1V Zener. The Attiny is directly powered by the battery and is in sleep mode all the time. When the mailbox door opens, the reed switch opens and takes the interrupt pin high through the 470K resistor to the battery, which awakens the ATTiny85. Which in turn enables the regulator through the enable pin of the regulator, which in turn powers-up the ESP8266-01 module. The ESP8266, upon power-up, will log on to my router and sends me an email saying "You've got mail" :) Then, it goes to sleep. This process takes < 10 seconds. After 20 seconds, the ATTiny will disable the regulator and the ESP8266 will be turned off. Even if the mailbox door is left open (due to big packages). it will go to sleep until the mailbox door is opened again. Consumes only

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thank you for your feedback. And I learned something: I forgot about the "door stays open scenario). With my interrupt this will be ok, but not with the concept proposed by others where the power is managed by the reed switch...

[@ufohunter3688]

Yeah, If it wasn't for that pesky door being left open, I had it in the bag with one transistor, diode, capacitor, and 2 resistors. It would catch and hold even the fastest door opening and closing. power the ESP for a minute and then go out. (R/C-discharge the base of the transistor). There are more than one way to skin a cat, as cat lovers would NOT say. :)

[@AndreasSpiess]

:-))

[@theUsesOFnot]

Another great video Andreas! I'm fine with programming but sketchy with electronics. What Lora enabled devices would you recommend that are easy to use and low power for point-to-point? I mostly use ESP32 or 8266 boards and Teensy, Arduino Nano. I need the sender to be battery operated with temperature, humidity and light sensors, and the receiver to post the data using WiFi to an https based web service. I understand what to do at the WiFi end to post data to the server, but I'm new to Lora and don't know what components to buy that don't required soldering, breakout board construction, etc.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Maybe you watch my other LoRa videos? Your question has no short answer.

[@joinedupjon]

Thanks for the great video My dad has a wireless doorbell that works by harvesting the power of a person pushing the button using a piezo element, there's no battery on the transmitter side. if you could get the power of the letterbox module low enough do you think harvesting the postman's effort in opening the slot would be possible?

[@AndreasSpiess]

Interesting concept. Never heard that this works. I think, the energy produced is quite small and the device has to be very low power. For the technology I use and the letterbox I do not think it would work.

[@joinedupjon]

Thanks for replying - he bought it on amazon where it was listed as a wireless and battery free but there are now similar units on banggood. I'm quite surprised it works, but it does. I've no idea what the power is but it must be quite tiny.

[@johnywhy4679]

@@joinedupjon Passive RFID harvests power from the radio waves. Opening the mailbox would prolly generate a lot energy.

[@cewaffles]

I know this is old, but do you have a shopping list for the items again or ones that will work? Thanks again for the Great Videos!

[@AndreasSpiess]

All ESP32 LoRa boards from TTGO or Heltec should work. You can select the board with the features you need for your project. Pay attention that you chose the right frequency.

[@cewaffles]

@@AndreasSpiess Thanks!

[@raguaviva]

Glad you had fun shooting the video :D i had fun watching it too!

[@AndreasSpiess]

:-)

[@digitalzoul57]

Hi Andreas you mean at SF=12 you have bad RSSI ? or you donot receive any signal ?

[@AndreasSpiess]

SF12 works with a lower RSSI than for example SF7. But it is much slower.

[@rubensluciano7708]

Hi Andreas. Nice video, again! in the beginning i was thinking you will send by mail a package with a lora node inside and track the way it makes until the destination using the drone as a high altitude receiver... amateur radio brains always flying to much :) 73.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Lol

[@igfuenzalida]

Hi Andreas, greetings from Chile.... I've been following your work and is really good. however, I have a small question. seeing the example codes you have shown, the connection between the nodes is secure? for example, any receiver with the right frequency can receive the data sent from the sender? thanks in advance and amazing job! =)

[@AndreasSpiess]

Everybody can receive it as with all wireless communication. You have to watch my video about encryption if you do not want that the content is readable

[@igfuenzalida]

@@AndreasSpiess Thanks for the quick response! I will look up your video about encryption and test it out! best regards and thanks!

[@NicksStuff]

I have a question about the 1% duty cycle... Can you consider you're getting mail and packages once or twice a day and you'll open the the mailbox once or twice a day that that's good enough (in relation with the regulations, I mean)? Or should you write your code so that it's impossible to go over the 1% duty cycle, even if some idiot is playing with your letter slot like a lunatic and triggers it every 5 seconds?

[@AndreasSpiess]

You can easily calculate that your scenario is not problematic. Some libraries automatically enforce the 1% limit. BTW: if you use SF7 instead of SF12 you can transfer many more messages in the 1%...

[@NicksStuff]

@@AndreasSpiess The calculation is easy indeed but I was wondering about the enforcement of the duty cycle. Is the math for a normal use case enough or do you *need* to implement it in your code?

[@AndreasSpiess]

@@NicksStuff To be honest: I do a rough calculation and try to stay below it. Knowing that it does not hurt anybody if I am a bit too high for a few hours... I am an engineer, not a lawyer ;-)

[@huaminghuang]

Hi, thanks for your efforts! In your video tutorial, it‘s point-to-point communication. Do you have any recommendations for point-to-multi-point communication via LoRa? I.e, how to make sure delivery from each node. As far as I know, LoRa only allows for receiving messages from one node at once. So that would be a problem.

[@AndreasSpiess]

This is a complex topic. Maybe you watch also my videos about LoRaWAN?

[@johnywhy4679]

Send to FFFF. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gKeldGqZesx8Zqc

[@SA-oj3bo]

Any idea at the moment why SF12 did not work? Did anybody succeeded in point to point lora communication with RFM95 on SF12? I tested lora point to point with reyax modules and had a better result (less missed messages at 2km) on SF10 than SF12, still confused about this.

[@AndreasSpiess]

I never tried it again. SF12 works fine on TTN with the RFM95

[@Edsdrafts]

How is this working for you long term? Have you changed / upgraded anything and if you did it again what would you use again. I am very interested in a similar project myself.

[@AndreasSpiess]

I use now LoRaWAN (TTN). But this is of personal preferences...

[@Edsdrafts]

@@AndreasSpiess I only started looking into LORA solutions today trying to make a small project where as I approach home in my car with presumably one LORA module another one at home picks up a broadcast of sorts and powers on driveway lights for 30sec. I am down the LORA rabbit hole am I getting nowhere near a solution hence me asking. LORAWAN seems amazing but way over my head. Ideally I was hoping for Arduino (I have couple of R4 WiFi that just came in) with plug and play LORA module of sorts for the job. Point to point only as range I need is 50m or less main focus is power saving. In future I can also add a 6 axis IMU for if the vehicle is moved the lights come on etc. Bit of security on top of convenience. I will keep an eye on your channel for something along these lines for a solution. Mind you I know very little to begin with so it might take me a while... Keep up the good work.

[@mzsolnay]

Grüetzi Andreas ! I was happy to find this video from you, becouse that is exactly what I wanted to do. Point to point LoRa communication between two arduinos. Reciever forwarding messages to mqtt. I have two RFM95W modules. For the sender I wanted to use an arduino nano board, for the receiver an Arduino Nano IoT board. Right at the start I am struggeling to understand the pin layots. Comment in your code said "LoRa.setPins(10, A0, 2); // set CS, reset, IRQ pin", but the only one I could indentify on the RFM95W was 'reset'. No 'CS' or 'IRQ' there. Only MISO, MOSI, SCK, NSS, etc. Can someone explain, what pin goes where? Many thanks !

[@AndreasSpiess]

You have to look at the library you use. Or on other projects using the same library. Not all use the same pinout.

[@mumbaiverve2307]

Hi Andreas, your tutorials are superb. Thanks for doing a lot of the "heavy lifting". Just one question, can this be extended for multiple end nodes connecting to one "master" node ?

[@AndreasSpiess]

That would then be a network like LoRaWAN

[@pavelmynarik2325]

Hello Andreas, great video as always! I'm little bit concerned about temperature and baterry life? Will it really works during freezing winter times?

[@AndreasSpiess]

Well possible. I have to check. But I can always go for 2 AA cells.

[@yonaguska2050]

Andreas, I'm building your point-to-point LoRa nodes and using them to convey remote BME280 sensor readings to a MQTT gateway. With MQTT left undefined, I was able to get the link up and sensor data flowing. However, when I defined MQTT I ran into a problem. I get a compile error on the credentials.h file. Is this a local file or something pulled from Github with a library? I'm also not getting the OLED to display, but that's something I should be able to troubleshoot. I think I'm going to throttle the sender, I'm not getting all of the sensor data over at the receiver and I think I'm maybe overextending the sender's capabilities. Thanks, -Kirk Franks

[@AndreasSpiess]

1. I have the credentials.h in a different folder in my libraries folder. Like that, I can use is from all sketches. 2. I never did performance tests on LoRa. But I would assume, that the speed of the sender and the receiver are the same if they understand each-other. I would first search in the timing of the receiver sketch and would do a very simple sketch which only prints or even better, only stores the data (without delays). Then you know where to start your improvement.

[@yonaguska2050]

Thanks Andreas, I should have thought of that for a reason for the credentials.h file, I've used that technique myself for similar reasons. So that's a 'Doh' for me. Lol! The performance issue appeared to have subsided, no more lost packets. Kind regards, -Kirk Franks

[@AndreasSpiess]

:-)

[@andresperez5020]

Nice video. I have some problem with battery life and i solved unplug the led of arduino.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Thanks!

[@joostwestra]

Nice video. How does the power usage compare to only an Esp8266 with same use case? (using the trick where you completely turn off the Esp8266)

[@AndreasSpiess]

I made some videos about ESP8266 in low power applications

[@joostwestra]

I was referring to "#101 Long lasting DIY "Amazon Dash Button" using an ESP8266" indeed. When you are in wifi range that would result in much better power efficiency right? Really liked that one as well btw.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Differences in power consumption come from 3 areas: 1. Duration of sending (high power): LoRa is usually shorter because Wi-Fi has to connect to Wi-Fi first 2. Power consumption during sending: I have no data here 3. Power consumption during the shutdown. Here, the two concepts are also comparable.

[@Livefreeman]

does frequency has any effect on range. from your videos I learned that for each country, there is a specific frequency , Canada frequency is 915 Mhz however the module is more expensive than lower frequency module, so I am wondering if I can use lower frequency module in Canada, would that affect range. I will use it on drones mainly, so range is important

[@AndreasSpiess]

If you are interested in such questions I made two videos about wireless communications.

[@missionalwayspossible2261]

very nice explanation, Thanks

[@AndreasSpiess]

Glad you liked it

[@LevyCarneiro]

Is there a library with some very basic encryption for point to point Lora without Lorawan? I suppose it’s something that will become more important as more people start using Lora, and we will need a way to prevent people from hacking each other’s signals.

[@AndreasSpiess]

I do not know how the LoRa library handles encryption. But you find an AES128 library if you want to do it yourself...

[@LevyCarneiro]

@@AndreasSpiess apparently LoRa itself is just a physical layer without any addressing etc, but I saw your video where you use AES128 and that’s exactly what I was looking for. Thanks!

[@pjotrekse]

Hello Andreas, and thanx again! My mailbox is 900m away through a pine forest here in snowy Sweden. And the mailman takes a detour away from me if there is only little mail on tuesdays and thursdays... Do you think there is a chance it would work for me? Greetings from the wide forests by the great lakes, Peter

[@AndreasSpiess]

Your use case seems to be very rewarding, especially in winter. I just would try it. The investment is not big, the reward big, and the chance to succeed not really bad if you have a line of sight. Only trees should be ok, but I do not know how many meters of trees are acceptable.

[@fredericguiet2077]

Hi Andreas! Another great video. I am the guy with the French accent :) Just one question (in this mode node to node communication), how do you know to which LoRa node you are sending data to ? With Xbee for instance you specify an address but if you've got multiple LoRa receiver nodes how doest it work ? Thank Fred

[@AndreasSpiess]

In my case, I did not use addressing. RadioHead library has such use cases. And also RadioShuttle supports this (see link)

[@SagarShelarB]

Very inspiring video. Could you please mention for how many days this battery will work? Or do you know any battery which will work for at least 6months?

[@AndreasSpiess]

I did not test so I do not know. But you can do some calculations to find out.

[@tejaslotlikar8482]

Nice tutorial, can i built both nodes using 2 Arduino pro mini instead of ESP8266 because i do not intend connecting it to nodeRED?

[@AndreasSpiess]

This should be possible.

[@AerialSwiss]

Hallo Andreas, danke für dieses Video. Wo hast du dieses Multimeter gekauft um den Verbrauch zu messen?

[@AndreasSpiess]

Meinst du das uCurrent gold? Das kriegst du hier: www.eevblog.com/product/ucurrentgold/ . Ich hatte es in UK gekauft, aber den Shop gibt es nicht mehr.

[@rubenyeet8963]

very good instruction. i wan to try this with a raspberry pi as reciever and an arduino with dragino shield as sender. and in the future multiple arduinos. is this do able? and how?

[@AndreasSpiess]

You have to find the right software for the Raspberry. I never used one for that purpose. I used a Dragino for another video. Maybe this helps.

[@rubenyeet8963]

@@AndreasSpiess I have it working but thank you for the help

[@aGGreSSiv]

Hello. How is the line secured in point-to-point connection? I load the sample code from the library and it works. But how? How does it prevent my neighbor from reading the same data when he loads the same code? Like nobody says anything about it? am i missing something

[@AndreasSpiess]

LoRa uses encryption keys

[@aGGreSSiv]

@@AndreasSpiess is this feature also valid when no gateway is used? I just want to collect sensor information from multible node.

[@AndreasSpiess]

No

[@yomboprime]

Hi Andreas very good idea! I will try to do the same if I can.

[@AndreasSpiess]

I am sure you can, if you want ;-)

[@yomboprime]

Yes! “Do. Or do not. There is no try.” xD

[@peekpt]

I did a test with rf24 and reached 1km no worries. This project is interesting but you can use that cheap window/door sensors which battery last 1year+ and connect's to wifi broker only 5$ . Sometimes we need to keep it simple. Unless you wifi can't reach the mailbox.

[@AndreasSpiess]

+Short to Ground My WiFi definitively does not reach the Mailbox. Line of sight usually is no problem. I got more than 200 km with one of these RRM95 modules...

[@peekpt]

wow 200km!! must check this modules asap!

[@AndreasSpiess]

But maybe you watch my video first. This was a world record and is not usable for daily usage...

[@peekpt]

What module you recommend for communication use in forest (airsoft games) with trees, I want to develop like a solder beacon with a display to give colleagues some status. I need cheap solution. I'm in Portugal, the air space is so restricted by the rules. Was thinking like RF24Mesh, but it can be very messy

[@AndreasSpiess]

You have to experiment. RF signal behavior is not easy to forecast. NRF24 chips are on 2.4 GHz, LoRa is on 868 or 433 MHz. They have different behavior and also bandwidth

[@paulmacgiollacaoine8619]

Hello Andreas, thanks for the super video. I have a similar setup using raspberry pi’s approx 1.2kms apart, I’m struggling to get messages through though. I’m curious how you measured RSSI signal strength, could you explain briefly? Thanks.

[@AndreasSpiess]

The RSSI comes from the module itself

[@paulmacgiollacaoine8619]

Thanks Andreas, is that from the local module? How do you measure RSSI in your case?

[@AndreasSpiess]

The code reads the RSSI from the RFM95. Probably not very accurate, but ok for an indication.

[@htcheroportugal]

@andreas i have a doubt about the shematic, can you share a diagram? how to connect rfm95 to arduino mini and esp?

[@AndreasSpiess]

I do not have more than I showed in the video. Make sure you do the pin definitions right in the software.

[@markusrohner9452]

Great stuff as usual. What I was most impressed with was Alexa speaking an individual text. I thought this skill is not available yet. How did you do that?

[@AndreasSpiess]

It was Node-Red speaking, not Alexa ;-)

[@banknote501]

Could you please make a video explaining how to do this? Sounds really cool. BTW: Great video as always.

[@AndreasSpiess]

In my node-red installation, I have an "audio out" node in the dashboard section. I use Peter Scargills script to install node-red.

[@markusrohner9452]

Yes, I have the same installation, to be used on the node-red dashboard though. I'm waiting for Alexa free speach support. Thanks

[@georgewashington421]

LoRa - Long Range Radio Thanks for your LoRa videos, I now understand LoRa a bit better and think it may provide an answer. Help, I need to replace a VERY SHORT range 433Mhz remote Gate Opener. I need at least a 150 Meter range (would like 300+ M), currently have about 10m with an exterior antenna. I am currently using an ESP-32 to ‘assist’ the Gate Opener Control board with remote sensing and operations (house is 160m+ away) I can Open, Close, Hold Open the gate from my home network (and more). I thought I could use a D-1 mini in the car with a LoRa transmitter and a simple push button. The LoRa receiver would connect to the existing ESP-32 in the Gate Opener box. Questions: 1-Can I encrypt the transmission? 2-How can I use the received transmission on the ESP-32 to trigger an event (opto-isolated relays I have) 3-Can the ESP-32 LoRa receiver transmit a CONFIRMATION back to the remote LoRa (D-1 Mini) in the car? (eg. buzzer/beep/LED blink) Any suggestions or direction to another video/Instructables tutorial would be appreciated. Thanks

[@AndreasSpiess]

I am a KZbinr and give my advice in my videos. Unfortunately I do not have the time for consulting, but I am sure you will find the answers using Google.

[@venkateshe7506]

Excellent again. How are you generating voice ?? TTS ?? Thanks again.

[@AndreasSpiess]

I used a Node-Red node

[@venkateshe7506]

Thanks.

[@patricf209]

Your channel ist brilliant. I´m new to lora. Would it be possible to communicate with tcp/ip peer to peer? I´m thinking of something like packet radio (maybe ax25?) over greater distances than wifi - and where los is not given. The datarate has not to be very high (but >9600kbit?) May you do a video about that. Thx and keep on.

[@AndreasSpiess]

1. TCP/IP has probably a lot of overhead. 2. Packet Radio would be possible. The question is more if you want to build such an infrastructure with addressing etc. 3. The speed depends on the modulation. I think you can look it up in the datasheet. In "LoRa" applications it is only a few bits per second, but the range is good.

[@jnevercast]

LoRa would be a poor choice for TCP/IP pair-pair communication. Andreas is correct that there is a lot of overhead. There is also aggressive duty cycle limits and low data rate. LoRa is for long range devices that send very small amounts of data very infrequently. TCP/IP does not pair well here.

[@dominkidalvin]

Hey andreas spiess any idea what would be a good starting path to do point to point lora using a pi and an arduino? I have seen tons of videos and reviews like yours using an arduino to arduino lora connection how can I start with a pi and achieve the same goal. I am still new to pi related programming. I am looking for a library for the pi like radiohead but have no idea if I am on the right path? Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Raspberry Pis are usually used for LoRa gateways. I do not know of any nodes with an RPI. Probably because in most cases, this would be an overkill for just a sensor.

[@dominkidalvin]

Andreas Spiess I see my goal is to have a point to point communication and take the information and display on a pi gui of some sort or node red to use all of the extensive features that we can do with the data that we cannot do with another esp32 for example as a point to point. Hope that kinda clarify what I am trying to do any ideas what would be the best idea I was thinking of wifi and using node red but the issue is the range I plan on attaching this to a drone and flying some distance and I'm.not sure if the rpi or esp WiFi range would reach in adhoc mode between each other's sorry for the long reply

[@RuiSilva-rw6vl]

Yes, you can communicate the arduino with raspberry pi with this library:github.com/rpsreal/pySX127x

[@uforex911]

Hi Andreas, have you tested this library with ESP32 and is Lora module compatible with it?

[@uforex911]

Because I’m trying to make one ESP32 Sender and one ESP32. Sorry if this is a rookie question XD

[@AndreasSpiess]

No, I did not test it. But I think it should work.

[@jumadhaheri]

Thank you. This an amazing learning video.

[@AndreasSpiess]

You are welcome!

[@OldCurmudgeon3DP]

GPS says my 2 nodes would be about 6.7km apart with (it seems) only trees in the way at the remote end. Based on your testing, would this be possible with the smaller "rubber duck" or maybe dipole antennas from your world-record distance video? I need to monitor a small weather station that has 1 or 2 additional sensors on interrupts. Keep up the great work on the videos. I've learned a lot watching them. :)

[@AndreasSpiess]

Just try it. Predictions are not easy. With a line of sight, it will for sure be possible.

[@karanamaditya5118]

hello, Iam testing lora communication by using RN2483 PICTAIL LoRa module, i bought two of those lora modules can they communicate directly without any gateway in between? please reply ASAP , thankyou in advance

[@AndreasSpiess]

Did you watch this video before you asked this question?

[@karanamaditya5118]

Andreas Spiess yes I watched this. In this video it seems like node to node communication is possible. But iam asking abt that particular model RN2483 PICTAIL plus lora module.

[@karanamaditya5118]

sir, can we use both ends arduino uno board, and how to configure which is sending and which is receiving

[@andresceballos4128]

hello, great video I would like you to solve several doubts regarding the communication by LoRa How can I solve the reception of data from two slaves that send the master at the same time? I am using a LoRa SX1276 module and an WiFi esp07

[@AndreasSpiess]

Maybe you watch my other videos about gateways.

[@harshitsharma5090]

hello Andreas, Thanks for great tutorial, but i am getting some problem. After uploading the scetch, I turn up the serial monitor but it got stuck at Init Failed. I checked the connection twice. I used the same module with same frequency. Please help.

[@AndreasSpiess]

Remote diagnostics are not possible. Maybe you check everything, also cabeling, again.

[@keithmaddox1469]

It's an ice cube here too BTW

[@AndreasSpiess]

For the moment it is ok during day and still cold in the nights.

[@abdelilahbouslama2098]

HI. thanks for your awesome series of videos. they are very useful if it's possible to send you architecture of system where you can show us what materiel to use in order to create a complete system using sensors, LORA, MQTT? thanks for your help and your understanding

[@AndreasSpiess]

I think this video showed a sensor (reed switch), LoRa transmission and MQTT transmission in one system.

[@abdelilahbouslama2098]

First of all thanks for your feedback and your help.secondly i'm still beginner and i want know the best materiel(sensors, gatways) i can use in order to create large LORA network(without internet) using MQTT as communication protocol. Thanks for your understanding and your help

[@pdeepakjayan1993]

Can you please share any video that shows communication between 2 rfm95 LoRa nodes using RADIOHEAD LIBRARY?

[@AndreasSpiess]

This is not very interesting for my viewers. Just do it. It should not be very complicated.

[@Abc-sl1nf]

How would I use a point to point message system using a 3.5 inch touch screen on both devices. I don't want to use WiFi or phones, just point to point Lora. How could I connect a mini touch screen to Lora for communication?

[@AndreasSpiess]

This project has many parts which you have so solve one after the other. Not a simple thing.

[@belenhedderich3330]

Dear Andreas which Antenna you use there can you please post a link? Thanks

[@AndreasSpiess]

You should find the links in my LoRa videos.

[@belenhedderich3330]

Yes thanks I look them up and found some. Now you got me into Lora also ordered some boards. Thanks keep the good content coming ;)

[@arnauddurand127]

Can you share the link? I couldn't find it.

[@bhedderich]

This is what I got need to arrive yet s I had no time to test it: www.ebay.com/itm/10-Pcs-SMA-Female-Jack-Solder-Edge-1-6mm-Space-PCB-Mount-Straight-RF-Connector/272865257537?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 and www.ebay.com/itm/1-5-10x-GSM-Wireless-Module-Antenna-SMA-2dBi-Vertical-Polarity-868m-900m-915mhz/371963425730?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&var=640906699730&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

[@simonprentice8153]

Thank you for a very interesting tutorial. Can you confirm if the limitations associated with LoRaWAN and/or TTN also apply to a LoRa point-to-point connection? My research (Google) has left me with conflicting answers.

[@AndreasSpiess]

The law applies to all devices. But because you have no gateway for point-to point these limits are not as important (Gateways are the limiter on LoRaWAN)

[@simonprentice8153]

Andreas Spiess. Understood. Thank you.

[@avejst]

Thanks for sharing 😀👍, interesting stuff 😀

[@AndreasSpiess]

As usual. You are welcome! Thank you for your regular comments!

[@kk7538]

What would be the best Lora Antenna solution for a 450km range

[@AndreasSpiess]

Maybe you watch my videos about LoRa propagation. 450km is not easy

[@thesimbon]

Hello Andreas, if could take a look at mysensors.org you will find a library that handles pretty much all you need (communication and sleep of arduino) and there are also instructions on how to lower sleep power: removing the led is ok, but you also need to remove the pro mini voltage regulator; with that removed I get less than 5 uA from my battery powered nodes (that are also using the same soshine batteries)

[@AndreasSpiess]

1. I have to look into this "mysensors". Looks promising... 2. Thanks for the tip concerning the regulator.

[@thesimbon]

I hope to see you soon posting on the forum over there :)

[@nutcracker1684]

MySensors definitely the way to go!

[@mcgamingproyt]

Is node red better/easier to use for home automation than openHab?

[@AndreasSpiess]

I do not know openHab

[@lukewarmmizer]

They aren't mutually exclusive, you can use Node-red as the rules engine for OpenHAB - community.openhab.org/t/node-red-as-alternative-rule-engine/29509