Lego Edition - alex-43/SoftRF GitHub Wiki


Lego Edition is a variant of SoftRF DIY GA proximity awareness device been implemented as a set of factory made 'building blocks'.

Core of the system is WisBlock RAK11310 (MCU + LoRa 'combo') module produced by RAKwireless company.

The specifications:

  • MCU – Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Cortex-M0+ microcontroller @ 133MHz with 246 kB RAM
  • LoRa connectivity
    • SX1262 LoRa transceiver
    • Worldwide frequency coverage
      • RAK11310L – EU433, CN470
      • RAK11310 – EU868, US915, AU915, KR920, AS923, IN865, RU865
  • I/O ports – UART, I2C, GPIO, USB
  • Debugging – Serial Wire Debug (SWD) interface
  • Supply Voltage – 2.0 V ~ 3.6 V

The WisBlock RAK11310 Core sits on top of RAK5005-O WisBlock Base Board:

RAK1910 WisBlock GNSS Location Module is based upon ublox-7 chipset.

It occupies 'Sensor Slot A' of the Base:

There is a possibility to connect Bosch BMP280 air pressure (I2C) sensor and/or (I2C) OLED display.
Use J12 connector for this purpose.


Compatibility 1

Type Protocol FLARM OGN tracker PilotAware Skytraxx SoftRF
Radio FLARM AIR V6

 

OGNTP

 

P3I

 

FANET+

Data FLARM NMEA

  Garmin GDL90

 

Dump1090  

1 - it is necessary for a reader to distinguish the difference between statement "compatible" and statement "fully compatible".
     SoftRF implements only a reasonable minimum of the protocols specs. No "bells and whistles" so far.

Certificates

It was reported by RAKwireless that the RAK11300 module's RF design is approved by appropriate government agencies.
The FCC ID and CE mark are located on it's label:

These approvals are typically applicable for:

  • land use and
  • with genuine factory firmware.

For more information, please, contact to RAKwireless sales or customer service.

Disclaimer

In general a lot of Chinese DIY electronics manufacturers are known to behave this way:

  • sometimes they may not apply necessary Q.C. before releasing of a product from factory ;
  • they may arbitrary change schematics and electronic components from one batch to the next one ;
  • they may terminate manufacturing of a board just few month after initial production.

Because of that, author of SoftRF:

  • will reject any hardware related claims associated with RAKwireless WisBlock components. Ask for support from seller or manufacturer ;
  • reserves the right to suspend or terminate support of RAK WisBlock products in the firmware at any time.

For the time being ( March '22 ) there were no critical hardware issues reported for current version of the RAK11310 WisBlock Core. However things my change over the time...
If you have issues with bringing up your new RAK WisBlock products or just not happy with the boards - be prepared to execute your Purchase Protection plan.


Bill of materials

Required

Number Part Qty Picture Source
1 RAK11310 WisBlock
LPWAN Module 2
1 AliExpress 1
2 RAK5005-O WisBlock
Base Board
1 AliExpress 1
3 RAK1910 WisBlock
GNSS Module
1 AliExpress 1

2 - 868 MHz variant is applicable for these world regions: EU, RU, NZ, SA, IN ;
     915 MHz - US, CA, AU, KR, IL ;
     433 MHz - CN .

Recommended

Number Part Qty Picture Source
1 WisBlock RAKBox-B2
Enclosure
1 AliExpress 1
2 SMA female to uFL adapter 1 AliExpress
3 Antenna
868 MHz 3
1 EBay
AliExpress 1 2
4 Bosch BMP280
pressure
sensor
1 AliExpress
5 1x40 female header 2.54mm 2 Local

3 - 868 MHz variant is applicable for these world regions: EU, RU, NZ, SA, IN ;
     915 MHz - US, CA, AU, IL, KR ;
     433 MHz - CN .

Optional

Number Part Qty Picture Source
1 868 MHz SMA dipole antenna 4 1 AliExpress
2 RAK1921 WisBlock
OLED Display
1 AliExpress
3 RAK18001 WisBlock
Buzzer Module
1 AliExpress 1
4 LilyGO® T-Dongle 1 AliExpress

4 - 868 MHz variant is applicable for these world regions: EU, RU, NZ, SA, IN ;
     915 MHz - US, CA, AU, IL, KR ;
     433 MHz - CN .


Quick start

Use these instructions to start operating with your delivered Lego board.

Settings

Procedure of settings change is very similar to that the Dongle Edition has.
Settings description is located there.


Enclosure

There are few options of factory made enclosure that can accommodate RAK5005-O WisBlock Base with modules.

The most advanced one is probably RAKBox-B2 product. It has built-in solar panel and it is outdoor IP67/NEMA6 rated (weather proof).


Alternative hardware option

There is also a possibility to create the Lego Edition from WaveShare brand 'building blocks' in combination with genuine Raspberry Pi Pico board:

The required minimum of modules is:

  1. WaveShare Pico-LoRa-SX1262-868M sub-1GHz ISM band radio daughter board

  1. WaveShare Pico-GPS-L76B GNSS daughter board

When you need an air pressure sensor (Bosch BME280), you should consider to purchase the WaveShare Pico Environment Sensor module as well:

However, please, be aware that:

  1. we see no indication that WaveShare Pico-LoRa-SX1262-868M module is FCC/CE compliant ;
  2. we don't know if any enclosure can accommodate the modules set listed above ;
  3. we do not provide SoftRF firmware binaries for this variant - you will need to build the firmware by yourself ;
  4. it is recommended to solder R20 (0 Ohm) resistor ('factory' state is NC) of Pico-GPS-L76B board to provide precise pulse-per-second signal to GPIO16 of RP2040 MCU.

Optional equipment

SoftRF WebTop USB (USB to Wi-Fi adapter)



Additional information

  1. RAK11310 WisBlock LPWAN Module
  2. RAK5005-O WisBlock Base Board
  3. RAK1910 WisBlock GNSS Location Module
  4. WisBlock RAKBox-B2 Enclosure
  5. RAK1921 WisBlock OLED Display
  6. RAK18001 WisBlock Buzzer Module
  7. WaveShare Pico-LoRa-SX1262-868M
  8. WaveShare Pico-GPS-L76B
  9. WaveShare Pico Environment Sensor
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