Faced with so many lora mods, how to choose?

Release time: 2022-09-05

Lora module technology breaks the balance between transmission power consumption and transmission distance, and changes the situation in the field of embedded wireless communication. It presents a new communication technology for people, which can achieve long distance, long battery life, large system capacity, and low hardware cost, which is exactly what the Internet of Things needs. However, there are various types and choices of lora modules, so how to make a choice in the face of so many modules?

The lora module can be considered from the following five aspects:

1. Data interface

For the wireless communication module, we can choose the module that is more suitable for this product from SPI and UART.

SPI interface module:

Use the SPI interface of the microcontroller to connect with the module, write the underlying communication protocol of the microcontroller, and realize the wireless communication of the module. Develop user code by yourself, with greater flexibility.

UART interface module:

The external microcontroller needs simple programming, and the UART port of the microcontroller is used to connect the module to realize wireless transmission, and the user does not need to care about the underlying wireless protocol.

Ease of use features: stable and reliable, less packet loss, no crash, reduce development difficulty and speed up development time.

Multifunctional features: It integrates a large number of networking algorithms for the actual use scenarios of users, which further reduces the difficulty of user development and makes it more convenient to use. The user's actual networking scenario can be realized by simply configuring parameters.

2. Band selection

The frequency band is selected for the rational use of spectrum resources and to ensure that there will be no interference between the two when using spectrum resources.

The lora module has its own frequency band:

915 MHz: In the US, there is a power limit, no duty cycle limit;

868 MHz: in Europe;

433 MHz: In Asia.

3. Packing size

Choose the size and packaging that is more suitable for our products.

4. Product power consumption

Multiple power consumption options: 100mW, 125mW, 158mW, 500mW, 1W, 2W

The higher the power consumption, the faster the transmission rate and the faster the power consumption; the lower the power consumption, the lower the transmission rate and the lower the power consumption. Therefore, when choosing a module, you should consider your actual usage scenario.

5. Communication distance

The communication distance of lora modules varies, which can meet various application scenarios. For example, when collecting data in a smart farm, a module with a shorter communication distance can be selected; if it is a factory environment, a module with a suitable distance should be selected according to the size of the factory area.

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