Overview

XBee LR LoRaWAN® Module

The XBee® LR from Digi is a wireless communications module that supports the LoRaWAN® communications protocol, enabling direct communication with standards-compliant LoRaWAN® gateways and Network Server cloud software over long range with very low-power consumption. It comes pre-activated with Digi X-ON™ - a complete device-to-cloud platform for connected IoT devices which provides a simplified Digi Embedded API and AT command interpreter to interface with your sensor over serial. Scanning the QR Code on the module will take you directly to the Digi X-ON cloud platform for automated connection and two-way device management. For more information, refer to the datasheet.

RP2350

The RP2350 is part of a new family of microcontrollers from Raspberry Pi that offers significant enhancements over RP2040. Along with the Dual ARM M33/RISC-V Hazard 3 CPU core running at a frequency of 150MHz and double the amount of internal RAM, the RP2350 also includes 8MB of PSRAM as well as a host of peripherals. As shipped, the SparkFun IoT Node for LoRaWAN® board makes use of the ARM M33 Core, but the user has the option to change to the RISC-V Hazard 3 CPU Core. More information can be found in the datasheet here.

Power & Voltage Regulation

While max input power is 5.5V for the board, the LM66200 regulates the voltage down to 3.3 for the majority of the components on the board.

Qwiic connector

The Qwiic connector on the side of the board provides power and I²C connectivity simultaneously to our rich array of Qwiic sensors. More information on our Qwiic Ecosystem can be found here.

XBLR UART Selection Switch

This selection switch allows you to choose whether you talk to the XBee LR via the Raspberry Pi or the USB connector at the top of the board. Unless there is a need to talk to the XBee directly (ie, debugging, etc), it is recommended to leave the switch on the RP2350.

RP2350 Debug Header

Should you need breakpoint level debugging, we've broken out a debug header for the RP2350. Standard pinout for the ARM Cortex.

XBee LR Debug Header

Similar to the debug header for the RP2350, these pads allow for breakpoint level debugging of the XBee module. Unlike the RP2350 Debug Header, however, these pads are unpopulated.

MicroSD Card

The microSD card slot allows for data logging or for more advanced users, easy upload of firmware programming files for the Raspberry Pi.

Warning

Do NOT drive the microSD card pins high if the card is not powered. Damage could occur!

Battery Charging Circuit

The MCP73831 has been integrated to allow for charging of a LiPo Battery via the JST connector.

Charging occurs at a rate of 455mA. Our calculation of this rate is via the equation below:

Buttons

Boot: Pressing and holding the boot button will set the board into boot select mode. This sets up as a mass storage device, which allows for drag-and-drop functionality for uploading uf2 programming files. For more information about the UF2 Bootloader, refer to the Software/Bootloader section of this tutorial.
Reset: The reset button does a software reset on the RP2350.
User Button: The User Button is a user-defined general use button connected to GPIO.

Jumpers

Never modified a jumper before?

Check out our Jumper Pads and PCB Traces tutorial for a quick introduction!

Tutorial's thumbnail
How to Work with Jumper Pads and PCB Traces

XB_SHLD: For most applications, single point grounding is sufficient. However, should you run into problems with EMI/EMC, we've provided a jumper that allow you to disconnect the XBee connector from ground.
XB_MEAS: Cut this trace to measure the current consumed by the XBee LR.
LP: Cut the LP trace to make the microSD card and the RGB LED powered off by default. This functionality can then be controlled by GPIO.
CHG: Cut the CHG trace to disable the CHG LED.
SHLD: Should you run into problems with EMI/EMC, we've provided a jumper that allow you to disconnect the USB Shield from ground.
PWR: Cut the PWR trace to disable the Power LED.
I²C: The SparkFun IoT Node for LoRaWAN® board has built-in 2.2k pull-up resistors on the SDA and SCL lines. These are needed for normal I²C communication. The I²C jumper has two small traces connecting the pull-ups to 3.3V. For general use you can leave this jumper unmodified. If you have many (over 7) devices on the I²C bus, each with their own pull up resistors, then you may want to cut the I²C jumpers to disconnect the 2.2k resistors on each Qwiic board.

Board Dimensions

The board dimensions are illustrated in the drawing below; the listed measurements are in millimeters.

Board measures 59mm x 82mm — SparkFun IoT Node for LoRaWAN® Board Dimensions

Need more measurements?

For more information about the board's dimensions, users can download the KiCad files for the board. These files can be opened in KiCad and additional measurements can be made with the dimensions tool.

Eagle - Free Download!

KiCAD is a CAD program for electronics that is free to use for hobbyists and students. However, it does require an account registration to utilize the software.

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