SparkFun IoT Node for LoRaWAN®
SKU: WRL-26060
The SparkFun IoT Node for LoRaWAN® development board brings an entirely new level of usability to the often convoluted and configuration-intensive effort to set up a LoRaWAN®-based IoT Device. Combining the ease of LoRaWAN® setup and configuration delivered by the Digi X-ON™ system with the rapid prototyping provided by the SparkFun Qwiic ecosystem, the SparkFun IoT Node for LoRaWAN® development board accelerates IoT end-node creation and deployment.

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Getting Started with Digi

To get started, you'll need to have access to an HX15 Gateway (NA or EU version) and a Digi Account. If you've purchased the kit, a Gateway will be included. Digi has a great "Getting Started" video here. The kit also has a welcome card included that contains a QR Code. Scanning this code will take you to a URL where you can register for an account.

Register the LoRaWAN® Node

To provision a device, go to the following link, log in if necessary, and scan the Data Matrix on the XBee.

Digi Scan

Note

If your DataMatrix scan is too blurry to work, wait a few moments and a manual entry will appear. From here you can manually enter the serial number to register your device. Alternatively, the mobile version has a zoom slider.

Digi Devices

Once you've registered your SparkFun IoT Node for LoRaWAN® board, you'll see it in your devices. Go to Network Dashboard -> Devices

Make sure you've got the correct Application selected like so:

You'll see your device here.

Plug in a Qwiic Sensor

Our Qwiic Ecosystem has an array of plug and play sensors. For the pre-programmed firmware, you'll need the SparkFun Environmental Combo Breakout - ENS160/BME280 (Qwiic); plug it into the Qwiic port as shown here:

LoRaWAN connected to Qwiic board — Connecting a Qwiic Sensor to the SparkFun IoT Node for LoRaWAN® Board

Reading Firmware

The SparkFun IoT Node for LoRaWAN® comes with Firmware that allows for a number of settings. By default, you can leave this be, but if you're interested in changing settings or verifying that everything is working you can pull up your favorite terminal (Putty, TeraTerm, etc), connect via serial to the port your LoRaWAN® has enumerated on, and you should see something like the following:

There are a number of different menus and settings you can scroll through at your leisure. Head over to the Firmware Tutorial for more information.

Reading Data

If nothing is entered in the above window, the LoRaWAN® will use default settings and start running.

This data will upload to your Digi Account via your gateway and can be seen here under Dashboard / Devices / Device Details:

Device Details and Management

Clicking on your device's EUI will take you to a page with Device Details, including the packets sent and gateway strength.

Hardware 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.

Download from

Hardware Assembly

Using the Qwiic system, assembling the hardware is simple. Connect the Qwiic sensor to the SparkFun IoT Node for LoRaWAN® board using a Qwiic cable. Then connect the SparkFun IoT Node for LoRaWAN® board to your computer via the USB-C cable.

You'll also need to connect your antenna to the XBee module on the board like so:

Antenna connected to XBee module — Antenna Connected to XBee module

Hardware Assembly

Checking MicroSD Card Format

While you can simply insert the microSD card into your SparkFun IoT Node for LoRaWAN® and start logging, there may be a chance that the it will not recognize the memory card due to the format.

Checking MicroSD Card Format - Windows

To check to see if it is the correct format on a Windows you could head to the drive, right click, and select Properties.

Once the properties are open, you should be able to tell what file system that the memory card uses. In this case, it was exFAT which is not compatible with the DataLogger IoT. You will need to reformat the memory card since it is not formatted as FAT32.

Checking MicroSD Card Format - macOS

To check to see if it is the correct format on a macOS, you could head to the drive on your desktop. Then right click, and select Get Info.

A window will pop up indicating the microSD card properties. Under General: > Format:, you should be able to tell what file system that the memory card uses. In this case, it was exFAT which is not compatible with the DataLogger IoT. You will need to reformat the memory card since it is not formatted as FAT32.

Download Raspberry Pi Imager

There are a few methods and programs available to reformat your microSD card as a FAT32. We found it easier to use the Raspberry Pi Imager Tool. Of course, you will only be using the tool to erase the contents of the microSD card and formatting it as a FAT32 system. You will not actually flash any image to the memory card. Click on the button below to download the tool from the Raspberry Pi Foundation. It is supported on Windows, macOS, and Ubuntu for x86.

Raspberry Pi Imager Tool

Formatting as FAT32 using the Raspberry Pi Imager

After downloading and installing the software, open the Raspberry Pi Imager.

Under "Operating System", select "Erase" to "format card as FAT32."

Raspberry Pi Imager - Erase : Format as FAT32

Under "Storage", select the drive that the microSD card appeared as on your computer.

Raspberry Pi Imager - Select Storage Drive

When ready, select "Write". After a few minutes, the microSD card should be formatted with FAT32.

Once the memory card has finished formatting, eject the microSD from your computer. To check to see if the microSD card is formatted as FAT32, you can check its properties as explained earlier with your operating system. Below shows a screenshot from a Windows and macOS showing that the microSD card reformatted as a FAT32 file system.

Hardware Assembly

The SparkFun IoT Node for LoRaWAN® uses a UF2 bootloader for easy flashing/uploading of code to the board. The UF2 bootloader causes the board to show up on your computer as a USB storage device and does not require any drivers for Windows, Mac OSX, and Linux. This bootloader is used for uploading in both the Pico SDK and MicroPython development environments so let's take a brief look at how to enter bootload mode.

What is UF2?

UF2 stands for USB Flashing Format, which was developed by Microsoft for PXT (now known as MakeCode) for flashing microcontrollers over the Mass Storage Class (MSC), just like a removable flash drive. The file format is unique, so unfortunately, you cannot simply drag and drop a compiled binary or hex file onto the board. Instead, the format of the file has extra information to tell the processor where the data goes, in addition to the data itself. For more information about UF2, you can read more from the MakeCode blog, as well as the UF2 file format specification.

Entering the Bootloader

Putting the SparkFun IoT Node for LoRaWAN® into bootloader mode only requires a couple of presses of the BOOT and RESET buttons. Start by pressing and holding the BOOT button down:

Next, press and release the RESET button while still holding down the BOOT button:

Release the RESET button and then the BOOT button and the board should be in bootloader mode and appear on your computer as a USB storage device called "RP2350".

Troubleshooting Tips

Note

Not working as expected and need help?

If you need technical assistance and more information on a product that is not working as you expected, we recommend heading on over to the SparkFun Technical Assistance page for some initial troubleshooting.

SparkFun Technical Assistance Page

If you don't find what you need there, the SparkFun Forums are a great place to find and ask for help. If this is your first visit, you'll need to create a Forum Account to search product forums and post questions.

Create New Forum Account Log Into SparkFun Forums

Resources:

For more resources related to the SparkFun IoT Node for LoRaWAN®, check out the links listed here: