Today we are going to make a project which is a simple LoRa node and you can even use it as a single channel gateway.Here the microcontroller that I have used is the ESP8266, which is connected to LoRa boards of 433MHz(Ra-02 by Ai-Thinker), I have also attached an OLED display to the PCB so that the packet information is visible. I have also made a video about building this project in detail, I recommend watching that for better insight and detail.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bE-HW8yzJeMCheckout
Checkout UTSource for electronic components for your DIY Projects with free shipping: https://www.utsource.net/
You would require the PCB to solder these components which we will take a look at the next step.
2
Get the project PCB manufactured
You must check out JLCPCB for ordering PCBs online for cheap!
You get 10 good quality PCBs manufactured and shipped to your doorstep for 2$ and some shipping. You will also get a discount on shipping on your first order. To design your own PCB head over to easyEDA, once that is done upload your Gerber files onto JLCPCB to get them manufactured with good quality and quick turnaround time.
3
Connections (THEORY)
Mainly there are 4 aspects in connections here:
1) ESP8266 just to function correctly needs some pull up and pull down the connection for G0, G15, EN and RST.
2) Ra-02 and the ESP8266 modules are connected to each other using the SPI protocol
3) OLED and the ESP8266 connect to each other using the I2C bus
4) All the modules need to be connected to power rails for them to operate.(Obvious :P)