RN2483 compatible LoRaWAN module

Hi , we are working on RN2483 compatible module.It has same dimension , power characteristics , api structure etc.
If you have a end device already designed for RN2483 but you cant find the module any where , it is your solution.

It will be ready in couple of weeks.
any one interested?

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a pin ‘compatible’ RN2483 ‘module’… you made me curious, tell us more :sunglasses:

come on… ‘ready in a couple of weeks’ … that means the pcb’s are ready and they are under the pick and place machine right ?

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Well , yes it is almost finished and ready for pick and place.
we actually were big fan of RN2483 for our end devices , but since it is out of stock , it caught us unprepared and we had to prepare our own module.
Since we have already our own firmware os and other complete know how , it wasn very hard for our development team to prepare.
It has the same geometry and Pin map with rn2483 , and subcomponents will be the same , so bascly it will have the same technical specs.Actually power characteristics will be little bit better.
For this product our main aim is to satisfy our need , but i am just curious how lorawan community would react on such offer since RN2483 was almost only module available from begining.

well… off course it raises questions, questions about copyrights and LoRa Alliance Certification for example.

but I hope that you can be more specific, I can imagine that, if you really are going to offer this product to consumers and the industry, that there is some documentation available ?

Well, as far as i know , having the same geometry and subcomponents are not copyright violation since there is no IP protected stack is compromised.
we havent prepared any documentation yet , but we will do it soon.
how do people move on without rn2483?
we couldnt find any other module with equal reliablity and cost other than new murata modules.

ok… we have to wait a couple of weeks then before you release more info (like price ect) :wink:

did you fix the temperature problem ?

Yea it was possibly firmware related , we have our own.And it is working flawlessly.
other than RN2483 , what people are using by the way?

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Yes, no one will sue you because your product has the same form factor and pin layout (electronics manufacturers make pin-compatible parts all the time), and since the Google vs Oracle trial API’s shouldn’t be seen as copyrightable (at least, in the US). So no problems there.

The main question however is: how are you getting your certification? If you make or sell or use Lorawan transceivers without LoraWan or CE certification, you put your business in a VERY risky position. Adhering to the layout of a CE certified chip is NOT enough to claim CE certification, let alone LoraWan certification by the LoraWan Consortium. All it would take is one claim from a competitor to potentially put you out of business. This is why the RN2483 is such a popular chip: it’s a fully LoraWan and CE certified part, and businesses need to have that certification if they want to comply to regulation.

Building your own RN2483 module for a lower price is nothing special, I could probably design the part and write the firmware in under a day. It’s also what most hobbyists do: buy uncertified RFM95 Lora transceivers for €2/piece on Aliexpress, throw in €5 for a microcontroller and some components, compile the LMiC LoraWan library et voila, your own fully functioning LoraWan transceiver for less money than two beers at the pub, and made in less time than finishing said beers. Is it technically usable? Sure is. Would you want to use it as a company? Hell no. Having someone already taking care of the certification for you is more than worth the few extra euro’s/dollars you have to spend at a RN2483.

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Sure you are right about the certification , that is exactly what we will do after a while. But i don’t think you have the same product like rn2483 if you work with 2 euros product from Aliexpress.
Also , documentation is another thing , you need to be very clear for the developers if you want your product to be desirable.
we will see the results.
thanks!

Yeah, the €2 RFM95 transceivers work better than the RN2483. At least they don’t give up when it gets cold :smile: .

The price doesn’t necessarily say anything about quality. All LoraWan nodes are just SX127x with associated parts and RF tuning, and the RFM95 is actually a quite well designed product that is cheap mainly because they make hundreds of thousands of them. If I were to make a RN2483 alternative I wouldn’t spend time and money on integrating the SX127x, companies like HopeRF are doing it better and cheaper than most of us could possibly do, I’d just focus on the API and documentation like you say.

RFM95 Lora transceivers for €2/piece on Aliexpress

It’s at least USD6-7 on Aliexpress. At €2, HopeRF is probably close by now.

Sounds good! Do you already have a name for that module? if not, what about BU3435 :grinning:

Haha sound good actually.
do you have any suggestion?

I’m a bit late to this discussion, but is there any progress on the RN2483 compatible module?

Not worried about certification at the moment, as I only want to prototype a design. PCBs are already made, so would prefer to stay with RN2483 footprint rather than redesign PCB or modify the PCBs to accommodate the RFM95 though.

Stock of Microchip RN2483 still seems to be several weeks away at best, and I want to prove my design prototypes.

Thanks!

Checking stock levels at Microchip Direct and on findchips.com and it doesn’t look promising
http://www.findchips.com/search/rn2483 - shows Avnet Europe have stock, but seems unlikely
Otherwise your best bet might be to get a dev board like the Lora Mote or PICtail, and desolder the module.
Depending on what functionality you want to test and where you’re based, you could also possibly try a RN2903.

Thanks - you’re right - Avnet shows stock until I try to order, then their site shows 0. Oh well, worth a try anyway!

I’m getting pretty desperate looking for a solution. Would consider buying a couple of 2nd hand RN2483’s from somebody, provided they work of course. Does anyone have a couple for sale?

Would prefer not to use new dev boards as a source of parts, but may have to go down this route just to get my prototypes up and running. Good idea, though :slight_smile:

Thanks!

You could order it from chipcad.hu (Budapest,Hungary). They have lots of RN2483A on stock on an affordable price level… https://shop.chipcad.hu/Welcome/Default.aspx?scenarioID=301&StockCode=MIC40177#TabControl-2

Thanks for the info about chipcad.hu.

They had some in stock, were very helpful, and the ordering process was reasonably straightforward with a 4 day delivery to the UK.