Compact Long Range (LoRa) Transceiver and Network Analyzer

ESP32 

STM32CUBEPROG

<html><body>For the best quality read, check out <a href="https://roboticworx.io/blogs/projects/dualcast">this article on my homepage here </a>. Also, don't forget to <a href="https://roboticworx.io/pages/subscribe">subscribe for free </a>to support my work! :) <h3>A Quick Preview</h3>Presenting DualCast! My latest (and most advanced) project to-date. It is a compact wireless device capable of analyzing live traffic on 2.4GHz Wi-Fi networks in addition to being able to send 915MHz AES-128 encrypted, long-range commands via LoRa technology. (Up to over a kilometer on default settings!) <figure><img src="https://projects.arduinocontent.cc/39afb27e-8d26-4706-b1c9-bcd875605109.jpg"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure> <figure><img src="https://projects.arduinocontent.cc/e0b26ec3-0b61-459c-a656-d7f6690c9e8a.jpg"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure> <figure><img src="https://projects.arduinocontent.cc/f03eb6ea-5700-425f-bafd-29f322e4f49f.jpg"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure> <figure><img src="https://projects.arduinocontent.cc/557a175a-c16f-49fd-827f-833f4bd07fb0.jpg"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>In addition, it comes with numerous sensors such as a BME280 for atmospheric sensing, a BMI323 for orientation detection, and a VL53L4CX LiDAR for quick precision distance measurements from 0-6 meters. (I just thought, "why not!") <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qswA1kR0dJA"></iframe></figure><figure><img src="https://projects.arduinocontent.cc/ca298603-4220-4aa3-a62e-538578b11a97.jpg"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure> <figure><img src="https://projects.arduinocontent.cc/ab9942f7-b9a0-4dc7-8dc1-2018bfc19dcf.jpg"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>If you're interested in purchasing one of these, they are <a href="https://roboticworx.io/products/dualcast-network-analyzer-and-lora-transceiver">available here </a>on my shop! I've been super impressed with the LiDAR, as it's a nice upgrade over the one I used in my smartwatch project. I've been able to get basically identical distance measurements when comparing to a tape measure indoors. It also comes with a lot of additional data to make sure you have everything needed for total measurement accuracy, such as ambient light, tolerances, etc. (All authentic data from the ST VL53L4CX SDK!) <figure><img src="https://projects.arduinocontent.cc/3f0f9a2e-b74f-4408-93b7-300c775f8a09.jpg"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>The device's dual-broadcast capability as a Wi-Fi-LoRa hybrid also allow it to prove useful in various wireless circumstances. In analyzer mode, you can simply scan for active 2.4GHz networks and then select the one you want to analyze. From there, you can listen for live Beacon or Data Frames to analyze RSSI, active device MACs, destination MACs, frame lengths, and data rates. <figure><img src="https://projects.arduinocontent.cc/9a900d8c-9d34-4e3b-8eaf-5781f7d79bf2.jpg"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure> <figure><img src="https://projects.arduinocontent.cc/fa2761f0-5eb7-461b-8be1-571b95d07219.jpg"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>This can be incredibly useful in analyzing who all is communicating with the network (in case you're worried your neighbor has been stealing your Wi-Fi), or in identifying network traffic to determine the fastest network. It also works great for if you just want to find the spot in your house with the best signal strength to set up your desktop. I'll go into the details of how this works later. <figure><img src="https://projects.arduinocontent.cc/cff68c7a-128d-4cd8-91ab-790e51a723b5.jpg"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>When you're done, simply flip DualCast 180 degrees (literally) to put it into LoRa mode. In this mode, you can communicate with your own weather or other sensor stations, dispatch commands (lock/unlock door, turn on/off lights, etc.), or any other applications where an independent long-range signal would be useful. You can kind of think of it as an IoT command center, in which you can communicate with all your other custom devices securely. Just simply click the command you want to send. (Up to 255!) <figure><img src="https://projects.arduinocontent.cc/105807fe-89f6-4815-9920-06794ddf8b31.jpg"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>To make this easier for you, I also built a custom LoRa receiver (open-source) designed to decrypt the AES-128 long-range signals sent to it by DualCast and perform whatever task you want it to do. But the best part is that you can use it without touching a single line of the source code! <figure><img src="https://projects.arduinocontent.cc/d6e161f2-aa8e-4af1-a94a-f8ef6bfed2f5.jpg"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>By default, this is achieved through basic GPIOs. On DualCast (the transmitter), just simply send a number. This number will then be encrypted based on your unique key typed into it, to ensure that only you can send the command. When the receiver gets the message, it will decrypt it using that same key (which you tell it beforehand) and then set the corresponding GPIOs high (corresponding to the number you sent it in binary). From there, just connect an Arduino, ESP32 DevKit, or whatever else to the GPIOs and when that sequence goes high, have it execute your command. EZPZ! I'll go into more detail on how this works later in the article. Although, if you'd prefer to just use the receiver directly that's perfectly fine too! For this reason, I've broken out pins for UART, I2C, and PWM to interface it with whatever you desire. In addition, it can also easily connect to a battery for rural commands should you need them. <figure><img src="https://projects.arduinocontent.cc/e30709d0-a9c4-4285-a5a0-63771f6a58e0.jpg"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>But what if you want to do a one-to-many broadcast? Not to worry, just have your other receivers use the same key and have each listen for whichever unique command they're waiting on. (Ex: The one in your kitchen is listening for a 5, while the one in your bedroom is listening for a 28.) <figure><img src="https://projects.arduinocontent.cc/bb84034b-8d5f-42f0-ad21-f5e7797a82a0.jpg"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>After a long day of sending commands/collecting sensor data and exploring the world of wireless, the built-in Lithium-ion Polymer (LiPo) battery on DualCast can be safely and easily recharged via a USB-C cable just like on the receiver. And of course, like all my other projects, DualCast is completely open-source should you want to make any edits to tailor it to your own desires. For this reason, I also added some extra GPIOs that could be used for any various purpose you might want them for. <figure><img src="https://projects.arduinocontent.cc/f8933a0e-a288-438a-bf1a-d73de50be9ca.png"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Unfortunately, this Arduino project platform doesn't support embedding HTML, so I'm unable to copy the rest of the tutorial here. However, it is available completely for free <a href="https://roboticworx.io/blogs/projects/dualcast">here on my website </a>if you want to check it out. It will also have all of the other links, etc., so you can check out the project GitHub page and other documents. See you there! </body></html>

Compact Long Range (LoRa) Transceiver and Network Analyzer

Build a 2.4GHz wireless network analyzer that doubles as a Long Range (LoRa) transceiver to dispatch independent encrypted wireless commands.