The Eagle board is available in our online shop:
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Turnkey LoRa server solution (MQTT gateway)
The LoRa wireless technology allows sensors to communicate in the free ISM band across long distances from 200 m to 20 km, suited for small data rates.
The turnkey Eagle solution can be used immediately. The included RadioShuttle radio protocol software enables node-to-node communication with MQTT gateway functions to the Internet. The Eagle LoRa board by HelTec Automation is USB powered (5 V) and supports LiPo or Li-ion rechargeable batteries for UPS failover. The board uses the “RadioShuttle” LoRa wireless peer-to-peer protocol software and can operate as an online remote sensor node and/or, with the included MQTT gateway software, as a gateway server to the Internet.
The groundbreaking LoRa wireless solution is ideal for many industrial and IoT applications.
Gateway optimized with an ESP32 MCU, WiFi and LoRa
The included MQTT gateway software forwards LoRa messages from remote RadioShuttle nodes to the Internet, and vice versa. It connects to the Internet via WiFi, the OLED screen displays the LoRa, MQTT and WiFi status. Additional example TCP/IP and HTTP alarm system demo applications are included and can be customized for further use cases. All demo applications are open source and can be used with the Arduino IDE on Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Smartphone app via the RadioShuttle MQTT push client
The RadioShuttle “MQTT Push Client” app allows receiving and displaying MQTT messages on a mobile device. Special MQTT topics can also issue a push message on the Android or iOS smartphone. The smartphone issues an action to send control messages to individual remote devices via MQTT. The RadioShuttle software solutions can handle all this.
USB powered online sensor solution (LoRa & WiFi)
The Eagle board can be used as an USB powered online sensor with display, and plenty of IO connectivity. The RadioShuttle software allows communicating reliably and securely with other LoRa nodes. Built-in WiFi allows communicating over the Internet via TCP/IP, HTTP and MQTT. Sample applications for WiFi and LoRa are included.
OLED display
The Eagle integrated OLED display (128×64 pixels) can display messages in a bright and sharp way. The RadioShuttle co-developed “OLED_SSD1306” software library is included and supports easy-to-use functions for different text sizes and graphics.
IO concept
The two rows of pin headers on the Eagle board are signal compatible with the ESP32 module. Due to the extensive equipment of our board, various pins are already preassigned internally by the system. They are addressed in the source code in the same way as with the Arduino ESP32 and can partly also be used for own applications, see the “xPinMap.h” file and the connection diagram below for details. For common sensor nodes, sufficient digital, analog, serial and I²C connections are available in any case.
Note:
The ESP32 Espressif Systems can only tolerate a maximum of 3.6 volts. All signals higher than 3.6 volts must be reduced accordingly using a voltage divider.
On the left side of the board – antenna points to the right – is the ESP32 module with “Reset” and “User” button (sometimes also called “Program” button) as well as an LED (white). A current switch (VDD) allows external parasitic loads to be disconnected from the power supply. A p-channel MOSFET circuit is included for this purpose.
We have provided a USB connector for powering and programming via the Arduino IDE.
In RadioShuttle LoRa radio operation, the white LED lights up when transmitting radio data. In addition, the white LED flickers every time the Arduino “Loop” passes through in order to make unwanted CPU activity visible.
Scope of delivery
- ESP32 Eagle board with LoRa and OLED display
- U.FL socket with 868 MHz antenna
- Basic plastic housing for indoor use (with USB hole and pin header holes)
- SH1.25 connector with 14 cm cable (for soldering in LiPo or Li-ion battery)
- 2 x 18 pin header connectors (not soldered in)
- Optional Si7021 sensor (temperature and humidity sensor)
- RadioShuttle peer-to-peer LoRa wireless protocol software
with 20 example applications (including an MQTT gateway) - RadioShuttle “MQTT Push Client” app (licensed for RadioShuttle board users)
Eagle board compatibility, benefits and limits
The Eagle board is ESP32 compatible offering similar features as the ECO Power board. The RadioShuttle software fully supports the Eagle board available from RadioShuttle. One Eagle board can easily handle hundreds of LoRa peer-to-peer nodes. The included antenna is a basic antenna, optional larger antennas with a higher gain can be connected via the U.FL connector.
The Eagle board does not qualify for long-running batterie operation because it consumes 800 µA during deepsleep. For long-running battery operated solutions, the Turtle board is recommended, being 100 times more battery efficient and working up to 10 years on batteries. The ECO Power boards also offer an RTC, Si7021 temperature sensor and SMA connector. The RadioShuttle software supports the Eagle battery voltage measurement to verify when the battery runs low.
The Eagle boards contain a LiPo or Li-ion charging capability with an orange charging status LED connected to the charging controller. The orange LED is indicating that the battery is charging even if no battery is connected. We provide a technical note Eagle board: disable charge LED, if desired.
Note:
Since the Eagle board is compatible with the “Heltec Wifi LoRa 32 (V2)” board, “Heltec Wifi LoRa 32 (V2)” must be choosen from the board selection menu within Arduino. Only the RadioShuttle delivered Eagle boards are firmware prepared for the RadioShuttle software. Customers purchasing the “Heltec Wifi LoRa 32 (V2)” board from some other source must acquire a 25 € license and install a firmware update in oder to run it with the RadioShuttle software.
| Eagle | ECO Power | Turtle | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | plastic | – | – |
| MCU | ESP32 | ESP32 | STM32L4 |
| CPU (MHz) | 2x 240 | 2x 240 | 80 |
| Flash | 8 MB | 4 MB | 256 kB |
| SRAM | 512 kB | 512 kB | 64 kB |
| LoRa | SX1276 | SX1276 | SX1276 |
| LoRa antenna | U.FL | SMA & wire | SMA & U.FL |
| WiFi | yes | yes | – |
| WiFi antenna | spring | PCB | – |
| OLED display | yes | optional* | optional* |
| Development | Arduino | Arduino | Mbed OS |
| Battery operation up to: | 30 days | 5 years | 10 years |
| Battery types | LiPo or Li-ion | 3 V Lithium | AAA or NiMH |
| Battery holder | – | CR123 | AAA |
| USB power & programming port | Micro | Micro | Micro |
| LoRa (MHz) | 868 | 868 | 868 |
| Vext switchable power pin | yes | yes | yes |
| RadioShuttle peer-to-peer | yes | yes | yes |
| LoRaWAN | yes** | ** | ** |
**) RadioShuttle offers using LoRa peer-to-peer networking with many advantages including an MQTT gateway solution. LoRaWAN is a different network system which requires a LoRa gateway. HelTec and other vendors offer LoRaWAN support, which may also work on the Eagle, Turtle and ECO Power boards. However, RadioShuttle does support its RadioShuttle software only.
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