SparkFun SAMD21 Pro RF Hookup Guide

Contributors: Elias The Sparkiest

Resources and Going Further

The SAMD21 Pro RF is a powerful microcontroller with LoRaWAN capabilities. To best take advantage of it, plug in a LiPo battery and a Qwiic enabled sensor. Perhaps you don't have a gateway nearby, or have found that they can be quite expensive? Look no further than our ESP32 LoRa 1 Ch Gateway with its excellent hookup guide.

For more information about the SAMD21 Pro RF, check out the links below.

• Hardware
  • Schematic (PDF):
    • SAMD21 Pro RF (Original) -- PDF schematic
    • SAMD21 Pro RF (v11) -- PDF schematic
  • Eagle Files (ZIP):
    • SAMD21 Pro RF (Original) -- PCB design files
    • SAMD21 Pro RF (v11) -- PCB design files
  • Graphical Datasheet
  • Datasheets
    • MCP73831 (PDF) -- Datasheet for the LiPo Charger IC
    • RFM95W (PDF) -- Datasheet for the RFM95W LoRa radio module
  • Product Repository -- GitHub repository where you can find all of our latest hardware and software design files.
    • SAMD21 Pro RF (Original)
    • SAMD21 Pro RF (v11)

• SFE Product Showcase

• Software

  • Libraries
    • Radio Head
    • Arduino-LMIC -- LoRaMAC-in-C (LMIC) Arduino library used to create LoRaWAN devices.
    • Low-Power Library -- Adds low power funtionality for the SAMD 21
  • Arduino Example Codes -- All the examples used in this tutorial.

• What is LoRaWAN?

  • Introduction to LoRaWAN -- Sparkfun's beginner's guide to everything the Long Range Wide Area Network known as LoRaWAN.
  • LoRa Alliance™
  • LoRa and Pycom
  • The Things Industries -- Free to use LoRa Network Server
  • The Things Network
  • resin.io -- Alternative free to use LoRa Network Server

Looking to adding SERCOM ports for your SAMD-based board, check out the tutorial below.

Need some inspiration for your next project? Check out some of these related tutorials:

Or check out this blog post for inspiration.