I'm planning to build a device that will make use of the LoRa communication protocol to transmit data over long distances and for that, I first wanted to assess the feasibility of such a project in the area where I live.

So to test out the range that I can get from my house, out in the valley that is below me, I've made two devices using the RYLR998 LoRa modules that were provided to me by Reyax. You can find the modules here and here.

These modules operate on the 868/915MHz range and can be easily interacted with a microcontroller by using AT commands over serial.

The devices that I build send messages between them, and when a message is received by the second device, it sends confirmation back to the first so I can know that it was received.

The final distance that I managed to test and get a successful communication was 8.25km and I'm sure I could have gotten more if I had the time to continue the tests.

Check out the video below for a full explanation of the build and the test process.

The code running on the devices can be found at: https://github.com/bkolicoski/rylr998-lora-distance-test

REYAX Official Website

https://reyax.com/products/rylr998/

RYLR998 Purchase Links :

https://www.techdesign.com/market/reyax/product-de... (TECHDesign)

https://www.amazon.com/REYAX-RYLR998-Interface-Ant... (Amazon)

Tools and materials used in the video:

• NodMCU Development board - https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_9uWH0D
• Breadboard - https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_AYbD2V
• Mini Breadboards - https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_A0gvZL
• USB OTG Adapter - https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_AqUV8p