LILYGO LoRa32 433Mhz ESP32 TTGO Development Board

Bought this to sniff a Watchman oil tank monitor and feed data into home assistant. It works but the software and configuration takes some working out, more so if not a full on software engineer, got there in the end.

I have used the LilyGo TTGO with good antenna for two fun radio projects - a tiny satellite ground station and a 433 MHz LoRa APRS ground station. 1) TinyGS: After being reflashed with with G4lile0 firmware (Github) the 433 MHz LilyGo TTGO plus a 433 MHz antenna makes a low-cost ground station to receive low-earth orbit LoRa CubeSats. TinyGS ground stations all over the world collect telemetry from various LoRa CubeSat projects. I would highly recommend this build for kids in high school interested in STEM. It may take a bit of assistance. The project does not require a license because it's receive only. 2) iGate: After being reflashed with CA2RXU firmware from github the 433 MHz LilyGo TTGO and a good antenna, the TTGO makes a really nice iGate. An iGate give packets from trackers and comunication devices to be mapped on the internet as well as connect all over the world. This second project requires an Amateur Radio license because it transmits as well as receives. The LilyGo T-Beam is nearly the same board but it adds a GPS chip. Please note that in ITU region 2 (North and South America), there is no ISM band on 433MHz. 433 MHz is an Amateur Radio band. In the US, that's an Amateur Radio Technician license. What I liked: It's the basis for very fun, low cost LoRa-based radio projects. There are many more projects, but these two stand out. The possibilities for hardware expansion and software development are wide open. What I think could be improved: I think the display on the LilyGo TTGO is very small and difficult to read. A larger display would allow more information display area as well as larger fonts for easier reading.

Funciona muito bem. Fácil configurar.

Order delivered during the estimated timeline. I used the transparent plastic housing which came with the board as a case for the board. Besides the 2 holes needed for the microUSB cable and the antenna, I drilled some holes for air ventilation. I flashed the board with OpenMQTTGateway so that I can pick up my 433 MHz devices and integrate them into my HomeAssistant. Flashing and integration into HA went straight forward, so I run it it for couple of hours to identify my own 433 MHz sensors. I let it run for couple of days, though the board memory got flooded and the board go unresponsive sometime afer 24-36 hours and it needed restart. After digging around for some solutions, I ended up with two useful solutions: disabling the decoding of unused protocols and turning off discovery caching. You can do this by sending the coresponding commands using MQTT Explorer. Google AI was quite usefull in recommending the proper commands to run. In HomeAssistant I am monitoring the CPU temperature and the minmemory board parameters and I implemented also two automations which should send notifications to my mobile in case the board minmemory goes below certain value or the temerature goes above certain value. The board is running stable for more than a week now, average CPU temp is ~48 degree Celsius, average free minmemory ~44 kB.

Un module LoRa/ESP32 complet et idéal pour les projets IoT avancés J’ai acheté cette carte LILYGO TTGO LoRa32 (433 MHz) pour un projet IoT basé sur LoRa et ESP32, et elle tient parfaitement ses promesses. Le module est très complet : LoRa, WiFi, Bluetooth, écran OLED, lecteur micro‑SD… tout est intégré sur une seule carte, ce qui simplifie énormément le développement. Ce que j’ai apprécié Le module LoRa fonctionne très bien : portée correcte et communication stable en 433 MHz. L’ESP32 offre suffisamment de puissance pour gérer plusieurs tâches en parallèle (LoRa + WiFi + affichage). L’écran OLED intégré est très pratique pour afficher des informations sans ajouter de composants externes. Le lecteur micro‑SD permet de stocker des logs ou des données de capteurs. L’antenne SMA fournie améliore nettement la portée par rapport aux modules avec antenne PCB. Compatible avec de nombreux projets open‑source (Paxcounter, capteurs LoRa, passerelles simples, etc.). La carte est bien assemblée, propre, et les soudures sont de bonne qualité. Ce que j’ai moins aimé La documentation officielle est assez limitée, il faut souvent se référer aux projets GitHub ou aux forums. La consommation est un peu élevée si on active LoRa + WiFi + OLED en même temps. Pas de boîtier fourni, il faut en imprimer un ou en acheter un séparément. Pour qui c’est idéal Pour les makers et développeurs qui veulent un module LoRa complet et prêt à l’emploi. Pour les projets IoT longue portée (capteurs, compteurs, tracking, monitoring). Pour tester Paxcounter ou d’autres firmwares LoRa déjà existants. Pour ceux qui veulent un ESP32 polyvalent avec écran intégré. Verdict Un excellent module LoRa/ESP32, complet, puissant et très polyvalent. Parfait pour les projets IoT avancés ou pour expérimenter avec LoRa. Très bon rapport qualité‑prix pour une carte aussi équipée.