Adafruit RMF95W/RFM96W for the Pi Zero 2 W

I was trying to use the Pi Zero 2 W with the Adafruit RMF95W and I found the documentation frustratingly unusable for this particular board

All the example code seemed to be fitted for the version which is fitted with an OLED / buttons, and a lot is targetted towards arduinos.

Here's how to set it up, the easy way.

Wiring Layout

I was going to go into more detail but this'll do for now

ignore the buttons and resistors, just focus on the connections between the Pi's GPIO pins and the RFM95W/96W

MicroSD setup

To start, you'll need a MicroSD card running Raspberry Pi OS (Legacy, 64 bit) Lite

Setup your network details and username/password in the Raspberry Pi imager

SSH into the Pi, and we can continue to the next step!

Installing Prerequisites

Once you've SSH'ed into your Pi, run the following commands in your terminal:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo apt-get install python3-pip
sudo apt install --upgrade python3-setuptools

Then you can setup a virtual environment. Whilst this step is technically optional, it is strongly reccomended unless you know what you're doing.

To setup a venv, run the following commands

sudo apt-get install python3-venv
python -m venv env --system-site-packages

You should enter the venv by running this command:

source env/bin/activate

note: you will have to run this command every time the Pi reboots.

After you've entered the venv, run the Adafruit Blinka installer script:

cd ~
pip3 install --upgrade adafruit-python-shell
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/adafruit/Raspberry-Pi-Installer-Scripts/master/raspi-blinka.py
sudo -E env PATH=$PATH python3 raspi-blinka.py

Finally, install the other neccecary python libraries:

pip install python-dotenv
pip install Flask

Install RFM95W Library

Still in your venv, run the command

sudo pip3 install adafruit-circuitpython-rfm9x

Sending / Recieving data

To download the scripts, enter your venv (if not already inside it), and run the commands:

git clone https://github.com/birbexe/rfm9_w.git
cd rfm9_w

Once that's downloaded, you have to edit a few things.

First, work out what version of the RFM95W board you have. Adafruit sell a 433MHz version and a 868 or 915 MHz version

Once that's worked out, type

sudo nano .env

find line 5 of the file .env

Then, add your board version.

for example, if you have the 433 Mhz version, it should look like this:

version=433.0

or if you have the 868/915Mhz version, it should look like this:

version=915.0

After you're done editing, simply save the file by pressing CTRL + X followed by Y and then ENTER

Running the code

Once you have the board prepared, you have to decide whether you want to test it as a reciever, or a transmitter.

if you're using it as a reciever, run python reciever.py

This will display any recieved transmissions

if you're using it as a transmitter, run python transmitter.py

this will start the flask server, which can be accessed in a web browser, on your Pi's local IP

any text inputted and sent via the flask server will be transmitted through the LoRa board

Contributing

If you feel like you have something to contribute, feel free to drop a pull request!