Tracking Your Weather Only Gets Better with RAK7204

The environment is an arena of survival for every existing species. And we, humans, have gone through environmental tests that make us strong, but not necessarily safe. Therefore, the close monitoring of our environment is equally important as it helps you and me to live for the better.

Monitoring environmental conditions is not a simple task. Neither is it a trivial act that can be done just by anyone. Many IoT solutions providers are aware of this difficulty, hence the production of many LoRaWAN nodes like that of RAKwireless' RAK7204. Taking the weather conditions into cognizance, RAK7204 will help in making weather monitoring an easy task.

The RAK7204 is an LoRaWAN node with integrated environmental sensors. These high-precision environmental sensors can measure changes in temperature, humidity, air pressure, and provide indoor air quality index. All the accumulated data can be sent to an LoRaWAN gateway which forwards it to the cloud.

RAK7204 is built around a low-power MCU and a set of low-power sensors, and the firmware has been optimized for efficiency, it can achieve a very low-power operation in both dormant and active usage (e.g. when measuring and transmitting).

One of the most prominent features of this device is its long-lasting battery. The battery that comes with RAK7204 is non-rechargeable and can last more than two years. The battery level is reported at regular intervals. Upon reaching a critical level, an alarm is activated, thus you will never be surprised by a sudden power loss of your device. The design allows for replacing the battery. Even after those two years are up, you can still refresh your node for another two years of operation.

The installed firmware makes it possible for you to toggle the sampling intervals of the sensors and the transmission cycle. This feature gives you a range of configuration options, so based on your preferred settings you can either optimize for battery life or data granularity. We would recommend striking a balance, so you still have a long operation time, but not at the expense of sacrificing too many data samples.

Lastly, the RAK7204 adopts a highly integrated design. The environmental sensors, LoRa transceiver module, LoRa antenna, and the battery are fitted in a 90x85mm sized housing. These small dimensions allow for installation in tight spaces or ones that require the sensor to have a minimal impact on the overall feel of the surrounding environment. The housing adopts a hollow, permeable design to facilitate airflow that will increase the accuracy in the detection of changes in the environment.

The features and major selling points of this powerful, yet compact LoRaWAN weather station mentioned above are the main reasons why developers and users are exploring the world of IoT more. The comfort this node brings to them allowed them to experience an improved lifestyle.

KEY FEATURES

• Measurement of a variety of environmental parameters
• Temperature, humidity, air pressure and Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) measurement (integrated BME680)
• Replaceable High Capacity Long Lasting Battery
• A 3500 mAh high capacity lithium battery - lasts two years on a charge (sending a sull data set every 15 mins)
• Low Power Consumption
• In sleep mode, the current draw is less than 15µA
• Compliant with LoRaWAN 1.0.2

Conclusion

With a device such as the RAK7204, monitoring indoor environmental conditions is no longer a difficult task. Frequent real-time updates and long-lasting battery life make this a perfect solution for smart buildings, smart greenhouse, or simply an intelligently designed home.

RAK7204 allows you to run your weather station, whenever and wherever.