Note: The RAK4630 also comes with RAKwireless’ RUI3-based AT command firmware that is fully compatible with the RAK3172 and RAK11720 for easy product redevelopment.
RAKwireless’ RAK4630 is a long-range, ultra-low-power LoRa and Bluetooth 5 LE module with a high-performance Nordic nRF52840 MCU – with Bluetooth 5.0 LE and cryptographic security – and a Semtech SX1262 LoRa transceiver at its heart. This module provides up to +4 dBm Bluetooth output power, and +22 dBm LoRa output power with a total link budget up to 170 dB for extended communication range in your IoT application.
This 15 x 23 x 3 mm, 44-pin module has an operating temperature range from -40°C to +85°C and complies with LoRaWAN 1.0.2 protocols, with support for LoRa point-to-point communication. This makes the RAK4630 suitable for a wide range of home/building automation, sensor network, and wearable devices. Two variants of this module are available to support global coverage: the RAK4630(H) serves ISM bands from 779-923 MHz, typically used across Europe, North America, Russia, Asia, and Australia, and the RAK4630(L) serves the 433-470 MHz bands used in China and in some European territories.
The in-built Nordic microcontroller secures the RAK4630 as a powerful device to drive your IoT application. The nRF52840 is based on a 32-bit Arm Cortex-M4F CPU running at 64 MHz, and this is supported by 1 MB flash and 256 kB RAM while featuring a wealth of interfaces that include UART and USB. As an example to illustrate its low power consumption, the RAK4630 consumes only 4.23 µA when in one-time sleep mode, but this has been shown to be lower in real-world application tests. The RAK4630 also features a built-in temperature-controlled crystal oscillator (TXCO) for stable operation across a wide range of temperature and bandwidth requirements.
More information about the RAK4630 is available in this datasheet.
While there does not appear to be a simple breakout board for the RAK4630, the RAK4631 WisBlock Core module comprises the RAK4630 with an expansion PCB and connectors compatible with the RAK5005-O baseboard, which can be used to gain easy access to the RAK4630’s pins during development and evaluation.
Three variants of this board are available depending on your preferred development method and application:
- RAK4631-R for low-power applications designed with RUI3.
- RAK4631 for use with the Arduino IDE BSP and Meshtastic.
- RAK4631 Voice Processing, which includes a license for the Cyberon Software for use with the Arduino IDE BSP.
More information on the RAK4631 can be found in this datasheet, and if you’d like to evaluate this technology for use in a commercial application, fill out the form below, and ipXchange will put you in touch with RAKwireless for consultation and product samples. You may also want to consider the new RAK11720 for a smaller, more cost-effective LoRa + Bluetooth solution in projects that do not require a USB interface.
