Using Link.ONE all

Mar 19, 2024

RAKwireless has sent us a review sample of the WisTrio Link.ONE all-in-one LPWAN IoT development kit with support for LTE-M, NB-IoT, and LoRaWAN connectivity and programmable with the Arduino IDE. We’ve tested the kit with its weatherproof WisBlock Unify enclosure using LoRaWAN connectivity and open-source software packages and frameworks such as ChipStark, Node-Red, InfluxDB, and Grafana.

The Link.ONE kit we’ve received comes with a WisBlock Unify Enclosure (100 x 75 x 38 mm) and a 3,200 mAh/3.7V rechargeable lithium battery which is sufficient when the system is mostly in sleep mode and used to receive data, while not sending information too often.

The following items were very tightly packed inside the box:

The enclosure is strong with the lid having a waterproof rubber to ensure IP65 ingress protection rating – and weatherproofness – when the enclosure is closed.

If we remove the battery, we can have a closer look at the WisTrio Link.ONE development board.

There are three main modules in the kit:

Everything is assembled as shown in the illustration below.

The kit also includes a Monogoto SIM card with 500 MB of cellular data that can be used for up to 10 years.

The SIM card can be used globally, but we are based in Thailand, and the SIM card works with 2G, 3G, and 4G cellular networks using AIS or TrueMove operators, but not LTE Cat M1 (LTE-M), and there’s no information about NB-IoT. More about that later.

In addition, various sensor modules can be added to the Link.ONE devkit at the time of order, but none were included in our kit.

Link.ONE supports three types of low-power wide area networks (LPWAN): LTE-M, NB-IoT, and LoRaWAN.

Note 1 – The reviewer did not test the NB-IoT connection due to the annual fee for Network Server on Cloud from operators in Thailand. Note 2. The reviewer did not test the LTE-M connection because it is not supported by the Monogoto SIM card in Thailand.

The reviewer has set up a private LoRaWAN IoT platform bringing the convenience of managing the LoRaWAN system completely. The platform comes with various open-source software as follows.

The hardware required includes the Link.ONE development kit, a USB Type-C cable, a LoRaWAN gateway, and a computer.

We’ll also need to install the Arduino IDE and set it up for the Link.ONE devkit as follows:

We’ll write a “Hello World” program to send a message to Link.ONE over LoRaWAN. We’ve set the operating frequency band to AS923 for Thailand, and set up the connection as OTAA using the following values:

Note: There are 2 types of Activation processes: ABP (Activation By Personalization) and OTAA (Over The Air Activation).

We can now compile the code in the Arduino IDE and upload/flash it to the Link.ONE board. Note that we can flash/program the board immediately without pressing any button and the board will work as programmed automatically. This is an advantage of Link.ONE for developers.

When the program runs two types of messages are processed:

The payload data is “TmluZVBob24=” as can be seen from the screenshot below. It decodes to “NinePhon” (the reviewer’s name) when using the Base64 decode standard.

Since RAKwireless did not include a sensor module in the kit, we wrote a second demo program to read the battery voltage, the battery level in percent, and a “battery value” from the Lithium-ion batteries.

Link.ONE transmits battery data wirelessly to the LoRaWAN gateway which then forwards the payload to the “ChirpStack” LoRaWAN Network Server.

Node-RED then connects to ChirpStack via the MQTT protocol and decrypts the payload data using the Base64 algorithm.

Node-RED also automatically stores sensor and LoRaWAN system data in the InfluxDB time-series database.

The Grafana dashboard reads data from the InfluxDB time series database and displays the results with the battery voltage, the battery level in percent, and the power consumption in mW while the data is being transmitted.

Finally, the LINE Notify application monitors the lithium battery voltage, and if it drops below 3.3 Volts, an alert/notification will be sent to the LINE application to let us know immediately.

The WisTrio Link.ONE development kit is suitable for IoT device developers who are interested in assembling various sensors, writing code for versatility, and connecting to various wireless low-power wide area networks (LPWAN) such as LTE-M, NB-IoT, and LoRaWAN. Compatibility with the Arduino IDE makes it very easy to use. The Monogoto SIM card is also an advantage with a 500 MB data package that can be used for up to 10 years. That’s provided it works in your country.

We’d like to thank RAKwireless for sending us a Link.ONE development kit for review. RAKwireless sells the Link.ONE all-in-one LPWAN development kit for as low as $56, but if you’d like the WisBlock Unify Enclosure with a battery, the total would be $107. We’d also recommend getting one or more sensors with the kit. The company warns that adding a battery increases the delivery costs, so if possible, you might want to source it locally.

CNXSoft: This article is a translation of the original tutorial in Thai on CNX Software Thailand by Ninephon Kongangkab.

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.

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