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LoRa Repeater

Sometimes it’s handy to have a repeater to extend the range of a radio transmission. The particular usage I have in mind is to be able to receive telemetry from a landed payload that is too far away (or hidden by buildings or geography) to receive directly, but could possibly be received via a repeater up on a mast or flying on a drone. LoRa makes it easy to make a repeater, so that’s what I’ve done here. And to make it more generally useful, the repeater is programmable for frequency etc. via a Windows program, with the configuration stored in the repeater’s EEPROM.

Hardware
One of these can be made in about an hour if you’re handy with a soldering iron, using these parts:

Arduino Mini Pro
LoRa module
Small 3.7V LiPo battery
USB LiPo charger
LiPo –> 5V step-up converter
I used a long/slim LiPo but you can use whatever you like. If like me this is just for lifting up on a drone, something small and light is ideal. Even a tiny LiPo will have plenty of capacity for this use.”

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