Is My LoRa Wired to ESP32C3 Mini Correctly?

Update: Both devices magically came back online with sample code below. I have no idea why or how. What gives? With that said I still have a question: how's my wiring look?

Question: Are these devices wired correctly in your opinion/estimation? TIA

Greetings from Canada. I have two esp32c3 mini’s that were working happily and continuously for several hours up until 2am-ish last night. A simple reboot did nothing, amongst many other attempts to resolve this - leading me down the rabbit hole that brings me to this post. I’ve reduced everything to the basics and can’t even get serial output for either device at this point.

Product Link ESP32C3 Mini: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005007446721319.html

Product Link Lora: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006176213952.html

My Wiring:

My Device:

My Code:

#include <SPI.h>
#include <LoRa.h>

// Define the pins used by the LoRa module
const int csPin = 7;     // LoRa radio chip select
const int resetPin = 1;  // LoRa radio reset
const int irqPin = 0;    // Must be a hardware interrupt pin

int counter = 0;

// Configuração da inicialização da comunicação LoRa Transmissora
void setup()
{
  Serial.begin(115200);
  while (!Serial);
  Serial.println("LoRa Receiver");
  //Custom LORA settings - SCK, MISO, MOSI, SS
  SPI.begin(4, 5, 6, 7);

  // Setup LoRa module
  LoRa.setPins(csPin, resetPin, irqPin);

  if (!LoRa.begin(915E6)) {
    Serial.println("Starting LoRa failed!");
    while (1);
  }
}

void loop()
{
  Serial.print("Sending packet: ");
  Serial.println(counter);

  // send packet
  LoRa.beginPacket();
  LoRa.print("hello ");
  LoRa.print(counter);
  LoRa.endPacket();

  counter++;

  delay(1000);
}


The Problem - No serial output. No LoRa communication. No nothing.

The above code results in no serial output for either device although the power light comes on.

  • Checked all connections/continuity between each board - (seemingly) all good.
  • Uploaded other simple scripts (I.E. blink leds) without LoRa - works on each device without issue.
  • Changed various settings such as the baud rate, different ports on my computer, etc.
  • USB CDC on Boot is enabled

Everything was working fine until my computer to which one of the devices was connected went into hibernation mode. When I rebooted each device this morning that's when everything seemed to brick or stall out (no serial output and no confirmation packet sent blinking). At this point the only common denominator is my usb cable although things seem to be uploading without errors/issue and other scripts upload/work fine when LoRa is not incorporated/used. I’m at a loss for what to try or do next and any advice or direction would be appreciated.

A tangled mess!

I would have soldered 0.1" PCB headers to the ESP found some kind of 2mm to 0.1" adapter for the RFM95. Then soldered both to stripboard and wired them up with finer wires than you used.

Thank you. I'm a soldering novice and just discovered silicone wire (holy sh$t what a difference). What specific gauge would you recommend? Also, I meant more or less with respect to wiring the pins correctly. Everything is working now so I'm assuming where I've connected things are correct.

I would recommend a separate power source for the LoRa, it requires just about 120mA when transmitting. Be sure the grounds are connected.

Something around 22 AWG, solid core, ideally tinned copper.

For connecting anything off the stripboard, solid core wire can break too easily with flexing, so I use stranded wire for that. In fact I tend to solder male PCB headers and crimp female 0.1" connectors to the stranded cable.

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