Is anyone using the Microchip RN2903 LoRa module?
This module is soon to be replaced by the RN2903A module due to the fact that the RN2903 didn’t go to sleep properly. Microchip also re-tuned the crystal oscillator inside the module, although they claim the crystal tuning doesn’t affect the RN2903, only the RN2483.
So my problem is this: I have two boards, each have an RN2903 on it. These boards are used as transceivers in a communication link. Board A attempts to establish communication by sending a 19 byte message to board B (point to point communications using the LoRa modulation). If board B receives the message it is supposed to respond with a 2 byte response message. The problem is that this handshaking doesn’t complete at room temperature. I have been able to determine that board B gets the original 19 byte message but board A doesn’t get the 2 byte response.
If I apply a small amount of heat to the RN2903 module on board A the handshake will successfully complete right away. So, I’m pretty sure that board B is always sending the 2 byte response but board A will only receive the 2 byte response if it is warm enough.
Just wondering if anyone else has experienced similar issue with this module.
Thanks to anyone who took some time to puzzle over this question.
Microchip has acknowledged a flaw in the firmware that was loaded on this module at the time of purchase. That version of firmware was 095. The problem was that the SPI interface between the MCU and the LoRa xcvr inside the module was configured incorrectly. For some reason this incorrect bus configuration was sensitive to temperature. Microchip recommended that I update the firmware on my module to the latest version, that being 098. I am attempting to do this to verify that new firmware does indeed fix my problem. Will report the result when I test…