We have a deep admiration for the RFM LoRa radio and Arduino-compatible processors from Microchip, and here are a few reasons why:

The number one challenge for compact radio-controlled device creation is PCB antenna efficiency tuning. We could use antennas with SMA connector feeder for an easy workaround, but they are bulky and hard to put inside an enclosure. Most DIY projects use wire antennas. There are lots of pros with this solution, but also many cons. Someone prefer often it is because it costs nothing, and it works in most cases! However, the cons are that it does not work as well and sometimes does not work at all. Spending hours trying to put the antenna into the device compartment is a real pain. Then, when you finally get everything properly packed inside, the device transmits nothing. Agrhh, all the signals went into the nearby ground plane or the wire starts resonating at a completely different frequency. Coiled antennas are like PCB antennas, requiring the counterpoise ground plane. They require efficiency tuning similar to PCB antennas. PCB antennas are more compact and easy to produce.

This is “standard” connection of NFR board using long Dupont wires. When external modules connected with high speed digital interfaces (SPI for example) using ordinary Dupont wires, signal gets degraded. Use long wires only for prototyping. Try to use wires as short as you can or do not use wires at all.

LoRa MySensors API gateway connected to HomeAssistant raspberry PI4. Best match for long distance sensors and actuators