SMT32WLE5_RF_dongle

The SMT32WLE5_RF_dongle is a compact RF dongle designed for wireless communication via USB. Built around the STM32WLE5C8U6 microcontroller, it enables straightforward radio communication in the sub-GHz range of 150–960 MHz. Supports LoRa and (G)FSK modulations for both transmission and reception, as well as BPSK/(G)MSK for transmission only.

This repository provides both the hardware design and an example software project that includes firmware for the STM32WLE5C8U6 microcontroller, along with a Kivy-based desktop app to control the RF dongle. The project is packaged in a devcontainer for Visual Studio Code, but adaptable as needed.

Below you will find a brief guide on how to set up the development environment used.

Setting up the development environment

Development environment

The following setup was used during the development of this project. While the project should work with similar setups, using these versions will help minimize compatibility issues.

• Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL): version 2.3.24.0
• Visual Studio Code: version 1.95.2
• Remote Development (VSode extension): version 0.26.0
• ST-LINK/V2

Useful links:

• Developing inside a Container
• Connecting USB devices to WSL

Quick start

Once inside the devcontainer you will find the following folders:

• hardware/: contains all the hardware design files of this project. You can find the full hardware design in a KiCad project format, including the schematic, PCB layout, and associated files. Additionally, the folder includes the KiCad libraries that were used for this design.

• software/stm32wle5_rf_dongle_example/: contains an example firmware for the STM32WLE5C8U6 microcontroller, along with a Kivy-based desktop app to control the RF dongle.

After opening the VSCode workspace defined in the .vscode/.code-workspace file, you should see the following icons in the VSCode status bar:

• [Preset]: Presets for the STM32WLE5C8U6 firmware

• 🛠 C: Predefined tasks to work with the STM32WLE5C8U6 firmware

  • 🔨 Build → Compile the firmware
  • 🐞 Debug → Debug the firmware on target
  • ⚡ Flash → Flash the firmware to the target
  • 🧹 Clean → Remove firmware build

• 🐍 Python: Predefined tasks to work with the Kivy desktop app

  • ▶ Run → Execute the Kivy app
  • 🐞 Debug → Debug the Kivy app
  • 🧹 Clean → Clean all __pycache__

• 🧰 Toolbox: Predefined tasks to open the tools used for the Hardware and Software design

  • ⚙️ STM32CubeMX
  • ⚡ KiCad

Running the example software

The following screenshots show the communication between two SMT32WLE5_RF_dongle using the example software provided in this repository.