Using LoRa chips for non-LoRa 433 MHz OOK/FSK devices: where to read more

[ZerOne]

A LoRa chip is not always just a LoRa radio. The SX1276/77/78/79 family also contains an FSK/OOK modem, so with the right firmware it can receive ordinary 433 MHz remotes, door and motion sensors and weather sensors, none of which use LoRa. The newer SX1261/62/68 and LLCC68 chips have no OOK mode, so check the chip on your board first. Three threads in the 433MHz RF Device Discussion forum cover it, and all of them rely on datasheets and project docs, not on my own range testing.

• Can a LoRa chip receive 433 MHz remotes and sensors? How OOK, FSK and LoRa modulation differ, which chips can and can't, and the band and Australian rules context.
• Choosing hardware for 433 MHz: SX127x, SX126x, CC1101, RXB6 receivers and RTL-SDR compared, with pros and cons.
• Project: ESP32 + SX1278 into MQTT and Home Assistant, using OpenMQTTGateway or rtl_433_ESP, with an ESPHome alternative.

For the LoRa side, see the existing threads on LoRa chips and modules and open source LoRa projects.

Question for the group: are you using any of your LoRa boards for 433 MHz OOK or FSK devices as well, and which chip is on them?