how to perform installation of board support package in arduino ide

Learn how to install Arduino IDE and set up the Board Support Package to start programming WisBlock modules with ease.

Arduino IDE Download and Installation

For WisBlock coding and programming, use Arduino IDE. If you don't have an Arduino IDE yet, you can download it from the Arduino official website.

You can see that the current version of Arduino IDE is V2.3.6, and there are several versions available for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X. Choose the correct version of Arduino IDE and download it.

Figure 1: Arduino IDE 2.3.6

Install in Windows

Now let's install the Arduino IDE on your Windows PC.

1. Click I Agree to proceed.

Figure 2: License Agreement

2. Choose Next.

Figure 3: Choose Installation Options

3. Click Install to begin the installation.

Figure 4: Start Installation

Figure 5: Installation in Progress

After 100% progress, the Arduino IDE has been installed successfully.

Figure 6: Setup Complete

Install on Linux

In Linux, there is no installation process. It is just a process of extracting the files, and then you can open the Arduino IDE successfully.

Execute the following in the terminal:

• sudo apt-get install python3-pip python-dev (needed if pip is not installed yet)

• pip3 install pyserial

Install on macOS

In macOS, similar to Linux, Arduino IDE installation involves unzipping the downloaded file and manually moving the Arduino.app to the Applications folder. Once this is done, you can open and use the Arduino IDE without a traditional installation process.

Open Arduino IDE

Figure 7: Arduino Main Parts

As shown in Figure 7 above, the Arduino IDE has mainly 4 parts:

1. IDE Option Menu

You can configure some general parameters, such as the serial port, the board information, the libraries, and the edit parameters.

2. Operating Buttons

The operating buttons have three operations:

• Verify/Compile the source code.

• Upload the compiled code into WisBlock.

• Debug

Figure 8: Arduino IDE Operating Buttons

3. Code Area

You can edit the source code, which will be compiled and uploaded into WisBlock later in this area.

4. Output Message Area

You can see the output message in this area, whether it's a message of success or failure.

Configuration on Arduino IDE

Once the Arduino IDE is successfully installed and you understand its main parts, you can configure it to work with WisBlock.

1. Open Arduino IDE, click on the File tab, then go to Preferences.

Figure 9: Arduino IDE Preferences

2. To add the WisBlock Core to your Arduino Boards list, you need to edit the Additional Board Manager URLs. Click the chain link icon, as shown in Figure 10.

Figure 10: Add Arduino IDE Preferences

3. Copy this URL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/RAKwireless/RAKwireless-Arduino-BSP-Index/main/package_rakwireless_index.json and paste it in the field as shown in Figure 11. 
   If there are other URLs already there, just add them to the next line, then click OK.

Figure 11: Add Boards Manager URL

4. Restart the Arduino IDE. Then, on the side toolbar, click on the Boards Manager icon.

Figure 12: Boards Manager icon

5. Write RAK in the Board Manager search box, as shown in Figure 13. This will show the available RAKwireless WisBlock Core boards that you can add to your Arduino Board list. 

6. Choose the WisBlock Core that you have, select the updated version from the dropdown list, and click Install.

Figure 13: Install a Board Package

7. Once the BSP is installed, select the RAK WisBlock board, which will update your system configuration to use the right compiler and settings for the module.

Figure 14: Choose a RAK Board/Module

Examples and Tutorials

After selecting a RAK board, you can see the examples for all WisBlock modules.

Figure 15: Select a WisBlock Module code example

Compile an Example

1. Take one of the examples and compile it. Open the LoRaWAN_OTAA_ABP example from the File > Examples menu.

Figure 16: Open LoRaWAN_OTAA_ABP code example

2. Once an example is chosen, a new window will pop up. You can now close the old window.
3. Next, we need to install the LPWAN library. In the code in line 23, you can see the link for the required library.
4. Hover over the link, then press Ctrl and click to open the Library Manager, which will display the required library.

Figure 17: SX126x Library link

5. Click Install and INSTALL ALL to install the library and its dependencies. 

Figure 18: Install SX126x Library

Figure 19: Install SX126x Library dependencies

6. After the installation, you can close the library manager by clicking its icon on the sidebar.

Figure 20: Library Installation Complete

7. Now you are ready to compile the example code. Click on the Verify/Compile icon.

Figure 21: Verified/Complied Example Code

You have successfully installed the LPWAN library and compiled your first WisBlock solution. However, to be able to connect to the RAK gateway and the LoRaWAN server, a few more steps are required.

Head to the full tutorial in the RAK GitHub WisBlock repository to see how to set up the node's EUIs and keys and how to register the node on the gateway and in the LPWAN server.

For more information about the examples and tutorials, visit the RAK GitHub WisBlock repository.

Credits

This BSP is based on Adafruits nRF52 BSP. It is based on Arduino-nRF5 by Sandeep Mistry, which is also based on the Arduino SAMD Core.

The following libraries are used:

• adafruit-nrfutil is based on Nordic Semiconductor ASA's pc-nrfutil
• freeRTOS as an operating system
• tinyusb as USB stack
• nrfx for peripherals driver
• littlefs for internal file system

Bernd Giesecke Bernd is an Electronics Engineer and Product Manager at RAKwireless with 23 years of experience in industrial and automotive hardware and software R&D. He has been supporting the Arduino open-source community since 2014.

Updated August 07, 2025 02:26