The Wireless Cookbook: Build Real Projects and Master Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and LoRa

The Wireless Cookbook: Build Real Projects and Master Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and LoRa by Bill Zimmerman
English | 2026 | 456 pages | EPUB | 28.8 MB

Learn How to Make Wireless Work.
Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and LoRa are technologies that power our world, but building with them isn’t always straightforward. Connections drop, tutorials skip steps, and error messages don’t always help resolve problems.

Through a series of hands-on projects using Raspberry Pi and Linux, you’ll learn how wireless systems work, how to control them, and how to build tools that actually function in the real world. Each recipe is self-contained, reliable, and ready to adapt for your own projects.

The Wireless Cookbook is designed so that you can read it linearly, from start to finish, or skip around and choose recipes at random. Each project is designed to stand on its own; no given recipe is dependent on any other or requires that you develop skills in a different area before proceeding to that one. At the same time, if concepts presented in one recipe can be used to enhance others, this will be pointed out along the way.

In choosing which recipes to include in this book, priority was given to selecting a variety of practical applications that touch on various aspects of 802.11 Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and LoRa (short for long range) wireless technologies in a Linux context. The book’s emphasis is on building complete projects that are practical and useful day-to-day, with easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions. Along the way, we’ll take a closer look at some of the fundamental concepts relating to each project, to help you develop a deeper understanding of what you’re building. Of course, you may skip ahead to the practical implementation steps of any recipe and return to the theory sections at any time.

Among the book’s many projects, you’ll build:

• A BLE audio receiver for high-quality wireless sound;
  
• A battery-powered LoRa node with miles of range;
  
• A mesh Wi-Fi network that reroutes itself;
  
• A signal strength display with a mini TFT screen;
  
• A wireless intrusion detection system and captive portal.
  

Along the way, you’ll build a solid foundation in Linux networking, gain fluency in wireless protocols like 802.11, BLE, and LoRaWAN, and develop the confidence to design and deploy your own solutions.

Each recipe is built around a wireless challenge you’re likely to encounter and gives you the tools to solve it.

It’s wireless. It’s Linux. And with this book, it finally makes sense.

This book contains many source code examples that you will use in the course of building the projects. This includes Git source control and extensions for popular languages such as Python (both of which are used extensively in this book).

Who Is This Book For?
If you are a hobbyist, do-it-yourself enthusiast, or educator new to Linux and are seeking to build your knowledge of practical wireless applications for single-board computers (SBCs), including the Raspberry Pi family of devices, this book was written for you. Equally, seasoned developers looking to expand their skills will find an entry point into more advanced Linux wireless projects. Think of this book as providing a clear path to building practical, real-world applications with a variety of wireless technologies that you can start using straight away.

Each recipe walks you through building a functional and feature-rich project that may be customized, extended, or repurposed for other applications. I’ve made every effort throughout to explain things in plain English for the benefit of new Linux programmers, but with enough technical detail to satisfy more advanced users.

You’ll need a minimum level of technical ability to make the most of this book. For example, I assume you know how to prepare an SD card with a compatible operating system (OS), access your Raspberry Pi (or similar device) remotely, and enter commands and code in a Linux environment. Where relevant, tips and tricks are provided that will help you develop fluency in Linux while also building your knowledge of wireless services and applications. With the recipes presented here, you will develop the necessary skills and gain the confidence to create entirely original wireless projects of your own.

Contents:

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