How to use RAK5146 to receive (1) raw LoRa from RAK11310 and (2) standard LoRaWAN—where do I see the data?

LPWAN Developer Gateways / Concentrators
1

Hi everyone,

I’m working with a RAK5146 (SX1303) gateway on a Raspberry Pi and a RAK11310 (SX1262) node. I have two questions:

  1. Raw LoRa (non-LoRaWAN) reception
    I’d like to send plain LoRa from the RAK11310 (no LoRaWAN stack, just SX126x P2P) and have the RAK5146 receive and decode it.
  • Is this supported on the RAK5146?
  • If yes, what’s the recommended way to do it?
  1. LoRaWAN mode: where to view data & is it stored?
    If the gateway is used in the normal LoRaWAN setup:
  • Where should I expect to see uplink payloads (logs vs. network server UI like ChirpStack/TTN)?
  • Does the data get stored in a database by default, or is the recommended access via MQTT/Webhooks/Integrations? If there is default persistence, where is it?
  1. Is there source code for receiving LoRaWAN signals like RAK11310 node?
  • From the different site, it showed how to use ChirpStack. I am wonder whether, I can use C or Python code to operate this concentraitor.

Environment / notes:

  • Region: KR920 (testing around 922.1 MHz, BW125, SF7, CR4/5)
  • Hardware: RAK5146 on Raspberry Pi (SPI), antenna connected; node is RAK11310

Any guidance, example configs, or best practices would be super helpful. Thanks!

2

  1. All RAK nodes and LoRa concentrator modules support LoRa modulation. For using raw LoRa protocol, you can use Semtech’s SX1302/1303 Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL). It is open source - https://github.com/Lora-net/sx1302_hal

  2. A LoRaWAN gateway is essentially a forwarder; it receives RF packets and forwards them to a LoRaWAN Network Server (LNS). You can use online as TTN/TTI, AWS Core for LoRaWAN, or install locally on the RPi as ChirpStack or The Things Stack(TTN). For data storage, you will need a database for sure, for example, InfluxDB.

  3. As for the RAK11310, you can find the AT command manual here https://github.com/RAKWireless/RAK11300-AT-Command-Firmware/blob/main/AT-Command.md. The module is based on RP2040, so you can implement basically anything you wish.

3

Hi…

I have a RAK5146-115. I just begun to get my mind around the concentrator and how to use it.

The three points above from JaeHwan.Jin are very helpful. I am interested in point (1) as a raw LoRa protocol, but I am trying to understand how to use it as in (2) locally to the RPi

My first question is with regard to the

global_conf.json

configuration file. Is there a document describing what each setting is for?

I am trying to match the remote sensor settings with those present int his configuration file. My next step is to go to the source code and find where the settings are used and how they are being used. I figure I can skip some of this trouble if I find he documentation somewhere.

Thank you.

4

Hi Miguel,

I think the best way is to read the source code of lora_pkt_fwd.c

And there is a document about LoRa packet forwarder and backends

https://www.chirpstack.io/docs/chirpstack-mqtt-forwarder

5

Thank you for your help.

This is with regard to the RAK5146-115 and the global_conf.json file.

I have made sense of most elements in the global_conf.json configuration file now. There are some entries that I would like to confirm if possible.

  1. The configuration entries found with regard to:

“chan_Lora_std”

seems to setup either (a) the high-speed LoRa demodulator or (b) the radio configuration for the downlink channel or ??. I wonder which would be correct?

  1. Also, the entry

“chan_multiSF_x”

has settings for radio 0 and radio 1, where radio 0 is enabled for Tx, whereas radio 1 is not enabled for Tx. This seems to indicate that radio 0 is used for downlink. I wonder which are the settings for the downlink channel? This is not clear to me.

  1. it is not clear how the RAK5146-115 uses the high speed demodulation channel. Does the SX1303 automatically chooses this channel based on the incoming radio signals?

Thank you for your help. Most appreciated.