RAK2287 with MikroTik RBM33G

Hi,
could i use a mikrotik RBM33G (withopenwrt installed) in conjuction with RAK2287 module? At hardware level the boards will be compatible?
This is the schematic of the RBM33G. https://i.mt.lv/cdn/product_files/RBM33_190837.png
Thanks a lot.

Hi @ciclonite RAK2287 is fully compatible with mPCIe standard. So, yes, it is hardware compatible. https://doc.rakwireless.com/datasheet/rakproducts/pin-definition-rak2287

Hi @velev , thanks a lot. I’ve see on the product page, there aren’t instruction for setup the module on linux, there are only a raspbian release. There are some instruction to do this? thanks.

Raspbian is a variant of Debian which is a variant of Linux.

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A raspbian image is of course useless when you have a MIPS processor.

It would appear that what you need is to find a copy of the Semtech packet forwarder code and LoRa gateway HAL which still supports an FT2232H based USB-connected concentrator, and then build that for your particular platform.

You also need to make sure that the concentrator reset line will be appropriately handled, this is sometimes a source of contention as the polarity of the actual Semtech chip reset is opposite of the mPCIe standard. A card can be made to invert (and comply with mPCIe) or not invert and act like a bare SX130x chip would. Or the reset can be driven from the FT2232H and not the bus…

Needless to say this is an advanced project. What happened to the original concentrator of the MikroTik?

Thanks for reply, the original mikrotik concentrator it’s not suitable for me because i need more computational power.
I’m oriented to use a board with AMD GX-412TC processor with X64 extension, that have 2 mpcie connector. But there is no resource to work with mpcie version of this card using spi interface?
Thanks.

The concentrator, ie, the LoRa radio card, has nothing to do with the processor. If you have a USB-based concentrator card you should be able to use it in any system for which you can compile the necessary software; ie you could even put it in a mobile modem USB adapter and plug it into your laptop.

It’s also unclear why you need much processing power - very little is needed to be a gateway, there are even gateways built around the esp8266.

Even being a LoRaWAN network server isn’t very demanding, but it’s better to do things like that in the cloud where they can be fed by multiple gateways, rather than on the gateway which creates an isolated single-gateway network.

Sure, if you don’t want to use the MikroTik chassis with its dual core MT7621 (which is to say MIPS, not x86_64!) though either is really well more computer than you need.

SPI on an mPCIe connector is non-standard. Few motherboards would support it, and even if they did they might not do it with the same pinout.

Really the only boards than can host an mPCIe concentrator via SPI are those especially made for it, for example the mainboard of the RAK7258, or the various PI hats made to host one of the RAK SPI concentrators.

A more typical generic embedded system or “router” chassis is only going to support USB and actual PCIe on the mPCIe slots, not SPI.

ie you could even put it in a mobile modem USB adapter and plug it into your laptop.

Right!, for example do you think an adapter like this Mpcie usb adapter work with rak2287 module? Can be unstable?

It’s also unclear why you need much processing power - very little is needed to be a gateway, there are even gateways built around the esp8266.

I’m agree with you, i don’t need processing power for the lora radio card, but for the miner needed for the helium project.

If the usb to mpcie do the job, i will use a small ARM board with usb support.

Why not put that on something completely different - AWS or a Pi4 or similar.

Where in the world are you - mining for Helium outside the US doesn’t make any sense - you will be the only gateway in the country and your credits won’t mean much if you don’t have any roving devices.