I can indeed confirm. I have tested both Wisnode RAK811 V1.1, V.2 since your opened the thread. Firmware v2.0.3.4 . I am able to join via OTAA, no problem, I see both the join and accpet, no repetitive requests. Also I am able to send packets afterwards, again no problems. I just did the following steps, and they worked right away. (Note no app_eui as it is not required for the LoRa Server Built-in the RAK7258 I am using)
I believe the issue might be with your configuration of the LoRa Server. As I said can you post the exact configuration settings for both the node and the LoRa Server (Gateway+Application/Device)
Thatâs very useful, thank you. Unfortunately, I do the same steps, but I never receive the last âat_recv=3,0,0â. As I said instead I get after a long time a timeout response: âat_recv=6,0,0â
Here are my configs:
I also included a packet forwarder log, where radio 1 seems to be disabled. Shouldnât it be, like radio 0, also enabled?
You mentioned you have a RAK2245 Gateway. As there is no such thing in existence :), this being a concentrator can you tell me more about your setup. I am assuming you have it hooked to an RPi that you obtained separately and it is running the Raspbian based firmware from RAK. Can you tell me what the version is? Where is the LoRa server hosted.
I took a look at the files, seems the are extra channels enabled in the loraserver file. Did you do this on purpose, as the configuration file needs also have those set. There is a mismatch. This is one thing I noticed. However I will wait for your reply with the requested parameters and will reply to you upon further examination.
Why is the log file called TTN-gateway, you are using LoRa Server ??
I have the Raspberry Pi HAT Edition as you can see, which is part of the kit: https://bit.ly/2YFrY70. All hardware was exclusively included in the kit, so I was assuming it should work out of the box.
I downloaded the RAK wireless raspbian gateway OS (but I donât remember the link).
# gateway-version
Gateway ID:B827XXXXXXXXXXXX
rakwireless gateway 2245 version 2.8R
In turn, I upgraded the loraserver to v3.x (but I had the same exact problems with v2.x) using repo:
deb https://artifacts.loraserver.io/packages/3.x/deb stable main
And here are my version:
# lora-gateway-bridge version
3.0.0
# lora-app-server version
3.0.0
# loraserver version
3.0.1
I just created the file manually, the log goes into /var/log/daemon.log through the syslog facility of the system. It corresponds to the ttn-gateway service of the customized OS which seems to start the packet forwarder and is called ttn-gateway (although I do use LoRa Server). Is that right, or this service shouldnât be started at all in my case? (systemctl start ttn-gateway)
I commented out the extra channels. I think it may have been through my hundreds of trials they have been left in there. Same behavior.
I flashed a fresh sdcard with the 2.8R firmware again and booted. It worked at the beginning, the node connected ok and I could send it simple messages. Then after a while it went into the same join request / accept loop and the node cannot join again.
I have a feeling that this is a problem with the gateway. There are others with the same join problem it seems:
There are two RAK2245+RPi LoRa gateways in my office, and they have worked for 20 days without restarting, meanwhile, there are two RAK5205 LoRa node sending data continuously. The two gateways are both using 2.8R firmware which is same with your, and they work well by now.
So it is very strange about the issue you met.
I have no idea about it, but iâll discuss with my team later.
I reflashed the firmware and did, 1 and only 1 modification: I just setup the RPI wifi as a client, so I can remote connect to it. I have not changed anything else as far as software goes. I added the rak811 node via the web server and used uart commands to set config the dev_eui/app_key.
When the distance between gateway and node (with line of sight) is less than 13 meters the device successfully receives the join ack and reports at+recv=3,0,0. I can at+send messages. If I move past 13 meters, or enter a room the messages do not arrive. I typically need to press the reset button on the node and start over.
Ok, two questions:
a) what distances should I expect to reach with the antennas included in the kit?
b) can it be that there is a hardware issue?
Also note that it is quite warm where I am, so the pi gets quite hot (without noticable problems though), for example:
/opt/vc/bin/vcgencmd measure_temp
temp=70.9'C
Is the concentrator known to behave properly at such temperatures, given the heatsink is burning hot on top of the pihat ?
Ok, I changed the nodeâs antenna (the one marked with 868 Mhz) that was included in the kit with an antenna from a wifi 2.4Ghz device that I had laying around just to test and the rak811 node sends and receives within the exact same range of 3-12meters without a problem.
So, could it be that the antenna initially included in the kit is just the wrong type?
Is there a way to verify, provided I donât have other LoRa equipment?
You can check if the antennas are the right ones if you have a VSWR meter for example, however this is not something that is related to the problem I believe.
I will give you and example. I have personally tested a RAK811 Wisnode without the antenna even attacked to it being right next to the gateway and there is no issue.
If I remember correctly your issue was that you receive repetitive join request/accept messages. Thus you obviously have sufficient antenna gain to distinguish the packets.
Tomorrow I will do a range test with the RAK811, as right now I do not have a RAK2245 handy, and will report if I find this issue, however I am quite certain that if there is a range issue it would be kust that a range issue it would not cause repetitive join requests.
The problem you cited from another user is quite different I believe. He is talking about thousands of nodes sending join requests at the same time. Is this your scenario, you only have one node right. If so this should not be happening, as this is no real load for the gateway.
Can you try an ABP setup and see if going further causes a loss of packets.
Sorry for asking so many questions , just trying to understand the situation batter so I can think of a solution.
Have you tried joining when you are close and setting the node to transmit in lets say 5 sec intervals and going away to see if there will be an issue.
Thank you for taking the time to report the problem so we can clear the issue.
We will get to the bottom of it eventually.
I think the problem is that although the gateway receives the request and issues a response, the node does not receive back a reply, that is why after many minutes it timesout (at+recv=6,0,0 instead of at+recv=3,0,0). Whether the node is unable to pick it up, or the gateway unable to send it sufficiently to be picked up ⌠I wouldnât know, Iâm too inexperienced to know what to expect. At least now I established that I can get the node working if I go to a distance < 15 meters (without obstacles) and I tried several times, seems to be working.
What is strange is that the performance of the 868Mhz antenna I was sent in the box perfoms like a normal wifi antenna. So I wonder why is that so? Here is the antenna for what may be worth it:
OK what you described is possible.
We can test it.
You will need another LoRa antenna, sorry,
You could also simply pump up the Gateway power and see if the range improves. Limit is around 27dB, although this is against regulations for a several minute test I think it should be ok.
By the way looking at the screenshot having RSSI around -50 is a lot better than I have ever gotten. LoRa can work around -120, so this is âŚ
Well you can always test the RSSI with the antenna and without it:). If they are very similar than your antenna is not doing much. As I said if you put the node next to the gateway even without the antenna it should connect.
Note having the Gateway or Node work without the antenna is not considered proper practice (in my case it was a mistake on my part, forgetting to put the antenna).
Still if you have a 50Ohm SMA antenna meant for Wi-Fi as it is tuned for way above 900MHz you could use it for comparison I suppose.
By the Way does your antenna have the sticker as mine does ?
By default the Gateway uses the band specific standard power for your region. This is how LoRa Server is reconfigured. But for the purpose of checking if this will allow the Join accept to reach the node you can increase it to 27dBm, which should be the maximum allowed value of the RAK2245. I do not recommend using this once you have field deployment.
You need to open your loraserver.toml file and look for the following paragraph:
It is normally located in /etc/loraserver/loraserver.toml
// Downlink TX Power (dBm)
//
// When set to -1, the downlink TX Power from the configured band will
// be used.
//
// Please consult the LoRaWAN Regional Parameters and local regulations
// for valid and legal options. Note that the configured TX Power must be
// supported by your gateway(s). downlink_tx_power=-1
Replace -1 with 27 and this should set the TX power to 27dBm.
