Yes, I have seen that conversation too. I’m not quite sure about the regulations in SG. If there is an upper limit for duty cycle then we all have to follow regardless of Sigfox or LoRa.
We do have active gateways in Klang Valley installed by our local community but it doesn’t have very comprehensive coverage yet. You may check the map here:
The LoRaWAN Regional Parameters document defines the AS923 band. It doesn’t state specifically that it will be used in Malaysia, but if these frequencies are allowed over there, that would mean you’d use 915 antennas.
I’ve set up a gateway (MultiTech - upgrading the antenna to the external omni 8dBi) in Kota Damansara. Running on 915MHz. (I know Malaysia hasn’t regulate the proper frequency for LoRa) Few more gateways coming, will be setting them up to promote LoRa (IoT & Smart Cities) in Malaysia.
MultiTech AEP should serve on 919-923 MHz range. Just that you need to modify the channels list so it only listen/use the frequency within that range in Malaysia.
I have an interest in LoraWAN from my building of a Home Automation system with Moteino units with RFM69 transceiver and ceiling fans with 433MHz remote control systems.
Anyway, drifted into interest in LoraWAN from them but currently am looking which hardware to buy.
So it seems the consensus is that I need a 915MHz module?
I plan to buy something from AliExpress and try to talk to a local gateway.
Also at work we are involved with oil companies that are considering using LoraWAN networks to send sensor data from their boats to the platforms, hence my interest in getting something I can play with so I can learn & contribute if the project does go ahead.
There is a “WisNode-Lora LoraWAan Module development board compatible Arduino” on AliExpress which apparently can be 915MHz and comes with external antenna - all for USD28. Anyone used this or know of any reason not to buy it?
I’ve installed a public gateway in Kota Damansara using the MultiTech AEP (at the moment configured with the US frequency range, will be changing to Malaysia range soon)
If you love the physical work then buying the RFM95 will do you good. But if you want to save all the trouble then you could just buy the Cytron Arduino LoRa Shield (it’s using the RN 2903 module). But please be aware that the firmware on the module has been configured to run only on the proposed Malaysia frequencies . So if you’re using a US frequency gateway (such as the MultiTech, then it will not work if you don’t change the frequency settings in the Gateway). Cytron is a local company based in Penang, you can purchase online from their site.
[quote=“adilhidayat, post:66, topic:416, full:true”]
Unfortunately, the RFM69 module does not support LoRa modulation.[/quote]
Oh, true - I have the Moteino units set up in a network in my house as 7 nodes, each collecting temperature, humidity, baro pressure, light value, RSSI & battery voltage & displaying it in my home automation system. No intention to transmit all that data any further though I will investigate those RFM95 modules.
For LoraWAN I am considering getting one of those USD20 PM2.5 air quality modules. Or I also have a background radiation sensor that is currently on a world-wide crowdsource network that I might move/add to Lorawan. So I will check out the offerings from Cytron next.
I just created Github issues for defining the channel plans for Malaysia and neighbouring countries. As not all countries allow the same frequencies, we had to split into two channel plans, one under 923 MHz and one above 923MHz:
As you can see, there are a couple of countries (Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) that can “choose” between the two channel plans. The join frequencies overlap, so OTAA devices will just receive the correct channel plan based on gateways in the area, but for good coverage, it’s best to all use the same frequency plan in a certain region.
Based on geography, I think it would be best to have Singapore together with Malaysia, to have Vietnam and the Northern part of Thailand together with Cambodia and Laos, and the Southern part of Thailand with Malaysia. Please discuss this in the Github issues.
There is an Asia country cluster included in the next release of the “regional channel” plan of the LoRa Alliance that includes all the countries you are mentioning. The doc should become public in a couple of months. Might be worth waiting a little bit.
We already use the AS923 band that is defined in the Regional Parameters v1.0 document. Within that band a network operator can freely assign the non-standardized channels.
I can imagine our communities can hardly wait to get started, so waiting another couple of months is not really an option in my opinion.