Laird RG191 working in Australia

Gateways
13

I have tried that, but it fails:

400 - Bad Request : REQUEST JSON does not validate against schema

I downloaded the current configuration file from the device (US), then modified the frequencies for each of the channels according to the TTN conf.json but when I upload I get the above error. I have also tried to adjust the frequencies manually using the slider in the web interface.

Without more info, I am guessing the firmware checks the frequencies against the location and rejects them if they differ.

14

Some further testing …

I can change all the “if” values for channels in the config file, and country codes and the new config file uploads and is recognised as updated.

If I change either/both of the frequencies for Radio 0 or Radio 1 to the AU standard, I get the same error message:
400 - Bad Request : REQUEST JSON does not validate against schema

I think we need some changes in the firmware before we can use this in Australia.

15

You are right:

                    "oneOf":[                
                        {            
                            "minimum":902000000,
                            "maximum":915000000 
                        },                      
                        {                       
                            "minimum":863000000,
                            "maximum":870000000 
                        }                       
                    ]
1 Like
16

Grrr these seemingly arbitrary decisions is why I don’t like gateways I don’t have root access to.

One thing’s for sure I won’t be buying/recommend Laird gateways anymore if they restrict the root loophole without a suitable alternative.

17

Hey all,

I was just looking at the RG191 and wondering if there was any update. The units look good for a few different purposes… especially with the price and BLE inside.

Is there anything else someone would recommend (must include Eth, Wifi, BLE) to use instead?

…Skeeve

18

I hoped to buy a few hassle-free gateways to deploy in Perth. After a lot of wasted time invested in Raspberry Pi RAK 831 shield gateways I decided to move to a more ‘commercial’ option.
I contacted Laird to ask what their position was in support for AU915 frequency bands at the moment and got this response:

Currently (as of Mar 2018), RG1xx supports three packet forwarders : Semtech, TTN, and Loriot packet forwarder.

The regional support that we include in our firmware affects the Semtech forwarder only. This region parameter is used to draw the radio frequency graph, including any restricted bands for that region, and limits the user from selecting a band that’s not allowed.

However if the you opt to use one of our trusted third parties, such as the things network using TTN packet forwarder, you can select the region of operation from the servers. This effectively bypasses our internal checking and relies on the third party for compliance to the regions restrictions

Has anyone taken this approach with the RG191 in Australia? I am unclear how I can alter the packet forwarder given the restrictions discussed previously in this thread.

19

The latest firmware includes the (no longer maintained) TTN packet forwarder. In the user interface you can choose to use this software in stead of the Semtech forwarder. Once you select the TTN software the ‘issue’ disappears as it downloads the frequency plan from TTN and does not use the locally configured frequency plan.

Choosing the packet forwarder does not involve any region checks :wink:

20

Just to clarify @kersing

The previous threads discussed the difficulties in configuring the gateway without root access. Are you indicating this is no longer essential to adjust regional frequencies in the packet forwarder?

21

For the TTN packet forwarder this is nog required because that file is not used. The TTN forwarder downloads the required configuration from the back-end.

22

@jmarcelino or @DPI-OAI can you have a go at this when you get the chance - I would like this cheaper alternative as well working in Australia

cheers
Paul

23

@Paul_Stewart it might be hard to imagine, however I do own a RG186 and configured it for TTN with the TTN forwarder, so I have tested the mechanism and can confirm Lairds statement.

24

@kersing Is there any gateway out there you don’t own or know inside out? :slight_smile:

1 Like
25

Thanks for the notice of an update.

It seems to be working now. I updated the firmware, configured the gateway as per the TTN settings, and I have data flowing from a sensor. I’ll keep testing, but so far so good.

26

Some more details …
Firmware: Laird Linux gatwick-laird-93.7.2.9
LoRa settings:

  • ignore presets
  • forwarder = TTN Forwarder, gateway id as per TTN

The status then says:

  • Gateway Connected = true
  • Gateway ID =
  • Region Code = US
  • mode = ttn

Seems to be working on AU915 frequencies. I haven’t tried AS923 configs.

1 Like
28

A couple of additional things that may help those struggling to set up a RG191:

-You must update the firmware. If you are struggling to update the firmware, do a factory reset. I had to perform 3 factory resets before the firmware updates worked as per the user manual.
-as @DPI-OAI indicates you need the gateway id as per TTN, you also need to include the gateway key as per TTN

Great to finally have a choice of cheaper gateways in Australia!

1 Like
29

I can confirm Laird RG191 runs for AU915 region.
Using the latest version.
The “Radios” graphical interface is limited to 903-915MHz, don’t use it.
Save current LoRa configuration in a json file.
Edit the json file, change this:

"radio_0": {
"freq": 917200000
},
"radio_1": {
"freq": 917900000
},

Upload a saved LoRa configuration json filList iteme and restore it.

30

Hi everyone been getting very interested in their affordable pricing Gateway but well I try searching people’s expected range and testing results and unfortunately I can’t find one.

Anyone with this kind gateway by Laird would help us all by sharing your reach of LoRa Range test or will be great if you have a comparison to another gateway. Will be nice if we could also show the SNR, RSSI, SF, Frequency

Much thanks. Great day !

31

Can confirm @Phil_Wilko 's comments about firmware update and factory default setting. All that said, a new Laird gateway was installed and activated at a Temecula (California) winery today.

IMG_4995

1 Like
32

@manoj15 To my experience there is not much difference between gateways wrt range. I have tried MultiTech, TTN, Laird, and Gemtek. All have approx. the same range and signal strengths when using an identical antenna and location. Influencers are: height/line-of-sight, outside or inside antenna (estim 10dB difference), and lastly antenna gain.

33

@Vinduino, Reinier your photo has just the IP67 compliant case I am after! Is that the official Laird one? Unfortunately I bought mine through Mouser and they didn’t stock the Laird case. Your antenna looks somewhat better that the original one!! What range do you see across your wineries?

Also thanks for a great talk at TheThingsConference in Amsterdam earlier this year. I have been inspired to develop some things for wineries down here in Western Australia.