Low-cost gateway with ESP32?

As the offered hardware is way too expensive for me I want to build a low-cost TTN-gateway and were looking around for some suitable hardware.

My question: wouldn’t the thingy from https://iot.halaser.de be suitable for this? It comes with WLAN for internet connectivity, makes use of a cheap ESP32 MCU and supports LoRaWAN. So is there a way to use this board? Is software support available for ESP32?

Thanks :slight_smile:

typical product SPAM !
No, I won’t recommend this

’ The board is currently under development, the prototype is up and running, so it should be available via Indiegogo ?

btw how much does this non existing product cost ?

Oh, sorry, haven’t seen this but checked the manual only.

So to ask it more general: would it be possible to use something like that for a gateway? An ESP32 with LoRaWAN module?

you just openend an account
you post in another thread… delete it… post the same here.

so more in general… start using search on this board

btw… we don’t like spam

Thanks for being that unfriendly! I wanted to ask a question, did neither find a “New topic” button anywhere nor an explanation why there is none so I asked my question where it worked. Then after some time the possibility to ask a question appeared so I fixed that and asked it correctly - I still have no idea why this board is working this way and you blame me for that? And you blame me for spam while I’m looking for help? Thank you very much for nothing :frowning:

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why do you asked that here and not with the manufacturer ? … the product doesn’t even exist yet.

The manufacturer offers the hardware an no software support for TTN or any other specific things. And the manufacturer is currently not available for vacation. Do you ask at Starbucks how much water a coffee plant needs while their shop is closed?

Or isn’t this a webboard where one can get help about TTN/LoRaWAN gateways? Is it forbidden to ask on-topic questions here?

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btw how much does this non existing product cost ?

and still … I can’t recommend single channel gateways, especially I wouldn’t buy a product without support.
It seems you want to use TTN … then think about TTIG

A bit unfair of the desiner manufacturer to claim this.

It can be made to work with LoRaWAN as can nodes if you use non-standard software.

optional (RFM95) So single channel

Hm, single channel would be fine for low cost - so thanks, I’ll also check the other solutions here in forum!

But is it friendly to those nearby who are using standard nodes ?

Hm, I don’t understand the problem. Doesn’t single channel mean only one device can use the gateway at the same time? As I don’t expect too much traffic and devices this should be OK for my location…

No, it means your gateway is not LoRaWAN compliant. Anyone near you would expect the gateway to comply to the standard and wonder why communication fails unless their node randomly selects the right channel and data rate for a transmission. Next packet for them will probably be lost as the standard mandates a random channel is chooses for each transmission.

So while a one channel one data rate solution might fit your needs, it doesn’t receive 63 possible channel and data rate combinations. Is it fair to use the public, freely available resources of others while providing substandard services yourself?

To respond to your original question:

Is software support available for ESP32?

Not for it to work as a standards compliant gateway. There is support to use it as a node.

For a solution you could check pycom.io, they are working on hardware that could become a standards compliant gateway.

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I wanted to ask a question, did neither find a “New topic” button anywhere nor an explanation why there is none so I asked my question where it worked.

The forum software tries to make sure you are reading and searching for answers for some time before you are allowed to post. This deters spam. It also helps people to find the existing answers to questions so we don’t have to answer the same questions every day of the week.

Thank you very much @kersing !

This board with the ESP32 is supposed to cost 30 Euro. The connection of the LoRa gateway IC is missing.

Code for the gateway IC can be found partly on embedded PC with Linux. Such a PC with embedded WiFi can be purchased separately for 20 Euro and if you take more for 10 Euro.

If this will be cheaper in the end than a cheap existing gateway I dare to doubt. A radio license for the gateway costs about 12,000 Euros. Funk is not a model railway in the basement but part of the real outside world.

Dear Hans

I’m sorry to see how borroz welcomes you with his usual warmth.

By the way, I cannot recommend any of the gateway(s) manufactured by “The Things Network” either. I switched to a different vendor, which name I am not allowed to mention here, because that would be “typical product spam”. That other vendors products are also not cheap, but way more reliable than TTNs, never ever had a single issue, while the TTN boxes have hiccups again and again.

[moderated]

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I have got the original TTN gateway which with the latest firmware and a different access point is rock solid (which leads me to believe the wireless lan has huge impact on its stability)
The TTIG and TTOG I have both work without any issues as well.
So experiences differ.

Having said that, there are plenty other, excellent, solutions available in the market. Just make sure you use a LoRaWAN compatible device, not a sub standard one channel solution. That will save both you and other users in your neighborhood a lot of issues.

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Even if you can’t say the product name, you can probably say the vendor’s name, can’t you?

I wonder what is the best quality/cost gateway on the market for now. If you have an idea, I’m all ear.