LoRa

r2cloud supports LoRa-based communication using r2lora or lora-at firmware.

• r2lora requires WiFi router configured somewhere nearby. It connects to WiFi network and starts the web server. Pros: ESP board can be installed anywhere within WiFi network range, doesn't depend on r2cloud installation. Cons: requires separate power supply and WiFi router.
• lora-at controls LoRa transceiver via AT commands. That means ESP board have to be connected to r2cloud using serial interface. Pros: no additional power supply, no WiFi or router, lower power consumption. Cons: ESP board must be installed alongside r2cloud.

Configure r2lora

Edit user-specific configuration at ~/.r2cloud and add the following lines:

r2lora.devices=0
r2lora.device.0.hostport=192.168.1.19:80
r2lora.device.0.username=
r2lora.device.0.password=
r2lora.device.0.rotctrld.hostname=
r2lora.device.0.rotctrld.port=
r2lora.device.0.rotctrld.timeout=
r2lora.device.0.rotator.tolerance=
r2lora.device.0.rotator.cycleMillis=

r2lora.devices should contain comma-separated list of indexes to lora configurations. r2cloud can support any number of r2lora boards simultaneously. It will discover supported frequencies on each device and will schedule satellites that match the band. For example, it is possible to configure 2 LoRa boards for 433Mhz and 868Mhz frequency band and support all possible LoRa satellites. If 2 devices have the same frequency bands, then satellites will be scheduled in a round-robin fashion.

r2lora.device.0.hostport - is a host and port assigned to the board.

r2lora.device.0.username and r2lora.device.0.password - mandatory username and password to access r2lora.

It is possible to configure rotator for each LoRa device using Manual configuration.

Configure lora-at

Edit user-specific configuration at ~/.r2cloud and add the following lines:

loraat.devices=0
loraat.device.0.port=/dev/ttyUSB0
loraat.device.0.gain=
loraat.device.0.rotctrld.hostname=
loraat.device.0.rotctrld.port=
loraat.device.0.rotctrld.timeout=
loraat.device.0.rotator.tolerance=
loraat.device.0.rotator.cycleMillis=

lora-at configuration is similar to r2lora above. The only difference is loraat.device.0.port - should be ESP device.

Operations

LoRa-based observations don't have spectrum waterfall, because LoRa transceivers return demodulated and decoded bytes, not the raw IQ file.

LoRa protocol is very sensitive and require much simple antenna. However LNA or rotator is recommended to archive best performance.