Smithtek LoRa Module

Antenna Locations.

The PassPort LoRa antenna is on the top left of the unit. The Mako LoRa antenna is on the top left of the unit. The antenna fitting is a SMA female. All your device LoRa settings should be the same for communication to work! This includes Mako V2 PLC and PassPort IGW

WARNING

• Ensure you set the properties of this node to match the regulations of your region/country.

COMMUNICATION SETUP

• The default LoRa Port is: /dev/ttyAMA2. You do not need to change this!
• Make sure no other nodes in your flow are using /dev/ttyAMA2. Check your configuration nodes first and disable any configurations using this serial channel.
• If you don't, the node won't work, and you will be unable to write settings. The default serial nodes and Modbus nodes can often be a culprit.
• Check all configs before starting!

MODE

There are 3 modes: Read, Write, Service and AES mode.

• In Read or Write mode, a payload must be injected into the input of the node to make it work.
• The result will be printed on the debug bar a few seconds later.

Read

• Read mode will read the current status of the LoRa module. The result will be displayed in the debug bar in JSON format.

Write

• Write mode will send the new settings you have created in the node properties.

Service & AES mode

• Service and AES mode has two functions:
  1. It will act as a transparent serial interface. In this mode, you can send and receive data from other LoRa modules in your network. The serial interface can be tuned to detect when packets arrive and end. The input message property can recognize a special character or silence detection, to determine the end of a payload message. The output message property can add a special character. Messages can be delivered in ASCII or binary.
  2. In this mode, you can use the additional Smithtek-nodered-lora-aes node. It will allow you to dynamically turn on/off the AES mode and change the 8-digit magic key.

PROPERTIES

• Default request timeout in ms. Set this property higher when you are transmitting messages over long distances or have larger messages to send.
• Frequency: This is the radio band the module will communicate on. Warning: Please ensure the setting used is compatible with your country's rules and regulations.
• BW (k) kHz: This is the bandwidth in kHz.
• Spreading Factor: This is the air data rate in Kbps.
• NET ID: This is the ID of your module. This allows you to have multiple communications networks in the same area. Only devices with the same Net ID will communicate with each other. The ID range is 0 - 255.
• Power: This is the amount of power applied to the RF transmitter. The Settings are 1-7 (1=4dBm, 2=7dBm, 3=10dBm, 4=13dBm, 5=14dBm, 6=17dBm, 7=20dBm).

Frequency Range

• AU = 430 - 510Mhz
• EU (CE) 863 - 875Mhz
• USA 902 (FCC) - 928Mhz

Programming

When using this node, you must press the deploy after every action for the changes to take effect. For example, if you are selecting read mode and want to read the current settings, you must:

1. Drop the LoRa node to the flow area.
2. Drop and wire the Inject node to the LoRa Node in.
3. Drop and wire the debug node to the LoRa Node out.
4. Deploy the flow.
5. Hit inject; the current settings of the module will display in the debug window.

How to relate the settings from the PassPort and the Mako.

The below image shows the relationship between the (PassPort NodeRED) and Mako PLC. all the properties (settings) must match apart from the power. When working with both pieces of hardware regularly check they match

License

Copyright (c) 2020 www.smithtek.com.au Licenced under the terms of the GPLv3

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL DAMIEN CLARK BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the following people for their hard word, time and effort.

• Sensorhub.tech
• Nick O'Leary and Dave Conway-Jones for creating Node-Red

Contact

[email protected] www.smithtek.com.au