Can we build a gateway using Generic Node?

End Devices (Nodes) Generic Node
1

As long as the Generic Node is communicating with any LoRaWan gateway using a LoRaWan standard radio and packets and hence it should theoretically be able to act as a LoRaWan gateway even if it will be supporting a very limited number of devices.

Has anyone thought about this or tried it?
Generic Node creators, what is your opinion?

2

No you can’t. Search for scpf & dcpfs on Forum. There may be scope for some king of repeater function in the far future if/when specs and standards for these emerge & evolve but don’t hold your breath and given sensor fans built in would make expensive and unusual use in that case given redundancy of content. A LoRaWAN gateway must support min 8 channels of messages he/sf simultaneously…they use gateway specific silicon, nodes use chips intended to be nodes (1 sf/1 channel at a time)

3

No and you should not either because the hardware is not up to the task. Gateways consume more energy and are more expensive for a reason, they need to listen at multiple frequencies with multiple spreading factors at the same time. The generic node just has to listen to one well defined frequency with one spreading factor which is a lot easier on the hardware (and power budget). If you want to use a generic node as base for a gateway you need (for Europe) one for each frequency and spreading factor a gateway should be listening, that makes 8 frequencies and 6 spreading factors = 48 generic nodes and hardware to interconnect everything and hook it up to the internet. A TTIG is a lot cheaper…

So sorry, won’t work.

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4

I think I might be going to be sick …

:face_vomiting:

At a technical level, the engineering work to port software over to do that would be huge.

And the PyCom or even the TTIG is about the same size if you want to go compact. And the price differential between them & a GNSE makes any attempt to port the software over economic madness.

I speak as someone who

  • Knows the GNSE software
  • Knows enough STM32 to sleep badly at night
  • Have poked around the inside the Voldermort code base
  • Values his time far more than the mess of dealing with borking devices to only know 1 frequency at 1 SF

If you were going to do anything, take the existing gateway design in KiCad that’s on the forum and make it your own - then you can get the size down & you cut out all the middle-people that charge minuscule amounts of money for the joy of Pick & Place etc etc

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5

Thanks for providing the guideline to me as well