The gateway connector is damaged. Best way forward is to replace it because this is going to stay an issue.
I’d bet you’re right. I may just order a new in the box lps8 and go from there. At least I’ll know if it was ever ran without the antenna etc by me and it should be in a known good state new. I’ll report back with updates. Thanks again - you guys have been FANTASTIC in helping me troubleshoot this.
ok - reporting back in - I ordered a brand new lps8 - got it in - exact same problem (and I made sure not to run it without the antenna mounted). So I assumed then it had to be a bad lds03a sensor unit - dragino agreed and sent me a brand new one which arrived last night. Still have very low rssi this morning with all new equipment - aka - no change with everything new.
Curious…I run Ruckus wifi aps for my wifi - I can assume these should have no bearing on rssi - but asking for grins. I also run a zwave network here (which is pretty extensive) - could it be interfering?
Otherwise - I’m lost. I don’t understand why rssi is always in the -120’s to -130’s even when the lps8 is one room over from me (like 10’ or so) - I have not programmed anything on the LDS03A - just plugged it in and let it register this morning. The lps8 is using 915 - band 2 I think.
Anything in the setup I should look at - I feel like I’ve ruled out bad equipment.
Thanks again ahead of time for any help offered!
Be sure! - Also just noticed your node picture - look at the label on the LoRaWAN module - big clue - possible to run off frequency as underlying chip tech will support - but one symptom is then much poorer signal strength as antenna & matching all wrong! (clue US915 also covers a much lower range of frequencies as well and guess where band 2 is!..)
@Jeff-UK - I’m a tad lost by your response - I follow to a point but not 100%
I’m including the join request from the new unit - does this help determine the sub band?
-
- frequency:905300000
- modulation:“LORA”
loRaModulationInfo:{} 4 keys
* bandwidth:125
* spreadingFactor:10
* codeRate:“4/5”
* polarizationInversion:false
- dr:0
Under software control you have instructed the node to use the lower Band 2 - which the Semtech device can support no issue - the problem is your node is actually likely for the AS/AU923 or AU915 band - and will have its antenna matching components, and likely the ant itself optimised for 915-923… TX/Rx efficiency will be much impaired - but not impossible - at 905.3Mhz - likely >40-60+ db down on where it should be. You hardware doesnt match what the application is trying to do! Sorry…
I think it should be the right model based on the box at least - unless the had the wrong unit in the box.
Mis packs, and even misconfigured builds, are not unknown in the industry! I bought a bunch of 868Mhz EU TTIG’s a while back and 1 just refused to work - box was correct, label on device was correct…only when I ripped apart and trashed it did I see a tiny SMD resistor on the edge of board showing 915 vs 868 config! S4!t happens 
(Yes I got a refund!! 
)
@Jeff-UK - ok this is the cfg from the AT+CFG command: (blanks were removed by me like keys etc)
It shows a US915 at least hardware wise.
AT+DEUI=a8 40 41 2e 91 84 7e ec
AT+DADDR=01 84 7e ec
AT+APPKEY=
AT+NWKSKEY=
AT+APPSKEY=
AT+APPEUI=a8 40 41 00 00 00 01 01
AT+ADR=1
AT+TXP=0
AT+DR=0
AT+DCS=0
AT+PNM=1
AT+RX2FQ=923300000
AT+RX2DR=8
AT+RX1DL=1000
AT+RX2DL=2000
AT+JN1DL=5000
AT+JN2DL=6000
AT+NJM=1
AT+NWKID=00 00 00 00
AT+FCU=0
AT+FCD=0
AT+CLASS=A
AT+NJS=0
AT+RECVB=0:
AT+RECV=0:
AT+RJTDC=20
AT+RPL=0
AT+VER=v1.1 US915
AT+CFM=0
AT+CFS=0
AT+SNR=0
AT+RSSI=0
AT+TDC=7200000
AT+PORT=2
AT+RX1WTO=14
AT+RX2WTO=7
AT+PWORD=123456
AT+LEAPSEC=18
AT+SYNCMOD=1,0
AT+TTRMOD=0
AT+CALCFLAG=0
AT+DISALARM=0
AT+TTRIG=0,0
AT+MOD=1
AT+TIMESTAMP=2021-11-12 T00:21:28
AT+CHS=0
AT+CHE=0
Use default channel
Ok why you no listen! ? That is just S/w and output from S/w - the device will do what you tell it to do and could be that though a 915-923 h/w build it was programmed/configured with US915 firmware it still wont work as a 905.3Mhz device with any efficiency - as evidenced by your abissmal RSSI figures…I would be inclined to go with the label on the module as likely a mis pick for the subsequent build of the node system - sorry can’t say/advise any more other than get it replaced with a known good/confirmed US915 device - possibly a cheap unit from an alternate manufacturer so you know we arent all going mad
lol - I promise I’m listening - steep learning curve here as I’m totally new to this. I can see about a different manufacturer for another node. Is there a recommended brand that everyone really likes? I’ll need a US915 node of course. Any help on sourcing will be much appreciated. Thanks again for all the help and hanging in there with me!
Actualy yes… Dragino! 
we often recommend the cheap door sensors as a simple low cost device test operation!
forum search will yield many devices…
So I picked Dragino and this is how it’s going to be - lol - I’ll do some digging for another device. Thanks as always!
The really tricky thing for a recommendation is not knowing what you have available. There’s plenty out there at a reasonable price, but if it’s in the EU or the Far East, the carriage may tip it in to ‘expensive’. So probably best for you to get a short list of what you can get locally and check back in here for a bit of a vote.
I ended up grabbing one of these. LoRaWAN Door Sensor | Dragino LDS02 Helium | CHOOVIO USA
We’ll see where it goes.
I got the LDA02 in yesterday - and setup - same results. I’ve been working with Dragino - they have looked at pics of both the LPS8’s I have (internal pics) as well as pics of the lds03a’s I have. They said the lps8’s look correct.
I’ve tried turning off wifi, turning off my philips hue and my zwave network - no change. Rssi is still in the -120-130’s - see screenshot for the lda02 attached.
Time to take it somewhere way out of range of the other RF devices to eliminate any possibility of interference.
Agreed - I was thinking quite similarly. I’ll see if I can do that sometime today and report in.
Ok I moved the lps8 to my barn (all wood sides - metal roof) - and took the lda02 with me to test. The barn is 30 by 30 - so I had the gateway on 1 side and the lda02 about 20’ from the lps8 - see results. No difference. 
The lps8 is setup for band 2 - just a quick note -
An RSSI of -131 and an SNR of -12.8 sounds like very weak signals, long distance or poor or no antennas, faulty modules etc.
If interferance was a major issue you might expect the SNR to be poor, but with a stronger RSSI.
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