The hard RAK831 cafe part 1

jmarcelino · July 29, 2017, 5:57pm

The Pi is really bad choice for gateways: Ethernet hanging off internal USB that falls over if you look at it wrong, power supply issues with many models, stability problems with SD cards, messed up UARTs on the 3…

It does have its applications, video being a big one, but for gateway tasks one can do a lot better.

kersing · July 29, 2017, 6:27pm

Simple, an RPi has wired ethernet on board which I need for most gateways as there usually is no or marginal WiFi. There are better choices like the beaglebone black, but the RPi is cheap and readily available.

Epyon · July 30, 2017, 12:17am

The lack of Ethernet is indeed my main beef with the Zero (W) too.

I have good experiences with the NanoPi Neo, and looking forward to Armbian support for the new Plus2 version. It has native Ethernet (tied directly to the H5 SoC), onboard WiFi and 8GB eMCC. It should sell for €10 less than a RasPi. Looks like an excellent choice for place-and-forget stuff like gateways.

Charles · July 31, 2017, 12:44pm

I agree RPI is fine but too expensive for this (except the Zero + WiFi)

I’m using CHIP $9, it has Wifi, BT, power controller, and can be powered with Lipo with charger on board.
Also 4GB of NAND on board, for $9 it’s a really great alternative, $9 and that’s it
https://getchip.com/pages/chip

A good one could also be the nice Omega2 tried and fine but not tested with LoraWan concentrator
https://onion.io/omega2/

BoRRoZ · July 31, 2017, 12:55pm

but you can’t buy them ,

I would be more interested in a concentrator board under the 100,- or a complete LoRaWAN gw

jmarcelino · July 31, 2017, 12:56pm

The Chip is no longer being made and Chip Pro which was supposed to be the next great (or GR8 as they would say) thing is no longer available as modules, only Dev kits - got burned by them on that. So be aware if you’re planning anything needing any quantity of them.

Also both the Chip and Omega2 lack native Ethernet so again neither are very good fit for gateways

Charles · July 31, 2017, 1:42pm

@BoRRoZ
Yeah guys they had too much success, amazing they can’t sell anything since the beginning of the year because they sold all their production too fast Hoping GR8 will come soon

@jmarcelino,
correct, if you need Ethernet RPI is the only choice, or building a shield on top of Omega2 that have Ethernet and Lorawan concentrator pinout, a smart shield, but need some work.

I always thought OpenWRT would be a good choice for a GW. I got some of this mini router https://www.gl-inet.com/mt300a/ they have MicroSD Slot and/or SPI interface, and with this one you got WiFi + 2 Ethernet (LAN+WAN) + USB port for 3G/4G Modem Router is $30
http://www.ebay.com/itm/322049108921

Charles · July 31, 2017, 1:47pm

And for Ethernet, this one could also be a great choice

Gig · July 31, 2017, 1:55pm

A colleague of mine is using a Orange Pi Zero for a demonstrator, and while it works, it required some effort to have it do anything useful.

Charles · July 31, 2017, 2:03pm

@Gig
each target need to be configured, at least for:

SPI concentrator GPIO connection (SCK/MOSI/MISO/CS)
SPI name /dev/spi_blabla or /dev/spidev_xxx
Reset GPIO line used in startup script

As soon as you’re using debian Jessie on target, it should go straightforward

install build tools
clone repo,
build all changing SPI name
changing reset GPIO line in startup script
use systemd startup script

I’ve done this on 3 different targets without any problem
is it the only thing or is there something strange to do with Orange PI?

jmarcelino · July 31, 2017, 2:05pm

The only really effort compared to other boards is making sure you pick the right Linux distribution for it But if you go with Armbian you should be fine. Maybe just me but I feel Armbian is easier than installing Raspbian on a Raspberry Pi to be honest.

OpenWRT is interesting and I hear RAK is good at OpenWRT boards… or something

Gig · July 31, 2017, 2:07pm

@Charles He had driver issues, mostly. Among other things the ‘official’ distribution found on the manufacturer’s website was bugged beyond relief.
I think he ended up with a Armbian with a re-compilated kernel, now it appears to be working just fine.

Charles · July 31, 2017, 2:07pm

I’d love to see a full RAK concentrator with OpenWRT combined right out of the box

Charles · July 31, 2017, 2:15pm

guys, I was not aware of armbian, need to try this one
the most easier I ever seen was for Chip, plug USB CHIP in you computer, launch chrome and install debian directly following next, next, next
Coming from RPI with Win32disk imaging, I was totally bluffed

BoRRoZ · July 31, 2017, 2:30pm

I had 2 hours fun… and then it died

Epyon · July 31, 2017, 2:33pm

Armbian for the Orange Pi is still a work in progress. You’re better off with the NanoPi Zero, Armbian support for the peripherals is better there and they run more stable. My latest gateway is using a NanoPi Zero with the TTN packet forwarder, running good for weeks now.

Really looking forward to Armbian support for the NanoPi Zero Plus 2, which has 8GB of onboard eMMC memory. That makes for a much more stable and reliable product than using an OS on a SD card.