Anyone in the lower mainland out there?
Yes… I just joined… will see how things evolve in our locale.
Yes, from Langley and Coquitlam.
Shawn
I would be most interested to know what kind of range people experience to our Port Coquitlam gateway. I’ve been able to reach it from inside a wooden-construction low-rise that’s about 900m away. Unfortunately I haven’t had the time to do a proper range test.
Hi everyone, is anyone active in this community? I’m from Vancouver and just joined. I’ve become very interested in IoT, LoRa, and I’m really interested in what The Things Network is doing. Would be interested in connecting with anyone local who shares the same interest. Let me know. Mark
Hi folks, Just across the water in Victoria. Looking to start a community here.
Hello, I have a Laird gateway up and running in Langley City. Is it worth linking in to the Vancouver network?
@fff @Markhann @scope
I’m a newbie and in the lower mainland. I’m not sure if I’m in the right area.
My goal is to create a local communication network among folks who have Lora devices like this:
Should I go elsewhere to get some help with choosing the best hardware and how to program the software to implement the LoRa-Mesh-Radio?
Are there folks in the lower mainland who have already implemented such a network? Or folks who want to join in, if there isn’t an existing network?
Thanks,
Please do. This forum is for TTN, a LoRaWAN network. You are welcome to ask LoRaWAN/TTN related questions here. Mesh networks even based on Lora are outside the scope of this forum.
OK, thanks for letting me know.
Hi everyone - I hope it is okay to wakeup this old topic. I am new to LoRaWAN and TTN, but not new to radio and networking. I am located in central Richmond (49.15, -123.12). My goal is to do some experimenting/learning with LoRaWAN, and wanted to understand if it was possible to set-up a gateway for my own use (and not be constrained by the FUP while use my gateway), and also share with the TTN community.
Also, I am looking for some suggestions on a low-cost and preferably ready-build gateway. The RAK7268V2 is around $200CAD which is around the right price point - any opinions?
Thanks,
Ron
As you aren’t new to radio you should know radio waves do no limit themselves to your property. Specifically long range technologies will occupy radio spectrum for miles around you. So ask yourself the question, is there a valid reason TTN has a FUP? And would you want your neighbors to disregard it and flood the radio waves with their transmissions, rendering your use cases inoperable?
Yes, but only if you pay for a private TTI instance that peers with TTN.
But as Jac says, if you are new to LoRaWAN, why do you need to exceed the FUP? What use case do you have in mind that would require that?
Typical devices are sending hourly, many could just send 3 or even 6 hourly as most sensor data doesn’t change that fast - and the device can send if there is a material change. A average packet size is of the order of a 10 to 20 bytes.
But even if you go all out with a private setup, the throughput is derisory and not in realtime.
Always good to read the Learn section (linked top of page) - with RF knowledge it’s probably only an hours read of all of the sections in the fundamental list.
The RAK gateway is pretty popular and you’ll be pleased to know doesn’t get mentioned much on here for questions. In context of having a new box to ‘play with’, a gateway is an appliance so once configured they are generally left entirely alone. The action is with devices and dashboards.
If you can tell us what you have in mind, we can advise further. Particularly on your device ideas as many many many people buy a DIY device and then ask how to get it working …
It sounds like sharing with TTN is not going to work for me and I should just build-out my own private network.
Thanks
A few thoughts from my PPOV & experience…
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As Jac calls out FUP is in part about spectrum utilisation - a precious and scare resource for all…
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FUP is also about the back end hardware and s/w resources provided by thhe TTI Core/TTN Foundation funded by TTI - limiting message throughput ensures there is adequate back end capacity for all
As Nick calls out this factor can be mitigated against by either running your own self hosted TTS or by crossing TTI’s palm with silver for them to run an instance for you then the LNS/JS/AS/Load- balancers, console implementation limits etc are for you to value. Peering can provide a useful and valuable hybrid - gives you the warm and fuzzies from an ESG perspective that you are also contributing to the Community -
Running and building out your own network doesnt remove the ‘social responsibility’ aspect of spectrum use. Whilst FUP wont apply directly and many take the view what the hell I’m allowed to push the legal limits - in EU and other areas its duty cycle constrained, in US and elsewhere its things like Dwell Time contraints or perhaps mechanisms like LBT. What ever the fact is that the mentality of spectrum users should be not “I can push up to legal limits therefore I will " but rather should be " what is the minimum" () I need to use for the application and use case in mind” in other words - just 'cause you can does not mean you should! If everyone banged on and pushed the limits the airwaves would very quickly be congested, data wouldn’t get through reliably and so everyone would have to use re-tries and repeats and push even harder…that way lies chaos!
(*) OK practically to allow for odd dropped messages and unforeseen interference etc its likely prudent to go a little bit higher and add say 10% to baseline requirements…
… in many cases you come back to a usage rate that is similar to that set by FUP - so please consider it not as a limit or restriction to be avoided and mitigated against but rather an example of good practice! 
Most peeps starting out this way usually end up bumping against the actual physical limitations of LoRa/LoRaWAN, it’s nothing like WiFi, and, big spoiler alert, is really not great for anything real-time like command & control. And setup & running your own backend is non-trivial, as is the firmware for device, integrations & end point processing.
As above, tell us what you’re trying to achieve and perhaps we can point you in the right direction.
Your own network still uses the same airwaves your neighbors might be using as well. It doesn’t resolve the congestion issue I was trying to convey. Long range technologies should be used for minimal transmissions, not for pushing the limits. If you need frequent updates or high data rates or fast response use Bluetooth, WiFi or similar technology. Not something that can potentially be heard tens of miles away (or hundreds with the right line of sight) as it will interfere with other users use cases.
That is not due to TTN or FUP but a generic LoRaWAN issue.