LoRa FAQss

1..) WhatisLoRaModula
ation?
ongRange)isamodulation
ntechniquethatprovides significantlylongerrangethancompetting
LoRa(Lo
technologgies.Themo
odulationisbaasedonspreaadspectrum techniquesaandavariationofchirpsprread
spectrum(CSS)within
ntegratedforw
warderrorco
orrection(FECC).LoRasigniificantlyimprovesthereceeiver
sensitivityyandaswithotherspread
dspectrumm
modulationtecchniquesusestheentirecchannelbandwidthto
broadcasttasignal,makingitrobustttochanneln
noiseandinseensitivetofreequencyoffseetscausedfro
omtheuse
oflowcosstcrystals.LLoRacandemodulatesignaals19.5dBbeelowthenoiseefloorwhilemostfrequen
ncyshift
keyingsysstems(FSK)n
needasignalp
powerof810
0dBabovethhenoisefloortodemodulaateproperly.TheLoRa
modulatio
onisthePHYlayerwhichccanbeutilizedbymanydi fferentproto
ocolarchitecturesMesh,Star,
6lowPAN,,etc.
2..) WhatisaLoRaGatew
way?
TheLoRagatewaysare
edesignedtobeusedinlo
ongrangesta rnetworkarcchitecturesan
ndareutilizedina
Nsystem.TTheyaremultichannel,mu
ultimodemtrransceiversandcandemo
odulateonmu
ultiple
LoRaWAN
channelssimultaneousslyandevend
demodulatem
multiplesignaalsonthesam
mechannelsimultaneouslydueto
ertiesofLoRa.ThegatewaaysusedifferentRFcompoonentsthanttheendpointttoenablehiighcapacity
theprope
andserve
easatransparentbridgere
elayingmessaagesbetweennenddevicessandacentraalnetworkseerverinthe
backend.Gatewaysare
econnectedttothenetworkservervia standardIPcconnectionsw
whileenddevvicesuse
pwirelesscom
mmunication
ntooneormaanygatewayss.Allendpoin
ntcommuniccationisgenerallybi
singlehop
directionaal,butalsosu
upportsoperaationssuchassmulticastennabling,softw
wareupgrade,overtheairorother
massdistributionmesssagestoredu
ucetheonair communicattiontime.Therearedifferrentgatewayversions
dcapacityand
dinstallationlocation(hom
mevs.tower)).
dependingthedesired
3..) WhatisLo
oRaWAN?
TheLoRamodulationisthephysicaallayer(PHY),andLoRaWA
ANisaMACp
protocolforaahighcapacity,long
ndardizingforrLowPowerW
WideAreaNeetworks(LPW
WAN).The
rangestarnetworkthaattheLoRaAllianceisstan
LoRaWAN
Nprotocoliso
optimizedforrlowcostbatteryoperateddsensorsand
dincludesdiffferentclassessofnodes
tooptimizzethetradeo
offbetweenn
networklatencyandbatterrylifetime.Ittisfullybidirrectionalandwas
architecte
edbysecurityyexpertstoe
ensurereliabilityandsafetyy.ThearchittectureofLoR
RaWANwasaalso
designedtoeasilylocaateandtrackmobileobjectsforassettrracking,whichisoneofth
hefastestgrow
wing
pplicationsfo
orInternetofThings(IoT).LoRaWANissbeingdeployyedfornationwidenetwo
orksby
volumeap
majortele
ecomoperato
ors,andtheLLoRaAllianceisstandardiz ingLoRaWAN
Ntomakesurrethediffereent
nationwid
denetworksaareinteroperable.
4..) Whatisth
hedataratefforLoRaWAN
N?
LoRaWAN
NdataratesrangeforLoRaabetween0.3
3kbpsto22kbbpsandoneG
GFSKdataratteat100kbpssfor
Europe.InNorthAme
ericatheminimumdataratteis0.9kbps duetoFCClimitations.To
omaximizebothbattery
lifeofthe
eenddevicesandoveralln
networkcapacity,theLoRaaWANnetwo
orkserverism
managingthedatarate
andRFou
utputforeach
henddeviceindividuallyb
bymeansofaanadaptivedatarate(ADR
R)algorithm.TheADRis
criticalforahighperfo
ormancenetw
workanditen
nablesscalab ility.Anetwo
orkcanbedeeployedwithaminimal
ntininfrastru
uctureandascapacityisneeded,moregatewayscanbedeployeedandtheAD
DRwillshift
investmen
thedatarrateshigherw
whichwillscalethenetworkcapacitybyy68x.

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5.) WhatisaLoRaConcentrator?
Thetermgatewayandconcentratorarebothused,buttheyareequivalentcomponentsinaLoRasystem.In
otherindustriesthedefinitionofgatewayandconcentratorimplydifferentcomponents.
6.) HowwelldoesLoRahandleInterference?
TheLoRamodemiscapableofcochannelGMSKrejectionofupto19.5dB,orstateddifferently,itcanreceive
signals19.5dBbelowaninterferingsignalorthenoisefloor.Thisimmunitytointerferencepermitsthesimple
coexistenceofLoRamodulatedsystemseitherinbandsofheavyspectralusageorinhybridcommunication
networksthatuseLoRatoextendrangewhenlegacymodulationschemesfail.
7.) WhatisthedatarateforLoRa?
LoRaWANdefinesaspecificsetofdatarates,buttheendchiporPHYispossibleofmoreoptions.TheSX1272
supportsdataratesfrom0.3to38.4kbps,andtheSX12760.018to38.4kbps.
8.) WhatisaLoRaEndNodeorPoint?
TheLoRaendpointsaretheelementsoftheLoRanetworkwherethesensingorcontrolisundertaken.They
arenormallyremotelylocatedandbatteryoperated.Theseendpointscanbesetuptocommunicatewitha
LoRaGateway(ConcentratororBaseStation)usingtheLoRaWANnetworkprotocol.
9.) WhatisAdaptiveDataRate(ADR)?
AdaptiveDataRateisamethodwheretheactualdatarateisadjustedtoensurereliablepacketdelivery,
optimalnetworkperformance,andscaleforcapacity.Forexample,nodesclosetothegatewaywillusea
higherdatarate(shortertimeonair)andaloweroutputpower.Onlynodesthatareattheveryedgeofthe
linkbudgetwillusethelowestdatarateandhighestoutputpower.TheADRmethodcanaccommodate
changesinthenetworkinfrastructureandsupportvaryingpathloss.Tomaximizebothbatterylifeofend
devicesandoverallnetworkcapacity,theLoRanetworkinfrastructuremanagesthedatarateandRFoutput
foreachenddeviceindividuallybyimplementingADR.
10.) FortheLoRadevices,whatistheactualTxpowerthatcanbeachievedontheantenna?
Atthechippintheoutputpoweris+20dBmandattheantennaaftermatching/filteringlossthepoweris
+19dBm+/0.5dB.DifferentregionshavedifferentregulationsformaxoutputpowerandtheLoRaWAN
specificationdefinesdifferentoutputpowerforthedifferentregionstomaximizethelinkbudget.
11.) WhatisthepriceofaLoRasolution?
WithaLoRadevice(ex:SX1272orSX1276)alowercostcrystalcanbeused.Innarrowbandtechnologyan
expensivetemperaturecontrolledcrystalisneededtominimizefrequencydriftduringRX/TX.Atypicalbillof
materialscostforacompleteendnodeisbetween25dollarsdependingonvolumeandfeatures.Along
transmitrangemeanssimplernetworkinfrastructureandlowercostofdeploymentasnorepeatersare
necessary.Lowerpowerconsumptionmeansusinglowercostbatteriesandnetworkmaintenance.
12.) WhatistheprocessoftheLoRaCAD(ChannelActivityDetector)mode?
InsteadofusingaRSSI(ReceivedSignalStrengthIndicator)methodtoidentifyifasignalispresentthechannel
activitydetector(CAD)isusedtodetectthepresenceofaLoRasignal.TheCADdetectionhastheadvantage
ofbeingmuchfasterthanatypicalRSSIdetectionandthecapabilitytodifferentiatebetweennoiseanda
desiredLoRasignal.TheCADprocessrequirestwosymbols,andiftheCADisdetected,theCAD_Detected
interruptwillbeassertedandthedevicewillstayinRXmodetoreceivethedatapayload.

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13.) IsitOKtochangethemodebetweenFSKandLoRamodulationfrequently?
Yes,itisnoproblem.TheLoRadevicecanbeswitchedfromFSKtoLoRa(andviceversa)viasimpleSPI
registerwrite.Thishasnoissueontheperformanceorreliabilityofthedevice.ALoRadevicecanbe
configuredandreconfiguredtoanyoftheparametersasspecifiedinthedatasheets.
14.) WhyistheoutputpowerofmyLoRadeviceorModulenotabletoachieve20dBm?
The+20dBmspecificationisfortheoutputpoweratthepinofthechip.ThebandpassfilterandRFswitch
haveinsertionlosscharacteristicsasinanyRFsystem.Achieving+19dBmattheantennaistypical
performanceaftermatchingandfiltering.
15.) Howtotroubleshoottheoutputpowerifitisnotabletoachieve+20dBm?
1.)Pleasemakesurethatyouconnecttherightpin(PA_Boost)setfor20dBmoutput.
Therearetwooutputportsforeachband,oneishighpowerportcalledPA_boost,andanotherisahigh
efficiencyportcalledRFO.
2.)ThenchecktheconfigurationinSW.Threeregistersshouldbeconfiguredcorrectly:RegPaConfig,RegOcp
andRegPaDac.ItmeansthatyoushouldselecttherightpinforproperoutputinSW,thensettheright
valuerefertopowerlevelyouneed.
3.)ConfirmthematchingpertheSemtechreferencedesigntomakeagoodlayout,whichisimportantto
achievethemaximumoutputpowerpossible
16.) HowtochooseapropercrystalforaLoRadevice?
Normally,a+/10ppmXTALisgoodenoughformostdesignswithabandwidthof62.5kHzorhigher.ForBW
lessthan62.5kHz,aTCXOisstronglysuggestedtobeused.Formoredetailsaboutthespecificationofthe
crystal,pleaserefertothedatasheetandLoRaModemCalculatortoolandapplicationnote
AN1200.14_XO_Guidance_LoRa_Modulation_STD.
17.) HowcanIimplementamassproductiontestforaLoRasystem?
Threeparametersareimportanttotestinmassproduction:frequencytolerance,outputpower,and
sensitivity.Thefrequencyandoutputpowerareeasytotestwithaspectrumanalyzer.Ifyoursignal
generatorcantgenerateaLoRasignal,testingthesensitivitywithFSKmodeisstronglysuggested.Thereis
onlyoneRFchaininthechip,andtheFSKandLoRademodulationisdoneinthedigitaldomain.TheRFpath
couldpotentiallybedamagedinassemblysothisisimportanttoverify.Thedigitalportionofthechipwhere
theLoRaandFSKmodulationisdoneisisolatedfromtheeffectsofassemblysotestingFSKsensitivityis
sufficientforverifyingtheproductiontestperformance.ThedigitalandLoRamodulationaretested
extensivelyinthechipproductiontest
18.) ForaLoRawidebandsignal,howcanyoumeasurethefrequencyaccuracyinLoRamode?
Ifitisjustformeasurement,youcanusetheFrequencysynthesisTX(FSTX)modeaslistedintheLoRaregister
tabletogenerateaCWtonebasedontheLoRaconfiguration.
19.) WhatistherelationshipbetweenBandwidth(BW),SymbolRate(Rs)andDataRate(DR)?
Intheory,Rs=BW/(2^SF),DR=SF*(BW/2^SF)*CR.ButwesuggestyouusetheSemtechLoRaModem
Calculatortoevaluatethedatarateandtimeonairfordifferentconfigurationoptions.

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20.) HowdoyouchoosetheLoRaBandwidth(BW),Spreadingfactor(SF)andCodingRate(CR)?
LoRaWANusesprimarilythe125kHzBWsettingbutotherproprietaryprotocolscanutilizeotherBW
settings.ChangingtheBW,SF,andCRchangesthelinkbudgetandtimeonair,whichresultsinabattery
lifetimevsrangetradeoff.PleaseusetheLoRaModemCalculatortoevaluatethetradeoffs.
21.) WhatarethestepstotroubleshootwhentwoSX127xmodulesfromdifferentmanufacturersarenot
abletocommunicatewitheachother?
Firstofall,checkthefrequencyoffsetcausedbythecrystalbetweenthetwodevices.TheBW,center
frequency,anddatarateareallderivedfromthecrystalfrequency.Second,checkthesoftware/firmware
settingsonbothsidesforfrequency,bandwidth,spreadingfactor,codingrateandpacketstructuretoensure
theyarethesame.
22.) Howcanitbepossibletoreceiveawrongpacketwhenthecyclicredundancycheck(CRC)isenabled
inLoRamode?
InLoRamode,eveniftheCRCiswrong,thepayloadwillbefilledintotheFIFO.Wesuggestcheckingheader
andseeifitisvaliddataornot.ThisisduetotheCRCON/OFFinformationincludedintheheader.Discard
thepacketwhentheheaderisinvalid.Inaddition,thereisabitinReg0x1CnamedCrcOnPayload(bit6),read
thisbitbeforecheckingCRC,ifCRCisturnedOFFbymistakethendiscardthispacket.
23.) CanIsendorreceiveanunlimitedlengthpayloadpacketwithaLoRadevice?
No,themaximumpacketlengthis256bytesinLoRamode.
24.) HowcanyouusetheDIOxpinsinLoRamode?ShouldallDIOxpinsbeconnectedtotheMCU?
Whenyoustartyourdesign,checktheDIOMappinginboththeLoRamodeandFSKmode.Youcanfindthe
DIOMappinginformationinSX127xLoRadatasheets.TheDIOsdonotfunctionasnormal(typical)MCU
GPIOs.Therearesomespecialinterruptsignals(orclockoutputs)toindicatetheeventorstatusofthe
chipset,whichthenmakeyourFWdesigneasiertoimplement.Intheory,youcouldconnectnoDIOsandthen
readtherelatedregistertoknowthestatusresult.However,wesuggestthatyouconnecttheDIOasmuch
aspossibleforexternalinterruptfunctionalitywhichsavesontheresourceloadingoftheMCU.
25.) WhyaretheretwoRSSIregistersinLoRamode?Whatisthedifference?
TheRegPktRssiValueandRegRssiValuearebothusefulinLoRamode.RegPktRssiValuereferstothepacket
RSSIlevel,andtheRegRssiValueissimilartotheRSSIthatcanbefoundin(nonLoRa)FSKmode.
Asyouknow,LoRacoulddemodulatethepacketbelowthenoisefloor(PktRssiresult)thenCurrentRssiwould
thenbeequaltoormorethanthenoisefloor.FormoredetailsabouthowtocalculatethesetwoRSSIValues,
pleaserefertotheSemtechAPIorlatestLoRadatasheets.

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26..) Howcanyyoucalculate
etheactuallyybitrateandtimeonairfforaLoRasyystem?
Followthe
esteps(iV))listedbelow
w:

Thisiseassytocalculate
ebyusingLoRacalculatorr,whichcanbbedownloadeedonSemtecchwebsite(lin
nkbelow).
http://ww
ww.semtech.ccom/apps/file
edown/down
n.php?file=SX 1272LoRaCalculatorSetup
p1%271.zip

27..) Canthep
payloadlengthofaLoRam
modeconfigurationbesettto256bytesswithanydattarate?
TheSX127
7xLoRadeviccehasaFIFOof256bytesiinLoRamodee.Intheory,aallthe256ByytescouldbeusedforTX
orRX.Ho
owever,withalowdataraateconfigurattionthetime onairwithaa256bytepayyloadwillbevverylong
(thiscould
dbeseveralssecondsorevvenlonger),w
whichisnotg oodforresisttingfadingan
ndhighinterfference
environm
ments.Thisisnotarobustconfiguration
ninmostenvvironmentsso
oitissuggestedifalongpayloadis
desiredw
withalowdataratethatth
hepacketbessplitintoafe wshorterpa ckets.
28..) IsLoRaa
ameshnetwo
ork,pointtopoint,orasttarnetwork??
TheLoRamodulationitselfisaphyssicallayer(PH
HYlayer)thattcanbeusedinallmostnetworktopologiesor
omesatthecostofreduceednetwork
configurations.Amesshnetworkexxtendstherangeoftheneetworkbutco
capacity,synchronizationoverhead
d,andreducedbatterylifettimeduetossynchronizationandhops.Withthe
increased
dlinkbudgetaandrangecap
pabilityofLoRathereisnooneedforam
meshnetworkarchitectureetoextend
therange
esoastararchitecturewasschosenforLLoRaWANto optimizethenetworkcap
pacity,batteryylifetime
andinstalllationease.
29..) IsLoRaIPv6or6LoW
WPANenabled
d?
Yes,LoRaisIPv6and6
6LoWPANcom
mpatible.Acttility(aLoRa partner)andotherpartneersenabled6LoWPAN
ontopofLoRaWAN.
30..) Whatisth
hecapacityo
ofLoRagateway?Howm
manynodesccanbeconnectedtoasingglegateway??
Capacityiis,firstandfo
oremost,aconsequenceoffthenumberrofpacketsth
hatcanbereceivedinagiventime.A
singleSX1
1301with8channelscanrreceiveappro
oximately1.5 millionpackeetsperdayussingLoRaWA
ANprotocol.
So,ifyourrapplicationsendsonepaacketperhour,thenasinggleSX1301gaatewaycanhaandleabout6
62,500end
devices.

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