LoRa Serial pairing problem

Other Miscellaneous
1

I’ve got a batch of the latest LoRa serial radios. The pairing method has changed from product 19311 to 20029. Previously you held the train button on each for a few seconds until the LED’s started to cycle, then they matched and displayed full green LED’s showing link established. To pair the newer version I need to hold one until the blue light flashes (server) then hold the other until yellow (client) and then they blink to say the are paired, which happens well and I hear the units reset. During this the server shows:

Server training parameters

Training netID: 154

Training key: 537061726B46756E547261696E696E67

Server radio protocol parameters

netID: 234

Encryption key: 5FBA2B6C39C59F153FC34D888150E0D0

Client 7A6981785730305020312E5026150DFF Trained

And the client shows:

Link trained from 831F9C965730305020312E50031D0FFF

But there is no serial transmission over the link. On the earlier link the radios would now be a transparent link. Am I doing something wrong? I’ve repeated the above sequence several times

2

I don’t have one in front of me to try, but be sure to attempt a reset https://docs.sparkfun.com/SparkFun_LoRaSerial/training/ and perhaps re-attempt the ‘pairing’ too?

As a final option you can try re-flashing the firmware

3

I have a brand new pair that work fine out of the box, but we’re not getting anything remotely long range. 100 yards. We’ve tried different settings by AT command, but no improvement. Can you provide example settings that will give us mile-scale connectivity between the pair? Right now, we’re just trying to replicate your online video. Many thanks, Harold

4

Do you have a clear line-of-sight? How many bps are you transmitting? Run through the settings list here https://docs.sparkfun.com/SparkFun_LoRa … o-commands and maybe try to lower the AirSpeed parameter, you can also increase the timeouts and whatnot

It might also help to use multipoint mode https://docs.sparkfun.com/SparkFun_LoRa … ing_modes/ (the guide notes this may be better for long-distance)

5

HI… I am trying to test real-world applications, so clear line of site isn’t part of that. Still, I certainly expected something in the order of a mile with neighborhood driving, and it wasn’t close.

I’ll try multipoint and lower AirSpeed with smaller packets and slower retries.

6

Miles of point-to-point range with VHF or higher is not realistic without elevation and/or clear line of sight like over open water. This is regardless of radio type and signaling technique. Higher power, reduced bandwidth, directional antennas, and digital tricks like error correction can help to a point but structures, vegetation, noise, and terrain blocking the signal path will ultimately prevent the devices from talking.