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I have two single channel LoRa/GPS modules and I want to create my own personal network.

I want a module that receives all data from other devices and sends it to a server with a database.

I was wondering, is this possible?!

Also, how should I achieve all of this? I'm new to LoRa and I want to learn more about it.

I couldn't find any info about making a LoRa gateway and sending everything to your own server?

Like this:

  1. Data from car(s)
  2. Send to LoRa receiver (dragino LoRa/GPS module)
  3. The received data is being send to another server.

Is this possible?

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    I don't know LoRa either, but isn't " a module that receives all data from other devices " itself already a server? In any case, couldn't you use a cheap Raspberry Pi Zero W, which receives HTTP CRUD ?
    – Mawg
    Commented Aug 26, 2017 at 9:01
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    No that is a lorawan (which costs too much for me as a student)... I have read somewhere you can turn a sending device into a receiving device, single channel, but I have no idea how...
    – Robin
    Commented Aug 26, 2017 at 9:03
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    Yes some sort of device that receives all LoRa data and decodes and sends it to my own server. On which I can proccess the data then... (most likely it will be stored in a database)...
    – Robin
    Commented Aug 26, 2017 at 9:07
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    Well, I bought them from Dragino, which is the largest (chineese) supplier for LoRa devices, if you google dragino you'll find more items of them.
    – Robin
    Commented Aug 26, 2017 at 10:08
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    This is the type of thing that should be pursued with traditional Internet resources - you don't yet have the kind of singular specific question for which the SE system is designed. Start by reading up on the The Things Network - it may or may not fit you needs (reporting frequency will be an issue) but will give you a sense of some of the things that are and aren't workable, including why the more expensive multichannel radios are typically used in the gateway role.
    – Chris Stratton
    Commented Aug 26, 2017 at 17:25

3 Answers 3

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Yes, using LoRa radios to receive messages is possible. For the Arduino platform, the LMIC library can be used. See my code for mobile node with gps and gateway. The gateway publishes data to a service called PubNub, which has a free tier that probably is sufficient for your needs.

It should be fairly easy to modify the gateway code to send data to your own server if you prefer that.

However, I suggest you consider LoRaWAN anyway. The Things Network (TTN) is a free LoRaWAN service. Check their map if they have coverage in the area you are interested in. I have used the relatively cheap RFM95W radio module to send messages to TTN using the LMIC library. The library's example code will get you very far.

The upside with TTN is that you might not need to set up your own gateways, and you can use their coverage throughout the world. If TTN does not have coverage in the area you need, consider building/purchasing a gateway and connect it to TTN. That way you add to their coverage and can still use their other gateways. A LoRaWAN gateway is much more expensive than a single radio though, they start at about 250 USD.

Full disclosure: I use, but am otherwise not affiliated with LoRa, TheThingsNetwork, LMIC or PubNub.

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    Great info. TTN have not managed to present the network in this context very effectively.
    – Sean Houlihane
    Commented Aug 31, 2017 at 10:32
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    @mikael_falkvidd - LMIC library. I did not know about that one. Nice. Do you have a blog write-up or any other info on the kit you used for that FatLink project do you? (I'm a TTN backer fed up of waiting for kit and yesterday I impulsively ordered some cheap 433mhz LoRa radio + Atmega electrodragon.com/product/…).
    – Cups
    Commented Aug 31, 2017 at 13:49
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    @Cups No kit. I'm using Arduino Pro Mini for the mobile node and Wemos D1 Mini for the gateway. Both use RFM95W radios. I think I used cpham.perso.univ-pau.fr/LORA/LoRaDevices.html early on to learn the basics like how to wire the radio.
    – Mikael Falkvidd
    Commented Aug 31, 2017 at 16:12
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    Ah, yes, the chap in Pau. He's been on my radar for a while, does some neat stuff. pro mini, Wemos D1 mini and the radio - pretty much what I thought. Cheers for the info.
    – Cups
    Commented Sep 1, 2017 at 8:37
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Yes, it is possible.

A common way to do this is to have a powered node that can receive data over LoRa and transmit it using ethernet or Wi-Fi to a cloud service. That means that whenever your mobile nodes are in range of the collector node, they will transmit their data to it, and it will, in turn, relay it, using internet technology, to a persistent database.

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First of all, you have to understand that two lora modules can communicate to each other, the changes will be in the firmware code and also they will contain the AES encryption keys on both the devices for bi-directional. They need a Gateway to transfer data to a server(internet) which supports LPWAN architecture. Now you want to create a personal lora network or private lora network. For that, you need a lora gateway which will receive at lora frequency and transfer the data from the device to lora-network server and vice versa.

For the server part you can use The Things network, Loriot as lora network service provider or you can use open source lora servers such as Brocaar loraserver or Gotthard lora server .

From there you can transfer your data to the desired iot platform such as IBM bluemix, cayene.

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    FALSE. Node-clas LoRa modules can communicate with each other just fine. What a gateway class radio adds is the ability to monitor multiple channels at the same time, and thus support uncoordinated frequency hopping by nodes, where frequency hopping is important to good spectral citizenship. But two RFM9x's / SX1276's can talk to each other, and at either very infrequent messages rates on a single channel (or more frequently with frequency hoping coordinated in time between the two) are workable.
    – Chris Stratton
    Commented Sep 12, 2017 at 3:37
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    Sorry, my lack of knowledge. i'll edit out the answer. Thanks for reminding me though sir.
    – ashusvirus
    Commented Sep 12, 2017 at 5:40

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