Is it possible to run a “fully fledged” LoRa network using the LoRa-SDR code [1] with 2 LimeSDR boards [2]? I am thinking about programming one LimeSDR to support a gateway, and another one to support a device. Will I be able to easily accomplish that with the LoRa-SDR code? I am thinking about a gateway running a Raspberry Pi; a client should be in turn running Arduino Uno/Mega. Does anybody have a similar experience and can tell whether everything should be working fine? I am particularly interested in going towards the LoRa-SDR code to introduce modifications such as Listen Before Talk (LBT) [3] that can improve throughput of low density LoRa networks (compatible with regular LoRa devices).
The LoRa implementation was never fully compatible with off-the-shelf hardware and I suspect that a bit more work on it is required. May also be that the GNU Radio implementation is further down that path.
Also you mention gateway and so I’m wondering if in fact you mean LoRaWAN? In which case you would also have to integrate a MAC, then on top of this run a packet forwarder stack on the gateway device.
Yes, the idea is to gradually go towards LoRaWAN. Currently, we have a different setup. We have a fully operational LoRaWAN using a Gateway [1,2] with the Semtech SX1301 base-band processor and 2xSX1257 Tx/Rx front-ends. In such a case, our gateway is fully compatible with the official software provided by Semtech [3,4]. As a node, we are using Arduino Uno [5,6] with the Semtech software [7]. There is also a Linux-based implementation [8]. Currently, we would like to migrate our setup towards SDR-based solutions. As an advantage, with LimeSDR, we could simultaneously try to experiment with LoRa and LTE, e.g., using OpenAirInterface [9]. I’ll try to figure out whether the gnu radio implementation with LimeSDR would be a suitable option [10].
Is this for commercial use? If so you would need to licence the LoRa IP from Semtech. The SDR implementation was put together purely for research purposes.
