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Items tagged with: lora


#WiFi Meets #LoRa For #Long Range


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What do you get when you cross WiFi and LoRa? Researchers in China have been doing this, and they call the result #WiLo. They claim to get reliable connections over about half a kilometer. Typical WiFi runs 40 to 60 meters, barring any Pringle’s cans or other exotic tricks.

According to [Michelle Hampson] writing in IEEE Spectrum, the researchers manipulated Wi-Fi’s OFDM multiplexing to emulate LoRa’s chirp-spreading signal. The advantage is that existing WiFi hardware can use the protocol to increase range.

While LoRa is known for being economical with power, this might not be the case with repurposed WiFi devices. The researchers plan to explore ways to make WiLo more energy efficient. You can read the research paper you want to dig into the details.

Source: https://hackaday.com/2024/10/07/wifi-meets-lora-for-long-range/


The previous quick and dirty design had one significant weakness: the antenna connection. I've replaced it with a sturdy 3D printed antenna holder in two diameters, for 3 dBi and 5 dBi sticks. Plus some epoxy resin, plus some silicone. The new design spent a week outside during heavy rain season now and seems to be working.

And I have an actual real-world use, relevant to my line of occupation: these two will be base stations for an underground Meshtastic network which I plan to test for cave communications and cave rescue. No solar panels down there, but if a smaller variant can hold for a few days on a single charge, possibly in super-sleep mode, that will do the job.

#Meshtastic #LoRa

IP67 case with Meshtastic transceiver inside, all wet from recent rain
IP67 case overview photo


IP67 electrical enclosure case containing the RAK module with antenna mounted on top Swanage coastal path view towards Portland
Opened IP67 case with the RAK module displayed inside Meshtastic map screenshot showing one node in Portland and the other in Swanage



Hello Kat! Yes I am one that enjoys #rust (see also #rustlang for some reason). Can't say any of my crates are popular, but I've written some for tunneling TCP/IP across #LoRA and #XBee SX long-range, low-power radios using PPP or tun/tap. (see lorapipe, xbnet). Currently working on an asynchronous Unixy job queueing system I hope to announce in a few days. Been using Rust at work for a few years now also.

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