I want to start my offgrid lora messaging system and i want to make it close connect with Home Assistant.
The goal is to receive messages from HA, and i wanna send orders to HA from my lora device withoute internet service. So at the begining i need a base station which is connected to HA and can act as a repeater for messaging between other lora devices.
I think 433MHz is better choice for more distance and it is accepted in my country.
I have 0 experience with lora and there is huge number of hardwares so i try to not make huge mistake and buy the wrong one. So i ask your advice which base station do you offer which:
can send messages from HA to lora devices based on automations
can receive messages from lora devices and forward them to HA as orders
I have only dabbled a bit in LoRa, so I will refrain from recommending any special product.
I will however advice you to choose another frequency.
433MHz is used by A LOT of things and those things will all interfere with your signal.
868/915MHz is way better, because it is limited in use and there are rules for how much you can use the frequency, which makes it impossible to use for heavy duty devices.
A couple of years ago, I worked on a DIY LoRa project using OpenMQTT as the LoRa Gateway (a base station), and a BIY sensor device from PricelessToolKit (who now sells completed kits) using an Arduino CPU with an attached LoRa Module. Here is a link if interested.
One caveat, is that it now seems that OpenMQTT has undergone some changes/cooperation with Theengs and while the code still supports LoRa, it is no longer listing LoRa as a compatible hardware for its gateway, so not so sure now what the state of this is.
Another caveat, is that the solution I’m referring to above is a star topology (all devices talk to the Gateway directly). The power levels and narrow bandwidth give it a good distance, so unless you are on a large property, you likely won’t need to have repeaters.
Are you using a particular messaging system/firmware? It might help get more specific answers if you shared that. This is a very active area of development… it seems like there is a new device announced every month or two, but some devices may be more or less compatible with certain firmware.
For example, I’ve played around a bit with Meshtastic. There is a custom integration so you can connect your device(s) to HA and have sensor, device tracker, and notification capabilities. I’ve tested a few different devices and they mostly work as expected, but the Heltec v2 I got early on is no longer compatible with the current firmware.
Wmaker!
I do not want to make star topology because some of my friend are interested in a cheap, low power consumption messaging system and it is necessary to use any lora device as repeater beacuse of distance.
Didgeridrew!
Now i use HA’s built in notification system to mobile phone so nothing special. Where i live there is lot of spots where cellular network has problems but 1 or 2 lora repeater can surerly make good performance.
Mestastic can be a good option but i has no experience with it.
So first i need “something” what can communicate in both direction with HA as a base station on my roof. If it is mqtt now i use EMQX but i belive the protocol the point not the service.
If it can send messages to lora i need an other lora device in my hand to lern how to use.
Later i will plant an other base station to my friend’s roof which can forward messages from and to my HA and of cours for and to our portable devies to communicate.
I know i can use lot of devices for this goal (and this is my problem, it has so active development what i can not follow) but at the begining i do not want to pay something what i will not use. So i’m looking for a cheap, modular device and hope i do not need to buy 3 different type in the future
Like i do not need a waterproof case or i belive it not necessary to think on a rakhat solution because i think forwarding and processing this amount of messages do not require a raspberry. But that is all, i just think, because has no any experience.
LoRa is just name for several different protocols using the same technology, so you need to make sure that both device and HA part can talk to each other.
On top of that there are also third party grids that can extend the range, but they also limits on other areas, so you need to take that into consideration also.
LoRa is not an often used communication form with HA due to these factors
The few that use LoRa have a solution for their exact setup, but it might not be useable by others.
Actually i only need an mqtt transformer to lora protocol… with a detachable antenna and POE. I think it is not a hard thing but i can not find…
I’ve check wmaker’s mailbox project but when i search for his used module i find only chips and i can not be sure this chip mounted on an other platform is good for me.
Do you have any, or at least one idea?
Just to make sure i’ve made my homework before come here to advice:
I’ve fount this project too Connecting long range sensors using LoRa and MQTT but it use wifi. Again, i can change my plans or setup. So if it is essential i can do it too withoute POE but i have poor wifi on my roof and if the gateway will placed inside the house i can forget the great distance of lora
It is not clear what you are actually trying to do. You did not answer my previous question about the firmware you plan on using. As Wally mentioned previously, LoRa is really just a radio protocol. If you want to use it to set up a mesh network with messaging capabilities, you need firmware that can do that.
If you are away from your house and don’t have access to the cellular network… how is a LoRa node at your house going to do any good if don’t also have a mobile node with you?
It’s got POE, LAN+SIM fallback, a local Chirpstack Server that integrates with MQTT and even has an Add-On on Home Assistant. For end node devices, you can use any plain old esp-based sensor that’s got extra i/o pins - flash esphome and connect one of these to communicate via LoraWAN
Sorry Didgeridrew i was not enough accurate. When i wrote “Now i use HA’s built in notification system to mobile phone so nothing special.” I mean i do not have special firmware need or plan.
Where i live is a small village where cellular is terrible. And as i mentioned befor 1-2 lora repeater can work everywhere. And of course when i am away from the village cellular is working.
Yes, it does. Here’s some documentation on that. Their wiki’s like going over a comic book tbh - very random, unarranged and casual. Wish they do a better job with their offical docs
I too am not clear, so maybe some questions and a possible attempt to explain what you are wanting to do:
It sounds like you ultimately want HA to be able to send a message to your mobile phone (?when you are away from home and have cellular coverage?) but you don’t have cellular coverage in your village nor at your home. Does this mean you don’t have any access to internet at your home? no fiber, no DSL, no anything? So you want HA to be able to send a message out on a LoRa network which maybe meshed, but certainly has multiple hops to get to some place. What I can’t figure out is what is this “some place” and is this “some place” suppose to get a message out on the internet which ultimately gets sent to your mobile device?
I’ve found in the document what you wrote and you are wright it is a little bit confusing… I’ll give it a try. Thanks agin!
wmaker!
It is not so hard. I’ve got home internet of course but when i step oute my huse i need aboute 5m to loose wifi and if my direction is not towards the village’s center ooooor out of the village i’ll loose cellular too within minutes. But if i place a lora repeater my friend’s antenna tower, probably i’ll get coverage winthin 1-2 miles in the valley which is good enough because there is the lake within this distance where i go fishing often. Hope i can solve it to you and i do not not mind i was who come here to ask advie, but as you see it was not so hard and Vish2024 can help me on the first run…
Talk about starting a project in the deep end. Since LORA is a rarely seen topic in the forums, when you are finished, please post it in the “Share your projects” category.
