RAKwireless RAK7243 Pilot Gateway Pro User manual

18 PAGES
User Manual for
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Version V1.1 | January 2019
Pilot Gateway Pro RAK7243
WisDevice RAK72x Series
LoRa Gateway Kit with Cellular & GPS

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Table of Contents
1Overview..................................................................................................................................................... 4
1.1 Introduction......................................................................................................................................... 4
1.2 Main Features.................................................................................................................................... 5
1.3 Package Contents............................................................................................................................. 5
2Pilot Gateway Pro RAK7243.................................................................................................................. 6
2.1 Overview............................................................................................................................................. 6
2.2 Interfaces............................................................................................................................................ 6
2.3 System Structure............................................................................................................................... 7
2.4 LoRa Operating Frequencies...........................................................................................................7
2.5 Cellular Frequency Bands................................................................................................................ 8
2.5.1 BG96 Module......................................................................................................................... 8
2.5.2 EG91 Module......................................................................................................................... 8
2.5.3 EG95 Module......................................................................................................................... 8
2.6 Hardware Structure ............................................................................................................................ 9
2.6.1 LoRa Concentrator RAK2245 Pi HAT................................................................................9
2.6.2 Cellular Board RAK2013 Pi HAT........................................................................................ 9
2.7 Power Requirements...................................................................................................................... 10
2.8 Environmental Requirements........................................................................................................ 10
2.9 LoRa RF Characteristics................................................................................................................ 11
2.9.1 Transmitter RF Characteristics......................................................................................... 11
2.9.2 Receiver RF Characteristics..............................................................................................12
3Antenna.....................................................................................................................................................13
3.1 LoRa Antenna.................................................................................................................................. 13
3.1.1 Overview...............................................................................................................................13
3.1.2 Antenna Dimension.............................................................................................................13
3.1.3 Antenna Parameter.............................................................................................................13
3.2 LTE Antenna.................................................................................................................................... 13
3.2.1 Overview...............................................................................................................................14
3.2.2 Antenna Dimension.............................................................................................................14
3.2.3 Antenna Parameter.............................................................................................................14
3.3 GPS Antenna................................................................................................................................... 15
3.3.1 Overview...............................................................................................................................15
3.3.2 GPS Antenna Dimensions................................................................................................. 15
3.3.3 GPS Environmental Requirements.................................................................................. 15
3.3.4 GPS Antenna Parameter................................................................................................... 15
4Flash the Gateway Image.....................................................................................................................17
5Contact Information...............................................................................................................................17
6Revision History..................................................................................................................................... 18
7Document Summary..............................................................................................................................18

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List of Tables
Table 1 | LoRa Operating Frequencies.....................................................................................................7
Table 2 | BG96 Frequency Bands............................................................................................................. 8
Table 3 | EG91 Frequency Bands............................................................................................................. 8
Table 4 | EG95 Frequency Bands............................................................................................................. 8
Table 5 | Power Requirements................................................................................................................ 10
Table 6 | Environment Requirements..................................................................................................... 10
Table 7 | RF Output Power Level............................................................................................................ 11
Table 8 | TX RF Characteristics...............................................................................................................11
Table 9 | RX RF Characteristics.............................................................................................................. 12
Table 10 | LoRa Antenna Parameter...................................................................................................... 13
Table 11 | LTE Antenna Parameter........................................................................................................ 14
Table 12 | GPS Environmental Requirements...................................................................................... 15
Table 13 | GPS Antenna Parameter....................................................................................................... 16
Table 14 | Amplifier Specifications.......................................................................................................... 16
Table 15 | Environmental Test Performance......................................................................................... 16
List of Figures
Figure 1 | Pilot Gateway Pro Overview.................................................................................................... 5
Figure 2 | Package Contents..................................................................................................................... 5
Figure 3 | Outer Dimensions...................................................................................................................... 6
Figure 4 | Interfaces.....................................................................................................................................6
Figure 5 | Pilot Gateway Pro System Structure...................................................................................... 7
Figure 6 | LoRa Hardware Structure.........................................................................................................9
Figure 7 | Cellular Hardware Structure...................................................................................................10
Figure 8 | LoRa Antenna Overview.........................................................................................................13
Figure 9 | LoRa Antenna Dimension...................................................................................................... 13
Figure 10 | LTE Antenna.......................................................................................................................... 14
Figure 11 | LTE Antenna Dimension...................................................................................................... 14
Figure 12 | GPS Antenna......................................................................................................................... 15
Figure 13 | GPS Antenna Dimensions................................................................................................... 15

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1Overview
1.1 Introduction
The RAK7243 Pilot Gateway Pro is a device that consists of Raspberry Pi 3B+,
RAK2245 Pi HAT which includes a GPS module and a Heat Sink for better
performance and thermal heat dissipation management, and a optional RAK2013
Cellular Pi HAT. And it’s housing is built with an aluminum casing.
For the build-in RAK2245 Pi HAT, it uses the SX1301 chip from Semtech which built-in
LoRa concentrator IP core is a powerful digital signal processing engine. It is able to
receive up to 8 LoRa packets simultaneously sent with different spreading factors on
different channels and available in multiple variants so it can be used for internartinal
standard bands. This unique capability allows to implement innovative network
architectures advantageous over other short range systems. For the build-in RAK2013
Cellular Pi HAT, it supports optional QUECTEL BG96 / EG91 / EG95 which can
supports NB-IOT / CAT-M / CAT1 LTE / CAT4 LTE. It follows Raspberry Pi
specifications and is easy to mount with Raspberry Pi and RAK2245 Pi HAT module.
Pilot Gateway Pro is ideal for prototyping, proof-of-concept demonstration or for the
evaluation. It includes a ready to use LoRaWan Gateway OS that can be connected to
a LoRaWan server. Also it is developer friendly and simple even for no-so-techy users
to set up LoRaWan system. It has to be the best value and function for connectivity to
address a variety of applications like Smart Grid, Intelligent Farm and other IoT
enterprise applications.
Note : All Quectel BG96,EG91,EG95 are option . Anyone or Even None.

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Figure 1 | Pilot Gateway Pro Overview
1.2 Main Features
Computing with Raspberry Pi 3B+(Linux).
SX1301 base band processor, emulates 49 x LoRa demodulators 10
programmable parallel demodulation paths, support 8 uplinks channel, 1 downlink
channel.
Support optional Cellular module(Quectel BG96 or EG91 or EG95) for NB-IOT /
CAT-M / CAT1 LTE / CAT4 LTE.
Built-in the Ublox MAX-7Q GPS Module.
Built-in Heat Sink for thermal heat dissipation management.
Supports 5V/2.5A power supply.
TX power up to 27dBm, RX sensitivity down to -139dBm@SF12, BW 125KHz.
LoRa frequency supports global license-free frequency band (EU433, CN470,
EU868, US915, AS923, AU915, KR920, IN865 and AS920).
Housing with top cover, body, bottom cover with riveted motherboard standoff.
Includes Pi ready 'ID EEPROM', GPIO setup and device tree can be automatically
configured from vendor information.
Supports fully open source code connected to a LoRaWAN server.
1.3 Package Contents
Figure 2 | Package Contents
Note: LTE Antenna only for BG96 / EG91 / EG95 version. BG96 version includes 1x LTE
Antenna, EG91 / EG95 version includes 2x LTE Antenna.
Pilot Gateway Pro
(1x)
LoRa Antenna
(1x)
LTE Antenna
(1x/2x)
Power Adapter
(1x)
GPS Antenna
(1x)

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2Pilot Gateway Pro RAK7243
2.1 Overview
The outer dimension of Pilot Gateway Pro is 92 x 68.3 x 53.5 mm as shown below.
Figure 3 | Outer Dimensions
2.2 Interfaces
Figure 4 | Interfaces
Note: LTE Antenna(DIV) is only using for the EG91 / EG95 Version and reserved for BG96
Version.

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2.3 System Structure
The following figure shows the basic concept for LoRaWAN system. RAK7243 Pilot
Gateway Pro is the central hardware solution for all LoRa based radio communication.
It receives and transmits radio messages. The processing of radio messages as well as
the protocol related tasks is done by embedded host system (Raspberry Pi). Received
and processed radio messages are being sent to a LoRaWAN server. The concrete
segmentation of the protocol related tasks is outside the scope of this document.
Figure 5 | Pilot Gateway Pro System Structure
2.4 LoRa Operating Frequencies
The Pilot Gateway Pro supports all LoRaWAN frequency channels as below. Which is
easy to configure while building the firmware from the source code.
Region
Frequency ( MHz )
Europe
EU433, EU868
China
CN470
North America
US915
Asia
AS923, AS920
Australia
AU915
Korea
KR920
Indian
IN865
Table 1 | LoRa Operating Frequencies

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2.5 Cellular Frequency Bands
The Pilot Gateway Pro supports different frequency bands according to the modular
mounted on the board.
2.5.1 BG96 Module
BG96 is a series of LTE Cat M1/Cat NB1/EGPRS module offering a maximum
data rate of 300Kbps downlink and 375Kbps uplink.
Frequency
BG96
LTE
FDD-LTE
B1 / B2 / B3 / B4 / B5 / B8 / B12 / B13 / B18 / B19 / B20 / B26 / B28
TDD-LTE
B39 (for CAT M1 only)
EGPRS
850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz
Table 2 | BG96 Frequency Bands
2.5.2 EG91 Module
Quectel EG91 is a series of LTE category 1 module optimized specially for
M2M and IoT applications. It delivers M2M-optimized speeds of 10Mbps
downlink and 5Mbps uplink. These make EG91 an ideal solution for numerous
IoT applications that are not reliant on high speed connectivity but still require
the longevity and reliability of LTE networks.
Frequency
EG91-E
EG91-NA
LTE FDD
B1 / B3 / B7 / B8 / B20 / B28A
B2 / B4 / B5 / B12 / B13
WCDMA
B1 / B8
B2 / B4 / B5
GSM / EDGE
900 / 1800 MHz
Region
Europe
North America
Table 3 | EG91 Frequency Bands
2.5.3 EG95 Module
Quectel EG95 is a series of LTE category 4 module optimized specially for
M2M and IoT applications. Adopting 3GPP Rel. 11 LTE technology, it delivers
150Mbps downlink and 50Mbps uplink data rates.
Frequency
EG95-E
EG95-NA
LTE FDD
B1 / B3 / B7 / B8 / B20 / B28A
B2 / B4 / B5 / B12 / B13
WCDMA
B1 / B8
B2 / B4 / B5
GSM / EDGE
900 / 1800 MHz
Region
Europe
North America
Table 4 | EG95 Frequency Bands

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2.6 Hardware Structure
2.6.1 LoRa Concentrator RAK2245 Pi HAT
RAK2245 Pi HAT(Model Name is: RAK2243) is a LoRa Concentrator board
which follows the Pi HAT standard, and can be mounted to Pi board with 40-pin
connector.
For detailed information about RAK2243, please refer to the datasheet as:
RAK2245_Pi_Hat_User_Manual_V1.0.pdf
Figure 6 | LoRa Hardware Structure
2.6.2 Cellular Board RAK2013 Pi HAT
RAK2013 is an add-on board following Raspberry Pi HAT standard. It can
transmit UART data from Raspberry Pi to Cellular network. It can support
several cellular protocol, such as NB-IOT, CAT-M, CAT1 or CAT 4, by
choosing different modular on the board.
The RAK2013 integrates audio codec and audio amplifier on it, with carrier
operator's network, it can support VoLTE function. For easy use, there are
earphone connector, MIC connector and speaker connector with audio
amplifier.
For detailed information about RAK2013, please refer to the datasheet of:
RAK2013_User_Manual_V1.0.pdf

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Figure 7 | Cellular Hardware Structure
2.7 Power Requirements
The Pilot Gateway Pro operates at 5V/2.5A. It can be powered by micro USB with 5V.
Table 5 | Power Requirements
2.8 Environmental Requirements
The table below lists the operation and storage temperature requirements:
Table 6 | Environment Requirements
Parameter
Min.
Typical
Max.
Current in CAT M mode
-
300mA
-
Current in GSM mode (peak）
-
-
3500mA
Cellular power off mode
-
10mA
-
Parameter
Min.
Typical
Max.
Operation Temperature Range
-35 ºC
+25 ºC
+70 ºC
Extended Temperature Range
-40 ˚C
+75 ˚C
Storage Temperature Range
-40 ˚C
+80 ˚C

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2.9 LoRa RF Characteristics
2.9.1 Transmitter RF Characteristics
The RAK2245 has an excellent transmitter performance. It is highly
recommended to use an optimized configuration for the power level
configuration, which is part of the HAL. This results in a mean RF output power
level and current consumption.
Table 7 | RF Output Power Level
T=25℃, VDD=5V(Typ.) if nothing else stated.
Table 8 | TX RF Characteristics
PA Control
DAC Control
MIX Control
DIG Gain
Nominal RF Power
Level
0
3
8
0
-6 dBm
0
3
10
0
-3 dBm
0
3
14
0
0
1
3
9
3
4 dBm
1
3
8
0
8 dBm
1
3
9
0
10 dBm
1
3
11
0
12 dBm
1
3
12
0
14 dBm
1
3
13
0
16 dBm
2
3
12
0
17 dBm
2
3
13
0
19 dBm
2
3
14
0
20 dBm
3
3
10
0
0
3
3
11
0
0
3
3
12
0
25 dBm
3
3
13
0
26 dBm
3
3
14
0
27 dBm
Parameter
Condition
Min
Typ.
Max
Frequency Range
863 MHz
870 MHz
Modulation Techniques
FSK/LoRaTM
TX Frequency Variation vs.
Temperature
Power Level
Setting : 20
-3 KHz
+3 KHz
TX Power Variation vs.
Temperature
-5 dBm
+5 dBm
TX Power Variation
-1.5 dBm
+1.5 dBm

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2.9.2 Receiver RF Characteristics
It is highly recommended, to use optimized RSSI calibration values, which is
part of the HAL v3.1. For both, Radio 1 and 2, the RSSI-Offset should be set -
169.0. The following table gives typically sensitivity level of the RAK2245.
Table 9 | RX RF Characteristics
Signal Bandwidth / [KHz]
Spreading Factor
Sensitivity / [dBm]
125
12
-139
125
7
-126
250
12
-136
250
7
-123
500
12
-134
500
7
-120

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3Antenna
3.1 LoRa Antenna
3.1.1 Overview
The LoRa Antenna with RP-SMA female connector shown as follow figures.
Figure 8 | LoRa Antenna Overview
3.1.2 Antenna Dimension
The antenna's mechanical dimension is shown below:
Figure 9 | LoRa Antenna Dimension
3.1.3 Antenna Parameter
Items
Specifications
Voltage Standard Wave Radio (VSWR)
1:1.5
Gain
2.0 dBi
Working Temperature & Humidity
T:-35 ºC ~ +80 ºC, H: 0% ~ 95%
Storage Temperature & Humidity
T:-40 ºC ~ +85 ºC, H: 0% ~ 95%
Table 10 | LoRa Antenna Parameter
3.2 LTE Antenna
For module built-in BG96, there is one LTE antenna and one GPS antenna. For module
built-in EG91/EG95, there is two LTE antennas, and no GPS antenna with the module.

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3.2.1 Overview
The LTE antenna for the Pilot Gateway Pro covers working frequency band
from 824MHz to 2690MHz. The antenna is shown as below.
Figure 10 | LTE Antenna
3.2.2 Antenna Dimension
Figure 11 | LTE Antenna Dimension
3.2.3 Antenna Parameter
Items
Specifications
Frequency(MHz)
700
800
880
960
1710
1880
2170
Voltage Standard
Wave Radio (VSWR)
9.3
4.6
3.6
4.9
9.3
4.4
15
Gain(dBi)
1.63
1.84
1.96
2.23
0.03
0.01
1.97
Working Temperature
& Humidity
T:-35 ºC ~ +80 ºC, H: 0% ~ 95%
Storage Temperature
& Humidity
T:-40 ºC ~ +85 ºC, H: 0% ~ 95%
Table 11 | LTE Antenna Parameter

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3.3 GPS Antenna
3.3.1 Overview
The GPS antenna for Pilot Gateway Pro is shown below.
Figure 12 | GPS Antenna
3.3.2 GPS Antenna Dimensions
Figure 13 | GPS Antenna Dimensions
3.3.3 GPS Environmental Requirements
The antenna environmental requirements are listed in the table below:
Conditions
Temperature
Humidity
Working
-35 ºC ~ +80 ºC
0% ~ 95%
Storage
-40 ºC ~ +85 ºC
0% ~ 95%
Table 12 | GPS Environmental Requirements
3.3.4 GPS Antenna Parameter
Antenna specifications are listed in the table below:
GPS Antenna Parameter

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Table 13 | GPS Antenna Parameter
Amplifier Specifications are listed in the table below:
Item
Specifications
Frequency Range
1575.42 MHz
Gain
27 dB
VSWR
≤ 2.0 V
Noise Coefficient
≤ 2.0 dBm
DC Voltage
3 ~ 5 V
DC Current
5 ± 2 mA
Table 14 | Amplifier Specifications
Environmental test performance specifications are listed below:
Item
Normal Temp.
High Temp.1
Low Temp.2
Amplifier Gain
27dB ± 2.0
27dB ± 2.0
27dB ± 2.0
VSWR
≤ 2.0
≤ 2.0
≤ 2.0
Noise Coefficient
≤ 2.0
≤ 2.0
≤ 2.0
1. High temperature test: soap in temperature (85º C) and humidity (95%) chamber for 24-hour and return to normal
temperature (at least for 1-hour) without visual shape change.
2. Low temperature test: soap in temperature (-40º C) chamber for 24-hour and return to normal temperature (at
least for 1-hour) without visual shape change.
Table 15 | Environmental Test Performance
Item
Specifications
PET
Range of Receiving Frequency
1575.42±1.1
±2.5
Center Frequency (MHz) w/ 30mm2 GND plane
1575.42
±3.0
Bandwidth (MHz) (Return Loss ≤ -10dB)
≥10
±0.5
VSWR (in Center Frequency)
≤2.0
±0.5
Gain (Zenith) (dBi Typ.) w/ 70mm2 GND Plane
4.5
±0.5
Axial Ratio (dB) w/ 70mm2 GND Plane
3.0
±0.2
Polarization
Right-Handed Circular
-
Impedance (Ω)
50
-
Frequency Temperature Coefficient (ppm/ºC)
0±10
-

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4Flash the Gateway Image
When you received your gateway, firstly you need flash the gateway image by yourself.
Please refer to the Image Start Quide for RAK7243, here is the link:
https://www.rakwireless.com/en/download/LoRa/Pilot-Gateway-Pro-RAK7243#Application-
Notes
5Contact Information
Shenzhen Business
[e-mail]
Room 506, Bldg B, New Compark, Pingshan First Road, Taoyuan Street, Nan
shan District, Shenzhen
Shenzhen Technical
[e-mail]
0755-86108311
Room 506, Bldg B, New Compark, Pingshan First Road, Taoyuan Street, Nan
Shan District, Shenzhen

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6Revision History
Revision
Description
Date
1.0
Initial version
2018-12-21
1.1
Update the description, some pictures and cellular
antenna parameter
2019-01-15
7Document Summary
Document Name: RAK7243 Pilot Gateway Pro User Manual
Product Name: Pilot Gateway Pro
Release Date: December 2018
Revision Number: V1.0
Prepared by
Checked by:
Approved by:
Terry & Penn
Terry
About RAKwireless:
RAKwireless is the pioneer in providing innovative and diverse cellular and LoRa
connectivity solutions for IoT edge devices. It's easy and modular design can be used in
different IoT applications and accelerate time-to-market.
For more information, please visit RAKwireless website at www.rakwireless.com.