Getting Started
2015-2016 Microchip Technology Inc. DS40001808B-page 17
2.4 MOTE APPLICATION DESCRIPTION
This section describes the basic operation of the LoRa Mote application program.
The default LoRa Mote application comes with three methods of operation:
• USB CDC-Serial Communication
• Mobile Mote Sensor Emulation
• Application Update via Bootloader
2.4.1 USB CDC-Serial
When a USB Mini-B is connected to the LoRa Mote, it will power-on, regardless of the
power switch S3. If the LoRa Mote is already in operation, the USB connection will take
pre-emptive control and act only as a serial emulation device. After being connected to
a host PC, the LoRa Mote will enumerate. In this operation mode, the user can enter
the required LoRaWAN™ credentials for joining an existing LoRaWAN network.
There is a wide range of third-party serial communication programs which can be used
to communicate with the module populated on the LoRa Mote. Refer to the RN2483
LoRa
®
Technology Module Command Reference User’s Guide (DS40001784) for
additional information on parsing commands directly into the RN module for LoRa
communications.
2.4.2 Mobile Mote Sensor Emulation
When powered using (2) AAA batteries, the LoRa Mote will act in Mobile Mote mode.
This application is best used to demonstrate a real working Internet of Things (IoT)
sensor design.
After power-on, the LoRa Mote will attempt a LoRaWAN network first through either
Activation-By-Personalization (ABP) [S2], or Over-The-Air-Activation (OTAA) [S3];
depending upon the type requested. If the proper keys necessary to join the requested
process (ABP, OTAA), the LoRa Mote will display the message “Valid Keys Required”.
The user will then have to enter the required keys of the module through USB
CDC-Serial mode, and store them using the ‘mac save’ command. The minimal
required credentials for each join process are indicated below:
•OTAA
-DevEUI
-AppEUI
-AppKey
•ABP
- DevAddr
- NwkSKey
-AppSKey
If the proper credentials are entered, the LoRa Mote will automatically join the system.
After joining, the LoRa Mote will enter Running mode.
When running, the LoRa Mote acts as a demonstration device. It is capable of key
LoRa communication events, such as manual uplink packets, automatic periodic uplink
packets, and displaying last received downlink data.
Menu navigation is handled by using S2 for navigation and S3 for selection.
Note: MPCOMMS is required to be installed for USB enumeration. This is
installed automatically together with MPLAB
®
X.
