# Single Channel LoRaWAN Gateway for Raspberry Pi ## Overview Warning: ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/069/555/medium800thumb/raspberry_pi_5_no_pkt_rx_yet.jpg?1547751891) LoRaWAN is similar to a cellular network, our suggested provider is [The Things Network](https://www.thethingsnetwork.org/), a community-driven initiative with a large amount of public gateways to connect to ([check out the map of publicly listed gateways here](https://www.thethingsnetwork.org/map)).  We're going to build a gateway (highlighted in **red** in the diagram below) to pass data from your LoRaWAN device to the internet.  ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/068/672/medium800/raspberry_pi_what-is-lorawan_edited.png?1546626462 LoRaWAN Network Topology (via https://lora-alliance.org/sites/default/files/2018-04/what-is-lorawan.pdf)) ## What is a LoRaWAN Gateway? If have a Pi (or Feather)  LoRaWAN device set up, you'll likely want to immediately start working with LoRaWAN. Our suggested network is [The Things Network](https://www.thethingsnetwork.org/), a community-driven initiative with a large amount of public gateways to connect to ([check out the map of publicly listed gateways here](https://www.thethingsnetwork.org/map)).  **Gateways form a bridge a LoRaWAN device and the Network, receiving the device's data and forwarding them an application.** If you don't have a gateway near you, it's possible you could face a dead-end. While multi-channel gateways exist (we stock the [official The Things Gateway](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3943)), they're often expensive - placing a cost barrier on entering the network (as a hobbyist/hacker/experimenter).  ## About Single Channel Gateways Warning: Single channel gateways (like the one we'll be building) are a LoRa device which forwards data to a network. They're great for getting into LoRaWAN without purchasing a more expensive "full gateway" (like [The Things Network Gateway](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3943) we stock). _ **However...** _ Single-channel gateways are  **not ** LoRaWAN compliant and are not currently supported by The Things Network (due to poor coverage, among other reasons). For more information about the debate about single channel gateways, [check out The Things Network forum](https://www.thethingsnetwork.org/forum/t/the-future-of-single-channel-gateways/6590). ## Parts The LoRa Radio Bonnet is recommended for this guide - you not only get a radio module, but also a 128x32 OLED display for status messages and three buttons you can use for creating a custom user interface or sending test messages.  ### Adafruit LoRa Radio Bonnet with OLED - RFM95W @ 915MHz [Adafruit LoRa Radio Bonnet with OLED - RFM95W @ 915MHz](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4074) The latest Raspberry Pi computers come with WiFi and Bluetooth®, and now you can add even more radio options with the Adafruit Radio Bonnets! Upgrade your Raspberry Pi with a LoRa/LoRaWAN radio so it can communicate over very long distances. These bonnets plug right into your Pi and give... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4074) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/4074/guides) ![A rectangular microcontroller with OLED screen. A blue-manicured index finger presses buttons below the OLED screen, triggering different texts.](https://cdn-shop.adafruit.com/product-videos/640x480/4074-03.jpg) There's also a 433MHz version which uses the amateur or license-free ISM band (ITU "Europe" license-free ISM or ITU "American" amateur with limitations). For a less-permanent gateway build, you can build a gateway using a RFM95W LoRa radio breakout and an OLED display, along with a few buttons. ### Adafruit RFM95W LoRa Radio Transceiver Breakout - 868 or 915 MHz [Adafruit RFM95W LoRa Radio Transceiver Breakout - 868 or 915 MHz](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3072) _"You see, wire telegraph is a kind of a very, very long cat.  You pull his tail in New York and his head is meowing in Los Angeles.  Do you understand this? And radio operates exactly the same way: you send signals here, they receive them there.  The only difference is..._ In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3072) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/3072/guides) ![Angled shot of a Adafruit RFM95W LoRa Radio Transceiver Breakout.](https://cdn-shop.adafruit.com/640x480/3072-07.jpg) There's also a 433MHz version which uses the amateur or license-free ISM band (ITU "Europe" license-free ISM or ITU "American" amateur with limitations). ### Part: Adafruit RFM96W 433MHz quantity: 1 RFM96W LoRa Radio Transceiver Breakout - 433 MHz [Adafruit RFM96W 433MHz](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3073) ### Raspberry Pi Zero W [Raspberry Pi Zero W](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3400) If you didn't think that the Raspberry Pi Zero could possibly get any better, then boy do we have a pleasant surprise for you! The new **Raspberry Pi Zero W** offers all the benefits of the Pi Zero v1.3, but with one big difference – **built-in...** In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3400) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/3400/guides) ![Angled shot of Raspberry Pi Zero W computer.](https://cdn-shop.adafruit.com/640x480/3400-06.jpg) ### Raspberry Pi 3 - Model B+ - 1.4GHz Cortex-A53 with 1GB RAM [Raspberry Pi 3 - Model B+ - 1.4GHz Cortex-A53 with 1GB RAM](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3775) The Raspberry Pi 3 Model B is the most popular Raspberry Pi computer made, and the Pi Foundation knows you can always make a good thing _better_! And what could make the Pi 3 better? How about a _faster_ processor, 5 GHz WiFi, and updated Ethernet chip with PoE capability?... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3775) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/3775/guides) ![Angled shot of Raspberry Pi 3 - Model B+](https://cdn-shop.adafruit.com/640x480/3775-11.jpg) You'll also want to pick up the following parts from the Adafruit Shop if you do not have them already: ### Part: Pi T-Cobbler Plus quantity: 1 GPIO Breakout - Pi A+, B+, Pi 2, Pi 3, Zero [Pi T-Cobbler Plus](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2028) ### Part: I2C OLED Display quantity: 1 Monochrome 128x32 I2C OLED graphic display [I2C OLED Display](https://www.adafruit.com/product/931) ### Part: Breadboarding Wire Bundle quantity: 1 75 flexible stranded core wires with stiff ends. [Breadboarding Wire Bundle](https://www.adafruit.com/product/153) ### Part: Tactile Buttons quantity: 1 Tactile Switch Buttons (12mm square, 6mm tall) x 10 pack [Tactile Buttons](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1119) ### Part: Breadboard quantity: 1 Full Sized Breadboard [Breadboard](https://www.adafruit.com/product/239) ### Part: uFL Antenna quantity: 1 uFL SMT Antenna Connector [uFL Antenna](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1661) ### Part: Raspberry Pi Power Supply quantity: 1 5V 2.5A Switching Power Supply with 20AWG MicroUSB Cable [Raspberry Pi Power Supply](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1995) ### Part: 8GB SD Card with OS quantity: 1 8GB SD Card w/ Raspbian Stretch Lite [8GB SD Card with OS](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2820) - [Next Page](https://learn.adafruit.com/raspberry-pi-single-channel-lorawan-gateway/pi-wiring-2.md) ## Featured Products ### Adafruit LoRa Radio Bonnet with OLED - RFM95W @ 915MHz [Adafruit LoRa Radio Bonnet with OLED - RFM95W @ 915MHz](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4074) The latest Raspberry Pi computers come with WiFi and Bluetooth®, and now you can add even more radio options with the Adafruit Radio Bonnets! Upgrade your Raspberry Pi with a LoRa/LoRaWAN radio so it can communicate over very long distances. These bonnets plug right into your Pi and give... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4074) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/4074/guides) ### Adafruit LoRa Radio Bonnet RFM96W @ 433MHz [Adafruit LoRa Radio Bonnet RFM96W @ 433MHz](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4075) The latest Raspberry Pi computers come with WiFi and Bluetooth, and now you can add even more radio options with the Adafruit Radio Bonnets! Upgrade your Raspberry Pi with a LoRa / LoRaWAN radio, so it can communicate over very long distances. These bonnets plug right into your Pi and give you... No Longer Stocked [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4075) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/4075/guides) ### Adafruit RFM95W LoRa Radio Transceiver Breakout - 868 or 915 MHz [Adafruit RFM95W LoRa Radio Transceiver Breakout - 868 or 915 MHz](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3072) _"You see, wire telegraph is a kind of a very, very long cat.  You pull his tail in New York and his head is meowing in Los Angeles.  Do you understand this? And radio operates exactly the same way: you send signals here, they receive them there.  The only difference is..._ In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3072) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/3072/guides) ### Raspberry Pi Zero W [Raspberry Pi Zero W](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3400) If you didn't think that the Raspberry Pi Zero could possibly get any better, then boy do we have a pleasant surprise for you! The new **Raspberry Pi Zero W** offers all the benefits of the Pi Zero v1.3, but with one big difference – **built-in...** In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3400) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/3400/guides) ### Raspberry Pi 3 - Model B+ - 1.4GHz Cortex-A53 with 1GB RAM [Raspberry Pi 3 - Model B+ - 1.4GHz Cortex-A53 with 1GB RAM](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3775) The Raspberry Pi 3 Model B is the most popular Raspberry Pi computer made, and the Pi Foundation knows you can always make a good thing _better_! And what could make the Pi 3 better? How about a _faster_ processor, 5 GHz WiFi, and updated Ethernet chip with PoE capability?... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3775) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/3775/guides) ### 900Mhz Antenna Kit - For LoPy, LoRa, etc [900Mhz Antenna Kit - For LoPy, LoRa, etc](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3340) This **LoRa Antenna Kit**  is meant for use with the [LoPy](https://www.adafruit.com/products/3339) LoRa, WiFi and BLE board or the SiPy Sigfox, WiFi and BLE board. But it's good for any 900MHz radio, including our No Longer Stocked [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3340) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/3340/guides) ### Assembled Pi T-Cobbler Plus - GPIO Breakout [Assembled Pi T-Cobbler Plus - GPIO Breakout](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2028) **This is the assembled version of the Pi T-Cobbler Plus.  It only works with the Raspberry Pi Model Zero, A+, B+, Pi 2, Pi 3 & Pi 4!** (Any Pi with 2x20 connector) The Raspberry Pi has landed on the Maker World like a 40-GPIO pinned, quad-USB ported, credit... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2028) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/2028/guides) ### Monochrome 128x32 I2C OLED graphic display [Monochrome 128x32 I2C OLED graphic display](https://www.adafruit.com/product/931) These displays are small, only about 1" diagonal, but very readable due to the high contrast of an OLED display. This display is made of 128x32 individual white OLED pixels, each one is turned on or off by the controller chip. Because the display makes its own light, no backlight is... No Longer Stocked [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/931) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/931/guides) ## Related Guides - [Adafruit Radio Bonnets with OLED Display - RFM69 or RFM9X](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-radio-bonnets.md) - [Windows IoT Core Application Development: Headless Blinky](https://learn.adafruit.com/windows-iot-application-development-headless-application.md) - [Basic Resistor Sensor Reading on Raspberry Pi](https://learn.adafruit.com/basic-resistor-sensor-reading-on-raspberry-pi.md) - [Adafruit's Raspberry Pi Lesson 11. DS18B20 Temperature Sensing](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruits-raspberry-pi-lesson-11-ds18b20-temperature-sensing.md) - [Raspberry Pi E-mail Notifier Using LEDs](https://learn.adafruit.com/raspberry-pi-e-mail-notifier-using-leds.md) - [IoT Temperature Logger with Analog Devices ADT7410, Raspberry Pi, and Adafruit IO](https://learn.adafruit.com/iot-temperature-logger-with-python-and-adafruit-io.md) - [Feather + Raspberry Pi Weather Monitoring Network with LoRa or LoRaWAN](https://learn.adafruit.com/multi-device-lora-temperature-network.md) - [Adafruit's Raspberry Pi Lesson 10. Stepper Motors](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruits-raspberry-pi-lesson-10-stepper-motors.md) - [Playing sounds and using buttons with Raspberry Pi](https://learn.adafruit.com/playing-sounds-and-using-buttons-with-raspberry-pi.md) - [LoRa and LoRaWAN Radio for Raspberry Pi](https://learn.adafruit.com/lora-and-lorawan-radio-for-raspberry-pi.md) - [CircuitPython Libraries on Linux and ODROID C2](https://learn.adafruit.com/circuitpython-libaries-linux-odroid-c2.md) - [Adafruit RFM69HCW and RFM9X LoRa Packet Radio Breakouts](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-rfm69hcw-and-rfm96-rfm95-rfm98-lora-packet-padio-breakouts.md) - [Windows IoT Core Application Development: Headed Blinky](https://learn.adafruit.com/windows-iot-application-development-headed-blinky.md) - [Using LoraWAN and The Things Network with CircuitPython](https://learn.adafruit.com/using-lorawan-and-the-things-network-with-circuitpython.md) - [CircuitPython Libraries on Linux and the NVIDIA Jetson Nano](https://learn.adafruit.com/circuitpython-libraries-on-linux-and-the-nvidia-jetson-nano.md)