Pico Gateway (LAN,Cellular) installation

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Laura CARBO

Difficulty: novice

Content

Learning Objectives

After reading this article, you’ll be able to:

  • Configure Pico Next Indoor gateway
  • Install the Pico Next Indoor gateway

What is Pico Next Indoor Gateway ?

image-20220831-115453.png

Pico Next Indoor Gateway is a LoRa gateway.

‪You can connect the Pico Next Indoor Gateway to your network through ethernet, 4G or via LTE.

‪Pico Next Indoor Gateway are easy to configure, but only via the ethernet access point.

Unboxing - content

image-20220831-115631.png
  • Browan Pico Next Indoor Gateway
  • ‪LoRa-Antenna
  • ‪4G/LTE-Antenna
    • (sometimes an extra antenna is provided, this can be placed on the WiFi)
  • ‪DC-Adapter

Hardware & Network Requirements

Open ports 22, 123, 443, 1680 and 1700 in the firewall. These ports only need an outbound connection.

IP Addresses needed for Outgoing traffic

We sync all our hubs to the same open NTP (network time protocol) servers so we have consistent timings in our data warehouse.

 

How to use below table

  • as mentioned above, ideally just the ports mentioned should be opened (outbound)

Note

We recommend not to use specific IP addresses or DNS destinations in the firewall as they can and probably will change in the future!

  • protocol information and AL descriptions are extra

Depending on the environment main location, Spacewell Workplace tenants are created in an EU- or US-environment. Hence, for some ports to be opened, the destination address might be a different one:

  • eu: spacewell.eu1.cloud.thethings.industries
  • usa: spacewell.nam1.cloud.thethings.industries

 

Destination Port Protocol Direction AL description
HTTP/HTTPS, Webhook 80/443 TCP Outbound WEBGUI
22 TCP Inbound/Outbound SSH
NTP 123 TCP Outbound Time Synchronization
spacewell.eu1.cloud.thethings.industries 443 TCP Outbound TTI application
1700 UDP Outbound Uplink & Downlink Messages
1680 TCP Outbound Lora Packet Forwarder

Warning

The PICO provided by Spacewell does not support WiFi functionality.

Installation

Info

Make sure to install the gateway and confirm its connectivity before sensor activation.

  • Mount the supplied antennas for LoRa and 4G/ LTE connectivity
  • Power up the Gateway:
    • By using the DC-Adapter (ensure a power of 12V / 1,5 A)
    • By using the terminal block
  • If using the ethernet connection: plug in LAN cable

 

4 slots are foreseen where the device can be screwed into a wall or ceiling

image-20230622-154918.png

 

 

Configuration

Connect your computer via an ethernet cable (ensure a power of 12V / 1,5 A) to the same network as the gateway (best practice is to plug in a cable from the same splitter to your computer).

image-20220831-115830.png

  1. Download IP scanner (for example “Advanced IP Scanner”) to your computer
  2. Scan your environment to see which devices are in your vicinity
  3. Compare the MAC address from the physical device with the list
  4. Right click - copy paste IP into your browser (Chrome or Firefox)
  5. After the installation of the Gateway, it will automatically connect to an available Server
  6. With the assigned IP address (DHCP), the WebGUI can be accessed (Best to use Chrome or Firefox)
    1. The default username is “admin”
    2. The password is written on the back label of the device (GUI Password)
  7. You will be forwarded to the PICO Configuration Tool, where you can configure the device

PICO Configuration with IP Scanner.mp4

 

image-20230627-073824.png

 

image-20230303-092752.png

 

Pico Platform: System/Administration

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  • Reset the gateway remotely to its factory settings (only do this when instructed by Spacewell)
  • Upload possible firmware versions (only do this when instructed by Spacewell)

Note

We DO NOT recommend to enable “Auto Firmware Update”. DO NOT enable this feature.

  • Change the password: mandatory to change it and highly recommended to store the passwords in a secure vault such as https://keepersecurity.eu/  

 

Pico Platform: LoRa Settings

In “Mode Selection”, choose Packet Forwarder mode.

image-20220831-121256.png

Depending on the Firmware version, “Mode Selection” might include a drop-down about Region plan settings.

For EU devices, choose the applicable plan: EU868

image-20231208-135401.png

For US/AU devices, choose the applicable plan:

  • US915_0
  • AU915_0

 

image-20231208-135428.png

Info

Remember to only upgrade your firmware version when instructed by Spacewell Hardware.

 

In “Packet Forwarder”, fill the Gateway-Info as in the following picture:

  • Server address EU: spacewell.eu1.cloud.thethings.industries
  • Server address Americas: spacewell.nam1.cloud.thethings.industries
  • Server address Pacific: spacewell.au1.cloud.thethings.industries

Also change the Server Uplink/Downlink ports and Intervals as in below picture:

image-20220831-121315.png

“Apply” to save settings

In LoRa Settings > Logs, you can see the device sending data (data reception can be confirmed by the Spacewell Consultant when connecting to The Things Network (LoRa platform) (SW internal))

PICO LoRa Settings.mp4

Pico Platform: Network/WAN

Note

To activate the mobile connection, select WAN Type “Dual WAN (Ethernet + 3G/4G)”

Do NOT select (only) “3G/4G LTE”

‪Gives an overview of the connection via both Ethernet and 3G/4G LTE

image-20220831-121453.png

1. Define to use a connection via Ethernet, 3G/4G LTE or a dual WAN (Ethernet + 3G/4G)

  • To activate the ethernet connection, specify “Ethernet WAN” : select WAN Type “DHCP Client”
  • To activate the mobile connection: specify “3G/4G LTE” :
    • select WAN Type “dual WAN (Ethernet + 3G/4G)”
    • fill the 3G/4G LTE specifications: the needed information is the APN (access point name) provided by the Sim-Vendor

Note

To activate the mobile connection, select WAN Type “Dual WAN (Ethernet + 3G/4G)”

Do NOT select (only) “3G/4G LTE”

image-20220831-121537.png

2. To activate the mobile connection you need to fill the 3G/4G LTE specifications. Check required APN (access point name) in 4G SIM Cards

Functional device

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After configuration of a PICO indoor, all 4 LED indicators should be solid green:

  • Power
  • Network
  • LoRa
  • Services

 

Troubleshooting

LED

LED functions

LED

Constant

LED

Flashing

LED

Off

 Troubleshooting steps
Power Power On Booting / OTA Off Make sure the power plug is plugged in correctly
Internet Internet available Checking internet connection RFU

Depending on the connection mode:

  1. check if the ethernet cable is plugged in correctly,
  2. check if the sim card is placed correctly + configured correctly
Service LNS connected RFU LNS not connected The gateway is not sending data to the Spacewell cloud. Check configuration
LoRa LoRa working Intitializing LoRa not working If the LoRa LED is not turned on (but the network LED is on): verify configuration, or LoRa services might not be available in that region (ref. configured frequencies)

Fetch PICO Log Files

Fetch PICO Log Files

Follow the log-in steps described in the Pico Gateway (LAN,Cellular) installation chapter to log in to the PICO gateway.

Under “System”, select “Support” and export the log file.

image-20250521-105115.png

 

Gateway ID not listed on platform

Gateway ID not listed on platform

If gateway ID is empty on the platform (see example below), there might have been a LoRa synchronization issue.

image-20230110-140157.png

Starting Firmware version v1.1.61, you will find "LoRa Config Restore" added to the menu, which allows to restore the LoRa Packet Forwarder settings to the default values.

image-20230110-140328.png

Gateway connection not possible through IP address

Gateway connection not possible through IP address

If you’re not able to connect to the gateway by using the IP address (even if you can find the device through IP scanner), you can reset the device by the external button on the front (antennae side)

  • If you’re using a metal pin/paperclip, be very careful as to not press too hard or deep, since you can damage the inside of the device
  • While applying pressure to the reset-button with a small pin: verify the LEDs at the back of the device. They should all turn off at one point. If they don’t all turn off/ keep blinking, even after 15-30seconds of applying pressure to the reset button: try again. It might take 2-3 attempts to get the LEDs to turn off.
  • After LEDs turn off/stop applying pressure to the reset button, wait for 5-10 minutes before trying the IP address connection again.

Note

Since you’ve now reset the device: any configuration done prior to this will be gone. Make sure to follow all the above configuration steps again.

Gateway configuration was set to (only) “3G/4G LTE”

Gateway configuration was set to (only) “3G/4G LTE”

When the Pico gateway is connected via Ethernet, accessing it is straightforward by using the known IP address. However, if the gateway is connected through a SIM card (and the ethernet option is turned off), additional steps are required to access it.

If in such cases, your laptop lacks the permission to assign an IP address, you may require assistance from an IT professional.

To connect the PICO gateway to your laptop, follow these steps:

  1. Connect an Ethernet cable directly between the Laptop (Windows only) and Gateway.

  2. To establish a connection, assign an IP address to the laptop within the same network as the gateway:

    1. Open the 'Run' dialog or press Windows + R.
    2. Enter 'ncpa.cpl' and click on OK, to open the Network Connections window

    image-20231207-142951.png

    3. Identify the newly connected LAN between the gateway and laptop. If unsure, disconnect and reconnect the ethernet cable to reveal the newly connected LAN

    4. Right-click on the LAN, click on Properties

    image-20231207-143014.png

    5. Select Internet Protocol Version 4(TCP/IPv4) and click on Properties

image-20231207-155447.png

  1. select Use the following IP address and provide the IP address as specified below

IP address: 168.168.168.22
Subnet mask:255.255.255.0

image-20231207-155527.png

  1. Click on OK and OK.
  2. Open the command prompt to check the Gateway connection
  3. Ping the IP address using the below command

Command: ping 168.168.168.253, if you receive the same response as below screenshot, your gateway has been successfully connected to your laptop.

image-20231207-155608.png

10. You can now access the gateway through your browser by opening it and entering the IP address as 168.168.168.253, the login page will open automatically.

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11. Provide the login credentials as described in Pico Gateway (LAN,Cellular) installation

 

Troubleshooting SIM cards: 4G SIM Cards

 

 

 

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