Keep in mind that the Mobile Indoor Gateway and the sensors are engineered for certain readout intervals. If you do not know how often you have to initiate readouts, please go to Contact & Help and contact our support, the regular interval is 3 months. Also, this device dies only work when mobile network coverage is given, so please make sure this is the case.

General Information & Usage

This is a product developed by Swiss engineering company Valenco under their IoT brand Cital. Our sensors are usually sending data wirelessly via LoRaWAN or other data transmitting protocols.

If you are currently in possession of a Mobile Indoor Gateway V2, this is because there is no wireless transmission available at your sensor location, since the area has no LoRaWAN coverage. In this case, a Mobile Indoor Gateway V2 helps to create a local network to collect the data via LoRaWAN, and then forward it via cellular network.

Please make sure to initiate field readouts as explained herein at least every three months. Otherwise, a loss of your data is possible.

Device

The Mobile Indoor Gateway V2 contains several components that enable you to generate a local LoRaWAN network with limited range. As soon as our sensors connect to it, they will start dumping their data since the last readout. As the name might indicate, the gateway isn’t built for constant outdoor usage, so it should always be disassembled and put back inside after a readout session. 

The device consists of the following components, make sure you have all of them with you and fully charged before travelling to your readout destination: 

1x Power Supply Unit (PSU)

1x USB Type-A to USB Type-C Cable

1x LoRaWAN-Gateway

1x mobile communications antenna

1x LoRaWAN antenna

1x Powerbank

Step 1 – Preparations

• Charge the Powerbank: make sure to fully charge the powerbank that comes with the product. It is best to fully charge it during the previous night, since the charging speed depends on your local PSU and power network. Make sure to put the USB Type-C end into the USB Type-C slot labeled “Input 2” and the USB Type-A end into the PSU.

• Plan your trip: plan to have the Mobile Indoor Gateway V2 active for a minimum of 6 hours in the readout location. Depending on the readout frequency and captured data points, shorter readout cycles could be possible. 
• Positioning: Keep in mind that the devices have to preferably be close (up to 50 meters) to the sensors that should be read out. More than 50 meters are possible under good conditions, but always try to place it as close as possible in the middle between all the sensors you want to read out. If distances are too big, you might have to make several readout sessions. See picture below.

Step 2 – Get Started

When you are at the readout destination, proceed as described in the following:

• Make sure you take all the parts with you near the sensors you want to read out. If you carry the parts in a box or similar, make sure the material is not blocking the radiation (e.g. no metal box).
• Make sure you do have cellphone coverage at the chosen spot.
• Screw on both antennas. The LoRaWAN antenna on the left side and the mobile communications antenna on the right side, and adjust them in an upwards angle of about 90 degrees as seen in the picture below.
• Connect the Gateway to the powerbank with the provided cable. Plug the USB Type-A end into the powerbank output labeled “Output 1”. Plug the USB Type-C end into the appropriate slot of the LoRaWAN-Gateway.
• Then press the small button on the side of the powerbank to power on the device.

• Now wait until the LED of the white LoRaWAN-Gateway stops blinking blue. If the blue LED is illuminating steadily, the LoRaWAN-Gateway is connected to the internet and starts transmitting data from your sensors. It can take up to five minutes for the LED to stop blinking, so give it that much time before intervening or looking for errors. If everything worked as expected, it should look like in the picture below. 
• If the LED is not illuminating steadily in blue after 5 minutes, see the bottom picture “LED states” for possible errors. This is very helpful, if you have to contact our support for troubleshooting.

Step 3 – Readout

• There is not much you have to do during the readout, consider the following points:
• Keep the setup near the sensors, as explained. A maximum of 50 meters should be respected.
• Be aware, that the setup is not able to withstand weather conditions. Do not expose the Gateway to rain, or snow, and if possible avoid strong sunlight. 
• Make sure, after activation, that the setup can stay at your chosen spot to make the readout for at least 6 hours. The battery won’t hold longer than 24h.

Step 4 – Disassembly

After the readout period, just disassemble all the parts of the Mobile Indoor Gateway V2 and collect them together. If you are using one of our software solutions, login to your dashboard and check if there has been any new data published to the system. It may take a couple of minutes for the data to show up, or maybe try to refresh your browser window.

It is important to make sure the data is available and has been downloaded correctly. If you do not check the data points, data might get lost or overwritten. 

Contact & Help

For help with the setup, or other technical issues, please refer to our FAQ page where you will find all articles surrounding the use of the gateways and sensors. Of course you can always reach out to our team via support@valenco.ch.