RedwoodComm RWC5020B
State of the art debugging and verification tests for LoRaWAN® technology gateways and devices
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The RWC5020B offers comprehensive test and diagnostic capabilities for LoRaWAN® gateways and devices. As a standalone device, it can be used in engineering to test all aspects of the LoRaWAN protocol implementation in a device or gateway, as well as testing RF performance, and it can run full device pre-certification tests for a variety of regions. Integrated with a control PC, it can drive automatic regression testing for CI testing and hardware design verification.
How it works
The RWC5020B has a sophisticated programmable RF front end, that can operate over a wide range of frequencies, from 400 MHz to 510 MHz, and 862 MHz to 928 MHz. It can operate in a several modes.
- It can simulate a gateway and the required portions of the LoRaWAN network. This means that devices under test can join the RWC5020B’s built-in network as if they were joining the real network; and the RWC5020B can simulate networks that are not otherwise available in your engineering lab.
- It can simulate a device in order to exercise a gateway.
- It can operate at the physical layer (“non-signaling” mode) to generate tests patterns and measure RF performance of the equipment under test. This is useful for both engineering and mass production testing.
- It can run test procedures that closely track the LoRa Alliance test procedures used by test labs for certification.
While performing testing, the RWC5020B can vary the RF parameters, to ensure that the target equipment is tested in a variety of situations.
Supported Device Classes and LoRaWAN releases
The RWC5020B supports testing LoRaWAN Class A, Class B, and Class C operation, and supports LoRaWAN 1.0.2, 1.0.3, 1.0.4, and 1.1 protocols.
Pre-Certification Testing
A very important use case of the RWC5020B is preparing for LoRaWAN certification at a test lab. The RWC5020B has comprehensive pre-compliance test procedures for LoRaWAN spec version 1.0.3 and 1.0.4.
Pre 1.0.4 region-specific procedures are available for the following regions.
- EU 863-870 MHz (requirement spec V1.6)
- US 902-928 MHz (requirement spec V1.5.1)
- Asia AS 923 MHz (requirement spec V1.1.1)
- South Korea 920-923 MHz (requirement spec V1.2.1)
- India 865 MHz (requirement spec V1.1.1)
With version 1.0.4 of the LoRaWAN spec, certification tests are no longer region-specific. The RWC5020B includes support for V1.0.4 requirement specification V1.1.
Automated Testing
All operation of the RWC5020B can be controlled by a remote PC, using either Ethernet or RS232 control. An open-source Python test library is available from MCCI to simplify test development. The library has been tested on Raspberry Pi 2 Linux systems, allowing for cost-effective deployment.
Related Products
The RWC502x family has three members, the RWC5021P, the RWC5020M, and the RWC5020B.
The RWC5020M is the computer-controlled version of the RWC5020B stand-alone tester. It has the same RF and test capabilities as the RWC5020B, but lacks the front panel control, and requires that you connect it to a separate test computer (not included).
The RWC5021P personal device tester focuses on cost-effective device testing under computer control.
RedwoodComm also offers a cost-effective, high-performance RF shielding enclosure, the RWC7001A.
More Information
Lots more information is available from RedwoodComm’s site: check the RWC5020B home page.
Why buy from MCCI?
For over 25 years, MCCI has been offering tools and software to engineers around the world. We’ve been doing LoRaWAN since 2016, and we are very actively involved in LoRaWAN deployments in New York City, Ithaca, NY, and in India. Our engineers have a deep practical understanding of LoRaWAN and the importance of good test equipment when solving real-world problems. We can arrange a demo via the web, or hands-on in person.