LoRa
Type: Radio Technology Role in Styrene: Long-range, low-power physical transport for Reticulum
LoRa (Long Range) is a spread-spectrum radio modulation technique providing long-distance communication at low power and low bandwidth.
Why Styrene Supports LoRa
| Scenario | LoRa Advantage |
|---|---|
| Rural deployment | 1-15 km range with clear line of sight |
| Power-constrained | Milliwatts of power, solar viable |
| No infrastructure | No WiFi, no cellular, no internet needed |
| Mesh backup | Secondary path when WiFi fails |
LoRa vs LoRaWAN
| LoRa | LoRaWAN | |
|---|---|---|
| Layer | Physical (modulation) | Network (protocol) |
| Topology | Any (P2P, mesh, star) | Star (gateways to cloud) |
| Control | Full | Vendor-managed |
| Styrene uses | ✓ Raw LoRa | ✗ |
Styrene uses raw LoRa as a Reticulum transport, not the LoRaWAN protocol stack.
Reticulum over LoRa
RNode firmware turns LoRa hardware into a Reticulum transport:
┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Reticulum (identity + encryption) │
├─────────────────────────────────────┤
│ RNode Interface (serial/USB) │
├─────────────────────────────────────┤
│ RNode Firmware │
├─────────────────────────────────────┤
│ LoRa Radio (SX1262/SX1276) │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘Bandwidth Reality
LoRa is slow. Typical configurations:
| Spreading Factor | Bitrate | Range |
|---|---|---|
| SF7 | ~5.5 kbps | Shorter |
| SF10 | ~0.9 kbps | Longer |
| SF12 | ~0.25 kbps | Maximum |
This is adequate for:
- Styrene RPC messages (~100-500 bytes)
- Status heartbeats
- Configuration updates
Not adequate for:
- NixOS image transfers
- Large file sync
- Interactive shells (see rns-terminal-integration)
Hardware Options
Dedicated RNodes
| Device | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| LilyGO T-Beam | ~$35 | ESP32 + GPS + LoRa |
| Heltec LoRa32 | ~$20 | ESP32 + OLED + LoRa |
| RAK4631 | ~$20 | nRF52840 + LoRa module |
USB Modules
| Device | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| RNode USB | ~$99 | Official, flashed firmware |
| DIY RNode | ~$30 | Flash RNode firmware to compatible hardware |
Styrene Integration
LoRa is a supplementary transport in Styrene:
WiFi (primary, fast)
/
Fleet Device ──────┤
\
LoRa (backup, reliable)Reticulum automatically uses available transports. If WiFi fails, traffic routes over LoRa.
Frequency Considerations
| Region | Band | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| US | 915 MHz (ISM) | 1W max |
| EU | 868 MHz | Duty cycle limits |
| AU | 915 MHz | Similar to US |
Styrene doesn’t dictate frequency — configure RNode for your region.
Resources
- RNode Firmware
- Reticulum Hardware
- LoRa Alliance (for LoRaWAN specs, not used by Styrene)
Related
- Reticulum — Transport layer using LoRa
- BATMAN-adv — Alternative mesh for WiFi
- rns-terminal-integration — Terminal considerations over slow links