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by simcop2387 2518 days ago
That's far enough to send email[1]. It's incredible the kind of distances that they've been able to demonstrate with LoRa, even with the low data rates it means that wireless sensors it monitoring can be done with small batteries and solar charging almost indefinitely. Weather stations and farms are perfect for this kind of thing.

[1] https://www.ibiblio.org/harris/500milemail.html

2 comments

We have a classic use case monitoring a network of predator traps (to catch e.g mustelids, rats). Our required data rate is literally 1 bit per hour.
As far as I can tell the only reason such an insane result was possible is because the transmission was in clear air. Using LoRa in a city you'd be happy to get 10 km.
Yes, transmissions that have line of sight can go extremely far, mostly limited by the curvature of the Earth, which is why these records are typically broken using helium balloons. There have also been several interesting ground-to-ground records [1] [2]

The distances are of course much lower if there are obstacles (like concrete buildings) between the transmitter and receiver.

[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adhWIo-7gr4 [2]: https://www.thethingsnetwork.org/article/atmospheric-duct