Installation of a LoRaWAN gateway shall be carefully prepared in advance to anticipate the future coverage area, QoS and make sure that all needed equipment’s are listed and are available the D-day but also to be sure that the installation is conformed to the Kerlink recommendations : Gateways installation recommendations.
The detailed installation procedure is described in the AN-KLK03357 - LoRaWAN gateways installation recommendations - V1.3.pdf available from the Resources page. This procedure must be read, the integrity of the gateway, its warranty and its efficiency depend on it.
Here are the key factors of a good installation (it does not prevent you from reading the “installation and maintenance manual”), plus a few additional recommendations:
For antenna links (GNSS, LTE) and LoRa antenna links, RF coaxial surge protection are recommended.
Surge protection must be positioned as close as possible to the gateway.
A good earthing of the whole installation is required.
Used ground connection cables must be as short as possible (<30cm, 4sq.mm).
Using of a lightning rod on the top of the mast is strongly recommended.
It is recommended to regroup all ground connections toward the mast at one point (at least mounting bracket + surge protections). This point must be as close as possible to the product.
Recommended shielding Ethernet cable is category 6A, STP or SSTP.
Before any product installation, a full spectrum analysis should be done on the field with a spectrum analyser. A backup of each measurement is strongly recommended in case further analysis is required.
Photos of the full installation are also recommended to memorize antennas co-locations and check if the installation is properly done.