What’s in the Box?…and when do I get the box?
This week we’ve got some awesome updates for you on free antenna upgrades for everyone, data sheet details, manufacturing updates and more.
Antennas — Bigger and Better Than Ever
BETTER: Our antennas were previously 2.3 dBi for Europe, and 1.2 dBi for North America. But you deserve better… so you’re getting it — every order will now ship with a 3dBi ≤ 1.5 VSWR Lora Antenna for every unit.
BIGGER: We know delays are frustrating (read about them here), and the team is doing their best to get your SyncroB.it gateways to you as soon as possible. In the mean time, we’ve been working on a gift for you! Every order placed prior to March 26th, 2021 will receive a free, 6dBi SyncroB.it antenna (one per order… we’re not giving away the whole farm). And these babies are SWEET— they’re rated at sub 1.5 VSWR, with most common competitor antennas rated at 2 VSWR.
No idea what VSWR is? No worries, I’ve got you (after doing some very intensive google searches… I am just the PR guy after all). VSWR stands for Voltage Standing Wave Ratio, and is a measure of the return loss of an antenna, meaning how much power runs through the cable, hits the Antenna, and just bounces right back without contributing to actual output power. With a VSWR of 2, only 90% of the power sent to the antenna makes it in, with 10% lost. Compare that to a VSWR of under 1.5, and more than 97% of power makes it into the antenna, with less than 3% lost. That might not sound like a lot, but we know that with every gateway, you’re looking for the best performance you can get.
IN THE BOX
As you get closer to having your own SyncroB.it gateway in your hands and ready to deploy, we know you need all the information you can get to plan your setup, so here’s what’s included in the box (pictured left to right, top to bottom below).
- SyncroB.it Lora Gateway
- Outdoor Enclosure — IP65 rated
- 3 dBi Lora Antenna — ≤ 1.5 VSWR
- Power Adapter — specific to your region
- 3ft White Ethernet Cable — Cat5e (This is a new, FREE addition)
- 4x Metal Zip Ties — for mounting the outdoor enclosure
Outdoor Enclosures
George, SyncroB.it’s head engineer, affectionately named our outdoor enclosures “the Chameleon” because it can go just about anywhere. He wanted every SyncroB.it owner to have everything they needed to deploy their gateway wherever The Internet of Things needed it most. This philosophy is what motivated us to be the only gateway supplier to provide everything needed to setup your gateway inside or outside, with no extra cost or work.
Switching your Gateway from the indoor to outdoor enclosure is as simple as unscrewing it, plopping the snap-fit board into the outdoor enclosure, and closing it up. The outdoor enclosure is sealed around the entire perimeter with a rubber gasket, and features a rubber barrier behind all cable ports that you simply puncture a hole in, in the exact size needed for your cable (stayed tuned for detailed photos and videos in the coming weeks).
One note to be aware of, is that you will need an additional N type to SMA Male cable in order to plug an antenna into the outdoor enclosure. You will not be able to use it without one, however these are thankfully easy to source, even from Amazon.
Data Sheet
In an effort not to put you to sleep, we’ll leave the majority of the data sheet to you to read in your own time, but there are a few notes worth highlighting.
- Micro-USB Port — The micro-usb port allows 3/4g dongles to connect to the Gateway
- Antenna Port — The antenna port is SMA Female, and allows for the swapping in of whatever antenna you choose (although we think the stock antenna in pretty great as is)
- Internet — The gateway can connect to the internet via wifi, ethernet, or 4g via a 4g dongle (ethernet is generally recommend for increased stability)
- Power — The gateway can be powered through either the included power adapter, or through passive or active POE (power of ethernet)
Manufacturing Updates
At the end of the day, we know the number 1 thing you want as a SyncroB.it customer is these gateways in your hands, ready to deploy. The Manufacturing team is working hard to make that happen, and here are some photos of the behind-the-scenes process.
Design Updates
As discussed in last week’s blog post, our head engineer is in the midst of designing an RK3288 based Gateway, so that we can ensure we can always fulfill our shipping projections, and supply as much as the community demands. The first iteration of the design has undergone testing, and we’re working to make some small tweaks, and are hopeful it will be good to go by late next week.
Shipping Targets — Aiming for a Bullseye
All new orders after April 9th — shipping projection of July
We want to ensure we can fulfill all existing orders and set ourselves up to surprise and delight by beating this target. While we think sooner may be possible, July is our conservative projection as of today.
European orders prior to March 2nd — Begin shipping first, as CM4 supply allows, with a projection of early May
We’re hopeful these units will actually start shipping sooner, but May is our official projection as of now.
European orders on or after March 2nd — shipping projection of late May
These units will likely all be RK3288 based
North American orders prior to February 1st — The 500 CM4 based units will begin shipping as soon as FCC is cleared, with a projection of early May
We’re hopeful these units will actually start shipping sooner, but May is our official projection as of today.
North American orders on or after February 1st — Will begin shipping as soon as FCC for the RK3288 based units clears, with a projection of late May
Go Big or Go Home
We’ve had a number of customers reach out inquiring about bulk orders of 50+ gateways, and we’re so incredibly excited that you’re that passionate about expanding the netwwork. We’ve just announced our first distributor of co-branded SyncroB.it gateways, and are eager to work with the community for anyone looking to go big.
If you are interested in bulk orders reach out to Support@syncrob.it.
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Next week we’ll continue to update you on the RK design process, gateway manufacturing, and hopefully give you a first look at the SyncroB.it dashboard.
