MultiTech base stations

The MultiTech Conduit base station models supported are:

• Blue Conduit V1.5 (with and without GPS), using SPI interface.

• Blue Conduit V1.5 (with and without GPS), using SPI interface (16-channels)

• Blue Conduit V1.5 R3

• Conduit Access Point V1.5

• Conduit Outdoor IP67 V1.5

• Conduit Outdoor IP67 V1.5 (16-channels)

• Conduit Outdoor IP67 V1.5 R3

• Conduit Outdoor IP67 V2.1

• Conduit IP67 200 series

caution

The following MultiTech models are not yet supported:

• 300-series

The following MultiTech models are no longer supported and will not work with this latest ThingPark base station image:

• Conduit 1.0 USB

• Conduit 1.5 USB.

If you are not sure if your MultiTech Conduit 1.5 is USB or SPI, you can have more details typing the below commands:

# mts-io-sysfs show lora/product-id

A response of MTAC-LORA-868 (or 915) is USB.
A response of MTAC-LORA-H-868 (or 915) is SPI.

# mts-io-sysfs show lora/hw-version

A response of MTAC-LORA-1.0 can be USB or SPI depending on the product-id.
A response of MTAC-LORA-1.5 is SPI for sure.

Software pre-requisites and compatibility matrix

Base Station Model	LRR Version	Firmware Version	FPGA Version
Blue Conduit V1.5	2.8.56	6.3.0	31, 35
Blue Conduit V1.5 (16-channels)	2.8.56	6.3.0	31, 35
Blue Conduit V1.5 R3	2.8.56	6.3.0	N/A
Conduit AP V1.5	2.8.43	5.3.31	31, 35
Conduit Outdoor IP67 V1.5	2.8.56	6.3.0	31, 35
Conduit Outdoor IP67 V1.5 (16-channels)	2.8.56	6.3.0	31
Conduit Outdoor IP67 V1.5 R3	2.8.56	6.3.0	N/A
Conduit Outdoor IP67 V2.1	2.8.43	5.3.31	61
Conduit IP67 200 series	2.8.43	5.3.31	31

Note The MultiTech base station images are delivered with the corresponding firmware. Hence, the firmware and pre-requisites do not apply if a base station is installed with the full image. Nevertheless, the pre-requisites should be checked when performing LRR-only upgrade.

Installation for LRR 2.8.43 and firmware 5.3.31

After downloading the base station image as described in Retrieving the base station image, follow the steps provided below to flash your base station with the new image.

1. Connect to the base station via SSH.  See Connecting to the base station via SSH for more details. 

2. Create a directory /var/volatile/flash-upgrade:

   # mkdir /var/volatile/flash-upgrade
   # cd /var/volatile/flash-upgrade

3. The ThingPark image file you previously downloaded is a .tar.gz file. Inside, you will find 3 files you need to transfer to the base station: 2 files with .bin extension and 1 file with .jffs2 extension (along with the release notes).
   Example of a tar.gz content:

   

   Transfer those 3 files (2 .bin files and 1 .jffs2 file) using a wget command, or with a tool like WinSCP, into the folder created in previous step /var/volatile/flash-upgrade

4. Change file names to match the naming convention using the following commands:

   # mv uImage*.bin /var/volatile/flash-upgrade/uImage.bin
   # mv *.rootfs.jffs2 /var/volatile/flash-upgrade/rootfs.jffs2
   # mv u-boot*.bin /var/volatile/flash-upgrade/u-boot.bin

5. Execute the following commands to flash the gateway

   # touch /var/volatile/do_flash_upgrade
   # reboot

   After running the command, the base station will be flashed with the ThingPark image and will reboot automatically at the end of the flash procedure. This process will take a couple of minutes.

6. Once the base station has rebooted, and is up and running, verify that the LRR version installed on the base station is the expected one (refer to the compatibility matrix above). The LRR version can be verified via the SUPLOG menu (see Connecting to SUPLOG).  You may also verify on the base station with the following command:

   # cat $ROOTACT/usr/etc/lrr/versions.ini

Installation for LRR 2.8.56 and firmware 6.3.0

After downloading the base station image as described in Retrieving the base station image, follow the steps provided below to flash your base station with the new image.

1. Connect to the base station via SSH.  See Connecting to the base station via SSH for more details. 

2. The ThingPark image file you previously downloaded is a .bin file. Transfer the file using a wget command, or with a tool like WinSCP, into the folder /var/volatile/

3. Execute the following commands to flash the gateway

   # mlinux-firmware-upgrade <ThingPark image file>

   After running the command, the base station will be flashed with the ThingPark image and will reboot automatically at the end of the flash procedure. This process will take a couple of minutes.

4. Once the base station has rebooted, and is up and running, verify that the LRR version installed on the base station is the expected one (refer to the compatibility matrix above). The LRR version can be verified via the SUPLOG menu (see Connecting to SUPLOG).  You may also verify on the base station with the following command:

   # cat $ROOTACT/usr/etc/lrr/versions.ini