Install ChirpStack Concentratord

This section installs and configures the ChirpStack Concentratord for the LoRa concentrator module. The hardware path is different between the two variants — pick the tab below that matches your device:

FIBER (CM4)

Connects via USB — the standard ChirpStack Concentratord configuration.

FIBER Lite (Pi 5)

Connects via SPI through a RAK2287 HAT — a different install path, not yet verified on real hardware.

USB — FIBER (CM4)

1. Download and install the ChirpStack Concentratord binary:

   curl -sL https://artifacts.chirpstack.io/downloads/chirpstack-concentratord/chirpstack-concentratord-sx1302_4.5.3_linux_arm64.tar.gz | sudo tar -xzf - -C /usr/bin --no-same-owner chirpstack-concentratord-sx1302

2. Create the configuration directory with proper ownership:

   sudo install -o chirpstack -g chirpstack -m 0750 -d /etc/chirpstack-concentratord

3. Create the configuration file with proper ownership and permissions:

   sudo install -o chirpstack -g chirpstack -m 0640 /dev/null /etc/chirpstack-concentratord/chirpstack-concentratord.toml

4. Write the Concentratord configuration file:

   cat << EOF | sudo tee /etc/chirpstack-concentratord/chirpstack-concentratord.toml > /dev/null
   [concentratord]
     log_level="INFO"
     log_to_syslog=false
     stats_interval="30s"
     disable_crc_filter=false
   
     [concentratord.api]
       event_bind="ipc:///tmp/concentratord_event"
       command_bind="ipc:///tmp/concentratord_command"
   
   [gateway]
     antenna_gain=0
     lorawan_public=true
     region="EU868"
     model="rak_5146"
     model_flags=["USB"]
     time_fallback_enabled=true
     gateway_id=""
   
     [gateway.concentrator]
       multi_sf_channels=[
         868100000,
         868300000,
         868500000,
         867100000,
         867300000,
         867500000,
         867700000,
         867900000,
       ]
   
       [gateway.concentrator.lora_std]
         frequency=868300000
         bandwidth=250000
         spreading_factor=7
   
       [gateway.concentrator.fsk]
         frequency=868800000
         bandwidth=125000
         datarate=50000
   
     [gateway.location]
       latitude=0.0
       longitude=0.0
       altitude=0
   EOF

5. Create the systemd service file for Concentratord:

   cat << EOF | sudo tee /etc/systemd/system/chirpstack-concentratord.service > /dev/null
   [Unit]
   Description=ChirpStack Concentratord
   Documentation=https://www.chirpstack.io/
   Wants=network-online.target
   After=network-online.target
   
   [Service]
   User=chirpstack
   Group=chirpstack
   ExecStart=/usr/bin/chirpstack-concentratord-sx1302 -c /etc/chirpstack-concentratord/chirpstack-concentratord.toml
   Restart=on-failure
   
   [Install]
   WantedBy=multi-user.target
   EOF

6. Add the chirpstack user to the dialout group for serial port access:

   sudo usermod -aG dialout chirpstack

7. Reload the systemd daemon to recognize the new service:

   sudo systemctl daemon-reload

8. Enable and start the ChirpStack Concentratord service:

   sudo systemctl enable --now chirpstack-concentratord

9. Check the service logs to verify successful startup and obtain the gateway ID:

   sudo journalctl -fu chirpstack-concentratord

   tip

   Copy the Gateway ID from the log output - you will need it to register the gateway in ChirpStack.

SPI, RAK2287 HAT — FIBER Lite (Pi 5)

danger

Not yet verified on real hardware. The steps in this section were researched but never actually tested against a connected RAK2287 + RAK5146 — treat them as a documented starting point, not a guaranteed working procedure. Update this section once verified.

The FIBER Lite concentrator is the same RAK5146 LoRaWAN concentrator card, but seated on a RAK2287 Pi HAT connected via SPI — a different hardware path (SPI device + GPIO reset pin) than the USB-connected variant above.

1. Before configuring anything, verify SPI is enabled and the HAT is detected:

   grep spi /boot/firmware/config.txt   # expect: dtparam=spi=on (uncommented)
   ls /dev/spidev*                       # expect: at least one device once the HAT is seated

   If dtparam=spi=on is commented out, uncomment it (or append it) in /boot/firmware/config.txt and reboot. If no /dev/spidev* device appears after that, the HAT is not seated/detected — do not proceed with the steps below until it is.

2. Use RAKwireless's own SX1302 HAL installer for the RAK2287 on Raspberry Pi, rather than the generic ChirpStack Concentratord USB configuration used above — the SPI variant needs the correct SPI device path and GPIO reset-pin handling that RAKwireless's own tooling provides. See RAKwireless's documentation for the RAK2287/RAK5146 Raspberry Pi HAT for the current installer script and region configuration (EU868 for European deployments).

3. Once running, check the Concentratord logs to obtain the Gateway ID, which you'll need to register the gateway in ChirpStack:

   sudo journalctl -fu chirpstack-concentratord