Hi everyone,
I’m trying to figure out whether I can reuse a Browan / Gemtek Outdoor Micro Gateway with my own ChirpStack setup, but I’m a bit stuck because this unit seems to be running the Actility / ThingPark firmware instead of the generic OPDK firmware.
The gateway is a Browan / Gemtek WAPS-232N_LW Outdoor Micro Gateway. It is the 16-channel US915 version. From the radio configuration, both radio boards seem to start correctly:
RADIO board0 started ret=0
RADIO board1 started ret=0
The radio configuration also looks like US915, with frequencies in the 902–905 MHz range.
The current firmware/software looks like this:
Actility support tool: 2.8.85_1
LRR version: 2.8.85_1
custom_build_version: 2.8.85_1-gemodu
os_version: 3.0.36+
hal_version: 5.0.1
fpga_version: 31
hardware_version: WAPS-232N
The gateway was purchased with the ThingPark Community option, so I assume it came preloaded/provisioned for Actility / ThingPark.
What I want to do is use it with ChirpStack instead. I already have ChirpStack running and working with other gateways using OPDK / packet forwarder, so I would like this gateway to use either Semtech UDP Packet Forwarder or LoRa Basics Station, if possible.
So far, this is what I have tried:
The gateway gets an IP address from my router by DHCP.
Ping does not respond, but SSH on port 22 is open.
HTTP and HTTPS do not seem to be open.
I can log in over SSH using the Actility support account.
After login, I get the SUPLOG / Actility support tool menu.
The menu includes things like Identifiers, Radio configuration, System configuration, Service, and Troubleshooting.
I can see Actility / ThingPark-related settings such as PKI, Backhaul, LRC addresses, TLS, reverse SSH, and support servers.
I do not see the normal OPDK web interface.
I do not see a Packet Forwarder menu.
I do not see a firmware upload page.
I tried the fallback IP addresses that are often mentioned for this gateway family, but I still could not access the OPDK web GUI.
I also tried the usual Browan root password format based on the last bytes of the MAC address, but that did not work on this firmware image.
I found references online to these firmware files:
WAPS-232N_LW_OPDKGUIForGeneric_3.09.99_3952121863.tar.gz
WAPS-232N_LW_OPDK_GUI_1.01.27_521895521.tar.gz
However, I have not tried flashing them yet because I do not currently have access to the OPDK web firmware upload page, and I am also not sure whether these images are suitable for the 16-channel US915 version. I would prefer to avoid ending up with only 8 channels working, or breaking the second concentrator/radio board.
My questions are:
Has anyone migrated a Browan / Gemtek WAPS-232N_LW from Actility LRR / ThingPark firmware to OPDK Generic?
Is there a known way to install OPDK Generic when the gateway only exposes the Actility SUPLOG interface over SSH?
Are the firmware files above valid for the 16-channel US915 WAPS-232N_LW, or are they only intended for the 8-channel TTOG variant?
If OPDK is installed on the 16-channel version, does the web interface show two packet-forwarder modules, for example Module 1 and Module 2?
In ChirpStack, should a 16-channel WAPS-232N_LW be registered as one gateway EUI or as two gateway EUIs?
Is there any practical way to make the current Actility LRR firmware forward packets to ChirpStack, or is switching to OPDK / Semtech UDP Packet Forwarder the only reasonable path?
I’m intentionally leaving out private identifiers such as MAC address, serial number, public key, LRR UUID, and LRR ID. I can share non-sensitive screenshots or menu details if they help.
Any advice from someone who has worked with WAPS-232N_LW, TTOG, OPDK, or Actility-to-ChirpStack migrations would be very helpful.