ThingSpeak


how to reboot a LORA node if it stops sending data?

Steven Grobler on 22 Apr 2024
Latest activity Reply by Christopher Stapels on 10 May 2024

I have a LORA node up-linking data to a Thingspeak channel via The Things Network (TTN). Sometimes it stops sending data and I reboot it by logging into my console on TTN and sending a re-boot down-link message to the node. Is there any way I can transmit a downlink message to the node direct from Thinkspeak?

4 Comments

Christopher Stapels
Christopher Stapels on 22 Apr 2024
Is there an API call to trigger the downlink? If so, you can trigger from ThingSpeak via MATLAB analysis code using webwrite aor webread.
Steven Grobler
Steven Grobler on 10 May 2024
The TTN API documentation gives the following example of a downlink to the end device dev1 of the application app1 using the webhook wh1.
curl --location \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer NNSXS.XXXXXXXXX' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--header 'User-Agent: my-integration/my-integration-version' \
--request POST \
--data '{"downlinks":[{
"frm_payload":"vu8=",
"f_port":15,
"priority":"NORMAL"
}]
}' \
'https://thethings.example.com/api/v3/as/applications/app1/webhooks/wh1/devices/dev1/down/push'
I've tried to enter that information into my ThingHTTP, using my own parameters for dev1, app1, wh1 etc, including the Authorisation header with the bearer key from TTN and the Content-Type header. I do not know what to insert for the User-Agent header, so left that out.
I tried sending the command from a CMD window in Windows 11, using curl as below, but I get a "-1" response, indicating a failure, and TTN does not receive the downlink either...
Maybe the User-Agent header is essential .
Any suggestions?
curl "https://api.thingspeak.com/apps/thinghttp/send_request?api_key=my-api-key"
Christopher Stapels
Christopher Stapels on 10 May 2024
User agent is not needed (thoug it can he helpful for statistics on our side).
The -1 for ThingHTTP usually means authorization problem. You could check though by making the ThingHTTP just do something simple like update a channel.
For flexibility, I would recomend you use a MATLAB analysis. Its a little harder to trigger from a device, but you can have a React set up from a channel, and when the device updates the channel, then the react will trigger the code. You get a lot more flexibility in what you can send from MATLAB code instead of the ThingHTTP UI. And its easier to develop and test code: if you have MATLAB desktop or usinging MATLAB onlineor the MATLAB AI chat playground (the last two have a free tier if needed).
You can use webread or webwrite in your code to call other API's. weboptions can help wih the authorization and setting other headers. The playground can help you write the code also.
Steven Grobler
Steven Grobler on 24 Apr 2024
Thanks Christopher, thanks for that - there is indeed an API for TTN. I shall investigate that further and I'll post back here with what I find... regards, Steve

Tags