Loko · Setup Guide

Connecting Loko to ChirpStack

Run your own LoRaWAN network server? Here's how to get your Loko Air trackers joined, decoded and charted on a self-hosted ChirpStack instance — in six short steps.

~20 min · Beginner friendly

Loko Air trackers speak plain LoRaWAN, so they work with any network server — not just The Things Network. If you'd rather keep your data on your own infrastructure, ChirpStack is a free, open-source LoRaWAN network server you can host yourself.

Everything below happens inside the Tenant section of the ChirpStack web console. The sidebar has two navigation groups: Network Server holds global, server-wide settings for all tenants, while Tenant holds everything for your own organisation — that's where all the work happens.

What you'll need

  • A running ChirpStack instanceOne you can log in to (this guide uses the admin account).
  • A LoRaWAN gatewayThat can reach your ChirpStack server — plus its Gateway ID.
  • Your Loko Air device credentialsThe DevEUI, JoinEUI (AppEUI) and Application Key programmed on the device.
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By the end you'll have an online gateway, a device that completes its join, and decoded measurements rendered as gauges on the device dashboard.
1

Make sure a gateway is online

Open Tenant → Gateways. You need at least one gateway showing a green Online status before any device can join. If the list is empty, click Add gateway and register yours.

ChirpStack Gateways list showing gateway ID and online status 1 2 3 4
① Gateways · ② Add gateway · ③ Gateway ID · ④ Status (must turn green)
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The one thing you must provide when adding a gateway is its Gateway ID — a 16-character hex EUI like 782184ffff9f3249. Find it on the gateway's display, on a label, or in its admin page / manual. Also pick the matching Region (e.g. EU868).
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Wait for green. In the screenshot above the gateway shows a red Offline dot (④). Don't continue until Last seen updates and the status turns Online — an offline gateway receives no radio traffic, so nothing will ever join.
2

Create a device profile

A device profile describes how a class of devices behaves — region, LoRaWAN version, join method and payload codec. Open Tenant → Device Profiles and click Add device profile.

ChirpStack Device profiles list with the Add device profile button 1 2
① Open Device Profiles · ② Add device profile

On the General tab, fill in the essentials — a name, your region and the LoRaWAN MAC version your Loko Air uses.

ChirpStack Add device profile General tab with name, region and MAC version 1 2 3
① Name (e.g. Generic-OTAA-EU868) · ② Region (EU868) · ③ MAC version
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Choose the Region and MAC version that match your Loko Air and your gateway (e.g. EU868 and LoRaWAN 1.0.3). Leave Regional parameters revision and ADR algorithm at their defaults.

Switch to the Join (OTAA / ABP) tab and turn on Device supports OTAA — Loko Air trackers join over the air.

ChirpStack device profile Join OTAA tab with Device supports OTAA enabled 1 2
① Join (OTAA / ABP) tab · ② Device supports OTAA = on

Finally, open the Payload codec tab and select Cayenne LPP, then click Submit.

ChirpStack device profile Payload codec tab set to Cayenne LPP 1 2 3
① Payload codec tab · ② Cayenne LPP · ③ Submit
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Cayenne LPP lets ChirpStack automatically decode the raw payload into named measurements (GPS position, battery, etc.) — which is what makes the gauges in Step 6 possible.
3

Create an application

Open Tenant → Applications and click Add application. Give it a name (e.g. Loko) and save. An application is just the container that groups your devices together.

ChirpStack Applications list with the Add application button 1 2
① Open Applications · ② Add application
4

Add your devices

Click the application you just created to open it. It lands on the Devices tab, where an Add device button appears. Once devices exist, their DevEUI and Device profile show as clickable links.

ChirpStack application Devices tab listing a Loko device 1 2 3
① Add device · ② DevEUI (opens the device) · ③ Device profile

Click Add device and fill in the details from your Loko Air, then Submit:

ChirpStack Add device form with name, Device EUI, Join EUI and device profile 1 2 3 4 5
① Name · ② Device EUI (DevEUI) · ③ Join EUI · ④ Device profile · ⑤ Submit
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The Application Key comes next. Because the profile uses OTAA, after you Submit, ChirpStack opens the OTAA keys tab. Enter (or paste) the device's Application Key (AppKey) there and Submit.
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Everything must match the physical device. The DevEUI, JoinEUI and AppKey you enter must be identical to what's programmed on the Loko Air — otherwise the join will silently fail. Repeat this step for every tracker you own.
5

Confirm the join & watch the frames

Back in the application's device list, click a device's DevEUI to open it, then explore the tabs — OTAA keys, Activation, Events and LoRaWAN frames. The frames view shows the raw radio traffic in real time.

ChirpStack device LoRaWAN frames showing JoinRequest and JoinAccept 1 2
① LoRaWAN frames tab · ② JoinRequest → JoinAccept, then data frames
A healthy device shows a JoinRequest followed by a JoinAccept, then UnconfirmedDataUp / UnconfirmedDataDown frames — each listing the DevEUI and the Gateway ID that received them. If you only ever see JoinRequest repeating, re-check the DevEUI / JoinEUI / AppKey and that your gateway is online.
6

Visualise measurements as gauges

Once decoded data is flowing (thanks to the Cayenne LPP codec), open Tenant → Device Profiles → your profile → Measurements. With Automatically detect measurement keys on, ChirpStack lists the keys it has seen — such as Battery_Voltage, gpsLocation_1_latitude and gpsLocation_1_longitude — so set the ones you care about to Gauge.

ChirpStack device profile Measurements tab with keys set to Gauge 1 2 3
① Measurements tab · ② Auto-detect keys · ③ Set kind to Gauge
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Pick the right kind for each key: Gauge for readings like voltage, temperature or position; Counter for continuously incrementing counters; Absolute for counters that reset on each uplink; String for text or boolean values. Give it a friendly Measurement name, click Submit, and the values render as gauges and charts on the device's Dashboard.

Quick checklist

  • Gateway added and showing green / Online
  • Device profile created — region, MAC version, OTAA on, Cayenne LPP codec
  • Application created
  • Device added with matching DevEUI + JoinEUI
  • Application Key entered on the OTAA keys tab
  • JoinRequest / JoinAccept and data frames visible under LoRaWAN frames
  • Measurements set to Gauge to visualise the data

🎉 You're up and running!

Your gateway is online, your Loko Air device has joined, and its decoded measurements are visualised as gauges. From here you can add more devices, wire up Integrations to push data onward, or build dashboards on top of the ChirpStack API.

Prefer a hosted network? Connecting Loko to The Things Network → The four-step TTN setup — create an application, register devices, generate an API key and connect from the Loko app.
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Need help? If you hit any issues during setup, check our FAQ section or contact our support team — we're here to help you get connected.