RS485 Modbus to Lorawan converter : Key Manufacturers

Introduction : In industrial and IoT applications, many legacy devices such as meters, sensors and controllers still communicate using Modbus RTU over RS-485, a robust and time tested wired standard. In order to extend range of RS485 Modbus and to provide remote wireless control, it can be merged with various LPWAN (Lorawan, Zigbee) or Cellular technologies (NB-IoT, LTE-M). It is ideal for applications such as smart metering, agriculture, oil & gas and remote monitoring.

RS485 Modbus Lorawan Interface

• RS485 Modbus is widely used wired industrial protocol for connecting PLCs, meters and sensors.
• LoRaWAN is a low power, long range wireless protocol designed for IoT networks.
• Modbus-LoRaWAN Gateway allows Modbus RTU devices on RS-485 to send their data over LoRaWAN network.
• The data is then made available to cloud server/SCADA systems via MQTT/HTTP/Modbus TCP.
• Some converters support downlink messages which allows remote configuration of Modbus devices via LoRaWAN.

The figure depicts how LoRaWAN sensor node connects with LoRaWAN gateway at lora frequency as per regional allocation and relays data to the cloud server or SCADA systems via MQTT/HTTP/Modbus TCP.

Advantages

Following are some of the benefits or RS485 Modbus LoRaWAN Converter.

1. Enables remote monitoring of legacy Modbus devices over long distances.
2. Reduces wiring cost in large industrial/agriculture/utility setups.
3. Integrates old Modbus equipment into modern IoT platforms.
4. Offers low power operation hence it can be battery/solar powered.
5. Useful for smart metering, agriculture, oil & gas pipelines, water systems and so on.

Disadvantages

Following are some of the limitations of RS485 Modbus LoRaWAN Converter.

1. Supports limited bandwidth and low data rate.
2. It can be used for monitoring and not for control due to latency involved.
3. It supports packet size of about 51–222 bytes.
4. It consists of complex setup due to requirement of LoRaWAN network as well as cloud server and integration.
5. Not suited for closed loop industrial control (best for telemetry).

Key manufacturers

Following table mentions popular RS485 Modbus to LoRaWAN converter suppliers, vendors or manufacturers.

Conclusion: . By doing above conversion, it enables seamless integration of existing Modbus equipment into cloud platforms, SCADA systems and IoT dashboards without replacing infrastructure. RS485 Modbus to LoRaWAN converter combines the robustness of Modbus with the flexibility and scalability of wireless communication.