IZ3LSV

HP2DFA > LORA     07.09.26 09:01l 47 Lines 3511 Bytes #287 (0) @ WW
BID : 1656_HP2DFA
Read: GUEST
Subj: CENTRAL AMERICA LORA WEEKLY REPORT
Path: IZ3LSV<IW8PGT<LU4ECL<VK2RZ<LU9DCE<K1AJD<GB7BED<GB7RJJ<PI8ZTM<PY2BIL<
      HP2DFA
Sent: 260907/0521Z 1656@HP2DFA.#COL.PAN.CEAM BPQ6.0.24

## Central America LoRa APRS Weekly Operation Report
Period: August 31, 2026 – September 7, 2026
The LoRa APRS ecosystem across Central America has continued to expand as an efficient, low-power alternative to traditional VHF packet radio. Operating primarily on the 70cm bandâ€öwith 433.775 MHz serving as the regional standard for standard configurations (BW: 125 kHz, SF: 12, CR: 4/5)â€öthe last 7 days saw stable telemetry tracking, high iGate uptime, and active deployment of solar-powered nodes. [1] 
------------------------------
## 1. Regional Network Topology & Active Nodes## 🇵🇦 Panama (Primary Activity Hub)
Panama maintains the most dense and tightly integrated LoRa APRS footprint in the region, largely managed by community groups supporting the CA2RXU firmware ecosystem. [2, 3] 

* 
* Active Gateways: HP2NIC-10 (Altos del Country) and HP1CDW-12 (Costa del Este) functioned as the primary metro iGates. They successfully bridged RF packets into the global APRS-IS network via the qAO path. [4, 5] 
* Backbone Nodes: HP2DFA-19 (Río Rita) acted as a vital solar-powered digital repeater (Solar Digi), enabling trackers moving toward the interior of the country to bypass topographic obstacles. [6] 
* Telemetry Traffic: Automated solar weather stations HP2DFA-20 and HP2DFA-16 achieved a consistent output of 50 to 70 telemetry packets a day with zero physical infrastructure overhead.
* 

## 🇨🇷 [Costa Rica] (Emergency Net Preparedness)
Costa Ricaâ€Ös LoRa network focuses on mapping rugged terrain and expanding portable emergency infrastructure. [7] 

* 
* Deployment: Mobile trackers using LilyGO T-Beam and Heltec V3 hardware actively logged trails along the Central Valley and San José peripheries. [3, 8] 
* Infrastructure: High-altitude experimental receivers mapped incoming 100mW signals from distances exceeding 15–20 km, testing structural link budgets below the local RF noise floor. [3, 6, 9] 
* 

## 🇬🇹 [Guatemala] & 🇸🇻 [El Salvador] (Sparse/Experimental Nodes)
------------------------------


[[Guatemala]: Handful of urban iGates remain operational in Guatemala City. Operators are utilizing smart beaconing configurations to save battery on portable setups.](https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=/m/0345_)
------------------------------


[[El Salvador]: Highly localized testing. Most data captured on global maps stemmed from cross-network internet injections (APRS-IS) and specific automated weather nodes. [8] ](https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=/m/02k8k)
------------------------------
## 2. Performance Metrics & Traffic Breakdown
The network performed with the following technical metrics over the past 7 days:

* 
* Link Budget Efficiency: The combination of Chirp Spread Spectrum (CSS) and Forward Error Correction (FEC) allowed 100mW (20 dBm) trackers to routinely match the coverage footprint of legacy 5W VHF setups.
* Packet Collision Rate: Low. Unlike legacy 2-meter frequencies which suffer from heavy packet collisions when misconfigured, the longer airtimes of LoRa are well-managed by low-density beacon intervals (10 to 15 minutes per stationary node).
* Hardware Trends: Mutil-platform tracking software updates through 2026 have heavily optimized power management. Clock speeds downscaling from 240MHz to 80MHz on ESP32 chips have successfully increased battery lifetimes on remote nodes up to 209[6, 8, 9, 10, 11] 
* 


73 de Omar HP2DFA  from Colon Panama.
   
PMAIL:  HP2DFA@HP2DFA.COL.PAN.CEAM
EMAIL:  HP2DFA@GMAIL.COM



Read previous mail | Read next mail