TCR Firmware Changelog

All notable changes to the TCR Firmware will be documented here.

The format is based on Keep a Changelog, and this project adheres to Semantic Versioning.

Note: Versions marked YANKED have critical bugs that affect stable operation. We strongly recommend updating at the earliest opportunity.

[2.2.10] - 2024-02-19

Improvements

DevNonce is handled with an increment counter that is stored in non-volatile memory between rejoins and power downs. Each join request is now made with a different DevNonce. This should solve the problems with join loops.

If you see join loops, update to V2.2.10

[2.2.8] - 2023-12-14 [YANKED]

Improvements

Fixes an issue with repeated rejoins on some networks when using unconfirmed uplinks. Includes all improvements of the previous versions

Installation instructions

Update to V2.2.10 if you see repeated join-loops.

[2.2.7] - 2023-11-21 [YANKED]

Improvements

This release fixes a issue with the join process on AS923-1 networks.

Do update to V2.2.10 or newer. Do not used this version since we found an issue that can lead to repeated join loops in some rare cases.

[2.2.6] - 2023-10-18 [YANKED]

Improvements

This release brings improvements when running TCR on a TTN network. Reduced the amount of downlinks. Join retries are with a back-off now. We also disable the radar for the LoRaWAN transmit time (from start TX to the end of RX2 window) to improve RX sensitivity.

Important: Use a power supply with low ripple voltage (<50mVpp) for DLx- types.

Do update to V2.2.10 or newer. Do not used this version since we found an issue that can lead to repeated join loops in some rare cases.

[2.2.5] - 2023-07-14

Improvements

• TCR can now be used to count people too.

Update to V2.2.5 and set speedclass = 0 via CLI if you only want to count people.

[2.2.4] - 2023-07-05

Improvements

• High speed applications get better size detection
• Fixed config downlink command c101 (category activated)

Update to V2.2.4 is recommended for all applications with speeds >20km/h.

[2.2.3] - 2023-06-20

Improvements

• Better results with crossing traffic
• Corresponding traffic category will be automatically enabled when changing the fallback category setting

Update to V2.2.3 for increased counting performance and easier setup of fallback category

[2.2.2] - 2023-06-13

Improvements

• Fixes a bug with the offline mode (LoRaWAN disabled). Counting has stopped while in offline mode.
• Updated antenna calibration settings

Update to V2.2.2 or newer if you want to operate the device offline without LoRaWAN uplinks. New antenna settings might improve links quality.

[2.2.1] - 2023-06-08

Improvements

Enable Autotune Mode to help finding the right sensitivity for certain LTRDist and RTLDist settings.

Update to V2.2.1 or newer and enable Autotune if you find it difficult to find the right radar sensitivity settings.

[2.2.0] - 2023-05-25

PIN Lock

Use the new lock and unlock CLI commands to prevent device settings from unauthorized access.

New Service Commands

We added CLI commands to read out supply voltages.

Counter Payload V2

Changed the Counters Payload to V2. Changed sbx_batt to voltage to get the DC voltage instead of Solar Battery Voltage on devices without the SBX unit.

Improvements

• Config Downlink Command c152xxxx (radar_channel) was broken. (radar sensitivity was overwritten instead of the channels)

Update to V2.2.0 or newer if you want to lock settings, want to read out supply voltages or change radar channels by downlink

[2.1.0] - 2023-04-26

TCR GEN2

This firmware includes the new TCR GEN2 devices DLI, DLE, SLI, SLE

Open device configuration

LoRaWAN® Region and speed configuration can now be changed by the user by using the CLI commands set speedclass and lora set region

With this it's now possible to order a high speed device and change it to low speed on request.

Improved downlink behavior

Settings changes via downlinks are applied instantly and saved to ROM. There is no need to send a 'save' command anymore.

Configuration uplink sequence

If you are not sure about the current device settings anymore it is now possible to request sending all settings. This is done by sending setting by setting each with an uplink at port 1.

To start the sequence send the configuration downlink c1cf to port 1. Sending all settings can take up to 30 minutes. During this there will be not data uplinks.

DeviceID Payload V2

DeviceID Payload now includes the speed class of the device Please update your payload decoder accordingly

Improvements

• improved LoRaWAN® ack timing (RX1 and RX2 windows)

Known issues

• Config Downlink Command c152xxxx (radar_channel) is broken. Do not use this downlink command. Has been fixed in V2.2

First generation TCR should be updated to V2.1.0 or newer if improved downlinks are needed.

[2.0.8] - 2023-02-17

Improvements

Additional Link Supervisor: Device rejoins if a LoRaWAN® confirmed uplinks (including repeated uplinks) take too long.

Update to V2.0.8 or newer if you saw a the device stopped communicating after changing its position

[2.0.7] - 2023-01-21

Improvements

• Fixed default DWELLTIME for AS923 regions

Update to V2.0.7 or newer if you are using the AS923 region and having duplicated uplinks. Note: TCR does only support AS923-1 Channel Group

[2.0.6] - 2022-12-31

Improvements

• increased RX performance (timing optimizations)
• fixed TimeSync on Actility ThingPark based networks
• fixed a bug where counters may not have been saved correctly in NV memory on power-down

Update to V2.0.6 or newer if you think the wireless performance is less than expected

[2.0.5] - 2022-12-07

Improvements

Increase stability when gateway is connected via a unstable internet connection with higher latency.

Update if you are using Swisscom LPN (Rx2 Profiles)

[2.0.4] - 2022-11-16

Improvements

Fixes a bug where the Device Profile could have been cleared after a reset.

Immediate update to V2.0.8 or newer is recommended for all users of V 2.0.1, V 2.0.2, V 2.0.3

[2.0.3] - 2022-11-09 [YANKED]

Improvements

LoRaWAN® Public Network mode is enabled by default. Added a faster Re-Join Sequence.

Update if possible to the newest version

[2.0.2] - 2022-10-29 [YANKED]

Improvements

Improved join procedure on some networks using RX2 for ACK

Update if possible to the newest version

[2.0.1] - 2022-09-30 [YANKED]

Improvements

Fixes a problem with device not starting after the update from V < 2.0

Update if possible to the newest version

[2.0.0] - 2022-09-27 [YANKED]

Update if possible to the newest version

New Object Detection / Categorization

The radar detection algorithm has been significantly improved. Traffic is now categorized using both the size and the speed of an object. This helps to improve detection quality in special situations like "slow car" or "running person" as well as ignoring people walking by when using TCR-HSx devices.

Traffic Categories

We introduced Traffic Categories instead of the speed groups.

• P = People (Uplink Port 14)
• A = Two Wheelers (Uplink Port 15)
• B = Cars (Uplink Port 16)
• C = HGV (Uplink Port 17)

Each group comes with own left / right counters and average speed.

Note: P, A are active on TCR-LSx. A,B,C are available on TCR-HSx

Totalizer or Interval Counting

TCR can now be used either as a totalizer or interval counter.

In interval mode (sumup disabled) the device sends counting values accumulated during the last interval time.

In totalizer mode (sumup enabled) the device starts from zero and will increment counter values up to 65535. There is a downlink to clear counters from time to time.

NV memory backup

Counting data is now saved in a NV memory to prevent data loss on power outage.

Data Timestamp

Counting data uplinks now include a GMT timestamp. This timestamp indicates the age of the data package and can be used to ensure the device received all ACK from the server.

Example:

a1 0f 2d 00 01 05 00 02 06 00   <- counter data has been created 15:45 GMT 
a1 0f 37 00 12 04 00 11 05 00   <- new counter data has been created 15:55 GMT 
a1 0f 37 00 12 04 00 11 05 00   <- Identical timestamp = repetition (ACK not recvd)

a1 10 05 00 12 04 00 11 05 00   <- New message (ACK has finally been received)
...

Universal Firmware

Starting with this version we managed to include all device types and all supported LoRaWAN® regions into an universal firmware.

Regions include:

Device types include:

Important: When updating from a version prior to V2.0.0 the device will come up as a 'TCR-EU868-LS' by default. You need to set the connection type and device type once. Please see the update instructions for details. Devices ordered from Parametric will be shipped with this initial configuration already done.

LoRaWAN® 1.0.3

We updated the LoRaMac stack to V4.4.7.

This implements LoRaWAN® specification 1.0.3 and LoRaWAN® Regional Parameters v1.0.3revA

Short payloads

Payload lengths have been a source of annoyance especially for customers in LoRa regions with limited airtime capacity. Config payloads (37 bytes) simply did not go through when the devices were running on DR0.

That's why we've reduced the length of all payloads to less than 10 bytes, so they work smoothly in all major regions.

The large config payload has been replaced with an device id uplink at device startup.

Device configuration can be changed by short configuration downlinks, changing only one setting at a time. This is much easier to handle than the huge configuration string before.

New payload types:

• Device Id: 7 bytes, Port 190
• Counter Data: 10 bytes, Port 14, 15, 16, 17 (depending on enabled traffic categories)
• Config: 4 bytes, Port 1

Please have a look at our payload documentation page that also includes a link to our GIT repo with example code

New CLI commands for connection monitoring

New CLI commands help finding LoRaWAN® issues:

• lora get snr signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in dB
• lora get rssi to get received signal strength (RSSI) in dBm
• lora get fcnt to get last uplink Fcnt
• lora get dr to get current uplink datarate
• lora send triggers an uplink
• lora set ula let you change the number of Join/Uplink attempts before device restarts (default is 10)

PuTTY compatible

CLI commands with only a CR will be accepted as well. PuTTY and other terminal emulation programs tend to not sending CR + LF. So we made it possible to either send CR or CR+LF.

Detection Quality Indication (LED)

There is a new blink code informing the user about non optimal settings or placement of the sensor.

• LED pulses = a person has been detected
• LED quickly flashes a few times = signal too high but person still counted

  Reduce sensitivity in this case or place the device more than 50cm away from the moving objects or consider ceiling mounting.

[1.3.2] - 2021-08-27

Improved noise canceling in the radar processing algorithm leading to higher resolution.

[1.3.1] - 2021-08-27

Improved noise canceling in the radar processing algorithm leading to higher resolution.

[1.3.0] - 2021-08-22

TCR-HS and TCR-HSS should uptate to 1.3.1

Finding the right sensitivity is now easier as we introduced autotuning. This can be done via CLI or with the new configuration payload (V3).

Improved object counting in a wider range of sensitivity settings as well as with certain usual types of radar reflections. Asymmetric counting (more RTL than LTR) at inaccurate sensitivity settings no longer occurs.

For US915 or AU915 users we fixed the prolem with config downlinks not beeing received due to limited airtime in these LoRaWAN® bands. We also updated some default values based on customer feedback to make defaults be a good starting point for most users.

[1.2.4] - 2021-02-17

Minor Improvements for AS923 devices allowing to receive config payload now during startup

[1.2.3] - 2020-12-21

Improved sensitivity

[1.2.2] - 2020-12-10

Minor Improvements for US915 and AU915 devices allowing to receive config payload and ectendet payloads. Fixed an issue where settings have not been correctly saved.

[1.2.1] - 2020-11-13

radar module update mechanism fixed

[1.2.0] - 2020-11-05

Update to V1.2.1 or newer as we found a issue in the update mechanism of the radar module that could lead to a bricked device if power will be cutted in the wrong moment.

FFR firmware is now included in the main firmware and will be automatically updated during startup. During the update both LEDs blink fast. (Please be patient)

Power Consumption

• TCR-LS 157mW
• TCR-LSS 157mW
• TCR-HS 243mW
• TCR-HSS 243mW

[1.1.2] - 2020-10-15

Fixes a problem where in the config payload where Payload Speed Groups have not been mapped correctely

[1.1.1] - 2020-09-16

Fixes a problem with some CLI commands where limits have not been checked correctely. CPU temperature is now correctly transmitted.

[1.1.0] - 2020-09-15

Indroduces FFR radar algorithm and Payload V2

[1.0.0] - 2020-06-10

First Relase for TCR/TCR-S

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