Analog to LoRaWAN® Converter & Datalogger

Yes. It is a standard LoRaWAN® v1.0.4 Class A device using OTAA activation, so it joins any compliant network server — The Things Network, ChirpStack, MQTT-based platforms, Orbiwise, Netmore or a private on-premise server. Class C is configurable from the Maya app.

The MacSync Analog-to-LoRaWAN Datalogger is used to convert analog signals (4~20 mA, 0~10 V) and digital inputs from sensors into LoRaWAN data packets for remote monitoring, automation, and data logging across industries.

MacSync transmits collected sensor data via LoRaWAN connectivity to a gateway, which then forwards it securely to the cloud server or IoT dashboard for real-time visualization and analysis.

It depends mostly on two things: how often the device reports, and how much power the connected sensor needs. The converter itself draws under 100 µA asleep, so on the 19 Ah industrial Li-SOCl₂ cell a slow reporting interval gives multi-year operation, up to 10 years at long intervals. But a 4–20 mA transmitter is powered by the converter for its warm-up time before every reading, and that energy — not the radio — usually dominates the budget. A sensor that needs a long warm-up or reports every few minutes will shorten battery life considerably. Tell us the sensor and the interval and we will give you a realistic figure, or specify the 9–36 V DC variant where a supply exists.

It supports a wide range of industrial sensors — including pressure, flow, temperature, humidity, level, and vibration sensors — using 4~20 mA, 0~10 V, or digital outputs.

Yes. The MacSync supports OTA (Over-The-Air) updates and BLE configuration via the MacSync App, allowing easy parameter setup, firmware updates, and diagnostics without physical access.

Wire the sensor's output to one of the MacSync's 4–20 mA inputs, then open the Maya app over Bluetooth. Set the channel's sensor type to 4–20 mA, choose the power output and warm-up time your sensor needs, and set the reporting interval. The Check option shows the live reading so you can confirm the wiring before you leave site. From then on the value is transmitted over LoRaWAN to your gateway and on to your platform, with no cable back to a control room.

Yes. The MacSync supplies power to the connected sensor from a selectable power output, and waits a configurable warm-up time of 0 to 2,000 ms before taking each reading, so the transmitter is energised only while it is being measured. Check that the available output level meets your transmitter's minimum supply voltage — send us the model and we will confirm. A sensor that needs a longer warm-up, or that must stay powered continuously, is better fed from an external supply with the 9–36 V DC variant.

A 2-wire, or loop-powered, transmitter uses the same two wires for power and signal: it draws its supply from the loop and regulates the current between 4 and 20 mA. A 3-wire transmitter has a separate supply wire and shares a common return with the signal. A 4-wire transmitter is powered independently, often from mains, and its signal output is a separate pair. All three produce the same 4–20 mA signal; what changes is where the power comes from, and therefore whether the converter needs to supply it.

Choose 4–20 mA whenever the cable is longer than a few metres or the environment is electrically noisy. Current is the same at every point in the loop, so cable resistance does not change the reading, and the 4 mA live zero lets you detect a broken wire. A 0–10 V signal is simpler and common on HVAC and building sensors, but it loses voltage along the cable and cannot distinguish a fault from a genuine zero. The MacSync reads both, so use whichever output the instrument provides.

On a 4–20 mA input the reading drops below 4 mA, which a healthy loop never does, so the fault is detectable. The NAMUR NE 43 recommendation treats currents at or below 3.6 mA and at or above 21 mA as fault signals rather than measurements. Set a low threshold alert on the channel and the MacSync uplinks the moment the current falls out of range, instead of reporting a misleading zero. A 0–10 V input cannot do this, because 0 V is also a valid reading.

A 12-bit converter divides the input range into 4,096 steps. On the 0–10 V input that is about 2.4 mV per step, and on the current input roughly 0.005 mA per step, or about 0.03% of the 16 mA span between 4 and 20 mA. For a 0–10 bar pressure transmitter that works out to steps of about 0.003 bar. Resolution is not the same as accuracy: it is the smallest change the device can register, while the accuracy of the whole chain also depends on the transmitter's own accuracy class and calibration.

Subtract 4 mA, divide by 16, and multiply by the instrument's span, then add its lower range value. For a pressure transmitter ranged 0 to 10 bar, a reading of 12 mA is (12 − 4) ÷ 16 × 10 = 5 bar. A level transmitter ranged 0 to 5 m reading 8 mA gives (8 − 4) ÷ 16 × 5 = 1.25 m. The scaling can be applied in your platform's payload decoder, so the dashboard shows bar, metres or litres rather than milliamps.

Yes. The two digital inputs detect a change between high and low states, and a state change can trigger an immediate uplink rather than waiting for the next scheduled report. That suits float switches, door and tamper contacts, alarm relays and pump or generator run status, where what matters is knowing the moment something changes.

No. The MacSync LX1 is an end device: it reads your sensor and transmits to a LoRaWAN gateway, which forwards the data to a network server. You need a gateway within range — your own or a public network — and one gateway typically serves many converters across a site. In MacTalk mode two MacSync devices can also communicate directly, with no gateway and no internet.

Yes. The same MacSync LX1 hardware includes an RS485 port that acts as a Modbus RTU master, for energy meters, flow meters, PLCs and any instrument with a serial output. If your equipment speaks Modbus rather than 4–20 mA, see the MacSync RS485 Modbus to LoRaWAN converter page, which covers function codes, baud rates and register limits.

No, and it is worth knowing the difference before you buy. Point-to-point wireless 4–20 mA pairs take a loop signal in at one unit and regenerate an analog output at the other, so a PLC input sees a normal current loop. An analog to LoRaWAN converter instead delivers the value as data, through a gateway, to a network server, dashboard or SCADA. If your controller needs a physical 4–20 mA input, a transmitter pair is the right tool; if you want readings from many scattered instruments on one platform, LoRaWAN is.

Usually yes, but not without opening the loop once. A current input sits in series, so the loop has to be broken to insert it, which is best done during a planned stop. Every receiver in a loop adds burden, so the transmitter's supply must still cover its own minimum voltage plus all the inputs and the cable. Where the loop cannot be disturbed, or the two receivers must stay electrically separate, a signal splitter or isolator is the clean solution. Send us the loop details and we will check it before you order.

No. The MacSync LX1 is not certified for installation inside a classified hazardous area. For a transmitter located in one, mount the converter in the safe area and bring the loop out through a barrier or isolator matched to that transmitter, as you would for any safe-area receiver. Bear in mind that a barrier drops several volts, which the loop supply has to cover.