MikroTik wAP LR8 Kit LoRa 868 MHz Outdoor Gateway

The MikroTik wAP LR8 kit is the outdoor deployment form of the R11e-LR8 MiniPCI-e LoRa® card — the same SX1301-based LoRa® 863–870 MHz radio, pre-installed in the wAP outdoor enclosure, with RouterOS v7, 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, Ethernet, and passive PoE-in already integrated. Where the R11e-LR8 card requires a compatible host device with an available MiniPCI-e slot, the wAP LR8 kit is a complete, self-contained outdoor LoRa® gateway that requires only power and backhaul connectivity to deploy. Mount it on a wall or pole, connect the PoE injector, configure RouterOS, and the LoRa® gateway is live.

The SX1301 baseband processor — the industry reference chipset for LoRa® gateways — provides 8 simultaneous multi-spreading-factor channels, receiving LoRa® transmissions from up to 1,000 concurrent end-devices across the full SF7–SF12 spreading factor range without configuration. The 8-channel multi-SF architecture handles adaptive data rate (ADR) end-devices natively — as end-devices adjust their spreading factors based on signal quality and distance, the SX1301 receives all transmissions regardless of the active spreading factor. For a LoRaWAN network covering a farm, industrial site, smart city sector, or campus with dozens to hundreds of sensors, the wAP LR8 kit's 1,000-device capacity is sufficient for the full deployment scale of a single-gateway coverage zone.

Backhaul connectivity is dual-path. The 10/100 Ethernet port provides wired backhaul — a direct connection to a LAN switch or router carries LoRa® packet data upstream to a LoRaWAN network server (The Things Network, ChirpStack, or a private LNS) over the existing wired infrastructure. The 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi radio (802.11b/g/n, Wi-Fi 4, 2-chain) provides wireless backhaul — the wAP LR8 kit associates to an existing Wi-Fi network and forwards LoRa® packet data upstream without a wired Ethernet run to the mounting point. For outdoor mounting locations where running Ethernet cable to the wall or pole mount is impractical, Wi-Fi backhaul eliminates the cabling requirement. The passive PoE-in (9–30V) on the Ethernet port powers the device from the included PoE injector — a single cable from indoors provides both power and wired backhaul simultaneously when Ethernet backhaul is used.

RouterOS v7 on License 4 is the software platform — the same full-featured RouterOS environment used across the MikroTik outdoor product line. The LoRa® package for RouterOS enables the wAP LR8 kit to operate as a LoRa® packet forwarder to an upstream LoRaWAN network server, or in integrated network server mode depending on the RouterOS LoRa® package version and configuration. Firewall, QoS, VPN, scripting, and SNMP monitoring are all available on the gateway device itself — for deployments where the LoRa® gateway is also the network edge device, RouterOS provides enterprise-grade network management without a separate router. Software updates are included for the life of the product, guaranteed minimum 5 years from purchase.

The wAP platform's physical characteristics are well-matched to outdoor LoRa® gateway requirements. IP54 weatherproofing (dust-protected, splash-resistant from any direction) covers rain, humidity, and outdoor moisture exposure. The -40°C to +70°C operating range covers Canadian winter and summer extremes at most deployment locations. Passive cooling — no fan, no moving parts — eliminates the primary mechanical failure mode for outdoor equipment in freeze-thaw conditions. The wall or pole mounting design supports the elevated mounting position that maximises LoRa® coverage radius from the gateway — higher gateway placement directly extends the line-of-sight coverage distance for end-device sensors in the field below.

The wAP LR8 kit includes a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi radio that serves dual purposes — backhaul connectivity to an upstream network as described above, and optionally as a local Wi-Fi access point for devices at the gateway deployment location. A farm gateway that provides both LoRa® sensor data aggregation and local Wi-Fi connectivity for field staff is a common combined deployment scenario. RouterOS manages both radios and both functions independently — the LoRa® gateway function and the Wi-Fi AP function operate simultaneously with independent configurations.

**Canadian market note — frequency band:** The wAP LR8 kit operates at 863–870 MHz — the European LoRa® band. Canadian LoRaWAN networks operate at 902–928 MHz under ISED regulations. The wAP LR8 kit is not the correct gateway for Canadian LoRaWAN deployments. Canadian buyers should be directed to the wAP LR9 kit (915 MHz) without exception. If you list both products, add an unambiguous frequency advisory on this page. The Canadian market use case for the wAP LR8 kit is limited to European-band LoRaWAN infrastructure in Canada — a non-standard and uncommon deployment scenario.

Key specifications:

- **LoRa® radio:** R11e-LR8, SX1301 baseband, 863–870 MHz

- **LoRa® channels:** 8 multi-SF, up to 1,000 concurrent end-devices

- **Wi-Fi:** 802.11b/g/n, Wi-Fi 4, 2.4 GHz, 2-chain, 2 dBi internal antenna

- **Ethernet:** 1× 10/100 Mbps, passive PoE-in

- **PoE-in:** Passive PoE, 9–30V

- **Power input:** DC jack (voltage range — confirm from brochure)

- **Max power consumption:** Confirm from brochure

- **Cooling:** Passive

- **CPU:** QCA9533, single-core MIPSBE, 650 MHz

- **RAM:** 64 MB

- **Storage:** 16 MB FLASH

- **OS:** RouterOS v7, License 4

- **IP rating:** IP54

- **Operating temperature:** -40°C to +70°C

- **MTBF:** ~100,000 hours at 25°C

- **Certifications:** CE, RoHS — no FCC, no IC published

- **Included:** 24V power adapter, PoE injector, wall mounting hardware

- **Product code:** wAP LR8 kit (confirm exact product code from distributor)

- **Suggested price:** USD 149.00

Note: 863–870 MHz European LoRa® band only — not the correct gateway for Canadian 902–928 MHz LoRaWAN networks. See wAP LR9 kit for Canadian deployments. SIM not applicable — this product has no LTE modem; backhaul is via Ethernet or Wi-Fi only.