Sports Project (Long-Distance Shooting)

Hello, I’m writing from France. I’m a long-range sport shooter (up to 1,800 meters) with a disability (a rare neuromuscular disorder). I’m a member of a small sport shooting club.

I’m looking for a way to get video feedback (at a low cost) from a long-range target (1,800 meters). Please excuse me in advance if I’m not using the correct terminology, but I’m not an expert. While searching, I came across the LoRaWAN “protocol,” which doesn’t seem suitable, and then Halow.

I just bought a few Halow boards with my own money to set up a system with a Raspberry Pi:

ESP32 Wi-Fi HaLow Camera – Heltec Automation +

HT-HC01P WiFi HaLow Module Mini PCIe Interface – Heltec Automation +

Omnidirectional Whip Antenna, 868, 915 MHz – Heltec Automation +

I’m not sure if I’ll be able to build anything. While doing more research, I came across Micro Morse, which (if I understand correctly) has developed a newer MM8108 chip (?).

I’m not a computer expert, but I wanted to know if any of you have set up a similar system?

Thank you for any help you can provide.

With my sincere thanks. Best regards

Video over that long of a range in France will be quite the challenge with the current EU regulations.

On top of the throughput restrictions discussed here due to the duty cycle compliance, there’s also a 25 mW limit on the ERP which will diminish your effective range.

On that note, after a quick skim of the data sheets on the Heltec modules that you’ve linked don’t appear to be EU spectrum compatible (both list 902-928 MHz). Our MM6108 has RF filters on the module that are spec’d for specific frequency ranges that vary by region, so they’d need to be something like an EU skew for them to perform optimally.
The MM8108 chip has improved upon the MM6108 such that it no longer requires the specific filtering.

We also wouldn’t recommend operating our devices outside of your regional designation because firstly it breaks your local communications body’s regulations, but also likely places you in spectra where the technologies that it’s licensed to will drown out a small IoT board.

The antenna should work fine for the EU, however for your application you’d definitely want to consider running directional antennas instead of omnidirectional to maximize the utilization of your ERP. Assuming your deployment would be line of sight (I hope :sweat_smile:) and rural, you may be able to take advantage of the gains from concentrating your transmission.

For throughput you may be able to burst your throughput based on when you’re taking your shots and have the AP on the camera’s side so that you get more duty cycle.

Thank you for your response.
Are you saying that I’m not allowed to use the products I ordered in France because of the frequencies they use?
Also, what can I expect in terms of range and data rate?
Finally, does the MM8108 chip offer better performance (range/data rate)? Where can I find products equivalent to what I ordered?
Lastly, is it possible to send you a private message?

Thank you

There are a multitude of variables to answer your question.
Do you need 60fps UHD video, or would just a bunch of stills stitched together work?
What kind of Optics do you expect to work with? HT-HC32 Camera is low end and designed to be inexpensive. Shooters tend to have high end optics
What kind of latency are you expecting in your video feed?
Is the project an exercise in learning WiFi HaLow? Computers in general? or a specific need?

I am working a project with similar goals but not that long of distances. We have lots of trees here which is different from the OPENMANET Project.
The only thing I have seen close to what you describe is OpenHD which is beyond my time and skill level.
This was a RaspberyPiZero2W at 300ft it has a 5-10 second latency. Uplink was via two bridged MM8108-EKH19-01.

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