Connect gwTool6/gwTool7 Gateways to ChirpStack with Basic Station

This guide connects ManThink gateways to ChirpStack through the LoRa Basics Station LNS protocol. GD61/GD61x uses gwTool6; GDI51, GDO51 and GDI52 use gwTool7. The historical WebServer workflow for old GDI51/GDO51 batches remains available in GW-AN08.

Scope and prerequisites

Prepare the following before you start:

• Gateway EUI, regional band and channel plan;
• a ChirpStack account that can create gateways;
• the ChirpStack Gateway Bridge Basic Station LNS WebSocket endpoint;
• the CA for TLS and, for mutual TLS, a gateway client certificate and private key;
• a management path that will remain available while the LoRaWAN service restarts.

The ChirpStack Gateway Bridge Basic Station backend implements LNS. This guide does not present CUPS as a ChirpStack connection method.

Configure ChirpStack Gateway Bridge

1. Enable the basic_station backend and configure its listener.
2. Configure router_config with the channel plan that matches the gateway hardware and deployment region.
3. Select an authentication mode:
   • no authentication, only for an isolated test network;
   • server TLS, with tls_cert and tls_key on Gateway Bridge and the issuing CA on the gateway;
   • mutual TLS, adding the ca_cert that validates gateway client certificates.
4. For mutual TLS, the client-certificate Common Name (CN) must contain the 64-bit Gateway ID as a hexadecimal string, for example 0102030405060708.
5. Restart Gateway Bridge and confirm its WebSocket listener starts without certificate or channel-plan errors.

See the official ChirpStack Basics Station backend guide.

Register the gateway in ChirpStack

1. Create a gateway under the intended ChirpStack tenant.
2. Enter the Gateway ID/EUI printed on the device label.
3. Use the same regional configuration as Gateway Bridge router_config and the gateway RF hardware.
4. Keep the gateway details or events page open for verification.

Gateway configuration

Record the current LoRaWAN uplink configuration first. Switching to Basic Station can restart the LoRa service or the gateway; do not proceed during OTA, configuration writes or critical downlink operations.

gwTool6

Applicable models: GD61/GD61x.

1. Sign in to gwTool6 and open LNS Configuration.
2. Select Basic Station as the uplink driver and choose direct LNS.
3. Enter the complete endpoint in tc.uri:
   • without TLS: ws://<gateway-bridge-address>:<port>;
   • with TLS: wss://<gateway-bridge-hostname>:<port>.
4. For TLS, upload the CA that issued the server certificate.
5. For mutual TLS, also upload this gateway's client certificate and private key, and confirm the certificate CN matches the Gateway ID.
6. Enter an Authorization value only when the deployment's reverse proxy explicitly requires one; do not reuse an unrelated platform API key.
7. Save, wait for the LoRa service to recover, then reopen the page and confirm the stored values.

gwTool7

Applicable models: GDI51, GDO51 and GDI52.

1. Sign in to gwTool7 and open LORAWAN → LoRaWAN NS.
2. Under NS1, set Server location to Remote, choose ChirpStack as the vendor, and select BasicStation LNS (basicstation_lns).
3. Enter the complete ws:// or wss:// Gateway Bridge endpoint in Server URI. The screenshot value wss://chirpstack.example.com:3001 is only a syntax example.
4. For TLS, select or upload the CA that issued the server certificate under CA certificate (trust). Mutual TLS additionally requires this gateway's client certificate and client private key.
5. Save, wait for the service to recover, reload the page and confirm that protocol, endpoint and certificate state did not revert.

Firmware variations

Vendor, certificate and secondary-NS controls differ between gwTool7 firmware deliveries. A visible control is not proof that its value is active; verify on both the traffic page and ChirpStack.

Verify the connection

1. Confirm that Last seen or the online time updates on the ChirpStack gateway page.
2. Trigger one known LoRaWAN uplink.
3. On gwTool6, inspect LoRa service status and logs; on gwTool7, open LORAWAN → Traffic.
4. Confirm the same uplink in ChirpStack gateway events and, when permitted, perform one controlled downlink.
5. For TLS, confirm Gateway Bridge logs contain no CA, certificate CN, validity or system-time errors.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Checks
WebSocket does not connect	Endpoint, port, firewall, DNS and whether ws/wss matches Gateway Bridge
TLS handshake fails	Gateway time, server-certificate hostname, CA chain and validity; for mutual TLS, also the client-certificate CN
Gateway is online but no uplinks arrive	Gateway EUI, regional band, router_config, antenna and end-device channel plan
Uplinks work but downlinks fail	Receive windows, Gateway Bridge/ChirpStack logs, network latency and gateway time
Values revert after saving	Delivered-firmware support, field syntax and the effective configuration after service restart