F.A.Q.
A. Unfortunately, no. The LoRa APRS system uses 433 MHz worldwide (with some exceptions), while the legacy AFSK APRS system uses 144.800 MHz in Europe and 144.390 MHz in North America. Additionally, the modulations are different, so they are not compatible. You cannot use a LoRa Tracker with a 2m APRS iGate.
A. There are several reasons :) First of all, setting up a LoRa APRS iGate or Digipeater is easier and cheaper than AFSK APRS. Second, a LoRa receiver can successfully receive and decode a useful LoRa signal up to 20 dB below the noise level, resulting in a receiver sensitivity of a maximum of -149 dBm. This is a significant improvement compared to the maximum FSK sensitivity of approximately –125 dBm to -130 dBm. With the FSK receiver, the signal can only be successfully decoded if the useful signal is approximately.
Finally, LoRa modules have much better energy consumption compared to AFSK radio modules.