In the past decade, Long-Range Wire-Area Network (LoRaWAN) has emerged as one of the most widely adopted Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) standards. Significant efforts have been devoted to optimizing the operation of this network. However, research in this domain heavily relies on simulations and demands high-quality real-world traffic data. To address this need, we monitored and analyzed LoRaWAN traffic in four European cities, making the obtained data and post-processing scripts publicly available. For monitoring purposes, we developed an open-source sniffer capable of capturing all LoRaWAN communication within the EU868 band. Our analysis discovered significant issues in current LoRaWAN deployments, including violations of fundamental security principles, such as the use of default and exposed encryption keys, potential breaches of spectrum regulations including duty cycle violations, SyncWord issues, and misaligned Class-B beacons. This misalignment can render Class-B unusable, as the beacons cannot be validated. Furthermore, we enhanced Wireshark’s LoRaWAN protocol dissector to accurately decode recorded traffic. Additionally, we proposed the passive reception of Class-B beacons as an alternative timebase source for devices operating within LoRaWAN coverage under the assumption that the issue of misaligned beacons can be addressed or mitigated in the future. The identified issues and the published dataset can serve as valuable resources for researchers simulating real-world traffic and for the LoRaWAN Alliance to enhance the standard to facilitate more reliable Class-B communication.

Proportional counters filled with hydrogen are suitable for fast neutron detection and spectrometry. As their sensitivity is not limited only to this type of ionizing radiation as desired, an approach suitable for event discrimination was investigated. Several counters of the given construction were subjected to various radiation fields and the effort was directed to the examination of pulse-shape discrimination method intended to distinguish neutrons from gamma rays and parasitic events (microdischarges) if these also occurred. Rising edge duration of the output pulses and their amplitudes were mapped into diagrams enabling visual discrimination while the criteria for further computational processes are to be determined. Pulse waveforms from charge-sensitive preamplifier with the proportional counters connected were recorded using an FPGA-based custom-build acquisition unit and then post-processed. Moreover, the possibility of operation verification and energy calibration based on the introduction of helium-3 admixture into the gas filling was studied, as well as the energy resolution abilities. Also, the theoretical basis for particle discrimination is presented in the form of description of events and principles involved.