BA-BLE
ADAPTER BA-BLE 5.0 LR (hereinafter - BA-BLE adapter, base, device) is designed to receive and process data from connected wireless measuring devices (up to 10 pieces) and wireless tags (up to 30 pieces), output information to mobile application via Bluetooth wireless channel, work with navigation terminal (tracker) via LLS and MODBUS protocol using RS-232 and RS-485 interfaces.
More detailed technical specifications are presented in the datasheet
BA-BLE adapter is used in monitoring of various objects where wireless measuring and/or indication devices are installed and where it is necessary to transfer information from them to the control device.
Examples of BA-BLE applications:
- Monitoring vehicle fuel consumption in conjunction with a wireless fuel level sensor «TD-BLE» and «TD-150-BLE»
- Measurement of humidity, temperature with sensor «TH-BLE»
- Control of position in space of parts and mechanisms of special equipment (measurement of rotation angle, rotation speed, etc.) by means of a sensor «DU-BLE»
- Tag location control «ID-TAG». Friend and foe systems, trailer equipment control, etc.
Learn more about these devices on нашем сайте.
Connection to BA-BLE
BA-BLE is fully configured via bluetooth using the mobile application available on iOS and Android devices (hereinafter referred to as “the app”).
Start the configurator. Enable bluetooth, geolocation and also make sure that the application has access to Geolocation.
Press Sensor settings button. Afterwards, select BA-BLE.
Find the required adapter by typing the last 6 digits of its serial number. You can find the serial number on the case.
You can also simply select the required sensor from the list and click the Connect button.
Setting password
It is strongly recommend that you set a password on the sensor in order to restrict access to its settings. When you connect for the first time, the application will ask you to set a password automatically.
You can set, change and delete a password in the Additional Features.
Then, in the field that appears named "Password for changing settings", enter the password that you want be used later and click Enter.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE PASSWORD RESET PROCEDURE IS VERY TIME-INTENSIVE. WE RECOMMEND THAT YOU TAKE A RESPONSIBLE APPROACH TO SELECTING YOUR PASSWORD AND MAINTAINING ITS SAFETY.
Also note that the password cannot start with 0.
To delete a previously set password, you must enter it in the Password field, and then press the Enter and then the Delete buttons.
Attention! By default, there is no password set on the sensor! If you connected the sensor and a password was already set on it, contact technical support.
Main parameters
After connecting to the BA-BLE, you will see the main menu.
- BA-BLE serial number
- Firmware version (hereinafter FW)
- Connected sensors and their current readings
Sensor connection
To connect sensors in the main menu of BA-BLE press “+” (1) and in the opened window enter the sensor name or MAC address(2) and press “Connect”(3).
To delete, swipe the sensor to the left and click delete and then disable.
TD-BLE
To connect TD-BLE to BA-BLE, in the main menu press “+” (1) and in the opened window enter the sensor name( TD_******) or MAC address(2) and press “Connect”(3).
You can find the sensor name on the sensor cover (last 6 digits of the serial number) or when searching for or connecting to the sensor in the mobile app.
After connecting the sensor, go to the settings by clicking on its name.
After the switch, you will see the current sensor data, to configure the data transmission, go to RS-232 or RS-485 settings depending on which data transmission interface you are going to use.
After the transition, enable the transmission of the required parameters and in the opened window select the required network address (0-255) through which this parameter will be transmitted and then click on save.
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When selecting a network address, an unoccupied network address must be selected; occupied network addresses are displayed when selected.
The main parameters TD-BLE is selected for transmission are
To remove a tethered sensor, swipe the sensor to the left and click remove and then disconnect.
TD-150-BLE
To connect TD-150-BLE to BA-BLE, in the main menu press “+” (1) and in the opened window enter the sensor name( TW_******) or MAC address(2) and press “Connect”(3).
You can find the sensor name on the sensor cover (last 6 digits of the serial number) or when searching for or connecting to the sensor in the mobile app.
After connecting the sensor, go to the settings by clicking on its name.
After the switch, you will see the current sensor data, to configure the data transmission, go to RS-232 or RS-485 settings depending on which data transmission interface you are going to use.
After the transition, enable the transmission of the required parameters and in the opened window select the required network address (0-255) through which this parameter will be transmitted and then click on save.
When selecting a network address, an unoccupied network address must be selected; occupied network addresses are displayed when selected.
The main parameters TD-150-BLE is selected for transmission are
To remove a tethered sensor, swipe the sensor to the left and click remove and then disconnect.
DU-BLE
To connect DU-BLE to BA-BLE, in the main menu press “+” (1) and in the opened window enter the sensor name( DU_******) or MAC address(2) and press “Connect”(3).
You can find the sensor name on the sensor cover (last 6 digits of the serial number) or when searching for or connecting to the sensor in the mobile app.
After connecting the sensor, go to the settings by clicking on its name.
After the switch, you will see the current sensor data, to configure the data transmission, go to RS-232 or RS-485 settings depending on which data transmission interface you are going to use.
After the transition, enable the transmission of the required parameters and in the opened window select the required network address (0-255) through which this parameter will be transmitted and then click on save.
When selecting a network address, an unoccupied network address must be selected; occupied network addresses are displayed when selected.
The main parameters DU-BLE is selected for transmission are
To remove a tethered sensor, swipe the sensor to the left and click remove and then disconnect.
TH-BLE
To connect TH-BLE to BA-BLE, in the main menu press “+” (1) and in the opened window enter the sensor name( TH_******) or MAC address(2) and press “Connect”(3).
You can find the sensor name on the sensor cover (last 6 digits of the serial number) or when searching for or connecting to the sensor in the mobile app.
After connecting the sensor, go to the settings by clicking on its name.
After the switch, you will see the current sensor data, to configure the data transmission, go to RS-232 or RS-485 settings depending on which data transmission interface you are going to use.
After the transition, enable the transmission of the required parameters and in the opened window select the required network address (0-255) through which this parameter will be transmitted and then click on save.
When selecting a network address, an unoccupied network address must be selected; occupied network addresses are displayed when selected.
The main parameters TH-BLE is selected for transmission are
To remove a tethered sensor, swipe the sensor to the left and click remove and then disconnect.
Configuring ID TAG Transmission
BA-BLE has the functionality of accepting and transmitting ID-TAG tags and applying a variety of filters to customize such systems as friend or foe, trailer equipment control, etc.
The ID-TAG tag setting is described in this manual.
The basic principle of operation, the tag transmits a data packet with its ID (PING) every specified period, BA-BLE reads all the transmission data and calculates the signal strength, after all seen transmissions fall into the memory of BA-BLE to pass the filters, if the tag transmissions pass all the specified filters it falls on the issuing queue on RS-485 where the tag ID will be transmitted according to the period of zeroing the queue.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
Configuring RS-485 transmission
To configure RS-485 tag issuance, go to the “Reader” tab (1) and click on “RS-485” (2).
In the opened window you can configure “LLS address”(3) to which ID tags will be issued and “Reset period”(4) of issuing, it can be set 30-600 seconds. Reset period is the period for which the tag passed filtering will be transmitted via RS-485, that is, if the reset period is 120 seconds, the tag once passed filtering will be transmitted for two minutes via RS-485.
Customizing filters
To configure the tag reception filters, go to the “Reader” menu (1) and press “Filtering” (2)
Filter by tag ID
To add a filter by Major and Minor tag ID, click “Add to the list” (1) and enter the Major and/or Minor tag IDs (2).
Up to 30 of these filters can be added.
With this filter you can filter by group (Major ID) or individually bind up to 30 tags.
We recommend that you set a common group (Major ID) for all tags working with this database and add this group to the filter.
RSSI filter
This filter is needed to sort the labels by signal strength (proximity).
To add, turn on the filter(1) and set the signal strength(2) to dBm with a minus.
To set the correct RSSI filter, place the base and tag in the operating position, disable the filters and go to the main menu of the reader and view the average RSSI(1) value of the desired tag over many measurements.
Also for correct operation of this filter it is desirable to use a filter timer and on the mark it is desirable to set a frequent transmission, for example, every second.
Filter Timer
This filter is necessary to sort tags by time of being in the reception radius, the number of appearances (pings) of the tag filtered by ID and signal strength (RSSI) for a set period of time.
To add it, enable the filter(1) and set the number of ping(2) and time window(3).
It is recommended to set the number of occurrences slightly less than half of the number of sends to the tag, that is, if the tag sends every second and the filter for 50 seconds the number of occurrences should be set to 24.
Also the period of RS-485 zeroing should be slightly longer than the timer time window.
Filter Active Tags
This filter is required to sort by the number of accepted tags.
To add, enable the filter(1) and set the number of active tags(2).
RSSI filter max
This filter is needed to sort the tags with the best reception.
To add, enable the filter(1) and set the number of active tags with the best signal(2).
Example of work
Example: tags with ID Major:1 Minor:100 and Major:1 Minor:200 transmit data every second, first tag with ID 100 approached BA-BLE reader for 30 seconds and after 15 seconds tag with ID 200, the reader has filters: on Major:1, RSSI -70 dBm (filtering by signal strength/approximation) and Timer for 15 appearances (pings) in 30 seconds, RS-485 settings: Address 1, zeroing period 60 seconds. After 15 appearances of the tag with ID 100 with RSSI -70 dBm and better it passed filtering and began to transmit its ID on RS-485 (each request LLS returns with a level of 100 and temperature 1) after another 15 seconds, the tag with ID 200 also passes filtering and gets into the queue for issuance, and begins simultaneous transmission of two tags (one request LLS response with a level of 100 and temperature 1 and the second request LLS response with a level of 200 and temperature 1) so continues until each individual ID will not be transmitted during the zeroing period (60 seconds).
This example is in Navtelecom telemetry:
Connecting to a GPS terminal
Examples of data output
RS-485
RS-485 port parameters
Baud rate: 19200 kbps
Data size: 8
Stop-bits: 1
Parity: None
LLS
Example of data reception in Navtlecom telemetry
- Level and temperature TD-BLE
- Battery voltage (3.7V) and RSSI -50dBm TD-BLE
- Level and temperature TD-150-BLE
- Tilt angle degree and event DU-BLE
- Battery voltage (3.5V) and RSSI -38dBm DU-BLE
- Temperature (26.8 °C) and humidity (18%) TH-BLE
- Illumination (132 Lux) and hall sensor activity (no activity) TH-BLE
- Battery voltage (3.5V) and RSSI -59dBm TH-BLE
- discrete input trip (1 not active, 2 active) TH-BLE
Example of communication log between the tracker and BA-BLE via LLS protocol
31 01 06 6C - request from the tracker to issue data to 1 address
- 31 - request command
- 01 - network address
- 06 - request type (level and temperature)
- 6C - CRC-8/MAXIM
3E 01 06 15 01 00 00 00 EB - response at address 1
- 3E - Response designation
- 01 - network address
- 06 - request type (level and temperature)
- 15 - temperature in HEX (21°C)
- 01 00 - level in HEX in reverse order 00 01 (level 1)
- 00 00 - CNT (while using BLE base it is always empty)
- EB - CRC-8/MAXIM
31 02 06 39 - request from the tracker to issue data to 2 address
- 31 - request command
- 02 - network address
- 06 - request type (level and temperature)
- 39 - CRC-8/MAXIM
3E 02 06 CE 25 00 00 00 FC - response at address 2
- 3E - Response designation
- 02 - network address
- 06 - request type (level and temperature)
- CE - temperaute in HEX (-50°C) negative values go in reverse order from the maximum 255, i.e. 206 is 206-256 -50°C
- 25 00 - level in HEX in reverse order 00 25 (level 37)
- 00 00 - CNT (while using BLE base it is always empty)
- FC - CRC-8/MAXIM
MODBUS
Example of communication log between the tracker and BA-BLE via MODBUS protocol
01 03 00 00 00 04 44 09 - request from the tracker to issue data to 1 address
- 01 - network address
- 03 - read command
- 00 - Low byte of the read register (value is ignored)
- 00 - High byte of the read register (value is ignored)
- 00 - Low byte of the quantity
- 04 - High byte of quantity
- 44 - Low byte of CRC-16/MODBUS
- 09 - High byte of CRC-16/MODBUS
01 03 08 15 00 01 00 00 00 00 00 55 35 - response at address 1
- 01 - network address
- 03 - Command confirmation, always 03
- 08 - Number of unloaded bytes (always 8)
- 15 - Температура HEX (21°C)
- 00 - High byte of HEX level
- 01 - Low byte of HEX level
- 00 00 00 00 00 - Always 0
- 55 - Low byte of CRC-16/MODBUS
- 35 - High byte of CRC-16/MODBUS
02 03 00 00 00 04 45 EB - request from the tracker to issue data to 2 address
- 02 - network address
- 03 - read command
- 00 - Low byte of the read register (value is ignored)
- 00 - High byte of the read register (value is ignored)
- 00 - Low byte of the quantity
- 04 - High byte of quantity
- 45 - Low byte of CRC-16/MODBUS
- EB - High byte of CRC-16/MODBUS
02 03 08 E0 00 25 00 00 00 00 00 93 EE - response at address 2
- 02 - network address
- 03 - Command confirmation, always 03
- 08 - Number of unloaded bytes (always 8)
- E0 - Температура HEX (-32°C) negative values go in reverse order from the maximum 255, i.e. 224 is 224-256 -32°C
- 00 - High byte of HEX level
- 25 - Low byte of HEX level (level 37)
- 00 00 00 00 00 - Always 0
- 93 - Low byte of CRC-16/MODBUS
- EE - High byte of CRC-16/MODBUS
RS-232
RS-232 port parameters
Baud rate: 19200 kbps
Data size: 8
Stop-bits: 1
Parity: None
Passive
To receive RS-232 data in LLS and MODBUS format as query responses, you must:
- Go to RS-232 BA-BLE settings
- Set “periodic data output is disabled”
Request and response format as in RS-485 polling method, addresses according to RS-485 output settings
Active output modes
To enable active output in advance, select the required parameters in the RS-232 output settings in the BA-BLE sensor connection menu.
- Go to RS-232 BA-BLE settings
- Set the desired output mode and save
Output of total level and average temperature from TD sensors
This format is necessary when connecting several units installed in different tanks (double tank equipment).
ASCII format, HEX numeric values
F - unused
T - temperature, 15 is 21°C
N - Total level of connected fuel level sensors, 1491 is 5265
Output of averaged level and temperature values from TD sensors
This format is required when connecting multiple units installed in the same tank
ASCII format, HEX numeric values
F - unused
T - temperature, 14 is 20°C
N - Total level of connected fuel level sensors, 0A48 is 2632
Data output of each TD sensor separately
In this mode, data from all connected fuel level sensors are output separately for each period
ASCII format, HEX numeric values
F - CNT, 5E26 is 24102, 6015 is 24597
T - temperature, 11 is 17°C, 17 is 23°C
N - Level, 0FFF is 4095, 0492 is 1170
Data output of all linked sensors via lls protocol
In this mode, one pair of parameters (signed 0-9) from each connected sensor will be transmitted in one line, the transmitted parameter is selected in the sensor connection settings.
ASCII format, HEX numeric values
Output of all parameters of the connected sensors
In this mode, all parameters (signed 0-9) from each connected sensor will be transmitted in one line.
ASCII format, DEC numeric values
UT*
- For TD-BLE - temperaute
- For TW-BLE - temperaute
- For DU-BLE - not in use
- For TH-BLE - temperaute
LM*
- For TD-BLE - not in use
- For TW-BLE - not in use
- For DU-BLE - not in use
- For TH-BLE - Illumination Lux
UH*
- For TD-BLE - not in use
- For TW-BLE - not in use
- For DU-BLE - not in use
- For TH-BLE - humidity %
HS*
- For TD-BLE - not in use
- For TW-BLE - not in use
- For DU-BLE - not in use
- For TH-BLE - hall sensor activity
UL*
- For TD-BLE - level
- For TW-BLE - level
- For DU-BLE - tilt angle degree
- For TH-BLE - humidity % without a decimal point
UN*
- For TD-BLE - not in use
- For TW-BLE - not in use
- For DU-BLE - tilt angle degree
- For TH-BLE - not in use
UM*
- For TD-BLE - not in use
- For TW-BLE - not in use
- For DU-BLE - not in use
- For TH-BLE - discrete input trip
UP*
- For TD-BLE - not in use
- For TW-BLE - not in use
- For DU-BLE - not in use
- For TH-BLE - not in use
VB*
- For TD-BLE - battery voltage
- For TW-BLE - not in use
- For DU-BLE - battery voltage
- For TH-BLE - battery voltage
RS*
- For TD-BLE - signal strength (RSSI)
- For TW-BLE - signal strength (RSSI)
- For DU-BLE - signal strength (RSSI)
- For TH-BLE - signal strength (RSSI)
Firmware update (FW)
To update the firmware on the BA-BLE:
- Download the current firmware version as a file to the phone memory. The latest firmware can be found in the download section
- Connect to the sensor
- Go to “ Additional features”
- Go to firmware update mode
- Select the firmware file (1) from the phone memory (The firmware file is the .zip archive itself, no need to unzip it) and start the flashing process (2). These actions should be performed within 30 seconds after entering update mode!
- The flashing process should start. Do not close or minimize the application during the flashing process!
- When the updating is completed, a window will pop up indicating that the update was successful
The latest firmware can be found in downloads section
The firmware file is the .zip archive itself, no need to unzip.