Quick start: Connecting Escort BLE sensors to Teltonika trackers via Bluetooth

Direct BT connection (no adapter)

Currently, the TD-BLE, DU-BLE and TL-BLE are compatible with certain Teltonika models (see the list on the last page of this document; note that it is not definitive; for a more precise list, please, contact Teltonika’s tech support).

Up to 4 sensors can be connected to the majority of different Teltonika models via Bluetooth
In case your tracker has the Rs485 port, the sensors can be connected to such tracker by means of the BLE-Rs485 adapter (also called ‘base’ sometimes)

Before connecting the sensor, find its MAC address via Escort app for Android devices (Apple devices don’t give access to MAC addresses of any devices) or directly on the sensor’s body.


MAC address in the app	MAC address on the sensor’s head

Bluetooth and Bluetooth 4.0 tabs (entering MAC address, BLE Scan settings)

In the Teltonika configurator, go to the Bluetooth tab first. Make sure that everything is configured as shown on the figure below

On the Bluetooth 4.0 tab, configure the BLE Scan settings as follows:

- disable the Non Stop Scan

- set update frequency at 30 seconds (this is the min value)

- BLE scan duration should be 15-20 seconds

- Scan retries until error can be left at 30 (this is actually how many times the tracker will try to get any data from the sensor before sending a connection error code in case of a loss of connection with the sensor)

- Set BT Power level to 7

- switch the BLE Connection control to Allow

Further below you have 4 Connection slots to pair up to 4 sensors (those can be any TD, DU or TH sensors). Click on the Advanced button and then enter the MAC address of the sensor.

Bluetooth 4.0 tab (Preset selection)

Then, click on the preset button and select the preset required for a certain sensor model and click on the Load button :

- “escort fuel” for TD-BLE,

- “escort luminosity” or “escort temperature” for TH-BLE, “Escort_DU-BLE_Angle_sensor” for DU-BLE

I/O tab settings

Next, go to the I/O tab and select the Low option in the Priority column for the BLE Fuel Level and BLE Temperature (BLE Battery Charge is optional) parameters for TD.

In case of a DU-BLE, you may want to set the Operand option to the On Change for the BLE Temperature parameter that corresponds to the Event notification sent by the sensor. Then, whenever the sensor’s Event Notification changes (it might be happening every time the tap of a hatch is opened, for example), the tracker will transmit an extra message to the server immediately upon receiving a new Event Notification.

To find the io_ you need on the monitoring platform, check the following table:

System settings (Codec 8 Extended)

In the System tab, click on the Codec 8 Extended option.

System. Data Protocol. Codec 8 Extended

RSSI check

When selecting the installation spot for the tracker, check the RSSI (Signal Strength) in the Bluetooth 4.0 tab by clicking on the Discover BLE button during 2-3 minutes.

The average value must be from -45 to -85 dB for optimal connection stability.

Checking RSSI is vital

Antenna orientation

Remember to orient the sensor with the tracker so that the sensor’s and the tracker’s Bluetooth antenna were facing each other.

Sensor and tracker orientation (applicable to TD-BLE, DU-BLE, TH-BLE models)

Saving changes

Remember to click on the Save to device button after changing any configurations in the Teltonika configurator to apply the changes.

Saving the changes

Connecting BLE via adapter (BLE-Rs485 base)

1. First, connect the adapter to your C200M or other Rs485-USB converter and connect the USB cable of the converter to your laptop or computer. It is better if all 4 wires of the adapter are connected to the converter: orange to orange (Rs485 Line A), white to white (Rs485 Line B), black to black (GND) and red to red (PWR) (Fig. 13).

Fig. 13 Connecting the adapter to the C200M and to the PC

2. In the Escort configurator for PC, select the COM port that corresponds to the converter that you are using to connect the adapter (to find its number, check the Windows Device manager’s COM and LPT ports section; C200M will be defined there as STMicroelectronics Virtual COM port device). Then go to the BLE then click BLE adapter settings (Fig. 14)

Fig. 14 Connecting the adapter in the configurator (the screenshots are taken from 2 different computers this is why the COM number doesn’t coincide)

3. You will see 4 different cells to connect up to 4 sensors (if the base has the FW 2.3.8 and the configurator is of the 1.0.2.38 version, you need to scroll down to see more cells) (Fig. 14 and 15)


Fig. 14 FW 2.3.5 or older of the base and the configurator 1.0.2.37 or older	Fig. 15 FW 2.3.8 or newer of the base and the configurator 1.0.2.38 or newer

4. Connect the sensor to the first cell before anything else. Click Connect sensor (Fig. 16) and then enter the first letters of the sensor’s model (TD, DU, TL or TH), the lower dash _ will appear automatically. Then enter the 6-digit serial number of the sensor, its password and then click Establish connection (Fig. 17)


Fig. 16 Click Connect sensor or Connect another	Fig. 17 Enter sensor´s letters with serial number and the password and click Establish connection

5. For each sensor the base can use 1 or 2 network addresses to transmit the 2 main parameters via the main one and the 2 additional parameter via the auxiliary address. The additional parameters can be switched off (Fig. 18)

TD-BLE: level and temperature via the main address, the battery charge (3.5-3.7V) and the RSSI value via the auxiliary address

TL-BLE: luminosity and temperature via the main address, the battery charge (3.5-3.7V) and the RSSI value via the auxiliary address

DU-BLE: angle value and battery charge (3.5-3.7V) via the main address, the event notification and the RSSI value via the auxiliary address (if the FW of the base is 2.3.8 or newer; in the base with the FW 2.3.3 or older the event notification and the battery charge are switched)

Fig. 18 Switching the additional parameters off

6. Once the sensor or several sensors are connected to the base, make sure to configure the Rs485 tab of the Teltonika configurator so that the tracker were able to send requests to the network addresses that the base uses to “channel” the data that comes from the sensors (Fig. 19)

Fig. 19 Configuring network addresses

7. Then disconnect the base from the C200M or other converter, connect it to the power supply (black and red wires, the fuse from the kit must be installed in the red wire between the adapter and the power supply) and the orange to the line A Rs485 of the tracker and white to the line B Rs485 (Fig. 20)

Fig. 20 Wiring of the base and the tracker via the Rs485 port

8. In the I/O tab of the Teltonika configurator, select the priority Low (Fig. 21). For DU-BLE’s event notification consider setting Event Only to Yes and the Operand to On Change.

The DU-BLE’s event notification can be transmitted either as a LLS Fuel Level parameter (if the adapter/base has the FW 2.3.8 or newer) or as a LLS Temperature parameter (FW 2.3.3 or older).

Fig. 21 I/O tab LLS parameters

9. The io list for the wired adapter (as well as for the wired sensors) is partially shown below

10. When selecting the spot to install the adapter on, be sure to assess its average RSSI value over the course of 2-3 minutes in the Escort configurator (Fig. 23). It must be falling into the range from -45 to -85 dB

Fig. 23 RSSI check

11. Properly orient the Bluetooth antennas of the sensor and the adapter (Fig. 24)

Fig. 24 Orienting the adapter and the sensor

BLE Fuel Level missing in I/O

If you cannot find the BLE Fuel Level parameter in the I/O tab of a newer version of Teltonika configurator, please, use one of the old ones available via the links below in the "Compatibility list" section of this article.

The links allow you to download a compressed file with an old FW version (you don’t need to install it onto the tracker) and an older version of the configurator for different tracker models.

The password for the compressed file is 1234

Data losses

If there is a connection loss, after several attempts to collect the data (the Scan retries until error setting in the Bluetooth 4.0 tab) the tracker will transmit the error code 3000/300 in the temperature io. The level value will be transmitted as the last reading transmitted by the sensor if it was connected via the BLE base, or 0\-4\65532 in the fuel data.

Before installing a BLE sensor and a tracker, you need to properly configure the BLE Scan sessions as indicated in this article above) and check the stability of the Bluetooth connection to select the best spot to install the GPS tracker/gateway (or BLE-RS485-RS232 adapter) to minimize the risks of connection losses happening in the future. Also, be sure to orient the antennas of the devices as per recommendations provided in this article above.

To determine if the connection between the Bluetooth transmitter of the sensor and the Bluetooth receiver is stable or not, you should use the RSSI parameter. When you search for a place to install the GPS tracker, you should calculate the average RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) by taking into account the 10 or more measurements of the RSSI taken over the course of 2-3 minutes while the engine of the vehicle is running and all electronics inside the cab and around the vehicle are switched on.

The reason why the RSSI should be taken as the average value is that the RSSI itself is a dynamic parameter, its value changes constantly. This average value must be within the connection stability range.

In case of the Bluetooth 4.0 the connection stability range is the value from -35 dBm to -85 dBm. If the average RSSI is less than -85 dBm (for example, -90 dBm), placing the tracker/gateway where it was during the RSSI check will most probably lead to the connection instability. As a result, not all the sensor's data packages will be received by the tracker.

The solution is to try and turn the tracker around a bit or move it closer to the sensor and placing it at a spot where the average RSSI will be within the -35...-85 dBm range. Alternatively, you could install our BLE-RS485-RS232 BA_BLE adapter/base that tends to perform better than the Bluetooth modules of the trackers.

Please, note that the RSSI is calculated by the receiver, so the connection quality is determined by the receiver and also depends on the receiver's sensitivity.