What the Beacon Transmits
The SimtoLink Bluetooth AoA positioning beacon is for high-precision indoor and semi-outdoor locating networks. It keeps sending a Bluetooth direction-finding reference that an angle-of-arrival array can solve. Broadcast period, RF phase, and drift over a wide temperature range are held steady, so a warehouse, a hospital, or a plant can stack beacon, AoA gateway, and positioning engine.
SimtoLink advises on mount height, corrects for metal blockage, and supplies a parameter template. The beacon can join a SimtoLink or a third-party positioning platform. A volume project can change the tamper-evident housing, the asset-binding ID, and the harness exit, and ship together with the Bluetooth AoA asset beacon and a LoRa or Ethernet return gateway, which shortens joint commissioning and acceptance.
Reliability on Site
Relevant CCC items for electrical safety and EMC are passed. Ports carry surge protection and reverse-polarity protection. Reinforced grounding and a zoned layout cut ground-loop and common-mode risk. Outdoor and coastal versions can take a higher ingress rating and an anti-corrosion coating.
A batch import covers the parameters. Threshold rules, event video, and waveform capture depend on the model. Configuration and firmware both travel by OTA. Acceptance on site is a power-on self-test, time sync on the link, and a spot check of samples. For metering or a safety use, SimtoLink helps with submission to a third-party metrology institute and supplies the type-test papers.
Key Hardware Parameters
These figures are the typical build, for selection and for the technical schedule in a tender. A wider range, redundant power, or an intrinsically safe version is quoted from the Hardware Specification and the Installation and Commissioning Guide. Order codes in the family can differ slightly. The nameplate and the documents shipped with the beacon decide.
| Parameter | Specification | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Role | AoA positioning beacon (peripheral) | Works with a gateway array |
| Broadcast period | Configurable | Typical 100～1000 ms |
| Direction finding | Bluetooth 5.x AoA | Follows what the gateway can do |
| Update rate | About 7 Hz | Configurable |
| Local interface | RS485 (optional) | Parameters and diagnostics |
| Supply | 3.6 V battery / external | Low-power policy |
| Protection | IP67 | Indoor or semi-outdoor |
| Operating temperature | -26～67 ℃ | Industrial grade |
| Housing | Tamper-evident or screw mount, optional | Volume customization |
| Maintenance | Parameter template and installation notes | In the SimtoLink delivery pack |
Typical Use Cases
How this beacon is usually placed, for selection and for a joint check with the rest of the system:
Warehousing and logistics
Beacons on high racks, aisles, and docks. With an AoA gateway, pallet and forklift tracks stay at sub-meter, and inventory, zone crossing, and work orders can share the same fix.
Hospitals and elderly care
Wards and public corridors, for area-level locating of medical carts, shared equipment, and wander-prevention cards. Logs can go into the hospital work-order system.
Manufacturing and assembly
Beacons on stations, fixtures, and work in process, into the MES for step-arrival checks, lingering alerts, and a view of line-side material.
Install, Ground, and Service
- Check the supply range and polarity before you apply power. If the bus voltage or breaker rating is in doubt, measure it.
- Communications cable is shielded twisted pair, grounded at one end, and not laid for a long run in the same bundle as high-power cables.
- Bring the beacon up in the lab first: bidirectional read and write, and a threshold trip against the platform, then move it to site.
- Outdoors, give water a way out and air a way through. Inspect the seals, and keep the lightning-protection earth inside the local code.
- In service, spot-check samples and archive logs every 6 months.
Ordering, Documentation, and Support
The delivery set includes the hardware specification, dimension drawings, a wiring table, and a sample project. Volume orders can add a sample review and an on-site factory inspection. Warranty and calibration follow the contract and the papers shipped with the unit.
Further Reading
Other hardware pages in this directory, for a network design and a side-by-side selection: