TG-BT5-OUT

Overview

TG-BT5-OUT is a new addition to our MikroTik equipment. It is a Bluetooth tag (a very small gadget) that can be attached to other equipment or other belonging. Bluetooth tags play a big role in IoT topologies, where Bluetooth is used to broadcast the data over short distances. Once installed and configured, the tag will broadcast the data that it "senses" to the gateway (for example, KNOT). The gateway, on the other hand, needs to filter this information and transfer it further to the required destination.

Initial steps

In order to configure the MikroTik Bluetooth tag, you have to set it into configuration mode.

This can be done by putting a magnet (any magnet - strong or weak) to the left side of the tag (as shown in the pictures below). You will see a green LED shining on the left side of the case. When the LED goes off (approx. 10 seconds), the tag will be set to configuration mode and should be reachable from our mobile app.

Factory sleep mode is a default mode that the device uses. In this mode, all components are shut-down as much as possible and MCU is put into the deepest possible sleep state. The current draw is reduced to a minimum so this is the preferred mode to use when the tag is not used to maximize battery life. To exit this mode a reed switch is used. If it’s active for 3-10 seconds, the factory sleep mode will be deactivated and MCU will enter Advertising mode. In advertising mode, tag will broadcast information about itself in Bluetooth advertising packets. By default, MikroTik advertisement is sent once every 5 seconds. This can be changed in the Configuration mode. Configuration mode can only be entered from advertising mode by applying a magnetic field to the same reed switch that was used for exiting factory sleep. When the reed switch is active for 5-10 seconds configuration mode will be entered. Otherwise, MCU will go back into advertising mode.

Install the "MikroTik Beacon Manager" application and run the app.

Upon the first login, you will see the list of "beaconed" devices.

General app settings

There are 3 options available on this screen:

To run "QR Code" reader	To change the order for recognized tags	To enter "APP" settings or to "batch" configure multiple tags

In the "APP" settings you have an option to configure an interval with which the phone scans for the nearby tags (that show up in the list of "beaconed" devices):

You can enable the "Save triggers" option (which will save detected triggers in the database) that will show triggers under "Sensor Triggers" (otherwise, if not enabled, "Sensor Triggers" data will be erased as soon as the app is closed):

And, lastly, in the settings menu, you can check the current app version.

"Batch Configuration" allows you to import (previously exported) tag configuration and apply it to multiple not-yet configured tags at once.

Preparation for the tag configuration

To "wake up" the tag, the reed switch should be activated for about 3-10 seconds (activating the reed switch = putting a magnet over the left-edge side of the tag).

Once the device is recognized, it will show up in the "MikroTik Beacon Manager" list. You can select the tag to save it to the list of "beaconed" devices or configure it by pressing the "CONFIG ONLY" button:

Right after that, you will need to put a magnet over a Bluetooth logo for about 10 seconds to complete the steps:

After a short wind up time, the device should be ready for the configuration:

The app will show general information about the tag in the "Status" tab (as shown in the screenshot above).

Tag configuration

Configuration can be altered in the "Settings" tab (settings shown in the screenshots below are "factory-default" settings):

Amongst the options, you can change the "Beacon" settings and "Accelerometer" settings.

Beacon settings

In advertising mode, the tag will broadcast information about itself in Bluetooth advertising packets. The information depends on the advertising packet type.

At the moment these are all the supported types:

Blyott, Eddystone-TLM, Eddystone-UID, MikroTik, and iBeacon.

Each type has an option to configure 4 parameters:

Accelerometer settings

In this menu, you can set up thresholds for the triggers.

System

In the "System" tab you can view the logs (access to saved info, error and other log messages), put the tag into factory sleep (if the mode is enabled, MCU will wait for the client to disconnect and then enter Factory sleep mode) and upgrade the firmware.

Import/Export

Lastly, you can also import/export the tag configuration using the buttons shown in the screenshot above.