piBeacon: 7- tested Beacons

Which Beacons work, have been tested

1. radius Beacons (~$14):
   
   • + on/off function (press once), small, good config apps to set UUID, minor,major, transmit power, and frequency,(iBeacon default pin=00000000)
   • - no beep function
2. xy2 find it ($15)
   
   • +: app to find beacon, can make it beep, good to attach to keys, ==> find keys function & plugin triggers arrive at home,
   • -: difficult to open, no option to configure power, frequency etc, on/off function
3. xy3 find it ($24, 6 for $90)
   
   • +: app to find beacon, can make it beep, good to attach to keys, ==> find keys function & plugin triggers arrive at home,
   • -: no option to configure power, frequency etc, on/off function, but default seem to work fine
   • - : creates 3 beacons with a different (but similar) MAC numbers. 2 are regular beacons (you should select one and delete the other one) the third comes one when you press the beep button. So this beacon can be used (with the beep MAC and fastDown option) to switch on/ off light when you come home in addition to the regular arrival
4. Sanwo ($12)
   
   • + LARGE, difficult to lose , should have some more functions(NFC..), but could not find it, on/off function (press 5 secs)
   • - could not find an app to setup
5. Tile ($24)
   
   • + has good app for setting parameters, has beep function, transmit power shows VERY strong -2dBm, but it seems to be wrong, receiving signal is equivalent to -60dBm transmit power
   • -can not replace battery, app only works with iPhone. In POWERSAVE MODE it send a signal every ~ 5 minutes or when you press the "e" button for 5 seconds or the iPhone apps starts it.IF you run it not in power save mode it works fine with the plugin.
6. Pebble Bee ($23)
   
   • + has good app for setting parameters, has beep function, transmit power shows VERY strong +1dBm, but it seems to be wrong, receiving signal is equivalent to -65dBm transmit power
   • - none
7. JINOU JO-BEC05 ($11)
   
   • + very basic simple beacon
   • - tx power ~ -69dBm, the lowest of all beacons tested so far. An app is available, but does not connect to beacon. The beacon has no switch, no beeper ..No functionality, Does not come with battery (CR2032 +$2)
8. Jaalee iB004N& iB003($20/$25)
   
   • + VERY large battery, use Jaalee beacon app to configure (iBeacons default pin is 666666 =6*6). to start you need to shake the beacon until it beeps, then select the Jaalee beacon you like to configure (hold it close to the iPhone and select the one with the highest RSSI value), select confirm and switch Beacon State to "ON", has Battery level info in the data
     txPower is high +4 .. -20 dBm
9. social retail square and round($29)
   
   + THIN, fit into wallet, The inner parts are Jalee iBeacons, but no app that can configure them
   txPower is ~ -59 dBm
10. USB beacons tested: C3(social retail) and Radius, both work fine (e.g. in a car)
    The signal strength is ~ -59dBm the Radius can transmit both iBeacon as well as eddystone signal($23-$29)
11. iBeacon C1, AAA-Battery was the biggest on the market.They claim > 3years lifetime. Have it in my car works fine. TX-power ~ -59dBm ($22.50)
12. Replaceable 4xAA Battery Waterproof IP65 Dustproof Sanwo iBeacon is the biggest on the market.They claim > 5years lifetime. Have it in my car works fine. TX-power ~ -59dBm ($25.99)
13. iHere comes with a rechargeable battery, shape looks nice, but it is thicker ($10)

My current favorites (still) are
1. xy + beep function
2. radius + on/off, you can set txPower
3.Replaceable 4xAA Battery Waterproof IP65 Dustproof Sanwo iBeacon ~ 5 years battery life
5. for thinnest: social retail square

if you need the functions: TILE and pebbleBee inNONE power save mode

Karl

attached picture of all tested iBeacons.. from left to right:
Sanwo, Jaalee 03, 04, pebbleBee, Tile, JO-BEC05, radius, xy, social retail round & square

FullSizeRender.jpg (413.58 KiB) Viewed 4297 times

and social retail C1 twice as big as the large green one:

Screen Shot 2016-05-17 at 3.37.31 PM.png (183.73 KiB) Viewed 4242 times

updated for support of TILE and pebbleBee and battery Info for Jaalee beacons

Karl, I'm looking at your piBeacon work (thanks!) to implement a dog & people tracker at the house and property. I'll start with the pooches; they go from inside to outside via a dog door so I'll have RPIs inside and outside to locate them in specific zones. Which of these beacons would you suggest I try first for an always-on signal strapped to the collars of two medium size dogs (pit bulls).

TIA,
Terry

I would Start with xy ibeacons and one rpi. Once that works add more


You can now also just your phone


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updated list with social retail iBeacons ==> they are the smallest I could find; they fit into a wallet


Karl

updated beacons tested with social retail C1: biggest beacon yet with std AAA batteries, ideal for your car. should work for > 3 years


I now use 2 ibeacons in my cars:

a BIG one with a large battery + one that fits into the a USB charger --> 12V outlet. That gives me 2 infos:


if I am at home / coming / leaving:

at home:
if BIG is on(> 1 minute), but USB is off: at home

if USB turns on : engine started

leaving:
if both go down: car left

coming back home:
if both are down/expired and BIG or USB: go from expired --> ON: car is coming back

replacing a lithium battery with 2 AAA batteries:
I used the big green iBeacon from Sanwo, after the build-in Li battery was dead to replace it with 2 simple AAA.

It is straight forward, if you can solder a bit:
2 of the battery ends go together ( one + and one -)
and the other 2 + to + and - to - at the proper places on the board, wrap it with some scotch tape and you have an iBeacon that last > 2 years.

Naturally it does not fit into the old cover, but this is one for your car . You could hide in the glove box. It is not pretty. But works.

Karl

Does anyone has a suggestion for beacons in Europe? Most of the recommended beacons are US and have expensive shipping costs...
I've bought the Raspberry Pi3 so I'm almost ready to go

Does anyone has a suggestion for beacons in Europe? Most of the recommended beacons are US and have expensive shipping costs...
I've bought the Raspberry Pi3 so I'm almost ready to go

A few months ago a guy (I think) from Poland had some Sensoro Smart Beacons (also as USB) in his shop, but they are now gone.

I had the same problem with the costs, I friend bought for me 4 RadDot beacons while he was in the States.
Otherwise the shipping costs are a joke!

Does anyone has a suggestion for beacons in Europe? Most of the recommended beacons are US and have expensive shipping costs...
I've bought the Raspberry Pi3 so I'm almost ready to go

A few months ago a guy (I think) from Poland had some Sensoro Smart Beacons (also as USB) in his shop on Amazon Germany, but they are now gone.

I had the same problem with the costs, I friend bought for me 4 RadDot beacons while he was in the States.
Otherwise the shipping costs are a joke!

The next time I come to Germany- likely august- I could bring some and mail them there.


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I've asked XY the question and they are exploring European distributors/resellers.. they will provide me an update this week Will post it here once I've got it.

The next time I come to Germany- likely august- I could bring some and mail them there.


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Karl, that would be great for maybe some German people here if they want.

Shame on me, I didn't finalized the Beacon project...
Don't find the time to do it.

My biggest issue with Indigo at the moment is a Control Page. This should be the priority No. 1
Still don't have a good one which I can present to the rest of the family... so no one can use the stuff apart from me...

I will be in Berlin and Bremerhaven / Germany August 5-23 . I could mail them in Germany.

if anyone wants some iBeacons, dongles, sensors from the US please let me know.

The order book is open

To pay, you could send me money to my german bank account, before or after.

Cost would be Euro = $Cost in US /1.1 +~3?Euro for postage

Karl
exact postage: have to figure out when I am over there.

got 2 orders so far. ANYONE ELSE?


Karl