Beacons in the UK. Where to buy? Any criteria for testing?

Posted on
Tue Jan 17, 2017 1:32 am
docp offline
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Joined: Dec 31, 2016

Beacons in the UK. Where to buy? Any criteria for testing?

Hello

Has anyone got any suggestions on which beacons to try in the UK? The xy find it beacons seem to be sold out everywhere. I have found a few sites selling different type software beacons and want to try some of those. Are there any specific criteria to look out for when buying or is it just trial and error?

Thanks!

Posted on
Tue Jan 17, 2017 4:01 am
benip offline
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Joined: Mar 08, 2016

Re: Beacons in the UK. Where to buy? Any criteria for testin

Firstly, Karl's page on tested beacons is really helpful, although as you say, a good many aren't available here in the UK.

I have had good results with the jaalee beacons (sold as AnkhMaway on beaconzone) that Karl talks about. Large social media beacons are good for the car - from France via Amazon when available. I've bought one or two from Avvel (own website and on Amazon as well.)
More recently I'm liking the Tile Mate keyfob beacons. They work well, but the app musn't be running on your phone. Signing out of it is best.

I'd be interested in knowing about any other good beacons/sources you come across.

Posted on
Tue Jan 17, 2017 12:12 pm
kw123 offline
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Re: Beacons in the UK. Where to buy? Any criteria for testin

this will only get better with brexit :twisted:

as for the selection: the simpler the better.
They are supposed to do one thing and one thing only: send an ibeacon message every 0.x seconds at a signal strength of ~ -59 dBm.
With some of them you can set signal strength and interval. Interval should be <= 1second ; 10/second is overkill and will flood the airwaves.
if you chose 1 second the battery will last longer.

Some of them (more sophisticated .. :cry: ) will send an iBeacon message and then some other types with another UUID. That will make the UUID flip in your device listing randomly

Karl

Posted on
Tue Jan 17, 2017 12:28 pm
durosity offline
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Re: Beacons in the UK. Where to buy? Any criteria for testin

kw123 wrote:
this will only get better with brexit :twisted:


Oddly enough I had a dream last night where after brexit they forced a change in frequencies used for HA stuff and obsoleted old equipment. And Teresa may was just standing there laughing her head off. I really wanted to punch her but her she was like 20 meters tall.. and then started rampaging through town destroying buildings like Godzilla...


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Computer says no.

Posted on
Thu Jan 19, 2017 4:32 pm
docp offline
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Joined: Dec 31, 2016

Re: Beacons in the UK. Where to buy? Any criteria for testin

Thanks for the replies. I have ordered a tilemate to start with!

Posted on
Tue Jan 24, 2017 4:59 pm
howartp offline
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Joined: Jan 09, 2014
Location: West Yorkshire, UK

Re: Beacons in the UK. Where to buy? Any criteria for testin

Bit late to the thread, but I use RadBeacons ordered directly from USA - they arrive almost next day to say they're coming cross-Atlantic!


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Posted on
Tue Jan 24, 2017 11:52 pm
kw123 offline
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Re: Beacons in the UK. Where to buy? Any criteria for testin

I will be in Europe middle of February. I could bring some beacons from the us. If anyone wants some please let me know.


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Posted on
Wed Jan 25, 2017 10:26 am
kw123 offline
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Location: Dallas, TX

Re: Beacons in the UK. Where to buy? Any criteria for testin

got "orders" for 10 xy3 beacons
the cost is now: $15/piece +6.25%Texas Sales Tax + shipping I guess $3-5 in EU
So for 3 it would be:
$47.81 = 3*15+6.25%
$ 4.00 = shipping (exact amount tbd)
$51.81 = Total

I will order this weekend if anyone wants to join: send me colo(u)r, how many and address.
Will be put into mail on Feb 16/17 in Frankfurt/Germany
Payment through PayPal


Karl

Posted on
Wed Feb 01, 2017 12:51 am
docp offline
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Joined: Dec 31, 2016

Re: Beacons in the UK. Where to buy? Any criteria for testin

Thanks for the offer. I got the tile beacon working now so will stick with this! Great plugin!

Posted on
Wed Feb 01, 2017 2:18 am
sgbirch offline
Posts: 99
Joined: Sep 11, 2013

Re: Beacons in the UK. Where to buy? Any criteria for testin

durosity wrote:
kw123 wrote:
this will only get better with brexit :twisted:
Oddly enough I had a dream last night where after brexit they forced a change in frequencies used for HA stuff and obsoleted old equipment. And Teresa may was just standing there laughing her head off. I really wanted to punch her but her she was like 20 meters tall.. and then started rampaging through town destroying buildings like Godzilla...


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


That wasn't just a dream, it was a precognition :-)



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Posted on
Wed Feb 01, 2017 3:16 am
durosity offline
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Location: Newcastle Upon Tyne, Ye Ol' England.

Re: Beacons in the UK. Where to buy? Any criteria for testin

That's just a disturbing thought. Matt & Jay please ban sgbirch for making me have more bad dreams!

Computer says no.

Posted on
Wed Feb 01, 2017 7:43 am
johnpolasek offline
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Joined: Aug 05, 2011
Location: Aggieland, Texas

Re: Beacons in the UK. Where to buy? Any criteria for testin

Hey, I heard the other day that there may be no brexit, since your supreme court declared the vote to be nonbinding unless Parliament ratifies it... which if your government is anything like ours will be about as successful as herding cats.

Posted on
Wed Feb 01, 2017 9:18 pm
kw123 offline
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Re: Beacons in the UK. Where to buy? Any criteria for testin

But the Don will offer you a great deal .. no need for the EU.

Posted on
Mon Mar 06, 2017 7:42 am
stuartcolman offline
Posts: 81
Joined: Nov 01, 2015
Location: Essex, United Kingdom

Re: Beacons in the UK. Where to buy? Any criteria for testin

I'm in the UK and I have been using the following:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/301977554533? ... EBIDX%3AIT

They seem to work like a treat, they keep the BLE signal going all of the time, and so far so good with regards to battery. Plus the major advantage is that they are dirt cheap.

I have 3 Rpi3s in the house and these tags are recognised pretty much wherever they are.

Hope this helps.

Posted on
Fri May 05, 2017 3:47 am
AndyVirus offline
Posts: 257
Joined: Mar 18, 2014
Location: Newport Pagnell, UK

Re: Beacons in the UK. Where to buy? Any criteria for testin

stuartcolman wrote:
I'm in the UK and I have been using the following:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/301977554533? ... EBIDX%3AIT

They seem to work like a treat, they keep the BLE signal going all of the time, and so far so good with regards to battery. Plus the major advantage is that they are dirt cheap.

I have 3 Rpi3s in the house and these tags are recognised pretty much wherever they are.

Hope this helps.


Are they easy to identify which is which?
Do they have identifiers that are similar or just random?
So far, has any failed. I have TrackR ones and they fail constantly, battery lasts a few weeks at best.

For the price they sound great for experimenting. How has your experience been to date with these?

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