Radio Bridge RBS306-TILT-HP-US User manual

Wireless High-Precision Tilt Sensor
User Guide
VERSION 1.3
SEPTEMBER 2019

WIRELESS HIGH-PRECISION TILT SENSOR
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. QUICK START....................................................................................................................... 2
2. OVERVIEW .......................................................................................................................... 2
2.1. Sensor Overview ........................................................................................................................2
2.2. Revision History .........................................................................................................................3
2.3. Document Conventions ..............................................................................................................3
2.4. Part Numbers.............................................................................................................................3
3. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS................................................................................................ 4
3.1. Absolute Maximum Ratings........................................................................................................4
4. BATTERY LIFE....................................................................................................................... 5
5. TEST MESSAGES .................................................................................................................. 6
6. MESSAGE PROTOCOL .......................................................................................................... 6
6.1. Common Messages.....................................................................................................................6
6.2. Uplink Messages ........................................................................................................................7
6.2.1. Temperature Compensation................................................................................................8
6.3. Downlink Messages....................................................................................................................9
6.3.1. Periodic Reports..................................................................................................................9
6.3.2. Hold Time .........................................................................................................................10
6.3.3. Threshold Mode................................................................................................................10
6.3.4. Report-On-Change Mode...................................................................................................11
7. MECHANICAL DRAWINGS...................................................................................................13
7.1. ARMORED OUTDOOR/INDUSTRIAL RBSX06 SENSORS ......................................................13
8. REGULATORY AND COMPLIANCE........................................................................................14
8.1. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ..............................................................................14
8.2. Harmonized Commodity Description (HS Code).........................................................................14
8.3. Export Control Classification Number (ECCN).............................................................................14
9. CUSTOMER SUPPORT .........................................................................................................15
10. DISCLAIMERS...................................................................................................................15
11. LEGAL NOTICES ...............................................................................................................15
12. TRADEMARKS AND COPYRIGHT .......................................................................................15

WIRELESS HIGH-PRECISION TILT SENSOR
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1. QUICK START
To start using your sensor, simply go to:
https://console.radiobridge.com
From here you can register your device and immediately start receiving messages from the
sensor.
The sensor configuration, message monitoring, and setting up alerts is usually self-explanatory
through the user interface. For further explanations of any sensor features, you may refer to this
user guide
2. OVERVIEW
2.1. Sensor Overview
The wireless sensors designed and manufactured by Radio Bridge provide full sensor to cloud
solutions for Internet of Things (IoT) applications. The high-precision tilt sensor uses an
accelerometer to detect the angle from a 0-degree vertical orientation. When the sensor is
tilted either away from or toward the vertical orientation by a specified amount, an alert is
sent to the wireless network. The high-precision tilt sensor has precision to 0.1 degrees. The
thresholds for triggering a tilt event are configurable over the air.
Features include:
•Built-in radio that talks directly with LoRaWAN wireless networks
•Two types of tamper detection: enclosure tamper and wall mount tamper
oEnclosure tamper detects if the packaging of the sensor itself is opened or broken
Available on the RBSx01, RBSx05, and RBSx06 sensors.
oWall mount tamper detects if the sensor has been removed from the wall or
mounting point. Available on the RBSx01 and RBSx05 sensors.
•200,000+ transmissions on a single battery and a 5-10 year battery life depending on usage.
See Battery section for more detail.
•Fully integrated internal antenna
•Over the air sensor configuration in the field
•Automatic low battery reporting and supervisory messages

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2.2. Revision History
Table 1 Revision History
Revision
Date
Description
1.0
April 2019
Initial release of the document
1.1
May 2019
Modified precision on measurement
1.2
May 2019
Added temperature for compensation
1.3
September 2019
Updated common sections
2.3. Document Conventions
Table 2 Document Conventions
Font / Icon
Meaning
Important notes
Warnings and cautions
2.4. Part Numbers
Table 3 Part Numbers
Part Number
Rating
Wireless
Region
RBS306-TILT-HP-US
Outdoor/Industrial
LoRaWAN
North America, South America
RBS306-TILT-HP-EU
Outdoor/Industrial
LoRaWAN
Europe

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3. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
3.1. Absolute Maximum Ratings
Table 4 Absolute Maximum Ratings
Parameter
Rating
Units
Operating ambient temperature
-40 to +70
°C
Storage ambient temperature
-40 to +100
°C

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4. BATTERY LIFE
The sensor uses a lithium non-rechargeable battery and is capable of 200,000+ total messages
depending on the wireless standard and usage. For an accurate estimate of battery life, please
refer to the “Sensor Battery Estimator.xlsx” spreadsheet on the Radio Bridge website. This
spreadsheet combines usage information such as average number of messages per day and
estimates the battery life for a particular sensor.
The power required for a message transmission is much greater than the “sleep current” (the
power consumed when the sensor is inactive) for high power radio technologies such as
LoRaWAN. This means thatthe battery life for most sensors is primarily dependent on the number
of transmissions per day.
Different battery types will deplete over time with different voltage profiles. For instance, a
lithium battery will maintain a relatively high voltage for the life of the battery and then
experience a rapid drop near the end, whereas an alkaline battery will experience a more gradual
reduction in voltage over time. Radio Bridge sensors are shipped with lithium batteries, and these
are recommended when the battery needs to be eventually replaced.
Temperature also plays a role in battery life. The battery life estimates in the online spreadsheet
assume room temperature, but temperatures close to the maximum and minimum ratings will
have a negative impact on battery life. For example, battery voltage tends to be lower in cold
temperatures and the internal circuitry needs a certain minimum voltage to operate properly
before it will shut down. Thus, battery life will tend to be shorter when running the sensor in cold
environments.
The battery voltage is reported by the supervisory messages as well as a low battery indicator.
See the section on Message Protocol for more detail.
Refer to the spreadsheet “Sensor Battery Estimator.xlsx” on the Radio Bridge
website for specific battery life estimates.
Battery voltage will be lower in cold temperatures and thus battery life
will be reduced in cold environments.

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5. TEST MESSAGES
The sensor can be triggered to send test messages by placing a magnet next to the side of the
sensor. The location of the magnet is indicated by the triangular notch on the side of RBSx01
and RBSx05 sensors. RBSx04 sensors do not have this capability. There is a small magnetic Hall
effect sensor that will detect the presence of a magnet and send a message. This can be used for
diagnostic purposes to ensure the sensor is within range and connected to the network.
6. MESSAGE PROTOCOL
This section defines the protocol and message definitions for the sensor.
If the standard Radio Bridge console (console.radiobridge.com) is not used, refer to this section
to decode the sensor data and configure the sensor through downlink messages.
Radio Bridge provides a web-based console at console.radiobridge.com
to configure and monitor sensors. Usage of this console is highly
recommended for most customers rather than implementing the
protocols defined in this section.
6.1. Common Messages
There are common messages across all wireless sensors that are defined in the document
“Common Sensor Messages” which is available on the Radio Bridge website.
Common messages include basic error messages, tamper, supervisory, and downlink ack. It is
important to refer to that document prior to decoding the messages defined in this section.
Refer to the document “Common Sensor Messages” for definitions of all
common messages. Common messages are not defined in this document.

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6.2. Uplink Messages
The uplink message (sensor to web application) specific to the sensor is defined in following
table. The common uplink messages are not included in this section (see common messages
document).
Table 5 Uplink Message 0x0F: High-Precision Tilt Event
Byte
Description
0x00
Tilt event
0x01
Tilt angle from vertical axis –whole degrees
0x02
Tilt angle from vertical axis –fractional degrees
0x03
Temperature in degrees C
The high-precision tilt sensor has precision to 0.1 degrees. Byte 1 of the uplink message is the
whole integer component and byte 2 is in tenths of a degree. For example, a measurement of
48.7 degrees would be represented as 0x30 and 0x07 respectively.
The tilt events are defined in the following table.
Table 6 Uplink Tilt Event Definitions
Event
Description
0x00
Periodic report
0x01
Sensor transitioned toward the 0-degree vertical orientation
0x02
Sensor transitioned away from the 0-degree vertical orientation
0x03
Report on change toward the 0-degree vertical orientation
0x04
Report on change away from the 0-degree vertical orientation
The first two event messages are sent when the tilt angle exceeds the threshold toward or
away from the 0-degree vertical orientation. Note that the angle is relative to a 0-degree
vertical orientation, so small angles will be reported when the sensor is oriented vertically.

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The report-on-change messages are sent when the tilt angle increases away from vertical or
decreases back to vertical a specified amount from the last report. For example, consider a
report-on-change value that is set to 5 degrees and the current angle from the vertical axis is
15 degrees. If the angle increases to 20 degrees an 0x04 event is sent. If the angle decreases
back to 15 degrees, an 0x03 event is sent.
6.2.1. Temperature Compensation
The temperature reported in byte 0x03 of the uplink message is a two’s compliment
signed integer value representing the ambient temperature inside the sensor in degrees
C. This is reported because MEMS-based accelerometers are sensitive to temperature and
thus skew the tilt angle at temperatures significantly above or below room temp.
If tilt precision under 1 degree is required and the sensor is not at or near room
temperature (25 degrees C), then the temperature output can be used to further calibrate
the device. A temperature dependence curve is shown below at an orientation of 0-
degrees.
-1
-0.5
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
-40 -20 020 40 60 80 100
Tilt Offset (Degrees of Tilt)
Ambient Temperature (Degrees C)
Tilt Offset At 0-Degrees of Tilt
The tilt measurement is skewed when the temperature is significantly
above or below room temp.

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6.3. Downlink Messages
The downlink message (web application to sensor) specific to the sensor configuration is
defined in following table. The common downlink messages are not included in this section
(see common messages document).
Table 7 Downlink Configuration Message 0x0F
Bytes
Description
0
Mode –Threshold or Report-on-Change
1
Periodic reporting
2
Hold time
3-6
Defined by Mode selection
A Mode setting of 0x00 selects Threshold Mode (default) and a setting of 0x01 selects Report-
on-Change mode. This selection defines bytes 3-6 as shown in the sections below.
6.3.1. Periodic Reports
The tilt sensor can also send periodic updates, and this is defined in byte 1 of both
modes. A setting of 0 will disable periodic reporting. The period is defined in 1-hour
increments when the most significant bit is 0, and it is defined in 1 minute increments
when the most significant bit is 1 as shown in the following table.
Table 8 Period Bye (byte 1) from Downlink Configuration Message
Bit 7
Bits 6:0
0
Period defined in hours (1-127 hours)
The shape and magnitude of the temperature-dependence curve will be
different depending on the orientation of the sensor. Thus, this curve
alone should not be used for temperature compensation.