ANT Forum

Hi,

I am looking into the feasibility in making an installation with the Garmin gsc 10.
I'd like to have multiple bikes in one room equipped with the sensor. Each bike would report to their own pc application.
Is this possible? How would I make sure the app is receiving the data from its bike and not from the one next to it? Is there some sort of channel setup or something?

Many thanks
S      

Hi,

It is possible to have multiple bike sensors in one room report to their own PC application without having to worry about interference and other coexistence problems.

Please refer to the Device Pairing document for information regarding channel setup between a master and a slave. It can be found under the label “AN02 Device Pairing” in the ANT Application Notes Section of the Documents Download tab on the website.

Because you are using multiple devices of the same device type (speed/cadence bike sensor) on the same Network, the differentiating parameter in your channel configuration will be the Device Number. The Device Number (different from device type) is a 2 byte value unique for each sensor. If you are creating your own PC application, a good feature to include would be an option to allow the user to enter their device number manually, as this is the most secure method of pairing. If you are using a commercially available PC application, you can refer to the application’s documents to learn how it handles pairing between multiple devices.

Most commercially available applications are designed to only allow you to connect one sensor to the USB (refer to application specific documents). If you are creating your own PC application, you can open up to 8 different channels and connect 8 bike sensors to one USB module. If you would like to the capability of connecting more than 8 sensors to one USB module, consider implementing the Continuous Scanning Mode (refer to AN14 – Continuous Scanning Mode Document found in the ANT Application Notes Section).

Regards,

Usama
     

Usama,

Thanks for the detailed email.

I am going to look at the documentation you've mentioned.

I think changing the device number seems like a good option.

Or I was also thinking a maybe buying a different speed and cadence sensor and updating the device type.

Thanks
Seb      

Hi Seb,

The second option is not a viable solution as all Bike Speed/Cadence sensors share the same Device Type value. It is a field used to classify different classes of sensors in the ANT+ Network. For example, all Heart Rate Monitors have the same Device Type value and all Weight Scales have the same Device Type value. So a different brand/model of Bike Speed/Cadence sensor will have the same Device Type value as all other ANT+ Bike Speed/Cadence sensors on the market.

Refer to this thread about connecting different commercial applications to a single ANT USB stick: http://www.thisisant.com/forum/viewthread/3688/

Most (or all) commercially available applications block out other software from using the same ANT USB Stick at the same time.

Regards,

Usama