Overview

The strand is a radio-only, fully autonomous sensor connectivity instrument. The Strand is designed to automatically detect and connect to your existing wireless mesh network, then transfer data back to the gateway and onto the sensemetrics cloud/enterprise server.

This article will cover the following topics:

• Strand Overview 
• Strand Installation
• Adding a Strand
• Strand Information

Strand Overview 

Strand as a Connection

The Strand will be added as a connection within the sensemetrics hierarchy of Connections, Devices, and Sensors. 

Each Strand Can Have 4 Vibrating Wire Sensors

A Strand has four 4-channel wired sensor ports on it that can be configured to the Strand Device.

Sensors are Dependent on the Device

A Device can have one or many sensors associated with it, all dependent on the device. Sensors are where the data will be collected.

Each Strand will have three default sensors associated with it for Strand diagnostics: Voltage, Signal Strength, and Temperature. These can be selected in the sensor window and plotted in the data tab. These diagnostic sensors are independent of the Vibrating Wire sensors that will be configured on the device.

Strand Installation

STEP 1

Network Preparation- Make sure you have properly set up your Thread network with a well-established Gateway Thread with good signal and a proper line of sight to the Strand installation location. If not, learn how in Setting up the Network. We recommend that no more than 10 Strands be connected to each Gateway Thread. If the Thread is older, please reach out to Bentley IoT support to let them determine if the Thread needs to be updated prior to Strand installation.

STEP 2

Strand Preparation- Open the Strand with the provided Torx T-20H screwdriver, install the provided antenna by screwing it in on the top center of the Strand, and insert the provided SAFT D batteries into the battery terminals. Please ensure proper polarity direction when installing batteries.

STEP 3

Strand Connection- After the batteries have been installed, please observe the behavior of the LED light on the back of the Strand. The LED will turn solid red while attempting to connect to the nearest Gateway Thread. If the red light has turned off for more than 15 seconds, the Strand has successfully connected. For more information regarding Strand LEDs, see the Strand LED Status Indication article.

Adding a Strand

Here, we will walk through adding a Strand to your sensemetrics server.

Login to the sensemetrics cloud server, app.sensemetrics.com or your privately hosted Enterprise solution at the IP Address assigned to the appliance.

STEP 1

Click the Connectivity tab at the top of the page.

STEP 2

Press the +Connection button in the Connections Column

STEP 3

In the Configure New Connection window, select Strand.

STEP 4

Enter the 7 digit Connect Code of the Strand located on the back label or scan the QR code if you are adding the device on the mobile app, and click Next. 

Congratulations, you have successfully added a Strand! Sensemetrics recommends changing the default sampling and reporting intervals on the Strand to 15 minutes to confirm connectivity. Information on editing these settings can be found in Strand Settings. After connection is confirmed, please change these settings back to the desired sampling and reporting rates for battery preservation.

You are now ready to Add a Device.

Strand Information

Each Strand has information available for viewing and settings that the User is able to customize in the application. To navigate to this information click on the Strand that you wish to view or edit in the Devices window, and it will bring you to the Details Screen.

Details

The details page allows the user to view the Strand's connection details, serial number and Gateway information, device location (if configured in settings), and last reported sensor readings. Please note that the Gateway will only show up on the Strand information tab if the Gateway is on the same project as the Strand.

Strand Settings

Some Strand settings can be configured by navigating to the Edit Configuration tab illustrated below by clicking Edit Configuration on the left side of the Details tab.

If navigating to the page from the connection selection within Connectivity, the user can edit the Strand name, location, sampling interval, reporting interval, and add notes on this page.  A Strand can also be archived within the Strand Settings page by clicking the three vertical dots in the upper right corner of the page. Please note that a device archive can only be performed by a "Creator" level account on your project.