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WouterJD / FortiusANT

FortiusANT enables a pre-smart Tacx trainer (usb- or ANT-connected) to communicate with TrainerRoad, Rouvy or Zwift through ANT or Bluetooth LE.
GNU General Public License v3.0
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What USB ANT+ BLE dongles to use and where to buy? #61

Open WouterJD opened 4 years ago

WouterJD commented 4 years ago

ANT dongles

FortiusANT supports USB dongles with the ID's 4104 (Suunto), 4105 (Garmin) or 4100 (Older).

USB-dongles can be bought on miscellaneous shops, Google for "usb ant+ dongle"...

Currently (April 2020...Jan 2021) it appears there is a high demand and therefore some links to suppliers to give you suggestions - sorry for suggestions in the Dutch area and that some reference appear to be out-of-stock.

Read this post for general information.

Warning (CYCPLUS, Amazon, Aliexpress) , read this first. Dongles from manufacturer=CYCPLUS (also advertised as Antself, sold by Amazon) are reported not working well with FortiusANT (#45 #65). See also tacxfaqx.com. Some recovery from errors is implemented in FortiusANT 3.0 but behavior remains poor. Refer to this post from Ilja for some explanation.

Because of the worldwide audience it's impossible to give a clear direction where to buy and we can only provide suggestions - use this page to post questions and others may help you. Please understand these are only references to ANT+ dongles and please understand that this does not imply any guarantee from our side!

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) Dongles

Onboard Windows Bluetooth is not supported; a separate BLE-dongle is required.

When using - b (node.js) supported dongles are (see documentation) and node-bluetooth-hci-socket:

Known good models:

Other suppliers

USB-hubs

You use a USB-hub AND have connection problems? Read this

totalreverse commented 4 years ago

I have two budget ANT+ sticks labeled ANSELF. They work without problems.

You can order them i.e. from ebay amazon

My sticks have ID 0x1008 (4104). Other reported that their sticks have ID 0x1009 (4105), which should work, too.

RodeTheAlpe commented 4 years ago

I bought Anself from Amazon as well, no problems using with Zwift, Rouvy, etc... https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M3VQP6Z

aegisdesign commented 4 years ago

@WouterJD Looking at the investigation on tacxfaqx.com, is it possible to detect the faulty cycplus dongles lack of continuous scanning mode in code and warn they won't work?

WouterJD commented 4 years ago

Any code-suggestions welcome. Please follow #65

harveygf commented 4 years ago

@WouteJD Great product. Managed to finally get my old machine connected to Zwift. I have the I-flow with the T1932 (white/Blue) head unit. My question is to do with the Ant+ dongles. I was able to have the Trainer connected my one Windows 10 Laptop with the USB that runs a DynaStream AntUSB-M dongle and has the 0x1009 ID. I then ran the FortiusANT.exe and everything worked 100%. Then on a 2nd windows 10 Laptop I had the same DynaStream AntUSB-M dongle and has the 0x1009 ID, and this had zwift loaded. I was able to pick up the Ant sensors and my HR strap (direct into Zwift) and do a ride. The problem is I still required the old TACX software to work for my wife. So I converted the first Laptop back to the Tacx software and decided to run everything off the 2nd laptop. I was able to get the trainer to talk to the FortiusANT.exe and it picked up and calibrated the trainer, also picked up the DynaStream AntUSB-M dongle and has the 0x1009 ID. I pressed the start button and Speed, Cadence and power were working 100%. I then started the Zwift software, which it picked up the sensors, but when doing that FortiusANT.exe looses connection to the ANT dongle. It seems Zwift is trying to use the same ANT dongle as FortiusANT.exe instead of it using the 2nd dongle. I know both dongles are the same but have I done something wrong with the setup or installation of the ANT Dongles, or do I need to use 2 different dongles. Again this is an awesome product you are creating. Thank you very much

WouterJD commented 4 years ago

Hi @harveygf . I'm Wouter from the Netherlands and happy that you're thrilled about FortiusANT. I'm always curious where the product goes to and therefore like to know where you are located. If you like, ping me on strava!

Basically what you try to do is OK and I have done it myself as well. So we're talking about PC2 (#1 is for your wife). Sequence is OK: first start FortiusANT, Start, Calibrate; then start Zwift. Note that during calibration, FortiusANT will not be seen by Zwift.

FortiusANT connects to the first dongle that is available and I assume also Zwift does so, then taking the second dongle.

You state that "FortiusANT.exe looses connection to the ANT dongle"; please explain - what happens?

harveygf commented 4 years ago

Hi @wouterJD To keep you up to date late last night I managed to get all the drivers uninstalled for Libusb-win32 (Had to use an external program in the end). I then installed the libusb-win-32 "VR-Virtulal" driver. After that I created libusb-win-32 - for the FortiusAnt to access the Ant+ dongle. This one I actually changed the name and the manufacture. Once this was done I tested the FotiusAnt.exe and all was working 100%. Lastly I plugged in the 2nd Ant+ dongle, but then went to device manager and updated the driver but used the one supplied by Zwift. Once this was done, I was able to get FortiusAnt.exe to work with the trainer and swift to use the 2nd Ant+ dongle for connection. I will test it tonight with a ride. Just a quick question for FortiusAnt.exe. I know you can add commands when starting it up like your FTP, Bike gears etc. Does it also use rider and bike weight in it's calculations for power? Thank you again, great product.

WouterJD commented 4 years ago

We are working on a new version where the power calculation is improved. Refer to pullrequest https://github.com/WouterJD/FortiusANT/pull/84 where this development is discussed

harveygf commented 4 years ago

@WouterJD Managed to do a zwift ride last night, Worked great. I did notice my ave watts was way lower than normal on both the fortiusAnt.exe and Zwift, but was still great to use it. Went to do another ride today and unfortunately it has been blocked by Symantic Anti Virus for both the ExploreANT.exe and the FortiusANT.exe as Heur.AdvML.B Heuristic Virus. Even states is does not suspect it is a real virus but is blocked anyway by the "blooodhound and SONAR" in Symantic. As my office controls this part, I can't even into the ignore list :-( Not sure if anyone else has had this happen. Trying to now see if the wife will let me use her mac, but doubt that ha ha

mruzzon commented 3 years ago

Any code-suggestions welcome. Please follow #65

I've been running the code on a Mac using Python successfully for the most part except for frequent dropouts while using the CYCPLUS ANT+ dongle. I've noticed that the frequency of dropouts improved considerable after setting the hear rate data to none, thou...

Any plans to add BLE support instead? Would be really neat to run directly from the Mac or somewhere else directly to my iPad... Thanks

WouterJD commented 3 years ago

Any code-suggestions welcome. Please follow #65

...on a Mac .. frequent dropouts while using the CYCPLUS ANT+ dongle. Any plans to add BLE support instead?

mruzzon commented 3 years ago

It disconnects several times and reconnects, only issue that's causing for now is that it seems to hinder the calibration process...

BLE - what I meant is if it would be possible to broadcast the data using bluetooth instead of ANT+, no dongle needed in this case.

Thanks a lot for this!

WouterJD commented 3 years ago

Issue closed, because I want to have a short issue-list to keep focus. Questions and comments remain welcome!

kiwisibk commented 3 years ago

So is the CYCPLUS dongle now working or not? Which one to recommend for best results? Thanks

WouterJD commented 3 years ago

If you make the question binary; the answer is: no. The reason is unclear.

Other dongles do not report similar problems

Welcome in the FortiusANT arena. Please introduce yourself; where do you come from and what Tacx do you use?

kiwisibk commented 3 years ago

Great, thanks for the quick answer! 👍

Could you recommend me some good working dongles? Not too expensive if possible?

Thanks once again! Best regards Arno

WouterJD notifications@github.com schrieb am Do., 5. Nov. 2020, 23:10:

If you make the question binary; the answer is: no. The reason is unclear.

Other dongles do not report similar problems

— You are receiving this because you commented. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/WouterJD/FortiusANT/issues/61#issuecomment-722675066, or unsubscribe https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AHUUZW2US7ZZVB2H4VHXUOLSOMPGHANCNFSM4MP7OLPA .

WouterJD commented 3 years ago

Hi Arno how are you today? Please tel me what Tacx you use; welcome in our community - you are the first athlete in Poland!

What dongle to buy is difficult to say; it depends very much on the country. The header of this post provides links; Futurumshop-dongles work well and cost here around EUR 30,= (you need two). I don't know for you what the easiest shop is. If you have issues, please let me know.

kiwisibk commented 3 years ago

Good morning :)

Thanks I'm fine, how are you?

I'm from South Tyrol in northern Italy, not Poland.. :) It's a paradise for biking, unfortunately with lockdown we have to stay at home... :(

I have an old i-Magic trainer, and unfortunately cannot use anymore the Tacx TTS4 software.

So I found your excellent tutorial and hope now to be able to move to Zwift or Rouvy... :)

So you mean in Italy another brand should be used?

Thanks Regards Arno

Am Fr., 6. Nov. 2020 um 08:22 Uhr schrieb WouterJD <notifications@github.com

:

Hi Arno how are you today? Please tel me what Tacx you use; welcome in our community - you are the first athlete in Poland!

What dongle to buy is difficult to say; it depends very much on the country. The header of this post provides links; Futurumshop-dongles work well and cost here around EUR 30,= (you need two). I don't know for you what the easiest shop is. If you have issues, please let me know.

— You are receiving this because you commented. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/WouterJD/FortiusANT/issues/61#issuecomment-722922717, or unsubscribe https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AHUUZWYFXKSOVBWUZQGIHXDSOOP3TANCNFSM4MP7OLPA .

WouterJD commented 3 years ago

Hi Arno, sorry for confusion. I got a response on Strava at same time from Krzysztof Bejner and connected that to kiwisibik...

Please refer to https://github.com/WouterJD/FortiusANT/issues/14#issuecomment-722936417 Amazon stick, 17 days delivery.

I hope it helps

PS South Tyrol I know a bit; tell me more? Are you on strava as well?

aegisdesign commented 3 years ago

I have an old i-Magic trainer, and unfortunately cannot use anymore the Tacx TTS4 software.

Quick reminder that you can still use Fortius v2.02 with your i-Magic. It doesn't require registration unlike later software. See https://lunicus.org/tacx-trainers/fortius-software/ for a download.

kiwisibk commented 3 years ago

Wow! Thank you so much for this great information!! :)

Will try asap this afternoon!

Am Fr., 6. Nov. 2020 um 10:10 Uhr schrieb Shaun Murray < notifications@github.com>:

I have an old i-Magic trainer, and unfortunately cannot use anymore the Tacx TTS4 software.

Quick reminder that you can still use Fortius v2.02 with your i-Magic. It doesn't require registration unlike later software. See https://lunicus.org/tacx-trainers/fortius-software/ for a download.

— You are receiving this because you commented. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/WouterJD/FortiusANT/issues/61#issuecomment-722967248, or unsubscribe https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AHUUZWZFJ4256MHTPAIIEVTSOO4RTANCNFSM4MP7OLPA .

skrypt-nl commented 3 years ago

Hi Wouter, Do you have any idea if this dongle from ADDFOO is supported by your software?

WouterJD commented 3 years ago

Hi @skrypt-nl welcome in the FortiusANT world. Please tell me some more, like name, where you are located and what Tacx you use.

The only dongle I had negative reactions for is the CYCPLUS, so you may give it a try. Good prince.

omedirk commented 3 years ago

This one works just fine: Hackerstore Dongle

WouterJD commented 3 years ago

Thanks @omedirk I've added it to the issue description!

kiwisibk commented 3 years ago

I have an old i-Magic trainer, and unfortunately cannot use anymore the Tacx TTS4 software.

Quick reminder that you can still use Fortius v2.02 with your i-Magic. It doesn't require registration unlike later software. See https://lunicus.org/tacx-trainers/fortius-software/ for a download.

I have problems running it on a Virtual Machine. Do you think Fortius Software will run as well on WIN 10? Thanks

WouterJD commented 3 years ago

FortiusANT works well on WIndows 10; virtual machine I cannot judge

aegisdesign commented 3 years ago

I have an old i-Magic trainer, and unfortunately cannot use anymore the Tacx TTS4 software.

Quick reminder that you can still use Fortius v2.02 with your i-Magic. It doesn't require registration unlike later software. See https://lunicus.org/tacx-trainers/fortius-software/ for a download.

I have problems running it on a Virtual Machine. Do you think Fortius Software will run as well on WIN 10? Thanks

Tacx's Fortius 2.x software requires 32bit Windows XP or Vista. I've not tried in on Windows 10. I run it on a Mac with a WindowsXP VM using VirtualBox 6.0. 6.1 does not support Direct3D which is required by Fortius. It has to be VirtualBox 6.0. You also have to set the amount of VRAM to 256MB. You have to do that on the commandline

vboxmanage modifyvm "name of VM" --vram 256MB

Or there's a trick to do it in the GUI by increasing the monitor count to 8, then you can select 256MB video ram. The 256MB setting persists even if you switch monitor count back to 1.

Also, don't install the Fortius 2.03 or 2.04 patches without adding tacxvr.com to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts

127.0.0.1 www.tacxvr.com

That prevents the software trying to contact a nonexistent server. Otherwise you'll get a blue screen on startup.

kiwisibk commented 3 years ago

Hello WouterJD,

I bought two ANT+ Sticks and your software seems to be recongnizing them.

I connected my i-Magic trainer interface and the USB driver install was successful.

But your software isn't recognizing the interface:

[image: image.png]

What I'm doing wrong?

Many thanks Best regards Arno

Am Mi., 11. Nov. 2020 um 12:14 Uhr schrieb WouterJD < notifications@github.com>:

FortiusANT works well on WIndows 10; virtual machine I cannot judge

— You are receiving this because you commented. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/WouterJD/FortiusANT/issues/61#issuecomment-725363548, or unsubscribe https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AHUUZW5WHKGKG7QKO3GOAWDSPJW3BANCNFSM4MP7OLPA .

WouterJD commented 3 years ago

Hi @kiwisibk

Welcome to the FortiusANT community

I'm always curious to know who I communicate with, where FortiusANT is used and what configuration is used. Please tell me what bundle did you buy, and what brake and what head unit do you use? I would therefore appreciate that you introduce yourself; perhaps leave a comment under issue #14.

The image.png is not shown in github; did you read the manual and follow all steps? installing libusb is probably the most critical part.

kiwisibk commented 3 years ago

Hello,

It's a Tacx i-Magic dyno with the white/green interface.

[image: image.png] Is this enough information for you?

Otherwise please let me know.

Many thanks BR Arno

Am Do., 19. Nov. 2020 um 14:29 Uhr schrieb Wouter Dubbeldam < notifications@github.com>:

Hi @kiwisibk https://github.com/kiwisibk Welcome to the FortiusANT community I'm always curious to know who I communicate with, where FortiusANT is used and what configuration is used. Please tell me what bundle did you buy, and what brake and what head unit do you use? I would therefore appreciate that you introduce yourself; perhaps leave a comment under issue #14 https://github.com/WouterJD/FortiusANT/issues/14 .

The image.png is not shown in github; did you read the manual and follow all steps? installing libusb is probably the most critical part.

— You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/WouterJD/FortiusANT/issues/61#issuecomment-730374681, or unsubscribe https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AHUUZW5YV6EZMRJBYKCJ3YLSQUMSDANCNFSM4MP7OLPA .

WouterJD commented 3 years ago

Please respond on github; reply-mails do not transfer attachments.

lello72 commented 3 years ago

I have two budget ANT+ sticks labeled ANSELF. They work without problems.

You can order them i.e. from ebay amazon

My sticks have ID 0x1008 (4104). Other reported that their sticks have ID 0x1009 (4105), which should work, too.

@WouterJD Wouter this is the reason why I bought these. I'll let you know if they work if and when I receive them. Thanks

lello72 commented 3 years ago

@WouterJD Aiuto Wouter!!!, after waiting for more than month, I got my Anself dongles and for sure they turned out to be Cyclplus. Damn!!! They are unusable with Swift as they keep disconnecting/reconnecting. I attach the log to see if I am missing something spectacular. DId anybody try Onlyesh Brand?

lello72 commented 3 years ago

log fortiusant 17 dec 20 222100.txt

WouterJD commented 3 years ago

Looks like bad: CYCPLUS makes me nervous for sure. It's the only ANTdongle reported with errors; I cannot tell anything about the others.

22:09:32,453: GetDongle - Try dongle: manufacturer=CYCPLUS, product= ANT USBStick2, vendor= 0xfcf, product=0x1008(4104)

22:12:39,785: AntDongle.Write exception (message lost): [Errno None] b'libusb0-dll:err [_usb_reap_async] timeout error\n' 22:12:40,691: AntDongle.Write exception (message lost): [Errno None] b'libusb0-dll:err [_usb_reap_async] reaping request failed, win error: Un dispositivo collegato al sistema non \xe8 in funzione.\r\n\n' 22:12:40,691: devAntDongle.read exception: [Errno None] b'libusb0-dll:err [submit_async] submitting request failed, win error: Impossibile trovare il file specificato.\r\n' 22:12:40,691: ANT Dongle not available; try to reconnect after 1 second

mruzzon commented 3 years ago

I have tested the ANSELF, Garmin and Magene dongles and I can recommend you try the Magene one instead... from my experience the Magene was identified as the same hardware as the Garmin dongle and both worked flawlessly; ANSELF was particularly bad when running the FortiusANT code on a Mac.

Google for more shopping options, but you can find them quite cheap in AliExpress: https://a.aliexpress.com/_mMuZYfL

lello72 commented 3 years ago

Looks like bad: CYCPLUS makes me nervous for sure. It's the only ANTdongle reported with errors; I cannot tell anything about the others.

22:09:32,453: GetDongle - Try dongle: manufacturer=CYCPLUS, product= ANT USBStick2, vendor= 0xfcf, product=0x1008(4104)

22:12:39,785: AntDongle.Write exception (message lost): [Errno None] b'libusb0-dll:err [_usb_reap_async] timeout error\n' 22:12:40,691: AntDongle.Write exception (message lost): [Errno None] b'libusb0-dll:err [_usb_reap_async] reaping request failed, win error: Un dispositivo collegato al sistema non \xe8 in funzione.\r\n\n' 22:12:40,691: devAntDongle.read exception: [Errno None] b'libusb0-dll:err [submit_async] submitting request failed, win error: Impossibile trovare il file specificato.\r\n' 22:12:40,691: ANT Dongle not available; try to reconnect after 1 second

Today I tried Onlyesh, recognized as Dynastream by Fortiusant and they work spotlessly with same exact configuration used with the unfunctioning Antself/Cyclopes dongles. Stay away from them.

On another note, I have to remove calibration to make it work because the for some reason the calibration keeps running until I manually stop it. How do I fix that? I am using 1932 so I read calibration should work. Not a big deal but a nice to have. Thanks all for giving a second life to my trainer also a pleasure to play with CMD; I feel young again.

WouterJD commented 3 years ago

@lello72 send logfile if calibration continues not workable

WouterJD commented 3 years ago

I have tested the ANSELF, Garmin and Magene dongles

Thanks for info and Welcome to the FortiusANT community

I'm always curious to know who I communicate with, where FortiusANT is used and what configuration is used. Please tell me what bundle did you buy, and what brake and what head unit do you use? I would therefore appreciate that you introduce yourself; perhaps leave a comment under issue #14.

WouterJD commented 3 years ago

Open for discussion; your posts will/may be reflected in the initial post for future reference

MeanHat commented 3 years ago

hi @WouterJD - I've been using a pair Lifeline ANT dongles (https://www.wiggle.co.uk/lifeline-ant-usb) as well as a pair of Garmin ones successfully. Both are detected as Dynastream Innovations.

switchabl commented 3 years ago

Dongles from manufacturer=CYCPLUS (also advertised as Antself, sold by Amazon) are reported not working well with FortiusANT, which may be an installation and/or driver issue (#45 #65). See also tacxfaqx.com This issue is "solved" from FortiusANT 3.0. (https://github.com/WouterJD/FortiusANT/tree/65-CYPLUS).

If this issue is the new reference on what to buy, this section should probably be updated as well (and the offending dongles crossed off the list). I think we know now that this is not an installation/driver issue and that it is not solved.

I had a list of brands that sell the Dynastream ANTUSB-m (sometimes at lower prices) somewhere. Let me see if I can find it again. I think that one should be considered the gold standard.

WouterJD commented 3 years ago

the offending dongles crossed off the list

Which ones should be crossed? I think the ones mentioned were mentioned working.

switchabl commented 3 years ago

The amazon links are both "Anself". They probably used to be fine but both have recent reviews saying "doesn't work" so there is a good chance they are CYCPLUS now as well. The first hit for the aliexpress is a CYCPLUS too, but I guess there are others (and if you order from aliexpress you probably know it is a bit of a lottery).

RodeTheAlpe commented 3 years ago

I haven't gone through all of these comments specifically but I've been using these Anself ANT+ dongles since April and have had zero problems (running Window 10); https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M3VQP6Z

I would have no problem recommending them to anyone. Hope this helps

WouterJD commented 3 years ago

@RodeTheAlpe thanks, will add to the list

switchabl commented 3 years ago

I've been using these Anself ANT+ dongles since April [emphasis mine] and have had zero problems

I think the Anself dongles used to be fine until spring/summer 2020 maybe. Newer ones often turned out to be broken CYCPLUS ones (unless you were lucky and got some old stock maybe) and several users here have reported problems. If you sort the Amazon reviews by date, the ones from October onwards are mostly negative.

So at this point it seems hard to recommended anything that looks similar to the CYCPLUS unless you can return it easily and are willing to take a gamble.

aegisdesign commented 3 years ago

In the UK I noticed that SportsDirect (big high street sports company) are selling what appear to be Suunto Movestick ANT+ dongles for £12. The description is unfortunately terrible but the picture is a dongle. https://www.sportsdirect.com/suunto-suunto-012098

I've not ordered these from SportsDirect but the Suunto dongles work flawlessly (unlike the CYCPLUS I had before). The other place for a cheap dongle is eBay. Hang around for an obsolete Suunto M5 watch. It usually comes with an ANT+ dongle and a DUAL HRM belt which is dual old analogue and ANT (not ANT+!!!). The belt works with the Fortius head units. The M5 watch isn't bad either. You can often pick these up for less than the price of a new ANT+ dongle alone. Suunto have ended the Movescount app & website the M series watches use hence the cheap prices.

WouterJD commented 3 years ago

@aegisdesign thanks!