What USB ANT+ BLE dongles to use and where to buy?

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.

Aliexpress and Amazon and this one Some are good (check here and read this or this), don't select the CYCPLUS, see warning above!
Bike components
Bol,
Elite IT,
Futurumshop,
Hackerstore,
Sportsdirect See Shaun's post
Zwift -> Amazon
Wiggle see remark from @Meanhat

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:

BCM920702 Bluetooth 4.0
BCM20702A0 Bluetooth 4.0
CSR8510 A10
Asus BT-400
Intel Wireless Bluetooth 6235, 7260, 7265 or 8265
Belkin BCM20702A0

Known good models:

https://www.bol.com/nl/p/asus-usb-bt400-bluetooth-adapter-usb-bluetooth-4-0/9200000013979795/ The link can be used as an entry-point for other models.

Other suppliers

USB-hubs

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

switchabl commented 3 years ago

@aegisdesign That is a good point. I've bought several used ANT dongles for cheap myself.

As a general guide (whether buying new or used):

GOOD:

ANTUSB-m: Most reliable and full-featured option (but also most expensive). Made by Dynastream and sold under a variety of brand names. They are all identical so get whichever is cheaper. They can be ordered with custom branding so labeling may vary slightly. By far the most common are "Garmin" and neutral "ANT+": Known brands: BKOOL, Dynastream, Elite, Garmin, hLine, LifeLine, Rotor, Saris, Quarq, Wahoo, XAND, Zycle
ANTUSB2: Somewhat older model but well-supported. Chipset made by Dynamstream but available in a number of different shapes, including
- Garmin ANT USB2: Be careful, there is also an older USB1 model that looks almost the same but doesn't work with most software anymore, see below https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S0gWeVDxq8g/VWLG6Lq9iEI/AAAAAAAAHGA/bh2VpyhElA0/s640/FullSizeRender%252816%2529.jpg
- Suunto Movestick Mini: https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2012/02/much-better-usb-ant-stick-for-your.html
- Tacx T2018:
- Tacx T2028: I think this is also an ANTUSB2 in a bulky package and with an extension cable. If anyone can confirm that would be great. https://gearmashers.com/tacx-t2028-usb-ant-antenna-review-2018/

PROBLEMATIC:

CYCPLUS: Known to cause problems/not work. Also sold under other names, like Anself. Anself reported to work fine previously but newly sold ones now can cause problems too. Anything that looks similar (with or without CYCPLUS label) has a significant chance of not working correctly. https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51Q2TMVWlzL._AC_SY450_.jpg
Gamin ANT USB1: older model that is not compatible with FortiusANT and other software. See https://support.trainerroad.com/hc/en-us/articles/206007776-USB1-vs-USB2-ANT-Sticks on how to tell the difference.

WouterJD commented 3 years ago

@switchabl thanks; linked in the header message

ibooij commented 3 years ago

To put some more nails on the Anself/Cycplus coffin: I recently tried to purchase an Anself dongle, but got shipped a Cycplus one. Having seen reports that Cycplus did not work at all using continuous scanning mode, I was surprised that this Cycplus dongle did recognize my devices and could receive all messages. However, my software was unable to send any messages using this dongle. It looks like ANT Extended messages might not be supported on it. I then tried using the same dongle with "normal" ANT point-to-point connections, which does work.

My conclusion for now is that Cycplus has updated their dongles to make continuous scanning "kind of" work because they can now receive messages. They're still broken though. From the reports that I have been getting, the newer Anself dongles behave in the same way as these newer Cyclus dongles.

WouterJD commented 3 years ago

@ibooij thanks for this explanation; 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.

leovanr1 commented 3 years ago

It is a shame that I didn't read this carefully enough: now I bought a Garmin USB1 model that doesn't work. I can succesfully install the driver with the libusb inf_wizard, but it is still not found.

switchabl commented 3 years ago

@leovanr1 That is unfortunate. In theory we could try to add support for the USB1 but it only has 4 channels so we would need to turn some features off. I think it is also pretty rare now so I am not sure it is worth it. Zwift, Rouvy, Trainerroad and RGT don't support it anymore either.

leovanr1 commented 3 years ago

I could have known if I had read your information more carefully. So don't worry about it.

yancart commented 3 years ago

Hi, can anyone confirm if the Garmin USB ANT+ Stick 010-01058-00 will work ok with FortiusAnt?

Thanks

BikeBeppe64 commented 3 years ago

Hi, can anyone confirm if the Garmin USB ANT+ Stick 010-01058-00 will work ok with FortiusAnt?

Thanks

If original it works

yancart commented 3 years ago

Hopefully they are and about to buy as they are wanted to replace my CYCPLUS USB ones as I'm having alot of dropped comms...

BikeBeppe64 commented 3 years ago

Mine works without problem

yancart commented 3 years ago

Thanks.. Just out of interest, whats the photo of, is that a SFF pc in a box?

BikeBeppe64 commented 3 years ago

Thanks.. Just out of interest, whats the photo of, is that a SFF pc in a box?

It's a Raspberry PI 4 B

bramghent commented 3 years ago

Hello Wouter, I'm very impressed about what you've had build together with friends. I am very curious if I get my old Tacx fortius working with Zwift (because I'm not at all an IT pro). First step: I've ordered today 2 ANT+ LIVL0V V5 dongles on Amazon.nl (https://www.amazon.nl/gp/product/B08L3KF918/). I'll hope they will work. Have you, or other FortiusANT users, any experience with these dongles?

WouterJD commented 3 years ago

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. You could also consider to visit the sponsor page

Welcome! Well --- never heard of LIVLOV before; but generally spoken all dongles work with exception of the mentioned ones. Curious to hear your experience

WouterJD / FortiusANT