How a wireless bridge works
Access control signals, sent by radio
A wireless bridge sends the same access control signal a wire would send, over a radio link, out to a door or gate the wire can't reach. Your access panel stays where it is and keeps making every decision.
What happens when somebody badges in
The credential goes out to the access panel by radio, and the panel's answer comes back to the door the same way.
- 1Somebody presents a card, a fob or a code at the reader.
- 2The reader passes the credential to the KNECT Endpoint wired in beside it.
- 3That Endpoint sends it by radio to the Endpoint wired to the access panel.
- 4The panel makes the same decision it makes for a wired door.
- 5The panel's answer comes back by radio, and the Endpoint at the door switches its relay to release the lock or open the gate.
The two Endpoints are the same part. Switch 4 on each one sets whether it's the Central, wired to the panel, or the Remote, wired to the reader, and the two wire differently. Central and Remote wiring guide
Why installers use wireless bridges
A wireless bridge replaces the cable run to a door or gate, which on most sites is the slowest and most expensive part of the job.
- No trenching or new conduit
- No trench across the drive, no opened wall, and no repair to conduit that has already failed once.
- The site stays open
- The entrance drive, the lobby and the loading dock stay in use while the link goes in.
- Jobs you can bid
- Retrofits, historic buildings, and finished sites where the owner won't let you cut the ground or the plaster.
Wiegand or OSDP
A wireless bridge has to speak the protocol your readers already use. Most readers in service today are Wiegand, and new specifications increasingly ask for OSDP.
Wiegand
The reader sends the credential to the panel one way. The panel answers on separate lines that light the reader's LED and sound its buzzer. Wiegand has been in the field for decades, and KNECT supports formats from 4 to 64 bit.
OSDP
OSDP runs both ways on one connection and can be encrypted. On a KNECT link, the Endpoint at the door or gate keeps an encrypted OSDP connection with the reader, and the Endpoint at the panel keeps its own encrypted connection with the panel. Between the two, the Endpoints translate the credential data out of OSDP and carry it over the radio.
| Product | Wiegand | OSDP |
|---|---|---|
| KNECT Endpoint | 4 to 64 bit | Built in |
| KNECT Gateway | 4 to 64 bit | With the KGW-H OSDP Hat |
| Wiegand Wave 150 | 4 to 64 bit | No |
The OSDP Hat mounts on top of the Gateway and covers its Wiegand terminals, so a One to Many system runs one protocol or the other.
How far a KNECT link reaches
A typical KNECT installation runs 500 to 2,000 feet through obstructions. Site conditions dictate where in that range yours lands, so measure it before you commit.
- What's between the units
- The same distance reaches further over open ground than through occupied housing or poured concrete. Walk the path between the two units, not just the distance.
- Where the antenna goes
- A well placed antenna beats a stronger radio in a bad spot. On a One to Many system, the ARF Tether mounts up to 400 feet from the Gateway.
- A measured site
- At a build-to-rent community in Phoenix, two gates link to the panel from 1,100 feet away, through the rental housing. The Phoenix site plan
- Reading it on site
- Signal strength shows on the Endpoint itself and in the KNECT Tech app, so you have a reading from the actual site.
Send Aether RF the property and we'll help lay the system out. Product support is (602) 396-4186, weekdays 8:30am to 5:30pm Arizona time.
The KNECT radio
Every KNECT link runs in the unlicensed 915 MHz band and hops across 50 channels.
What frequency hopping does
Hopping across 50 channels keeps a KNECT link clear of other equipment using the same band on the property.
Why more doors don't cost range
Every Endpoint links straight to the central unit, so range to each Endpoint stays the same however many are on the system.
| Band | 902 to 928 MHz, the unlicensed 915 MHz band |
|---|---|
| Channels | 50, with frequency hopping |
| Topology | A star. Every Endpoint links directly to the central unit |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth Low Energy on every KNECT device, for the KNECT Tech app |
| Operating temperature | −30 to 85 °C across the KNECT series |
The panel decides, the bridge carries the signal
A wireless bridge carries the signal between a reader and an access panel. The credentials, the schedules and the logs all stay in the panel.
Use a bridge when there's a panel on site
- The panel stays where it is and keeps making every access decision.
- The bridge extends the system that's already there.
- The credentials, the schedules and the logs don't move.
Use a controller when there's no panel
- There's no panel on site for a bridge to connect to.
- The system on site is being replaced.
- The job needs a controller that makes the access decision itself.
KNECT Core Access (coming soon)
Point to Point or One to Many
How many doors and gates the wire doesn't reach decides which KNECT setup you want.
| Doors and gates | The setup | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Point to Point Two Endpoints, one at the panel and one at the door or gate. The pair links with the DIP switches on the units. | |
| 2–8 | One to Many A Gateway at the panel, an ARF Tether for its radio, and an Endpoint at each door or gate. Up to four per Gateway, and eight with two. |
Not sure which one you need?
Call Aether RF product support and describe the site: (602) 396-4186, weekdays 8:30am to 5:30pm Arizona time.