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Install an Outdoor Gateway

Installing an Outdoor Gateway (MOKO LW003B-Pro) starts with selecting the correct mounting location. The gateway must provide reliable BLE coverage for Kio Smart Badges and maintain a reliable LoRaWAN connection to a Base Station. After selecting the installation location, use Kio Setup Manager to configure the gateway and assign it to its Parking lot floor location. The last steps are to mount the gateway on the lighting pole and verify the installation.

Important: Power the gateway on before you attach it to the pole. The Kio Setup Manager workflow must confirm the gateway is Online while you are still holding it. Once it is on the pole at height, troubleshooting becomes a ladder trip.

For how Outdoor Staff Safe coverage works and how the devices communicate, see About Outdoor Staff Safe coverage.

Prerequisites

Before installing the Outdoor Gateway, make sure the following are complete:

  • Mobile device: Kio Setup Manager mobile app installed and updated to the latest version.
    • Bluetooth enabled
    • internet connection available through Wi-Fi or cellular
    • iPhone or iPad: iOS 17 or later
    • Android phone or tablet: Android 8 or later
  • User role: you are assigned the Setup Manager (mobile) Installer role. Roles are assigned in the Kio Cloud Users app by a User Management Administrator or through your organization’s SSO identity provider.
  • Kontakt.io order claimed: the order ID is claimed in Device Management.
  • Smart Location setup complete: Outdoor Gateways are assigned to a Parking Lot floor location. Before beginning a Outdoor Staff Safe deployment, make sure Smart Location setup is complete for each parking lot.

Materials required

Included with the Outdoor Gateway

  • Outdoor Gateway
  • Antenna
  • Pole-mount bracket
  • Pole-mount kit is sized for standard round metal lighting poles

Use the supplied pole-mount bracket. Do not substitute third-party brackets, drilled fasteners, or adhesives.

Important: Do not drill into lighting poles. The supplied mounting kit is non-invasive by design.

Installer-supplied materials

  • Stainless-steel banding
  • Stainless-steel buckles or clamps compatible with the selected banding. Ear-Lokt Buckles (Wing Seals).
  • Banding tensioning tool
  • Ladder or lift suitable for the mounting height — must provide a safe way to reach the pole mounting height per site safety rules and regulations.
  • Safety equipment required by site regulations

Note: Some manufacturer installation illustrations show plastic cable ties. For permanent outdoor installations, stainless-steel banding provides better long-term resistance to UV exposure, weather, vibration, and temperature changes.

Step 1: Select the mounting location

Before powering on the gateway, select the mounting pole, determine the mounting height, verify gateway spacing, and identify the Base Station the gateway will communicate with.

Placement affects two wireless connections:

  • The Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) coverage area where Kio Smart Badges can be detected.
  • The LoRaWAN link between the Outdoor Gateway and a Base Station.

Choose a pole

A Outdoor Gateway is mounted to a parking-lot lighting pole.

Choose a pole that:

  • Has a clear line-of-sight to at least one Base Station.
  • Provides coverage of the intended parking-lot area.
  • Allows the gateway to be mounted securely using the supplied pole-mount bracket and stainless-steel banding (not supplied).
  • Is free from large obstructions that could block BLE coverage down to the parking lot or LoRaWAN communication toward the Base Station.

Important: If more than one Base Station is installed for redundancy, select the base station that gives the cleanest line-of-sight from that pole. The closest base station is not always the best choice.

Determine the mounting height

Mount the Outdoor Gateway:

  • At least 9 ft (2.5 m) above the parking-lot surface.
  • Preferably 10 ft (3 m) or higher whenever the pole geometry allows.
  • Below the luminaire arm whenever possible.

Do not mount the gateway lower than 9 ft (2.5 m). Vehicles, parked SUVs, and people can block badge detection when the gateway is too low.

Do not mount the gateway above the luminaire arm. Pole metalwork, luminaire heads, and fixture arms can block or degrade the LoRaWAN signal path to the Base Station.

Verify orientation

Mount the Outdoor Gateway vertically with:

  • The antenna and power button facing down toward the parking-lot surface.
  • The front face of the gateway pointing toward the Base Station with the clearest signal path.

This is the required installation orientation for this device. Do not deviate.

If two Base Stations have similar line-of-sight, choose the one with the clearer path. Avoid paths blocked by buildings, dense trees, vehicle stacks, large signs, or other obstructions.

Verify gateway spacing

Space adjacent Outdoor Gateways 80 ft to 120 ft (24 m to 37 m) apart, measured pole-to-pole.

  • Spacing less than 80 ft (24 m) creates excessive coverage overlap and increases gateway count and battery life without improving badge detection.
  • Spacing greater than 120 ft (37 m) can create BLE coverage gaps between poles and reduce Kio Smart Badge detection reliability.
  • 120 ft (37 m) is the maximum supported spacing. Do not exceed it.

Locations to avoid

Do not mount the Outdoor Gateway:

  • Lower than 9 ft (2.5 m) above the parking-lot surface.
  • Above the luminaire arm.
  • On a pole without line-of-sight to any Base Station.
  • Behind luminaire heads, large signs, electrical cabinets, dumpster enclosures, dense trees, HVAC equipment, vehicle stacks, or other obstructions.
  • Where the antenna cannot face down toward the parking-lot surface.
  • Where the front face cannot point toward a Base Station with clear line-of-sight.
  • Where the supplied mounting bracket and banding cannot be securely installed.
  • Within 10 ft (3 m) of high-power Wi-Fi access points, cellular small cells, or two-way radio repeaters mounted on the same pole.

Power and network access

  • Power: Internal battery, factory-fitted. There is no external power option; the gateway housing is sealed and is not opened in the field.
  • Network: BLE for Kio Smart Badge detection and LoRaWAN communication with Base Stations. The gateway does not use or connect to the local Wi-Fi or Ethernet network.

Step 2: Prepare and power on the gateway

These steps happen at ground level at the install location, before the Outdoor Gateway is mounted to a pole.

  1. Attach the antenna to the connector at the bottom of the Outdoor Gateway. Tighten by hand only. Do not use a wrench.
Outdoor Gateway with the antenna detached, showing the antenna connector at the bottom of the housing Threading the antenna onto the Outdoor Gateway bottom connector

Important: Always attach the antenna before you power the gateway on. Powering a LoRa radio without its antenna attached can damage the RF stage.

  1. Power the gateway on, per the Moko LW003B-Pro user manual that ships with the unit. The short clip below shows the action.

    Watch: powering on the Outdoor Gateway

    Confirm the button LED shows solid blue for a few seconds.

  2. Continue to Step 3: Install with the Kio Setup Manager mobile app, holding the gateway. Do not mount it on the pole until Kio Setup Manager confirms the gateway is Online.

Step 3: Install with the Kio Setup Manager mobile app

Complete these steps while standing next to the powered-on gateway, near the target pole. This step configures the device and assigns it to its parking lot install location.

Stay within 3 ft (1 m) of the gateway during the Kio Setup Manager workflow so Bluetooth stays connected.

Important: The gateway is connectable for three minutes only. If you cannot connect to the gateway, power-cycle it.

  1. From the bottom menu, tap Install.

    Kio Setup Manager main screen with the Install option

  2. Tap Parking Device.

    Kio Setup Manager device category selection with Parking Lot Devices

  3. Tap Gateway.

    Kio Setup Manager device type selection within Parking Lot Devices with Gateway selected

  4. Scan the QR code on the gateway label. Optionally, tap Enter MAC/Unique ID and enter the Unique ID printed on the label.

    Kio Setup Manager QR-code scanner used to scan the QR on the gateway label

  5. Wait while Kio Setup Manager configures the gateway end-to-end. The app automatically configures the region, LoRa profile, and BLE configuration and displays status as it progresses.

    Kio Setup Manager installation-in-progress screen showing the gateway joining the network

  6. Wait while the gateway joins the LoRa network through a Base Station. This can take up to a few minutes. Kio Setup Manager advances to a success screen when the gateway reports its first uplink through the cloud.

    Important: Do not close Kio Setup Manager or walk away from the gateway during this step. If the gateway has not come online, verify line-of-sight to the nearest Base Station and confirm that the base station itself is Online in Device Management.

    If Kio Setup Manager shows a timeout error like the one below, power-cycle the gateway as described in Prepare and power on the gateway above, and restart this workflow from step 4.

    Kio Setup Manager timeout error screen shown when the gateway does not come online within the connection window

  7. Select the Parking Lot floor for this lot from the Smart Location hierarchy, then tap Next to confirm. Outdoor Gateways are assigned at the floor level; there are no sub-levels such as zones or rows below the Parking Lot floor.

    Kio Setup Manager Smart Location selector with the Parking Lot floor selected under the campus

  8. Place the gateway on the Parking Lot floor map at its pole mounting location, then tap Confirm location.

    Kio Setup Manager map-placement screen showing the gateway pin on the Parking Lot floor map

  9. Tap Complete when the success screen appears. Do not climb the pole until you see this success screen.

Step 4: Mount the gateway on the pole

Mount the gateway only after Kio Setup Manager confirms it is online and assigned to and placed on the parking lot map.

  1. Attach the mounting kit bracket to the gateway at ground level. Fitting the bracket to the housing is much easier at ground level than at height on the pole.

    Outdoor Gateway and its pole-mount kit, separated Outdoor Gateway with the pole-mount kit attached to the back of the housing, ready to band onto a pole

  2. Carry the gateway up to the planned mounting height on the pole.

  3. Position the gateway on the pole. Confirm that:

    • The antenna and power button face down toward the parking-lot surface.
    • The front face points toward the selected Base Station.
    • The gateway is mounted below the luminaire arm whenever possible.
    • No luminaire head, sign, electrical cabinet, tree, or other obstruction blocks the intended signal path.

  4. Secure the Outdoor Gateway to the pole with two pieces of steel banding. Wrap one band around the pole and around the upper part of the mounting bracket. Wrap the second band around the pole and around the lower part of the mounting bracket. Fasten each band with a buckle or clamp, then tighten both bands evenly until the gateway does not slide, tilt, or rotate. Do not over-tighten to the point of deforming the gateway housing or mounting bracket.

Outdoor Gateway and its pole-mount kit, separated 5. Confirm that the gateway is secure and cannot slide or rotate on the pole. 6. Confirm that the gateway did not rotate during banding. The antenna and power button must face down, and the front face must point toward the selected Base Station. 8. Confirm the status LED still shows the expected pattern before you descend.

Step 5: Verify the installation

After mounting the gateway:

  1. Confirm the gateway shows Online in Device Management.
  2. Confirm the gateway is assigned to the correct Smart Location Parking Lot floor.
  3. Confirm the map location matches the installed pole location.
  4. Confirm adjacent Outdoor Gateways remain within the required spacing range of 80 ft to 120 ft (24 m to 37 m).
  5. Confirm nearby Kio Smart Badges are detected within the expected coverage area.
  6. Confirm the gateway has not rotated after installation.

What happens next

The gateway is mounted, online, and assigned to its position on the Parking Lot floor within Smart Location. It forwards BLE advertisements from Kio Smart Badges to the Kontakt.io cloud through the Base Stations, and Device Health begins monitoring it automatically.

Repeat the power-on, Kio Setup Manager workflow, pole-mount procedure, and verification steps for each remaining Outdoor Gateway in the deployment. Once all gateways for a parking lot are installed and online, the parking lot has Staff Safe Outdoor coverage according to the planned gateway spacing and placement.

A gateway that drops offline after mounting usually has one of three causes. The pole rotated and changed the orientation. The chosen Base Station went offline. Or parked vehicles block BLE more than expected. See Troubleshooting: Outdoor Gateway stays offline after install.