Install an Outdoor Gateway

The Outdoor Gateway listens for Kio Smart Badges in a parking lot or garage and relays their signals to a Base Station, so staff can raise a duress alert outdoors. Installing an Outdoor Gateway (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 and verify the installation.

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 through a dedicated mobile hotspot. Parking lots and garages usually have no site Wi-Fi, and a phone's own cellular connection can be too weak on lower garage levels.
  • iPhone or iPad: iOS 17 or later, with Kio Setup Manager 5.8.2 or later
  • Android phone or tablet: Android 8 or later
  • Before install day, confirm that Install > Parking Device appears in Kio Setup Manager on the phone you will use.
• 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.
• Base Station online: at least one Base Station for this parking lot or garage is installed and shows Online in Device Management. See Install a Base Station.
• Site survey complete: each mounting point comes from the site survey and the deployment plan, and facility management has approved the mounting method. If a mounting point or its approval is missing, stop and contact the deployment lead. Do not choose a new location on site.
• Smart Location setup complete: Outdoor Gateways are assigned to a Parking Lot floor location. For each parking lot or garage level, check in Smart Location that:
  • The Parking Lot floor exists only once. There are no duplicate floors with the same name.
  • The floor plan image loaded completely and is not cut off or corrupted.
  • The floor name matches the name in the deployment plan.

Materials required

Included with the Outdoor Gateway

• Outdoor Gateway
• Antenna
• Mounting kit with bracket, sized for standard round metal lighting poles

Use the supplied mounting bracket for every mounting method. Do not substitute third-party brackets or adhesives.

Installer-supplied materials

For every installation:

• Ladder or lift suitable for the mounting height — must provide a safe way to reach the mounting height per site safety rules and regulations.
• Safety equipment required by site regulations.
• High-visibility clothing for everyone working in the parking area.
• Traffic cones or lane marking, and signage, to mark off the work area from vehicles.

For a lighting pole or garage ceiling rods:

• Stainless-steel banding
• Stainless-steel buckles or clamps compatible with the selected banding, for example Ear-Lokt Buckles (Wing Seals).
• Banding tensioning tool

For a concrete surface:

• Drill and masonry bit
• Concrete anchors and screws that fit the mounting bracket holes

Step 1: Select the mounting location

Before powering on the gateway, select the mounting point, determine the mounting height, verify gateway spacing, and identify the Base Station the gateway will communicate with. The deployment plan from the site survey sets the mounting point and the mounting method for each gateway.

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 mounting point

An Outdoor Gateway is mounted in one of three ways:

• Lighting pole in an open parking lot.
• Metal rods on a garage ceiling.
• Concrete surface in a garage, drilled with the default mounting kit, where facility management has approved drilling.

Many garages restrict drilling into walls, ceilings, and structural bars. Use only the method approved for that mounting point.

In an open parking lot, 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 mounting 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.

Parking garages

Garage layouts vary. Some garages have flat, separate levels, and others have ramped levels that run into the ones above and below. Mounting height, spacing on each level, and the line-of-sight to the Base Station come from the site survey and the deployment plan for that garage. The height and spacing rules below are for open parking lots.

Parked vehicles

A full lot blocks more signal than an empty one, for both badge detection and the link to the Base Station. Judge coverage for the lot at peak occupancy.

Determine the mounting height

In an open parking lot, mount the Outdoor Gateway:

• At least 9 ft (2.5 m) above the parking-lot surface.
• Preferably 12 ft (3.7 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 and stationary objects 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

In an open parking lot, 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 drain 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 an open parking-lot surface.
• Above the luminaire arm.
• At a mounting point 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.

1. Attach the antenna to the connector at the bottom of the Outdoor Gateway. Tighten by hand only. Do not use a wrench.

   

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

2. Power the gateway on, per the 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.

3. Continue to Step 3: Install with the Kio Setup Manager mobile app, holding the gateway. Do not mount it 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 its mounting point. 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.

1. From the bottom menu, tap Install.

   

2. Tap Parking Device.

   

3. Tap Gateway.

   

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

   

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.

   

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.

   

8. Place the gateway on the Parking Lot floor map at its exact mounting location, then tap Confirm location. Zoom all the way in and line the pin up with the pole or ceiling point where the gateway will be mounted.

   Staff Safe works out a badge's location from the map positions of the gateways that hear it. A pin in the wrong place puts every badge near that gateway in the wrong place, and nothing corrects it later.

   

9. Tap Complete when the success screen appears. Do not start mounting until you see this success screen.

Step 4: Mount the gateway

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.

   

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

3. Position the gateway at its mounting point. Confirm that:

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

4. Secure the gateway with the method for its mounting point. Follow Lighting pole, Garage ceiling metal rods, or Concrete surface below.

5. Confirm that the gateway is secure and cannot slide, tilt, or rotate.

6. Confirm that the gateway did not rotate while you secured it. The antenna and power button must face down, and the front face must point toward the selected Base Station.

7. Confirm the status LED still shows the expected pattern before you descend.

Lighting pole

Secure the Outdoor Gateway to the pole with two pieces of stainless-steel banding:

1. Wrap one band around the pole and around the upper part of the mounting bracket.

2. Wrap the second band around the pole and around the lower part of the mounting bracket.

3. Fasten each band with a buckle or clamp.

4. Tighten both bands evenly with the tensioning tool until the gateway does not slide, tilt, or rotate. Do not over-tighten to the point of deforming the gateway housing or mounting bracket.

   

Garage ceiling metal rods

Use this method where the deployment plan places the gateway on a metal rod, pipe, or bar on the garage ceiling.

1. Confirm that the rod is solidly fixed to the structure and does not move or flex under the gateway's weight.
2. Wrap one stainless-steel band around the rod and around the upper part of the mounting bracket.
3. Wrap the second band around the rod and around the lower part of the mounting bracket.
4. Fasten each band with a buckle or clamp, then tighten both bands evenly until the gateway does not slide, tilt, or rotate.

Concrete surface

Use this method only where facility management has approved drilling into that surface.

1. Hold the mounting bracket against the concrete at the planned position, and mark the screw holes.
2. Drill the holes with a masonry bit sized for the concrete anchors.
3. Insert the anchors, then screw the mounting bracket to the concrete. If the gateway covers the screw holes, detach it from the bracket first and reattach it after the bracket is fixed.
4. Confirm the gateway cannot slide, tilt, or rotate.

Step 5: Verify the installation

After you finish a parking lot or a garage level, check every gateway in that area while the crew is still on site. Fix anything that fails before you move to the next area. A problem found now takes minutes to fix. Found after the crew leaves, the same problem needs another site visit.

For each gateway in the area, confirm that:

1. The gateway shows Online in Device Management.
2. The gateway is assigned to the correct Smart Location Parking Lot floor.
3. The map pin matches the pole or ceiling point where the gateway is mounted.
4. In an open parking lot, adjacent Outdoor Gateways are within the required spacing range of 80 ft to 120 ft (24 m to 37 m).
5. The gateway has not rotated after installation.

Then walk the area with a Kio Smart Badge, and confirm the badge is detected across the expected coverage area.

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, mounting 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 gateway rotated on its mounting point 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.