ArgusKAI user manual

1 What ArgusKAI does

Many batteries with a Bluetooth BMS, solar chargers and other Bluetooth devices accept connections from any phone within range, often without a PIN. Whoever is connected can operate the device and, for example, switch off discharging on the battery. At the same time, such a device can only ever be connected to one other device.

ArgusKAI makes use of exactly that: it connects to your devices itself and holds that connection around the clock. For strangers' phones, the line is busy.

• Guard: up to three Bluetooth devices at once, of any type. Up to five can be saved; permanently paused devices do not count. From the fourth active device on, the connections are not consistently stable.
• See: In the ArgusKAI app you can see whether everything is guarded, the readings of supported devices, and a red alarm bar if discharging has been switched off.
• Release: If you want to get in yourself with your device manufacturer's app, release the line for ten minutes. Afterwards, ArgusKAI takes over again by itself.
• Without internet: Everything runs over Bluetooth, right on site. ArgusKAI only needs Wi-Fi for updates.

This manual describes the device. The App guide explains the app step by step.

2 Package contents and what you need

In the box:

• ArgusKAI with device label
• USB cable, USB-A to USB-C, 1 m
• Quick start guide (German and English)

You will also need:

• Power via USB (5 volts): a USB-A socket in the vehicle or a USB power adapter with a USB-A port. For a USB-C socket you will need a USB-C cable.
• an Android phone with Android 12 or later, or an iPhone with iOS 15 or later
• the “ArgusKAI” app; you will find the links at www.arguskai.com/app

3 The label: your access details

The label on the device shows the access details of your ArgusKAI. They are different for every device and never change, not even after a factory reset.

A phone that is already paired also shows the pairing code and serial number in the app under Settings.

4 Placing and connecting

1. Choose a location. As close as possible to the devices ArgusKAI is meant to guard. Metal blocks radio signals: not in a metal box and not behind sheet metal. Somewhere dry, out of direct sunlight and not right next to a heater or cooker.
2. Connect the power. Plug the supplied USB cable into ArgusKAI and into a USB socket or USB power adapter. There is no on/off switch: as soon as it has power, ArgusKAI starts up and is ready within a few seconds.
3. Set it up. Continue in the app, see section 5 “First steps”.

5 First steps

1. Install the app. Download the “ArgusKAI” app from the App Store (iPhone) or Google Play (Android); you will find the links at www.arguskai.com/app. Switch on Bluetooth on your phone.
2. Connect ArgusKAI to power. It is ready after a few seconds.
3. Open the app and allow Bluetooth. The app asks for permission to use Bluetooth; on Android it is called “Nearby devices”. Without this permission, the app cannot find ArgusKAI.
4. Tap ArgusKAI. The app searches by itself and shows your ArgusKAI with the name from the label. If there are several nearby, compare the last six characters.
5. Pair. Your phone asks for a code. Enter the six-digit pairing code from the label within 30 seconds. This is only needed the first time; after that, the app connects by itself.
6. Add devices. Tap Add device and then Scan for devices. After about five seconds, the Bluetooth devices nearby appear. Tap your device, confirm and give it a name. From now on, ArgusKAI holds the line.
7. Enter your home Wi-Fi (recommended). This lets ArgusKAI fetch updates by itself, see section 10 “Home Wi-Fi and updates”.

6 Day to day: guarding, releasing, pausing

Once set up, ArgusKAI works by itself, around the clock. You only need the app to check on things or to change something; it does not have to stay open.

What the indicators mean

The light on the device

A small green light in the housing roughly shows what ArgusKAI is doing. The app shows exactly what is going on.

Release: all devices for ten minutes

Want to get in yourself with the app from your battery or solar charger manufacturer? In the overview, tap Release for 10 minutes. ArgusKAI drops all connections and your usual app gets through. After ten minutes, ArgusKAI takes over again by itself, or sooner with End release.

During the release, ArgusKAI guards nothing. Close the manufacturer's app when you are done: as long as it is connected, ArgusKAI cannot get to the device either.

Pause: a single device

Pause 10 min releases just this one device for ten minutes; the others stay guarded. Pause permanently leaves the device alone until you tap Resume, even across a restart; useful, for example, when a device has been taken out for a longer period. A permanently paused device uses no connection and does not count towards the three devices guarded at once.

Renaming and removing

Rename changes a device's name; key, PIN and pause are kept. Remove deletes the device from ArgusKAI after asking for confirmation; it is then no longer guarded.

7 Alarm: discharge switched off

For batteries whose readings ArgusKAI shows, it keeps an eye on the discharge switch of the battery management system (BMS). If discharging is switched off, everything connected to this battery is left without power, such as the fridge, lights and heating.

The app then shows a red bar at the top reading ⚠ Discharge is switched off! and the event log records when it happened. The alarm appears within 25 seconds and stays until discharging is switched back on.

What to do

1. Check the cause. Tap the battery. The device details show whether a BMS protection is active, for example cell undervoltage or over-temperature. If so, the battery has protected itself.
2. Look in the event log. An entry Switch command sent to …. means the switch command came via ArgusKAI, that is, from the app.
3. Switch it back on once no protection is active any more: in the device details under Switches, or in the way your battery's manufacturer intends.

8 Devices and readings

ArgusKAI can guard any Bluetooth Low Energy device that accepts connections: battery, solar charger, cool box, heater, power station. The type of device does not matter for this.

ArgusKAI can show readings if its firmware knows the device's data format:

• Lithium batteries with a widely used Bluetooth BMS: voltage, current, power, level, cell voltages, temperatures, charge cycles, capacity and protection status. Charging and discharging can be switched from the app.
• Solar chargers and battery monitors that broadcast their readings encrypted: for solar chargers PV power, voltage, state and yield today; for battery monitors voltage, current, level, consumed amp hours and time to go. For this, ArgusKAI needs a key from the manufacturer's app, see below.
• More device types are being tested or worked on and will arrive by update.

When you add a device, the app shows for each device found whether ArgusKAI can show its readings (readings are shown) or only guards it (guard only, no readings).

Key and PIN

In the device details under Key/PIN:

• Key: 32 characters made up of the digits 0 to 9 and the letters a to f. Some solar chargers and battery monitors only send their readings encrypted. You will find the key in the manufacturer's app; the input window in the ArgusKAI app shows exactly where. Once it is saved, the device carries the badge Key ✓.
• PIN: just a note for you, for example the PIN you set in the manufacturer's app. ArgusKAI never tries out PINs. Badge: PIN ✓.

Saving a field empty deletes the entry.

Limits

• ArgusKAI cannot guard devices with classic Bluetooth (not “Low Energy”).
• Devices that force pairing can keep dropping the connection.

9 The web interface

ArgusKAI has its own Wi-Fi network (hotspot) with a user interface in the browser. You will rarely need it: for operation without the app, for the factory reset and as a fallback for updates without internet.

Hotspot

• Each time ArgusKAI is plugged in, the hotspot is on for ten minutes. It stays on as long as a phone is connected to it. If no device has been set up yet, it stays on permanently.
• To switch it back on: in the app under Settings with Turn on the device hotspot for 10 minutes, or briefly unplug ArgusKAI and plug it back in.

Connecting

1. In the Wi-Fi menu of your phone or laptop, choose the network ArgusKAI-XXXXXX and enter the Wi-Fi password from the label. It is quicker with the QR code on the label.
2. The web interface usually opens by itself. If not, enter http://192.168.4.1 in the browser.
3. If the phone reports that this Wi-Fi has no internet: stay connected anyway.

What you will find there

• Status: the guarded devices with readings; pause, resume, rename, remove, key and PIN
• Add device: as in the app
• Release (all devices): release for ten minutes
• Events: times are counted from device start-up
• Settings: change the Wi-Fi password, show the pairing code, lift the pairing throttle, factory reset
• Firmware update: install a firmware file

You choose the language at the top right.

10 Home Wi-Fi and updates

Over a Wi-Fi network with internet access, ArgusKAI fetches new firmware by itself, for example via the Wi-Fi router in your vehicle or your Wi-Fi at home. The Bluetooth protection does not need Wi-Fi.

Setting up home Wi-Fi

1. In the app, open Settings, section Home Wi-Fi.
2. Tap Set up Wi-Fi. ArgusKAI searches for the Wi-Fi networks around it.
3. Choose the network, enter the password, tap Save.

From then on, ArgusKAI connects by itself after every start. The password stays in the device and is never shown again. Remove home Wi-Fi deletes the access details.

Updating via the app

1. When new firmware is available, the overview and Settings in the app show the notice Firmware update x.y.z available.
2. Tap Update now and confirm.
3. ArgusKAI switches off Bluetooth, downloads the firmware, checks signature and checksum, and restarts. The app loses the connection in the process; that is normal. Once ArgusKAI has restarted, the app reconnects by itself, usually after one to two minutes.
4. The event log then shows Update successful: old → new version.

During the update, ArgusKAI guards nothing. Keep it connected to power. Saved devices, keys, pairings and settings are kept. If something goes wrong, the previous firmware keeps running and the guard works as before; the log then shows Update failed (…).

Updating via the web interface

The fallback without internet: in the web interface under Firmware update, choose a firmware file (.bin) and tap Install update. If you need it, you can get the right file from us. Do not disconnect the power during the update.

11 Several phones, several ArgusKAI

• Several phones: ArgusKAI remembers up to three paired phones. Each one needs the pairing code from the label when connecting for the first time. Only ever connect one phone at a time: besides the guarded devices, ArgusKAI has one slot for the app.
• Removing a paired phone: This cannot be done for a single phone. A factory reset deletes all pairings, see section 14 “Factory reset”.
• Several ArgusKAI: one per place, for example in the camper and on the boat. In the app, you switch under Settings with Connect a different ArgusKAI.

12 Security

• Encrypted and paired: The app and ArgusKAI talk over an encrypted Bluetooth connection (LE Secure Connections). Without the pairing code from the label, no phone gets in.
• Protection against unwanted connections: If a device does not pair within 30 seconds of connecting, ArgusKAI disconnects it. If this happens twice within ten minutes, the device is blocked for ten minutes. The log then shows Foreign Bluetooth device rejected (…), blocked for 10 min.
• Pairing throttle: After three failed pairing attempts within ten minutes, ArgusKAI accepts no new pairing for ten minutes; even the correct code is then rejected. Phones that are already paired keep working. To lift it: on a paired phone in the app under Settings with Lift pairing throttle, in the web interface under Settings, or wait ten minutes.
• Your devices' PINs: ArgusKAI never tries out PINs. Keep the PINs on your devices anyway, and change them from the factory value. Two layers are better than one.

13 Event log

ArgusKAI records what happens: start-up, connections and dropouts, adding and removing, pause and release, alarms, switch commands, changed passwords and keys, Wi-Fi, hotspot and updates.

• It keeps the last 30 entries, newest at the top. After a restart or power failure, the log starts afresh.
• ArgusKAI counts the time since it started. From this, the app works out the date and time using your phone's clock; the web interface shows the time since start-up (hh:mm:ss).

14 Factory reset

A factory reset returns ArgusKAI to the state it was delivered in.

How to do it

1. Switch on the hotspot and open the web interface, see section 9 “The web interface”.
2. Settings → Factory reset → confirm the prompt. ArgusKAI restarts.
3. On every phone that was paired: in the phone's Bluetooth settings, remove the pairing ArgusKAI-XXXXXX (on iPhone this is called “Forget This Device”). Then connect again in the app, using the code from the label.

Before you pass ArgusKAI on or dispose of it, do a factory reset. That way, your Wi-Fi access details, for example, do not remain in the device.

15 Troubleshooting

16 What ArgusKAI cannot do

• It protects as long as it has power and is within range. If ArgusKAI is off, or a release or pause is running, only your device's own protection applies during that time.
• It does not replace a PIN. Keep the PINs on your devices and change them from the factory value.
• It guards the radio link, not the hatch. It does not help against someone who goes straight to the battery or solar charger.
• It only guards Bluetooth Low Energy. It cannot hold devices with classic Bluetooth or devices that force pairing.
• It does not alert you remotely. You see alarms in the app when you are within Bluetooth range. ArgusKAI is not an alarm system.

17 Specifications

18 Safety information

• Only operate with a suitable USB power source (5 V), such as a CE-marked USB power adapter or a USB socket in the vehicle.
• Only use in dry rooms or inside the vehicle. Protect from moisture, condensation, dust, heat and direct sunlight. Do not cover.
• Do not use if the device or cable is damaged. Do not modify the device.
• Route the cable so that nobody can trip over it and nothing gets trapped.
• Take care when switching from the app: “Discharge off” cuts power to everything connected to this battery, including things you need right now, such as cooling, heating or pumps. That is why the app asks twice.
• ArgusKAI supplements the protective functions of your devices. It does not replace an alarm system or a fuse.
• Keep the device and cable away from small children. Not a toy.

19 Disposal

Electrical equipment does not belong in household waste; the crossed-out wheeled bin symbol indicates this. At the end of its life, hand ArgusKAI in free of charge at a collection point for waste electrical equipment, such as your local recycling centre, or at a retailer that takes back old equipment.

Before doing so, delete your data with a factory reset, see section 14 “Factory reset”. This is your own responsibility.

20 Manufacturer and contact

OpenTeam / CamperStation
Bianca Groh, B.Eng.
Industriestr. 25
64569 Nauheim
Germany
info@openteam.de
WEEE reg. no. DE63486700

For questions, requests and problems, use the contact form on www.arguskai.com. Please state the serial number and firmware version; you will find both in the app under Settings.