Bridging ANT+ using a Samsung - NO DONGLE

Obviously I don’t have one, and it’s not easly available this time.
But to your point, I’m not sure such a bridge is more a ‘layer’ than a dongle (with extra hardware, drivers etc)
I would think my method simplifies the process

A dongle is directly connect to your computer and the ZCA would bridge the signal over WiFi which adds an unneeded layer.

Dongles seem to be available here: ANT+ Bundle - Zwift

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Guys, we can argue at length which way would be optimal to deliver bike data to Zwift. I’m sure that from a low level software engineering pov all methods has their pros and cons.
All I’m saying is that bridging IS implemented but only for BLE. Why not Ant+?

Because when Zwift first start it was ANT+ only, and sometime in the fall of 2015 (it could have been end of summer) they implemented Bluetooth Beta through the ZCA. There was no need then and I believe very limited now for the ability for the ZCA to have the ability to bridge ANT+.

I have been fairly (stop laughing) on these forums since the begining of 2016 and I think you are only about the 3rd person to ask for this.

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See? we’re growing strong :smile: :muscle:

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+1 for Oren. In that times, Ant+ dongles are unavailables, it would be a nice feature to bridge using ant+.

I don’t have any smartphones that have ANT+ inside.
I guess they’re quite rare.
ANT+ USB dongles are available everywhere in my country.

All Samsungs has ant+ built-in. They’re pretty common :wink:

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Hi,
I’ll be the 4th person :slight_smile:
All ANT+ usb are out of stock around here (even in Zwift’s webstore). And I happen to have a Samsung smartphone… Isn’t there any android app that simply receives ANT+ and broadcasts Bluetooth?

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Well I’m the fifth person, apparently. My phone (Xiaomi) has both BLE and ANT+, and I believe this will be pretty common for newer phones out there… and cannot pair my HRM (transmits only on ANT+) data via ZCA because it lacks ANT+ connectivity. And just as Oren said, I’d rather not having to buy extra pieces of hardware given that I’ve already got all of them, just missing the sotware that enables a smooth pairing between them, ouch!
This specially sucks for races in which HR data is mandatory.
So yes, I would definitely love this feature :slight_smile:

Yes, why don’t we get rid of ZCA, it’s just another ridiculous extra layer! Let’s go dongles everybody… see my point? if ZCA exists it’s for a reason… BLE, ANT+, tomatoe, tomato :wink:

ZCA was used for Computers when windows did not support smart trainers over Bluetooth. Now that Zwift support Bluetooth ZCA should not be needed to translate data.

ANT+ is so much more stable and reliable in all the windows setups that I have seen.

But ZCA has a lot of other very handy features especially when off the bike.

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Technology does move forward fast but the truth is not everybody keeps up with it, that would mean purchasing redundant hardware year after year. There’s plenty of us out there that still have fully functional HRM’s which only transmit on ANT+ or fully functional PC’s with no BT functionality. Of course we could all buy new pieces of hardware and keep up to date with the ultimate technology, but the beauty of software is it can integrate all this equipment without the need of extra spending.
If ZCA filled in a gap at the time in which PC’s where not supporting Bluetooth, why not do the exact same thing with ANT+? Just asking from a personal point of view.
I am pretty sure this would be really helpful for many others out there too, as discussed on this other thread:
Wanted feature: ant support

That thread is for ANT+ support for using Zwift APP on a Android phone that has support ANT+.

Investing programmer time to eliminate the use of a $20 piece of hardware the very stable seem a bit of a waist of time to me.

I also don’t want to spend $$ on unnecessary items but if it is cheap and it will make my training more stable the it is worth $20. That is why I still use down tube shifters. :cry: Because I can’t justify $150 that wont really improve my experience.

Then you have another link in the communication chain, that is never a good idea, the will introduce more dropouts and lag.

I would rather want Zwift to work on the things we can’t control.

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I’ve definitely seen many people requesting the same exact thing as here on the linked forum thread, so it’s more than just five of us :wink:

I could theoretically agree with what you say about the communication chain, but have been so far pairing my smart trainer via ZCA over Bluetooth (which my PC does not support) with no isssues whatsoever and I’d rather having the option to do the exact same thing with my ant+ devices than simply not being able to. Could have also opted for a BT usb dongle, but loved the fact that ZCA solved that at no extra cost.

Whether this request is time well spent for s/w development or not, well that’s another kettle of fish, but can guarantee many of us (or just me and a few others) would love it.

I must admit it’s difficult for me to understand the objection from Gerrie. Would the existence of such an option affect you or your training in any way if you’re not using it?
Please don’t worry about Zwift R&D resources. It’s our job as paying customers to say what features we want, and they will do as they see fit for their business. But downplaying other users wishes because you don’t see the benefit for you? I just don’t get it :neutral_face:

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I would like to say. I am new to zwift and new to cycling really. Didn’t feel like spending tons of money on something I wanted to test the waters with. Side note…I’m loving it so far. :grin: Anyway, as a thrifty person, I’m always looking to save a buck. I use a samsung galaxy phone with bluetooth and ANT+ and connect it to my laptop via Samsung Dex (free). It just turns your phone into a desktop computer. I then just launch the Zwift app, allow fullscreen, then use my phone for the companion app while my laptop displays the game.

No dongle for ANT+ and still running on a larger display.

I really found it a good topic. And i was googling for such a possibility. As now a days you can bridge network by USB via USB Tethering. As the antennas here in Netherlands are 45 euro at the moment. This on top of my spendings to get started.

Anyway cant wait now till option will be there. So have to spend it anyway

There are issues with Samsung and other tablets’ support for Ant+. Being able to bridge Ant+ sensors via the Companion app on a phone would be a great solution.

Just found this: CSC_BLE_Bridge (can’t post link, just Google it)
Works fine, my TabA (no ANT+) now reads my pulse from my Garmin Tactix through the bridge on my Samsung S10

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