SmartTag Plus released since April 14, 2021 ; 3 years ago ( 2021-04-14 ) .
35-612: Galaxy SmartTag is a key finder and object finder produced by Samsung Electronics . The device utilizes Bluetooth LE to allow the user to locate whatever object it is attached to via the SmartThings mobile app. The SmartTag & SmartTag plus were announced at Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event on January 14, 2021, SmartTag was included with every Galaxy S21 for pre-order, and released on January 29, 2021. The SmartTag Plus announced again at Samsung Newsroom on April 8, 2021, and released on April 14th. On October 11, 2023, Samsung released
70-460: A broadcast transmitter , a transmitter used in broadcasting , as in FM radio transmitter or television transmitter . This usage typically includes both the transmitter proper, the antenna, and often the building it is housed in. A transmitter can be a separate piece of electronic equipment, or an electrical circuit within another electronic device. A transmitter and a receiver combined in one unit
105-472: A frequency modulation (FM) transmitter, it is added by varying the radio signal's frequency slightly. Many other types of modulation are also used. The radio signal from the transmitter is applied to the antenna , which radiates the energy as radio waves. The antenna may be enclosed inside the case or attached to the outside of the transmitter, as in portable devices such as cell phones, walkie-talkies, and garage door openers . In more powerful transmitters,
140-429: A radio frequency signal which when applied to the antenna produces the radio waves, called the carrier signal . It combines the carrier with the modulation signal, a process called modulation . The information can be added to the carrier in several different ways, in different types of transmitters. In an amplitude modulation (AM) transmitter, the information is added to the radio signal by varying its amplitude . In
175-643: A buried set of keys. Having a transmitter in each unit also means that, unlike second-generation units, losing a single transmitter does not result in total loss of the ability to find other items it tracks. Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons are crucial in the functionality of key finders. These beacons, characterized by their efficient energy usage, emit signals that can be detected by compatible devices, usually smartphones, for location tracking purposes. Key finders with BLE beacon technology primarily aid in locating personal items. The beacon attached to an item like keys emits signals that, when in range, are detected by
210-518: A high voltage spark between two conductors. Beginning in 1895, Guglielmo Marconi developed the first practical radio communication systems using these transmitters, and radio began to be used commercially around 1900. Spark transmitters could not transmit audio (sound) and instead transmitted information by radiotelegraphy : the operator tapped on a telegraph key which turned the transmitter on-and-off to produce radio wave pulses spelling out text messages in telegraphic code, usually Morse code . At
245-429: A person when they are being tracked, are compromised because devices can be turned off once tracking is undertaken sufficiently, can be muffled or hidden out of view, or require an app to notify of illicit tracking, which is not usually in use by a victim. Transmitter In electronics and telecommunications , a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents)
280-413: A radio wave. A radio transmitter is an electronic circuit which transforms electric power from a power source, a battery or mains power, into a radio frequency alternating current to apply to the antenna, and the antenna radiates the energy from this current as radio waves. The transmitter also encodes information such as an audio or video signal into the radio frequency current to be carried by
315-532: A smartphone app, indicating the item's location. BLE beacons transmit signals that are detected by a compatible device, enabling the device to determine the beacon's location. This technology is widely used in key finders, where the beacon is attached to items such as keys or wallets, facilitating their location through a smartphone application. Tracking devices have been implicated in criminal activity, such as stalking and identifying when properties are empty. Safeguards built in to some tracking devices to notify
350-586: A variety of license classes depending on use such as broadcast , marine radio , Airband , Amateur and are restricted to certain frequencies and power levels. A body called the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) allocates the frequency bands in the radio spectrum to various classes of users. In some classes, each transmitter is given a unique call sign consisting of a string of letters and numbers which must be used as an identifier in transmissions. The operator of
385-718: Is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna with the purpose of signal transmission up to a radio receiver . The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current , which is applied to the antenna . When excited by this alternating current, the antenna radiates radio waves. Transmitters are necessary component parts of all electronic devices that communicate by radio , such as radio (audio) and television broadcasting stations, cell phones , walkie-talkies , wireless computer networks , Bluetooth enabled devices, garage door openers , two-way radios in aircraft, ships, spacecraft, radar sets and navigational beacons. The term transmitter
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#1732780672842420-425: Is called a transceiver . The purpose of most transmitters is radio communication of information over a distance. The information is provided to the transmitter in the form of an electronic signal called the modulation signal, such as an audio (sound) signal from a microphone, a video (TV) signal from a video camera, or in wireless networking devices, a digital signal from a computer. The transmitter generates
455-567: Is ready or a nurse is needed. Some key finders beep or flash lights on demand. Early models of key finder were sound-based, and listened for a clap or whistle (or a sequence of same), then beeped for the user to find them. Determining what was a clap or a whistle proved difficult, resulting in poor performance and false alarms. Because of this low quality and unreliability, these early key finders were soon discarded and were unpopular for serious needs. As electronics became smaller and cheaper, and battery life improved, radio became viable to locate
490-411: Is usually limited to equipment that generates radio waves for communication purposes; or radiolocation , such as radar and navigational transmitters. Generators of radio waves for heating or industrial purposes, such as microwave ovens or diathermy equipment, are not usually called transmitters, even though they often have similar circuits. The term is popularly used more specifically to refer to
525-529: The Bluetooth LE range, the device can still be located using Samsung's SmartThings Find Network, which uses the internet connection and GPS location of other Samsung Galaxy phones in the area to anonymously pinpoint the location of the SmartTag to the owner. The device also has a programmable button that can be used to control SmartThings -compatible smart-home products. The Samsung Galaxy SmartTag2
560-640: The UHF and microwave ranges, using new active devices such as the magnetron , klystron , and traveling wave tube . The invention of the transistor allowed the development in the 1960s of small portable transmitters such as wireless microphones , garage door openers and walkie-talkies . The development of the integrated circuit (IC) in the 1970s made possible the current proliferation of wireless devices , such as cell phones and Wi-Fi networks, in which integrated digital transmitters and receivers ( wireless modems ) in portable devices operate automatically, in
595-685: The 1920s. All these early technologies were replaced by vacuum tube transmitters in the 1920s, which used the feedback oscillator invented by Edwin Armstrong and Alexander Meissner around 1912, based on the Audion ( triode ) vacuum tube invented by Lee De Forest in 1906. Vacuum tube transmitters were inexpensive and produced continuous waves , and could be easily modulated to transmit audio (sound) using amplitude modulation (AM). This made AM radio broadcasting possible, which began in about 1920. Practical frequency modulation (FM) transmission
630-545: The SmartTag2. The Galaxy SmartTag is a tracking device which can be attached to various objects that are easily lost with a small strap (sold separately) or by other means, such as a keychain. Objects include keys, luggage, purses, among others. The device can then be located with SmartThings mobile app, using Bluetooth LE . Another variant, the Galaxy SmartTag+, uses ultra-wideband technology in order to locate
665-563: The US, these fall under Part 15 of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations. Although they can be operated without a license, these devices still generally must be type-approved before sale. The first primitive radio transmitters (called spark gap transmitters ) were built by German physicist Heinrich Hertz in 1887 during his pioneering investigations of radio waves. These generated radio waves by
700-610: The antenna may be located on top of a building or on a separate tower, and connected to the transmitter by a feed line , that is a transmission line . Electromagnetic waves are radiated by electric charges when they are accelerated . Radio waves , electromagnetic waves of radio frequency , are generated by time-varying electric currents , consisting of electrons flowing through a metal conductor called an antenna which are changing their velocity and thus accelerating. An alternating current flowing back and forth in an antenna will create an oscillating magnetic field around
735-461: The background, to exchange data with wireless networks . The need to conserve bandwidth in the increasingly congested radio spectrum is driving the development of new types of transmitters such as spread spectrum , trunked radio systems and cognitive radio . A related trend has been an ongoing transition from analog to digital radio transmission methods. Digital modulation can have greater spectral efficiency than analog modulation ; that
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#1732780672842770-419: The conductor. The alternating voltage will also charge the ends of the conductor alternately positive and negative, creating an oscillating electric field around the conductor. If the frequency of the oscillations is high enough, in the radio frequency range above about 20 kHz, the oscillating coupled electric and magnetic fields will radiate away from the antenna into space as an electromagnetic wave,
805-466: The device and was released on April 16, 2021. Only limited phones, that are more recently produced, manufactured by Samsung supports such features. While the device is inside of the Bluetooth range (120 meters), it can play a ringtone using its inbuilt Piezoelectric speaker to alert the user of its exact location audibly, using a volume between 85 - 96 dB (unobstructed). If the device is outside of
840-399: The keys should they be lost in a taxi, bus or other public place, provided the customer registered their devices and contact information. The transmitter can also contain information to help return it to its rightful owner. Peer-to-peer key finders no longer require a separate "base"; they are all functionally identical and based on a communication system wherein each device can find all
875-416: The keys, which were fitted with a small receiver. A separate transmitter is used to activate one or more receivers. All wireless key finders have to "listen" for a searching transmission, resulting in battery replacement at intervals ranging from three months to a year. Using a radio signal removes the risk of false alarms. Some distributors include a cost-effective key-return service that assists in returning
910-407: The others individually. The user can, for example, use a digital wallet to find misplaced keys and vice versa, or a mobile phone to find a lost TV remote control or eyeglasses. In addition, since the keyfinders have their own transmitters, they can reply to each other by radio as well as by beeping and flashing a light to attract attention. The seeking unit can then follow this beacon to find even
945-421: The output frequency. Older designs used an oscillator at a lower frequency, which was multiplied by frequency multipliers to get a signal at the desired frequency. Modern designs more commonly use an oscillator at the operating frequency which is stabilized by phase locking to a very stable lower frequency reference, usually a crystal oscillator. Two radio transmitters in the same area that attempt to transmit on
980-794: The owner to set a custom lost message with contact details and instructions. The SmartThings Find Network allows Galaxy devices that have opted in, don't have airplane mode or data saver mode on, and are in Bluetooth range to anonymously send the location of the tracker to the owner. It all happens in the background, and anonymously, so it updates seamlessly. Key finder Key finders , also known as keyfinders , key locators , or electronic finders , are small electronic devices fitted to objects to locate them when misplaced or stolen, such as keys , luggage, purses, wallets, pets, laptop computers, toddlers, cellphones, equipment, or tools, and to transmit alerts, e.g., that one's restaurant table
1015-400: The radio waves. When they strike the antenna of a radio receiver , the waves excite similar (but less powerful) radio frequency currents in it. The radio receiver extracts the information from the received waves. A practical radio transmitter mainly consists of the following parts: In higher frequency transmitters, in the UHF and microwave range, free running oscillators are unstable at
1050-486: The receiver, these pulses were sometimes directly recorded on paper tapes, but more common was audible reception. The pulses were audible as beeps in the receiver's earphones, which were translated back to text by an operator who knew Morse code. These spark-gap transmitters were used during the first three decades of radio (1887–1917), called the wireless telegraphy or "spark" era. Because they generated damped waves , spark transmitters were electrically "noisy". Their energy
1085-475: The same frequency will interfere with each other, causing garbled reception, so neither transmission may be received clearly. Interference with radio transmissions can not only have a large economic cost, it can be life-threatening (for example, in the case of interference with emergency communications or air traffic control ). For this reason, in most countries, use of transmitters is strictly controlled by law. Transmitters must be licensed by governments, under
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1120-512: The transmitter usually must hold a government license, such as a general radiotelephone operator license , which is obtained by passing a test demonstrating adequate technical and legal knowledge of safe radio operation. Exceptions to the above regulations allow the unlicensed use of low-power short-range transmitters in consumer products such as cell phones , cordless telephones , wireless microphones , walkie-talkies , Wi-Fi and Bluetooth devices, garage door openers , and baby monitors . In
1155-440: Was invented by Edwin Armstrong in 1933, who showed that it was less vulnerable to noise and static than AM. The first FM radio station was licensed in 1937. Experimental television transmission had been conducted by radio stations since the late 1920s, but practical television broadcasting didn't begin until the late 1930s. The development of radar during World War II motivated the evolution of high frequency transmitters in
1190-504: Was released on October 11th of 2023. This is the second generation in the SmartTag lineup, and has been improved overall. The new design is better for keyrings, less thick, and not bulging in the middle. The louder speaker also allows for better audible clarity. It also features refreshed Bluetooth LE antennas, but still runs off of the same SmartThings Find Network. The longer battery life also allows it to be forgotten longer. A programmable NFC ( Near Field Communications ) tag also allows
1225-498: Was spread over a broad band of frequencies , creating radio noise which interfered with other transmitters. Damped wave emissions were banned by international law in 1934. Two short-lived competing transmitter technologies came into use after the turn of the century, which were the first continuous wave transmitters: the arc converter ( Poulsen arc ) in 1904 and the Alexanderson alternator around 1910, which were used into
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