The impAccelerator Fieldbus Gateway

This Getting Started Guide will familiarize you with the Electric Imp Platform and the key concepts behind it by working with Electric Imp’s impAccelerator™ Fieldbus Gateway, one of the Electric Imp IoT QuickStart family of evaluation and development devices. You will learn how to use our convenient online software development environment, impCentral™. You will also learn how to take advantage of BlinkUp™, Electric Imp’s patented technology which you will use to get your imp-enabled development devices online and which your end-users will use to get your connected products online.

This Guide focuses on the basic functionality of your Fieldbus Gateway, but the device has many more capabilities than can be covered here. You can find detailed information on the functionality provided by the Fieldbus Gateway here.

1. Gather Your Hardware

In addition to your Fieldbus Gateway, you will also need some other equipment:

• An iOS or Android phone (or tablet) to set up your Fieldbus Gateway.
• Optionally, an Ethernet cable if you’ll be connecting the Fieldbus Gateway to the Internet via a wired network.
• A mini USB cable and a computer or USB AC adapter for power. Alternatively, the Fieldbus Gateway can be powered with 24V AC/DC via its two-terminal connector and bridge rectifier. It also supports Power-over-Ethernet operation via its RJ-45 connectors.

The following equipment is supplied with the Fieldbus Gateway:

• External SMA antenna for WiFi — you should attach this to the connector on the front of the Fieldbus Gateway now.

2. Create a Free Electric Imp Account

The first step to getting your Fieldbus Gateway online is to create an Electric Imp account. This is free and gives you access to impCentral, which you’ll later explore and use to develop the software your Fieldbus Gateway will run.

You only need create an account once. You can add as many Fieldbus Gateways and other development devices as you like to your account, and program and monitor them all through impCentral.

Sign Up

The impCentral sign-in and registration screen

Create your account now: visit the registration page and enter your email address in the Sign Up section. You’ll shortly receive a confirmation message asking you to verify your email address — click Confirm your email address:

The verification email you will receive after sign-up

When you’ve done so, you’ll be automatically returned to impCentral and asked to choose a new account username and password. Your password must be 8-20 characters, as must your username — which must not be your email address. Click on the Set button to apply your choices:

The account completion screen

Note By creating an account, you agree to Electric Imp’s Terms of Service, which you can read here. Please also take a moment to view our Privacy Policy.

You’re now ready to prime your Fieldbus Gateway to connect to your local wireless or wired network and get online. We’ll do this in the next section.