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No app, no Bluetooth pairing, no IT project — just plug the MicroBase into your tablet and start collecting gage data.
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Tablets are increasingly the recording device on the shop floor. Operators carry them through inspection cells, share them at incoming receiving stations, and pull them up at the gage bench rather than walking data to a fixed PC. The problem: most wireless gage systems were designed around a Windows workstation. Getting measurement data into a tablet typically means installing a proprietary app, re-pairing each gage to a new Bluetooth device, or involving IT for driver installation and MDM deployment, all for something that should be as simple as plugging in a keyboard.
With the MobileCollect MicroBase EVO USB-C, it is that simple. Plug it into any USB-C device, and all the wireless gages already paired to it start typing measurement data directly into whatever application is active on screen. No app. No pairing. No configuration on the tablet itself.
The MicroBase EVO USB-C is a dongle-sized wireless base receiver (1.54 inches long, 0.18 oz) that plugs directly into a USB-C port. When connected, it registers on the host device as a standard USB HID keyboard. No driver installation is required. The host device, whether a Windows laptop, an iPad, or an Android tablet, sees nothing more than a keyboard that happens to be very good at typing measurement values.
Wireless gages communicate with the MicroBase over RM2.4, MicroRidge’s proprietary wireless protocol operating in the 2.4 GHz ISM band. When an operator presses the read button on a transmitter, the measurement value travels wirelessly to the MicroBase, which types it directly into the active text field of whatever application is open on the connected device. Press the button on the caliper; the value appears in the Excel cell, the SPC form field, the browser-based quality application, wherever the cursor is.
This is what makes the MicroBase genuinely different from Bluetooth-based gage systems: pairing is stored on the base, not on the host device. Every transmitter paired to a MicroBase is registered to that specific base. When the base moves, the entire wireless network of paired gages moves with it.
Unplug the MicroBase from the setup PC. Plug it into the shop floor iPad. All paired gages are still paired. Press the read button and data flows into the iPad exactly as it did on the PC. Nothing on the tablet was configured. Nothing was re-paired.
With a Bluetooth-based gage system, pairing lives on the device. Move to a different tablet and you re-pair every transmitter to the new device. With the MicroBase, the base is the portable node. It carries its paired transmitter network with it. A single MicroBase can hold pairings for hundreds of transmitters simultaneously, so a fully instrumented inspection cell moves as a unit.
Because the MicroBase presents as a USB HID keyboard, it is compatible with any application that accepts keyboard input. On an iPad or Android tablet, that includes:
There is no middleware, no virtual COM port to configure on the tablet, no app to download or license. If an operator can type a number into a field on the tablet, the MicroBase can put a gage measurement there instead.
This is the one technical consideration worth knowing before deploying on a tablet: mobile operating systems handle keyboard input buffers differently than Windows. A keystroke rate optimized for a Windows PC can outpace the iOS or Android input handler, causing characters to drop. A measurement value of “12.437” may arrive as “1247” or similar. This is not a signal integrity problem; it is a pacing problem.
MicroRidge addressed this directly. The MicroBase EVO has three configurable keyboard output speeds: Fast (~60 char/sec), Medium (~40 char/sec), and Slow (~20 char/sec). For tablet and mobile deployments on iOS or Android, Medium or Slow is recommended. Speed is set once via the MobileCollect Setup Program on a Windows PC and stored permanently in the base. No adjustment is needed on the tablet itself; the configured rate persists across all subsequent host connections.
This is exactly the kind of detail that causes frustration when discovered in the field rather than accounted for in deployment. Set the speed during configuration and it is a non-issue.
Initial configuration of the MicroBase (pairing transmitters, setting output mode, configuring keyboard wedge speed, and setting the end-of-packet character) is done via the MobileCollect Xpress or Extended Setup Programs on a Windows PC. This is a one-time step. Once configured, the base operates in that mode on any connected device indefinitely, with no further setup required on the tablet, phone, or laptop it connects to.
Most quality environments have at least one Windows machine running SPC software or used for gage calibration records. That is the configuration point. After that, the MicroBase is a portable, self-contained wireless gage receiver that works wherever it is plugged in.
The MicroBase EVO USB-C is compatible with any device that has a USB-C port and supports USB HID:
The USB-C form factor is the right choice for most new deployments. USB-C is now standard on iPads, modern Android tablets, and current-generation laptops. It is the port that will be present on devices purchased going forward.
To make this concrete: an inspection supervisor has a MicroBase paired to a caliper, a micrometer, and a digital indicator, three different gages at a roving inspection station. The gages are wireless; operators carry them to the part.
At the start of the inspection sequence, the operator plugs the MicroBase into the USB-C port on a shared floor iPad. The iPad registers a new keyboard. No prompt, no confirmation required. The operator opens the inspection record in a web-based quality application, taps the first measurement field to set focus, and presses the read button on the caliper. The value populates the field. Preset tab end-of-packet character advances to the next. The micrometer fires. The indicator fires. Three measurements, three fields, no manual transcription, no risk of transposition error.
At the end of the shift, the operator unplugs the MicroBase. The iPad reverts to its on-screen keyboard. The MicroBase goes back in the drawer, already configured for the next use.
Manual transcription of measurement values is a documented nonconformance risk under ISO 9001:2015 Clause 7.1.5, IATF 16949, AS9100D, and 21 CFR Part 820. The MicroBase eliminates that risk by routing measurement data directly from the instrument to the record; the operator’s hands never touch a keyboard. For a detailed breakdown of the operational and quality costs of manual data entry, see The True Cost of Manual Measurement Data Entry.
The wireless link between the transmitters and MicroBase operates on RM2.4, a purpose-built industrial wireless protocol that is fundamentally different from Bluetooth in its interference resilience and connection architecture. For quality engineers evaluating wireless gage solutions for controlled manufacturing environments, Why Bluetooth Fails in Manufacturing covers that distinction in full technical detail.
The MicroBase EVO USB-C is a dongle-sized wireless receiver that turns any USB-C tablet into a gage data collection terminal. No app, no pairing, no IT project. Use the MobileCollect Selection Tool to confirm compatibility with your specific gages, or request a Demo Kit to evaluate the system in your environment before purchasing.
Riley Tronson is President and owner of MicroRidge Systems, a role held since 2023. Riley brings a strong technical foundation to leadership in measurement solutions. An experienced entrepreneur, Riley has founded and grown multiple software companies, including a venture focused on developing iPhone applications, blending engineering expertise with innovative product development.