107 THOUGHTS ON “HOW TO CHOOSE A BLUETOOTH SMART / LOW ENERGY DEVELOPMENT KIT”

1. pwder on October 27, 2011 at 6:11 pm said:

   First of all, Kudos for your blog! I see your very motivated and hope you finish this project. It’s a nice recap you have here, really a time saver, if only I have read this before… I am starting with BLE as well and found all things you posted.

   I have been working with the CC2540 Mini Dev Kit and the BLE112 Starter Kit, being my favorite the latter, although I didn’t buy it… It’s unexplainable expensive for what it is included. I was asking myself the same question as you: Why in hell the BLE112 Dev Kit is cheaper than the Starter Kit? hope Bluegiga answered you. Also, IDK if you noticed that buying all the BLE112 Starter Kit parts separately costs you around $170 USD (2 BLE112 $26.66 each, 2 BLED112 $32.00 each, 1 CC debugger from TI $50)… yeah, WTF!. I have found the same things as you on my quest for a BLE radio, except from one dual-mode USB dongle from a Taiwanese company that didn’t provide any documentation (CC&C).

   As a user I can tell you that if you’re looking for high-level, fast and simple app development then Bluegiga is the way to go, they don’t provide a lot of documentation or examples like Texas Instruments, but the platform is very simple and you don’t have to get additional software platforms like the IAR Embedded Workbench. Now that if you’re looking for a lower level programming (like L2CAP commands, HCI, etc.) then TI fits better. Since the BLE112 is basically a CC2540 with oscillators and antenna I think that (with the right configuration) the TI utilities should work, but haven’t tried. I have decided to order a BLE112 Dev Kit and some BLE112 modules to test the maximum connected devices capabilities, it says in the documentation that the maximum number of simultaneous connections is 4+ but according to support folks it will be upgraded to 20 in the near future. This is also a key element you should consider for your design, TI CC2540 only allowed 2 devices (peer-to-peer) but after approximately a year it was upgraded and now allows max 3 devices in the piconet !! and it’ll be upgraded ‘soon’… I think Nordic Semiconductors’ solution only allows peer-to-peer communication, although the standard says BLE supports “unlimited” connections, so it’s still a problem at this stage.

   So what have you decided? I hope you keep posting your experiences and feel free to ask me anything, maybe I can contribute too with the support for all the BLE lost souls out there.

   Reply ↓
   • Adamon October 28, 2011 at 10:31 pm said:

     First of all, Kudos for your blog! I see your very motivated and hope you finish this project. It’s a nice recap you have here, really a time saver, if only I have read this before… I am starting with BLE as well and found all things you posted.

     thanks for the kind words, you have the distinction of being the first commenter! Hopefully we can provide a useful resource which will help others in their quest for Bluetooth Smart information!

     I have been working with the CC2540 Mini Dev Kit and the BLE112 Starter Kit, being my favorite the latter, although I didn’t buy it… It’s unexplainable expensive for what it is included. I was asking myself the same question as you: Why in hell the BLE112 Dev Kit is cheaper than the Starter Kit? hope Bluegiga answered you.

     I haven’t spoken to Bluegiga about this yet, but I’ll be sure to post my findings as soon as I do.

     Also, IDK if you noticed that buying all the BLE112 Starter Kit parts separately costs you around $170 USD (2 BLE112 $26.66 each, 2 BLED112 $32.00 each, 1 CC debugger from TI $50)… yeah, WTF!. I have found the same things as you on my quest for a BLE radio, except from one dual-mode USB dongle from a Taiwanese company that didn’t provide any documentation (CC&C).

     Yes, it is really strange how you can put together the components of the BLE112-STK for so much less than they charge for the complete package. You said you have the BLE112-STK, is there nothing else that’s included with it to justify the extra expense? I have a hard time understanding why anyone would buy the pre-packaged starter kit when you can put it together yourself so much cheaper.

     I also notice that the BLE112-STK is no longer listed at the local Australian distributor (glynstore) so maybe they’ve decided to focus on the DKBLE112 development kit rather than the starter kit.

     As a user I can tell you that if you’re looking for high-level, fast and simple app development then Bluegiga is the way to go, they don’t provide a lot of documentation or examples like Texas Instruments, but the platform is very simple and you don’t have to get additional software platforms like the IAR Embedded Workbench.

     I’m curious – what made you decide on the Bluegiga module as opposed to the offerings from BlueRadios? I’m still trying to decide between the two, although the Sensorbug from BlueRadios is making me lean more towards BlueRadios. What do you use to program the Bluegiga module?

     Also, why did you buy the CC2540 Mini Dev Kit? It seems as though the CC2540 dev kit is primarily for people who want to design a PCB and make things as small as possible.

     Now that if you’re looking for a lower level programming (like L2CAP commands, HCI, etc.) then TI fits better. Since the BLE112 is basically a CC2540 with oscillators and antenna I think that (with the right configuration) the TI utilities should work, but haven’t tried.

     I’m not sure yet if I need lower level programming. My first goal is to simply read output from an accelerometer and pass it to another Bluetooth 4 device (ideally an iPhone 4S). Size is, however, a concern to me, so I have a feeling that I may go the way of TI CC2540 eventually, but I’ll start off with a turnkey module until I get a better understanding.

     I have decided to order a BLE112 Dev Kit and some BLE112 modules to test the maximum connected devices capabilities, it says in the documentation that the maximum number of simultaneous connections is 4+ but according to support folks it will be upgraded to 20 in the near future. This is also a key element you should consider for your design, TI CC2540 only allowed 2 devices (peer-to-peer) but after approximately a year it was upgraded and now allows max 3 devices in the piconet !! and it’ll be upgraded ‘soon’… I think Nordic Semiconductors’ solution only allows peer-to-peer communication, although the standard says BLE supports “unlimited” connections, so it’s still a problem at this stage.

     So even though the CC2540 lists only 3 allowed devices, Bluegiga have somehow managed to support 4+, with 20 in the future? Interesting

     So what have you decided? I hope you keep posting your experiences and feel free to ask me anything, maybe I can contribute too with the support for all the BLE lost souls out there.

     I’m still deciding between the Bluegiga solution and the one from BlueRadios. Unfortunately work has been busy lately, so I haven’t had too much time to spend researching this week. I’m still waiting on a response from BlueRadios from an email I sent them last week, which should help me make a decision. I’ll definitely update the blog with new information as soon as I decide which development kit to purchase.

     Thanks a lot for your comments, I look forward to hearing more about your experiences, and I think others would benefit as well, especially considering that you’re further along in the process than I am!

     Reply ↓
     • pwderon November 4, 2011 at 5:53 am said:

       Hi, sorry for the late response. I have been busy at work too!

       Yes, it is really strange how you can put together the components of the BLE112-STK for so much less than they charge for the complete package. You said you have the BLE112-STK, is there nothing else that’s included with it to justify the extra expense? I have a hard time understanding why anyone would buy the pre-packaged starter kit when you can put it together yourself so much cheaper.

       Nope, nothing extra is included. You can find the documentation, datasheets, guides, etc. on the Bluegiga website. Maybe the email support? I don’t think so, because you suscribe to the techforum, they “check” your account and within few hours they grant you access and send you an email for provide you support.

       I’m curious – what made you decide on the Bluegiga module as opposed to the offerings from BlueRadios? I’m still trying to decide between the two, although the Sensorbug from BlueRadios is making me lean more towards BlueRadios. What do you use to program the Bluegiga module?

       Nice question, well the main thing was the documentation. I didn’t find any documentation on the BlueRadios Modules (no datasheets, no guides, nothing) maybe they send it with the module or once you buy it, I don’t know. On the other hand you can find all the documentation you need from the Bluegiga website, and also the executables to program the modules. Basically if you want to make “on module” applications you program on basic XML (BGScript) and if you want to make an app with a separate host (microprocessor, CPU, mobile) you program on ANSI C (BGLib) and communicate with the host via serial interface. Here’s the link to the Bluegiga documentation:

       http://www.bluegiga.com/ble112?downloads#1.0

       Also, why did you buy the CC2540 Mini Dev Kit? It seems as though the CC2540 dev kit is primarily for people who want to design a PCB and make things as small as possible.

       I bought the CC2540 Mini Dev Kit, again, for the documentation, and for the Keyfob! I think it’s fantastic for prototyping, it saves you all the PCB work IF you want to prototype (you know, I/O ports, integrated accelerometer, temperature sensor, serial interfaces, voltage regulators and supply). I’m at a prototype stage right now so I don’t need to make things as small as possible, but later I’ll start with the PCB design, can’t scape from that.

       So even though the CC2540 lists only 3 allowed devices, Bluegiga have somehow managed to support 4+, with 20 in the future? Interesting

       Yes, kind of strange but it’s interesting. Actually I don’t have more than 4 Bluegiga modules so I can’t tell what the 4+ stands for… 6 or 7? I don’t know.

       Thanks a lot for your comments, I look forward to hearing more about your experiences, and I think others would benefit as well, especially considering that you’re further along in the process than I am!

       No problem, thanks to you for opening and supporting this space, hopefully more “Bluetooth Smart” enthusiasts will join and create a strong supporting community.
     • Adamon December 5, 2011 at 11:21 pm said:

       Nope, nothing extra is included. You can find the documentation, datasheets, guides, etc. on the Bluegiga website. Maybe the email support? I don’t think so, because you suscribe to the techforum, they “check” your account and within few hours they grant you access and send you an email for provide you support.

       I recently received a response from Bluegiga regarding the differences between the BLE112-STK and the DKBLE112, and they said the following:

       “Please, just consider the DKBLE112 which comes with a very nice evaluation board among others.”

       So it looks like the BLE112-STK has been replaced by the less expensive DKBLE112 dev kit.

       I bought the CC2540 Mini Dev Kit, again, for the documentation, and for the Keyfob! I think it’s fantastic for prototyping, it saves you all the PCB work IF you want to prototype (you know, I/O ports, integrated accelerometer, temperature sensor, serial interfaces, voltage regulators and supply). I’m at a prototype stage right now so I don’t need to make things as small as possible, but later I’ll start with the PCB design, can’t scape from that.

       I decided to buy the CC2540 dev kit as well, since it’s a very good price, and it includes the CC Debugger, which can be used to flash other modules, such as the Blueradios BR-BUTTON-S2A SensorBug. I’m going to post another blog entry regarding my experiences so far, and some of the troubles I’ve had getting it set up, mostly due to out of date information on the TI wiki.

       I have another question for you regarding the BLE112 modules – how have you been programming them? I’m assuming you’re using the CC Debugger from the CC2540 Mini Dev kit, but how are you interfacing it with the BLE112 module? Have you created your own breakout board? Also, have you ordered the DKBLE112 kit?

       Hope your prototyping is going well!
2. Michael on December 3, 2011 at 2:31 am said:

   Hi togehter,

   i read your posts above and my english is not as good as yours. But what i also can say is that your both information are really a time saver for me two.

   I also actually try to find a way for connecting a sensor via Bluetooth Smart to e.g. an iphone 4S. And i also found the Bluegiga Dev Kit and after reading your info’s i looked at the page of Blueradios. But compared to you i’m at the beginning of all of that. The first idea from mine was to start with buying the DKBLE112 and try. In Germany i can buy it for 297 Euro + Tax.

   But after i read the things about Blueradios and the difference to Bluegiga “…Blueradios has dual mode modules…” i’m a little confused, because i don’t know if that mode is an important feature (especially in combination with an iphone 4S) or not.

   Did anybody of you now buy one of the evaluation boards ? What about the response from Blueradios and/or Bluegiga ?

   Reply ↓
   • Adamon December 4, 2011 at 2:30 pm said:

     But after i read the things about Blueradios and the difference to Bluegiga “…Blueradios has dual mode modules…” i’m a little confused, because i don’t know if that mode is an important feature (especially in combination with an iphone 4S) or not.

     Hi there, glad you found the blog post useful. You only need a dual mode Bluetooth module if you plan on supporting classic Bluetooth (for older iPhones for example) as well as Bluetooth Low Energy, or if you need the ability to send large amounts of data. If your application is simply a sensor or some device that sends small amounts of information, and you don’t need it to be backwards compatible with classic Bluetooth, then stick with a single mode module. Remember as well that Apple doesn’t require Made for iOS (MFi) certification or the use of an authentication chip for Bluetooth Low Energy peripherals, but they still require it for classic Bluetooth.

     Did anybody of you now buy one of the evaluation boards ? What about the response from Blueradios and/or Bluegiga ?

     I don’t know anyone who’s bought the DKBLE112 evaluation board, but I plan on buying one from Bluegiga myself. My decision has been based on the fact that the Bluegiga website has a useful support section with downloads and technical documentation, while I wasn’t able to find much on the Blueradios website.

     Good luck with your development, and please let us know what evaluation kit you end up using!

     Hallo, freut mich, dass du diesen Blog gefunden hast. Das einzige was du brauchst ist ein duales Mode Bluetooth Modul wenn du klassisches Bluetooth unterstützen kannst (für ältere IPhones zum Beispiel) und ein Bluetooth Low Energy, oder wenn du die Möglichkeit brauchst grössere Datenmengen zu versenden.Wenn deine Anwendung einfach nur ein Sensor oder eine Einheit ist, die geringe Datenmengen versendet, und es nicht mit klassischem Bluetooth kompatibel sein muss, dann bleib bei einem einzelnen Mode Modul. Denke auch daran, dass Apple das “Made for iOS (MFi)” Zertifikat oder den Gebrauch eine Authentifizierungschips für Bluetooth Low Energy Peripheriegeräte nicht benötigt, dennoch für klassisches Bluetooth.

     Ich kenne niemanden der das DKLBE112 “evaluation board” gekauft hat, aber ich denke daran mir eines bei Bluegiga zu beschaffen. Meine Entscheidung basiert darauf, dass die Bluegiga Webseite einen sehr gute Bereich mit Downloads und technischer Dokumentation besitzt, während ich auf der Blueradios Webseite nicht viel finden konnte.

     Viel Erfolge mit deiner Entwicklung und lass uns wissen welches “evaluation kit” du letztendlich benutzt hast!

     Reply ↓
     • Michaelon December 5, 2011 at 4:35 am said:

       Thank you for your remarks.

       Actually i only want to be compatible with e.g. iphone 4 S and Bluetooth Smart. So i can use a single mode module, thank you.

       Interesting what you say about Apple MFi. If i understand you right, for hardware created with Bluetooth Smart i do NOT need to be certified by MFi ? – I’m sorry. Of course, i need to read the details at Apple to understand the certification process. But again, for the hardware i do NOT need that certificate !? – What about the App ? – I think for App i need a certificate liek that, right ?
     • Adamon December 5, 2011 at 10:42 am said:

       Interesting what you say about Apple MFi. If i understand you right, for hardware created with Bluetooth Smart i do NOT need to be certified by MFi ? – I’m sorry. Of course, i need to read the details at Apple to understand the certification process. But again, for the hardware i do NOT need that certificate !? – What about the App ? – I think for App i need a certificate liek that, right ?

       That’s correct, you don’t need MFi certification for Bluetooth Smart devices. According to Brian Tucker, Senior Software Engineering Manager iOS Bluetooth Technologies Apple and Bluetooth SIG Board of directors member:

       “Bluetooth Low Energy is not part of our MFi accessory program. A third party application can interact with a BTLE accessory via a new framework found in iOS 5 and OX X 10.7.2, called Core Bluetooth”

       You can also read my blog post iPhone 4S says goodbye to MFi for Bluetooth Smart Devices for more information.
3. Tim on December 8, 2011 at 4:38 pm said:

   Hi Adam,

   I’m interested in getting a development kit to use BLE with a smartphone (as of now, I think only the iPhone 4S and the Motorola Droid RAZR can do it). You seem pretty knowledgeable in this area so you might be able to answer a few questions I have:

   1. I want to use the development kit to simulate either a heart rate monitor or a temperature monitor (as it’s pretty much impossible to buy either of these as end products yet). Which kit would you recommend? I think I saw that TI had sample applications to do just that.

   2. Which smartphone would be better to test with? I know that BLE isn’t officially supported by Android yet, so Motorola kind of hacked together a few APIs and implemented the heart rate profile (but not the thermometer profile?). I’ve got absolutely no idea whether the iPhone natively supports either of those profiles.

   Any thoughts at all would be much appreciated.
   Cheers, Tim

   Reply ↓
   • Adamon December 14, 2011 at 12:02 am said:

     1. I want to use the development kit to simulate either a heart rate monitor or a temperature monitor (as it’s pretty much impossible to buy either of these as end products yet). Which kit would you recommend? I think I saw that TI had sample applications to do just that.

     Hi Tim, so far I’ve only had (limited) experience with the TI CC2540DK-MINI kit, but I can definitely recommend it. They’ve got a very knowledgeable and active discussion forum, as well as lots of technical documentation and some very good source code examples, including a working iPhone 4S application. In the current BLE-CC2540-1.1a stack release, they’ve got sample code for BloodPressure, HeartRate, Thermometer, EmulatedKeyboard and others.

     2. Which smartphone would be better to test with? I know that BLE isn’t officially supported by Android yet, so Motorola kind of hacked together a few APIs and implemented the heart rate profile (but not the thermometer profile?). I’ve got absolutely no idea whether the iPhone natively supports either of those profiles.

     Again, I’ve only had experience with the iPhone 4S, but so far, it’s been great for prototyping with with the TI CC2540DK-MINI kit. I’m definitely biased, since I’ve developed Cocoa applications in the past, so I feel more comfortable using OS X development tools. However, Apple recently released sample code for implementing a Heart Rate Monitor using the CoreBluetooth API, so it may be of interest to you. Also, from what I’ve read, the RAZR needs to be running Ice Cream Sandwich to support BLE, and this is apparently not going to happen for a few more months.

     Reply ↓
4. Pascal Darré on January 5, 2012 at 9:32 pm said:

   Hi

   I found this blog entry while looking for BLE module with the same motivation than you (easier to start with, not to deal with PCB design antenna etc). But looking deeply into such module and particularly the Bluegiga one which was sounding as a good solution, I am disapointed by the programming capability: either you use an external processor (but shame to not use the included one and to increase BOM, size etc), or you use the BGScript but it is really a limited langage (there is even no FOR/WHILE loop!)… There is no possibility to program directly the included 8051 processor easily with the Bluegiga module…at least the process is not described.
   For what concern IAR, yes the expensive price is limiting but there is 30 days demo (and in TI forum they recommend to play with computer clock…) and a free version limited to 4kbytes of code (which could be enough for simple application?)

   Reply ↓
   • Adamon January 5, 2012 at 11:33 pm said:

     Hi Pascal, last time I spoke to a Bluegiga representative, they mentioned “We also have in the roadmap to provide our stack as object code to allow in-module advanced C programming using the IAR compiler.” They didn’t provide any time frame for when this will be available. Perhaps I’ll try sending them another message to see if they can give me a definite date.

     In regards to the limited versions of IAR, I don’t believe you can use the kickstart version, since the TI BLE stack is larger than 4k, so I assume the Bluegiga stack would be larger than 4k as well.

     I’ve recently ordered a few BLE112 modules which should be arriving next week, so I’ll try to update the blog after I have some time to play around with them.

     Reply ↓
     • Pascal Darréon January 6, 2012 at 12:39 am said:

       Interesting info about stack size…I thought it was only for external program not the stack….shame
     • Pascalon January 6, 2012 at 7:36 am said:

       I got a reply from tech support of Bluegiga:

       Unfortunatley at the moment the C-programming is not supported yet and and BGscript is the only way to program BLE112.

       We have this feature on road-map, but it’s likely to be implemented only during Q2/2012.

       I will take a look on interfacing with an external processor cause the adding value of the module is really interesting (certifications etc)
     • Adamon January 6, 2012 at 10:23 am said:

       Thanks for posting your response from Bluegiga, that’s very useful information for the rest of us. I’ve just posted a similar question to the BlueRadios representative on the TI forums, so we can determine if it’s possible to write C code for the 8051 MCU on the CC2540 in the BlueRadios modules.
     • Adamon January 19, 2012 at 10:03 am said:

       The BlueRadios rep responded to my question and said the following:

       yes, you can use the TI BLE Stack to develop c-code applications with the IAR compiler

       I was a little confused by your response from Bluegiga regarding the inability to use C-programming, since if it can be done with the BlueRadios modules, surely the Bluegiga modules must be capable as well. I sent Bluegiga a message last week asking them for some clarification:

       Myself:
       I thought your BLE112 was sort of like a breakout for the CC2540 with the required capacitors, antenna, crystals, etc. I was under the impression that I would be able to write custom C code and flash it to the BLE112 using IAR with the CC Debugger.

       Bluegiga representative:
       If you use the TI stack of course you can develop your own applications. We do not use this stack so I am not able to give you much information about it.

       If and when we make available C object code for our BLE stack we will attempt to make it so you can use an open source compiler. But this is not for sure going to happen.

       So it seems that you can use IAR to write custom C code with the TI BLE stack on the Bluegiga BLE112 modules. The misunderstanding regarding the supposed inability to write C code comes from the fact that Bluegiga is currently trying to create a library to allow you to write C code using an open source compiler,without requiring IAR. Apparently, they’re still a few months away from this becoming a reality, so at the moment, you can definitely write code using IAR as if you were interfacing directly with the CC2540, similar in function to the TI keyfob from the CC2540DK-MINI, but you can’t use an open source compiler, such as SDCC (Small Device C Compiler).
     • Pascalon January 19, 2012 at 6:51 pm said:

       (seems WordPress is lost with reply of reply of reply  )

       “So it seems that you can use IAR to write custom C code with the TI BLE stack on the Bluegiga BLE112 modules. ”
       Ok but where can we take this stack, put it in IAR and how to connect IAR with the module? Is that easy?
     • Adamon January 19, 2012 at 9:15 pm said:

       Ok but where can we take this stack, put it in IAR and how to connect IAR with the module? Is that easy?

       The easiest (albeit most expensive) way of programming the BLE112 is to buy the DKBLE112 kit and interface it with your computer. The cheaper, but much more difficult way is to design a custom printed circuit board and solder the BLE112 to it, like this guy has. Notice the header pins he’s included which will interface with the ribbon cable and CC Debugger from the Texas Instruments CC2540DK-MINI.

       Once you’ve got the PCB connected to the CC Debugger, you just load up one of the sample applications from Texas Instruments in IAR and use the download and debug command in IAR to flash it to the BLE112 module. You’ll have to modify the sample application to work with your custom PCB, since you won’t have many of the features that the TI keyfob has, such as LEDs or a buzzer, for example. This is currently what I’m investigating, since it’s much easier to design a custom PCB for the BLE112 than for the TI CC2540 chip. I’m planning on documenting the entire process once I’m able to actually produce a BLE112 PCB.
5. darrepac on January 8, 2012 at 4:09 am said:

   Hi

   I found a new module about BLE: Alpwise ALPW-BLEM001
   Unfortunately I don’t find much information…

   Reply ↓
   • Adamon January 18, 2012 at 11:06 pm said:

     Thanks for the info Pascal, I’ve updated the post to include the limited information I was able to find on the ALPW-BLEM001

     Reply ↓
     • Pascalon January 19, 2012 at 8:19 am said:

       some few more info I got:
       The dev kit cost 500€
       The module is not certified yet
       Development possibilities are as unclear as for the other modules…. I am quite surprised that no one is proposing a clear and real method to develop in C into the MCU of the module.
     • Alpwiseon February 17, 2012 at 9:05 pm said:

       Dear All,

       The Alpwise Website has been updated and there are some more information. For any questions, do not hesitate to contact Alpwise sales team : alpwisesales@alpwise.com.
6. lukars on January 17, 2012 at 3:22 am said:

   only 2 mobile phones yet ?
   hardly to believe, specially as the chips are around for almost a year now..
   as far as I know, in the second quarter are more mobile manufacturer supporting BLE ..

   that makes the decision really difficult, to go for a BLE or classic bluetooth solution.

   I am also in the moment looking for the right development kit.. thanks for your blog.. I was not aware that I had to certify my BLE end product with all the FCC, CE, ..

   just to be clear.. the bluegiga module and the blueradios module .. both are already certified and if use them in my endproduct, I immediately can sell them on the market ?

   Reply ↓
   • Adamon January 18, 2012 at 11:37 pm said:

     only 2 mobile phones yet ?
     hardly to believe, specially as the chips are around for almost a year now..
     as far as I know, in the second quarter are more mobile manufacturer supporting BLE ..

     that makes the decision really difficult, to go for a BLE or classic bluetooth solution.

     Yeah, it’s surprising that it’s taken the mobile industry so long to come out with BLE devices. I understand why Apple might take their time, since they’ve never been ones to succumb to market pressure, and can introduce products at their own pace, but you’d think the other companies would be churning out phones with BLE as fast as they can, to get a leg up on the competition. It was interesting that Apple was actually the first company to come out with a BLE enabled phone, and are really paving the way in the BLE industry.

     In regards to the decision between BLE or classic bluetooth, I think it really depends on the technical requirements of the application. If you need to send large amounts of data, say for file transfer or an audio application, or you need to support older hardware, then you don’t really have much of a choice but to use classic Bluetooth. If you need to send or receive small amounts of discrete data, and need long battery life, then BLE is the way to go.

     Also bear in mind that if you want to support iPhones, you can create a BLE device without any Apple certifications or extra hardware, but if you want to support classic Bluetooth, you’d need to apply for the Made for iOS program, and use an Apple authentication chip.

     The other thing to consider is if you haven’t started any development whatsoever, it’d probably take you at least a few weeks or months to come up with a prototype, and by that time there’s sure to be many more smart phones on the market that support BLE.

     just to be clear.. the bluegiga module and the blueradios module .. both are already certified and if use them in my endproduct, I immediately can sell them on the market ?

     The Bluegiga BLE112 modules have CE and FCC certifications, you can find all the relevant test report, safety investigation reports, certificates and grants on their Techforum once you’ve registered. As for the BlueRadios modules, according to their website, they have FCC and CE certifications, but I can’t find the documents on their site.

     I believe you still need to get your BLE device qualified by the Bluetooth SIG before you can sell it. Their site says the following:

     “Bluetooth Qualification, the Bluetooth SIG certification process, is required for any product using Bluetooth wireless technology and is a necessary pre-condition of the intellectual property license for Bluetooth wireless technology. Qualification is also necessary in order to apply the Bluetooth trademark to a product.”

     You can read more about the qualification process here.

     Reply ↓
     • Moiseson September 7, 2012 at 4:28 pm said:

       Google’s new Nexus 7 also supports bt smart… Along with the Droid Razor MAXX, Galaxy SIII and Iphone 4S.
7. Lukaris on January 22, 2012 at 1:50 pm said:

   Hi,
   I am a little bit confused about the bluegiga BLE112..
   can someone explain me (a newbie) what this differences mean ?

   Product Codes
   BLE11-A: BLE112, integrated antenna
   BLE11-E: BLE112, U.FL connector
   BLE11-N: BLE112, 50ohm RF pin

   thanks

   Reply ↓
   • Adamon January 22, 2012 at 8:18 pm said:

     Hi there, I’ve updated the blog post to discuss the differences between these models. Most likely, you’ll want the BLE112-A with integrated antenna.

     Reply ↓
8. Lukaris on January 23, 2012 at 2:01 am said:

   hi,
   just found another bluetooth module based on the TI CC2540
   http://amber-wireless.de/294-1-AMB2620.html

   Reply ↓
9. LouisMamakos on February 13, 2012 at 2:28 pm said:

   Seems pretty hard to find someone with BlueGiga devices in stock these days. Digi-Key claims new stock arriving late February, we’ll see!

   Panasonic seems to have a line of devices that are dual-mode, using another CC26xx part, the PAN1316/PAN1326 (without/with antenna). These seem to be intended to be paired with an accompanying bluetooth stack running in an applications processor. It continues to be difficult to get more detailed specifications; perhaps everyone implements some standard HCI interface, but it feels like there’s more to it than that.

   I’m attempting to prototype a proof-of-concept and ideally a device based on the CC2560 with the ability to embed the application on the SoC is very attractive. Not sure how far I can get with a bluegiga solution, but I think they leave open the possibility of driving it with an external processor if required.

   Thanks for the great info on this blog, please keep it up! It’s been very helpful and I hope to be following your progress.

   Reply ↓
10. Dolly SIngh on March 5, 2012 at 3:23 pm said:

    Hi,
    I am new to BLE technology. I have a very basic question.
    If I have a laptop (Linux OS) with classic bluetooth, can I make it BLE with Stack up gradation and with no hardware changes ?

    Reply ↓
    • Adamon March 5, 2012 at 4:25 pm said:

      No, it’s not possible for classic Bluetooth to support Bluetooth Low Energy without specific hardware support in your chipset. There are considerable differences in the PHY and Link layer between the two technologies, amongst other things.

      Reply ↓
11. Paul on March 23, 2012 at 10:28 am said:

    Hello Adam, as others say, great post, real time saver (though I came to after having researched 80% of its content myself).

    With such a bewildering number of different BLE options available

    Cannot agree, contrary, I find it hilarious that 4 years after the introduction, there’s no real selection of BLE modules available. The guys apparently wait when Chinese shanzai’s will help them (with pricing too), amen.

    As CSR, they’re just a small company. The pioneers of classic Bluetooth, they lost the marketing battle to Broadcom (whose crappy chips stick out from 90% of new devices I come by nowadays). So, they just sit and grudge over their “intellectual property”. Can’t blame them, really. But being the pioneer, their technology is well known (figure, bluez in Linux has extra internals support not for someone else’s chips but CSR’s). Also, as time goes by, leaks appear, for example I just luv content and wording of this document – proves my points above. It just keep talking “you hack new modules the same way as you hacked older”. So, a) CSR’s technology is already well known; b) they value customer’s investment in their technology. They just don’t think of you or me as their customers, which is pity of them.

    TI? Or yeah, they’re the leaders. Their chips are pricier than others’, but yep, there’s full value to it. Also, no matter how much hundreds of cents a chip costs, a module will cost $25. Or $50. Until shanzais intervene – those guys can fulfil any promises of some technology costing less $10, so you can buy it in dozens, like wireless sensors want to be bought. As for IAR stuff and lack of SDCC support, I guess TI just wants to spur the innovation – they want someone to write object file converter from IAR to SDCC, or maybe they just want their BLE stack disassembled and all arbitrary restrictions removed.

    Reply ↓
    • sharry90on January 15, 2013 at 10:44 pm said:

      Hai Paul,

      Compared to your research, I would say that I am a bit of a starter.

      Would you be able to suggest of any chip that supports dual mode and stands next to cc2450 in terms of price, library and support?

      Reply ↓
12. Gary Holmes on April 22, 2012 at 7:30 am said:

    Hi Guys.

    A real good blog that has been very informative.

    Forgive me if my question is slightly off blog!

    Being professionally involved with electronics and software I am keeping up to date with your technical comments. My main question\problem\decision is what version of bluetooth standard\BLE to design for? I’m looking at some home automation devices to control from a smart phone and want the greatest compatibility possible – I’m guessing that this forces me away from BLE… possibly for a number of years.

    Would anyone agree or disagree with this.

    Thank you and please keep this blog going – an excellent reference…

    Reply ↓
    • Adamon April 22, 2012 at 3:03 pm said:

      Hi Gary, thanks for the kind words. In order to maintain maximum compatibility, you could use a dual mode module which combines classic Bluetooth as well as Bluetooth Low Energy, this way you can provide support for BLE devices as they become more widespread, and your customers can take advantage of the lower energy requirements of BLE if they have a supported BLE device. You should also be aware that if you want to support iOS devices with classic bluetooth, you’ll either have to use something like the Roving Networks RN-41-APL Bluetooth APL modules which natively support iAP (iPod Accessory Protocol), or you’ll need to apply for the Apple Made for iOS developer program, which can be very expensive. Bluetooth Low Energy doesn’t have this requirement – it can be used with Apple iOS devices without any authentication hardware or software. Best of luck!

      Reply ↓
      • Gary Holmeson April 23, 2012 at 7:05 pm said:

        Hi Adam, thanks for reply. Yes, I received only Friday the rn-42 in the ‘BlueSmirf’ configuration and intend to test with a small PIC processor and my smart phone app. which has been prototyped on an Android device. I am new to Bluetooth development and so wasn’t aware of the APL version which seems to provide an easier route to Apple compatibility. It’s good to hear you mention this device (well the rn-41 anyway) as confirmation that maybe I wasn’t miles off. I think I will press on to a fully working development with my current setup and then look at where you are re. the TI CC2540 and its code development (i.e. will we still be effectively locked to IAR).

        A quick related question. The flash PIC’s can self write giving me the opportunity to be able to potentially flash the device fimware over bluetooth with updated code obtained by the user when receiving an app. upgrade. Having read a good amount of the CC2540 docs I have not yet determined if this can also self write to its flash program memory.

        Keep up the good work…
      • Adamon April 24, 2012 at 11:25 am said:

        A quick related question. The flash PIC’s can self write giving me the opportunity to be able to potentially flash the device fimware over bluetooth with updated code obtained by the user when receiving an app. upgrade. Having read a good amount of the CC2540 docs I have not yet determined if this can also self write to its flash program memory.

        Hi Gary, I think it’s possible to bootload over the air, if I’ve understood your question correctly. You can find more information about it in the following post.

13. Pingback: Atomslagstyrken » Trying to get hold of a Bluetooth LE module

14. Brad on May 13, 2012 at 1:58 am said:

    Adam, as several have said before, thanks for all of the great research and commentary you have provided on the dev kits. This blog has provided me a ton of information, and for someone who is not very technical it has been a tremendous help!

    I have a question that I hope is a simple one. I’m looking at the Bluegiga dev kit to help me with a side research project I am interested in. As I mentioned I’m not very technical, at least not in this area of expertise, so I’m looking for the simplest way for me to get a POC up and running for a relatively straightforward application. For the POC I’m planning on having 2 modules and 2 dongles. My goal is to have the dongles on the PC’s be able to read the unique MAC address of the modules with no user intervention required or complex pairing. At this point that’s all I care about, reading the MAC address of the module (peripheral), but it has to be a completely open pairing process.

    Do you think the Bluegiga DKBLE112 and BG Script language will allow me to prove this simple exchange of data with the “open” pairing requirement? The modules and dongles will have never been paired before and have no prior knowledge of each other. I basically want the module to broadcast or become discoverable every couple of seconds, and have the dongles on the PC read and store the modules unique MAC address in a text file for later use. Somehow I would want the PC dongle to only read/store the MAC addresses of modules that are identified with my application, uniquely distinguishing them from any other random BLE devices that may be broadcasting that are of no interest to me. Again, there can be no user intervention at any point. Hopefully that is clear as it is not easy for me to describe  Does the Bluegiga kit seem like a reasonable fit for me to try and test this out? There documentation seems to be decent, and while I am not super technical I’m hoping I can figure out the BG Script part to fulfill my simple requirement.

    Reply ↓
    • Adamon May 15, 2012 at 5:39 pm said:

      Hi Brad, thanks for the kind words. I’ve just taken a look through the Bluetooth 4.0 Single Mode Stack API Documentation v1.2 from the Bluegiga support area, and on page 141 it talks about “Address Get” which responds with the Bluetooth address of the local device. I’m not sure if this is the IEEE MAC address, but it looks promising. Also, you can put the devices in broadcast mode, which will cause them to broadcast whatever data you want, without going through the process of pairing. This is useful, for example, if you wanted to make some type of sensor for use in a shopping mall to broadcast the direction of the closest exit, without needing to pair with observers. So although I haven’t spent much time with the BLE112 modules myself, (despite having them sitting on my desk collecting dust!), I think BGScript will be capable of demonstrating your proof of concept, since simply broadcasting information is a pretty standard use of BLE.

      If it turns out that BGScript isn’t powerful enough for your future needs, you can always interface an external microcontroller to the BLE112 to enable a much richer set of instructions, or you could shell out the money for the IAR Embedded Workbench and use it to program the 8051 microprocessor in the TI CC2540 which is what the BLE112 is built around.

      Good luck with your project, and be sure to send an update when you’ve made some progress!

      Reply ↓
      • Bradon May 17, 2012 at 2:21 am said:

        Thanks Adam. I’ve just ordered my DKBLE112 kit and am anxious to get started!
15. Ariel on May 30, 2012 at 7:58 am said:

    Hi Brad,
    This post is very helpful. Thanks for taking the time to write it.
    I am working on a remote based on the Nordic chip. I am looking to incorporate a buzzer in it for a beep sound. The components I found in the market are Piezo and electromagnetic type. While the piezo is too big (diameter 9mm) for my product, the electromagnetic consumes too much energy. Do you have any tip as for what component I can use?
    Thanks,
    Ariel

    Reply ↓
    • Adamon May 30, 2012 at 12:48 pm said:

      Hi Ariel, sorry I’m not able to give you any suggestions, this is beyond my expertise. You might want to try asking around on general electronics forums, such as http://www.embeddedrelated.com/groups.php orhttp://electronics.stackexchange.com/, which I’ve personally found very useful

      Reply ↓
    • LIANAon June 7, 2012 at 12:38 am said:

      Hi Ariel,

      I have just downloaded the Application Notes from Insight sip (BLE_AN120102R1.pdf ) and it seems that their module have all the necessary radio frequency elements and the antenna. The digital inputs/outputs of their module are the same digital inputs/outputs of the Nordic chip. So it probably means that you just need to develop your digital application. An additional advantage is that their module does not have any µcontroller. So we can use the one we want. For more information about the connections with a µcontroller the best is to directly contact Nordic.

      Rgds,

      JM

      Reply ↓
16. Mikle on June 2, 2012 at 9:17 pm said:

    Hi Adam,

    Thanks for really interesting blog. It seems that you have a good sense of these modules, and I hope that you are the one who can answer my question.

    I’m working on battery powered device which has to communicate with cell phones and has Renesas RX210 as the host controller. This is my first Bluetooth project, and I naively thought that Bluetooth turnkey modules are something like wireless UARTs. That is, if I use one of them, I can use them out-of-the-box and need not to bother with their programming. Originally I intended to use the PAN132x module, but, when I discovered that I have to install MP430 MCU to implement full Bluetooth stack and additionally to program this MCU, I was very disappointed. Now I am planning to use Bluegiga’s BLE112, which seems much easier to handle.

    So, the question.

    Can BLE112 be used out-of-the-box, without any additional programming? I mean, is there some pre-installed software that allows you just to use the module as “wireless UART”, or you have anyway to program it? I’m guessing that programming is necessary anyway, since BLE112 has two ports which can be programmed as UARTs, but, maybe, you already have some experience with this module and can share it.

    Thanks for your attention and nice blog!

    Reply ↓
17. Ron on June 3, 2012 at 8:21 am said:

    Wow, is all I can say about your site, I have been researching BLE development kits for the past two weeks and I must say I am glad I stumbled onto your blog.

    I am hardware engineer and not a software guy.

    I am looking to create a test device which will simply close a relay based on two criteria.

    First the BLE will be paired with an IPhone or droid, secondly when the phone receives a text message (any text message) or a phone call I would like it to close the relay, that’s all it needs to do. Personally I would like to have two relays on my BLE, but will settle for one to start.

    I currently use 3.3V relays so I believe the Bluegiga GPIO will be tolerant using a pullup resistor on the VDC line.

    My first question would be which dev kit would be better suited for my needs?

    My second and biggest question as I am not a software person is, do I need to create an app on the phone or is there already the protocols which would sends information to a bluetooth device such as the earpieces which already exists today, that I can use?

    Any help would be greatly appreciated.

    Reply ↓
18. LMB@L3sys.com on June 5, 2012 at 11:05 am said:

    Adam,

    Thanks for the very helpful research & discussion. I have a TI CC2540 Mini Dev Kit. It’s pretty nice, but I have the same concerns about cost as others. Also, I need HID support, which is included in the TI Bluetooth Low Energy v1.2 stack release, along with a nice sample project. Last contact I had with Bluegiga, they indicated that they have no plans to support HID. While the cost of $4K cost of the IAR software is high, that pales in comparison to CE/FCC certifications.

    Any comments regarding an ideal module for HID development would be most appreciated. What pre-certified module would easily run TI sample project built via IAR. I’m hoping for a little support from the supplier, versus buying a Chinese module with iffy certs and support.

    Again thanks for hosting this!

    Reply ↓
19. LIANA on June 6, 2012 at 11:57 pm said:

    Hi,

    Have you looked at the Insight SiP Bluetooth Low Energy module? I think it is the smallest one at moment. I will try to get more information about it.

    I will go to the Startup weekend at Trondheim in Norway. They said that we can development our Bluetooth Smart application in a few minutes by using the Nordic nRF8002 development kits. I definitely want to check this.

    Thanks,

    JM

    Reply ↓
20. Daniel Savard on July 8, 2012 at 2:45 am said:

    Great bog. Still have to read everything, but it seems it will be the right place to start. Thx

    Reply ↓
21. David Cox on July 11, 2012 at 4:35 am said:

    For all those who are interested, there is a breakout board for the Bluegiga BLE112 module available here:
    http://www.inmojo.com/store/jeff-rowberg/item/ble112-bluetooth-low-energy-breakout/

    There is also a breakout board for the BlueRadios BR-LE4.0-S2A module (possibly also compatible with the BR-LE4.0-D2A module), but ordering is not nearly so easy.
    http://www.blueradios.com/hardware_EVAL-LE4.0-S2.htm

    Reply ↓
    • Adamon July 11, 2012 at 3:48 pm said:

      Thanks for the heads up David. I actually bought one of those Breakout boards from Jeff about a month or two ago and have been meaning to blog about it, but haven’t had a chance.

      Reply ↓
22. Ron on July 16, 2012 at 12:20 am said:

    Adam,

    I have had the Bluegiga BLE112 evaluation board and have an interesting problem

    # using the I/O buttons I can use bitwise ANDING (&) to see which I/O pin was pressed.
    I have an example below which works:

    # working bitwise code, however this is through Bluegiga’s event handler.
    event hardware_io_port_status(timestamp, port, irq, state)
    if irq & 0 = 0 then # Which button was pressed between Pin 0 & pin 1.
    do something # Button P0_0 was pushed
    else
    do something else # Button P0_1 was pushed

    However if I try using bitwise operations to do ORing, it causes the part of code to be ignored, I have pasted segments of the code which fails below:

    # an example which fails for reasons which are beyond me.
    ntype = $80
    ntype = ntype | $4 # I have a one byte field I want bits 2, and 7 high
    if ntype = $84 then # verify I (or’ed) correctly
    call hardware_io_port_write(1,$7,$1) # set the display to command mode
    call hardware_spi_transfer(0,1,”\xc0″) # Change display cursor pos
    call hardware_io_port_write(1,$7,$3) # set the display to data mode
    call hardware_spi_transfer(0,16,” Success “)
    # Write “Success” to the display
    end if

    In the above code if I just make ntype = $84 instead of (or’ing) it works fine.

    Any help would be greatly appreciated.

    Reply ↓
23. Madmac on July 18, 2012 at 12:13 am said:

    The is a list of some of the current Demo Apps available from the Apple Store for free. They are primarily for the CC2540.http://e2e.ti.com/support/low_power_rf/f/538/t/201119.aspx

    Reply ↓
24. Moises on July 18, 2012 at 7:27 pm said:

    I was wondering ’bout the IAR Embedded Workbench, does this mean that without this software you won’t be able to program it at all?

    Reply ↓
    • Adamon July 24, 2012 at 3:28 pm said:

      You won’t be able to write custom software for the onboard 8051 MCU on the CC2540/2541 without IAR Embedded Workbench. You’ll only be able to program it with precompiled hex files using BTool. If you use a turnkey module such as a BLE112, you’ll be able to use their proprietary API to develop software, but it’s not as powerful as writing code directly using IAR. An alternative is to use another microcontroller and interface that with the CC2540, which means you can program it using whatever development environment is supported by that particular microcontroller.

      Reply ↓
      • Giladon September 1, 2012 at 1:19 am said:

        Does that mean I can develop a firmware using a proprietary stack (like BGscript from BlueGiga) and then flash it to a cc2540 in a different circuit (IE not one in a BLE112 module)
      • Adamon September 2, 2012 at 5:46 pm said:

        That’s a good question. Since the BLE112 is just a CC2540 with a shield, balun, antenna and capacitors, I don’t see why you wouldn’t be able to use BGScript on a CC2540 by itself.
25. Moises on July 18, 2012 at 8:15 pm said:

    In addition to my previous question. How much can you actually develop using BTool? I’m having issues about pitching to my boss the idea of paying for a IAR license.

    Reply ↓
    • Adamon July 24, 2012 at 3:29 pm said:

      BTool is really meant for testing, and prototyping, not for development.

      Reply ↓
26. Tony on July 21, 2012 at 5:49 am said:

    I tried Bluegiga and Blueradio LE modules. 2 out 10 Blueradio modules died on me after 3-4 months of use. Did you guy had similar problem?

    Reply ↓
    • Adamon July 24, 2012 at 3:32 pm said:

      I’ve had no problems with my Bluegiga BLE112 modules. Maybe just a bad batch from Blueradios, have you contacted them and found out if they’ll allow you to return them?

      Reply ↓
      • Sergeon July 24, 2012 at 5:34 pm said:

        An alternative is to use Alpwise BLE development kit, ALPW-BLEDVK002, with module ALWP-BLEM002. BLE Module is based on BLE Radio from EM Microelectronic and 80c51 from Silicon Labs.
        Development kit is delivered with BLE SDK for 80c51, and SW + USB BLE Key to run the BLE stack and applications on PC.
        Engineers can then develop their applications for the embedded side running on the module, and test applications on PC.
27. Mark on July 28, 2012 at 8:53 pm said:

    Hey Adam, thank you very much for this awesome detailed comparison! Although I seem to be a little late, this comes in really handy for me as I am too a total newbe on the hardware side.
    I have a little project in mind where I would like to build a small BLE dongle that can be found and identified by my iPhone – I do not need the possibility of connecting the devices. Therefore, the final doesn’t any additional sensors, merely the RSSI, the unique ID of the dongle and and if possible one ID (-adjustment/-attachment) to be able to quickly identify if it is one of my bluetooth modules and not somebody else’s would be great.
    After some research I believe that also for me the BLE112-A will be the right module, simply because its documentation is supposed to be very good. With only the DKBLE112 I guess I should be able to create a prototype that can be identified with a BLE scanner on my phone, do you agree?
    Later on however, I’d like to directly attach the module to a battery, without development board. You were mentioning that you are planning to design your own PCB for the module and referred to this website: http://www.mkroll.mobi/?p=261
    This seems to be exactly the device I would like to build (including the pcb), although I am aiming at another functionality than The engineer does. Did you already get the chance to gather some useful sources of documentation or help or even design your own board?
    Any help or tips on these issues would be highly appreciated!!

    I hope you get along with your project!

    Thank you very much,
    Mark

    Reply ↓
28. Damien Stolarz (@damienstolarz) on August 22, 2012 at 2:55 pm said:

    Adam – have you seen anyone who sells a Bluetooth LE to RS232 (TTL levels 5V) adapter? Or can the CC2540 be easily flashed to accomplish this?

    Reply ↓
29. Moises on September 6, 2012 at 11:19 pm said:

    Adam, have you gotten the BLEDK yet? I recently got one and can’t for the life of me figure out how to compile the code. There’s no compiler on the Bluegiga site and the binaries they provide have, all but one, no GUI whatsoever. And the one that does is just a controller for the usb dongle.

    Reply ↓
    • Adamon September 7, 2012 at 12:21 pm said:

      Hey Moises, I’ve got a BLE112, but haven’t really done anything with it yet, been mostly working with the CC2540 Keyfob. Are you talking about trying to flash it with BGScript, or do you want to write native code for the onboard CC2540? I’ll try to take a look at the BLE112 this weekend and see if I can figure out how to program it.

      Reply ↓
    • RSon September 7, 2012 at 1:20 pm said:

      Hello Moises, I’ve got a couple of DKBLE112 kits. I can write BGscript that compiles into a binary that I can flash on the evaluation board using TI’s SmartRF flash programmer. There’s not much documentation at BlueGiga, but I found this helpful:
      http://www.javimontero.com/blog/2012/04/conexion-dkble112-con-pc/
      (Put that through Google translate, it will get you there)

      You can look at all the examples in the ble/example/ directory, they should all compile. Start off with the evkit_display app that displays the usual “Hello World”. If you follow the build instructions on the site above, it should produce an “out.hex” file that you can burn on the BLE112 on the evaluation board through TI’s SmartRF flash programmer. The LCD screen should display “Hello World”.

      As for C code, I got both the applications in the ble/src/ directory working. Try the scan_example application first.

      To build these apps, I have MinGW (I guess Cygwin should also work) on Windows, with the TDM GCC compiler suite (here : http://tdm-gcc.tdragon.net/ ). If you just run a “make” in the scan_example directory it should build scan_example.exe.

      I connected the BT USB dongle to my PC, had the drivers installed from the ble/windrv directory and it showed up as COM4. The scan example allows you to scan for other BLE devices. I powered on my two evaluation boards running the stock (temperature display) application, and ran the scan_example application on my PC as follows:
      ./scan_example.exe COM4

      The app on the PC scanned my two EVM’s and gave me this:
      #connected -> disconnect
      #Not connected -> Scan
      00:01:02:03:04:06 50
      00:01:02:03:04:06 50
      00:01:02:03:04:05 52
      00:01:02:03:04:05 52
      …
      …

      I hope this helps.

      Reply ↓
      • Adamon September 7, 2012 at 1:24 pm said:

        Awesome info RS, thanks for sharing!
      • Moiseson September 7, 2012 at 3:30 pm said:

        Indeed, good info. I has actually managed to flash the examples yesterday. Then I tried making writing my own hello world app and that was a different ordeal. Haven’t found much info regarding those other files like hardware.XML but I’ll have a look today. I had a hard time with their script so I contacted a BG rep a he told me you couldn’t develop using IAR, I find that odd since after all you flash the .hex file using TI’s sw…
        Did I read it right BTW? Can you develop using C?
        Have you been able to find non-dk devices with the USB dongle? An iPhone for instance?
      • RSon September 7, 2012 at 4:52 pm said:

        Hello Moises, I could only write C code that runs on a PC that’s connected to one of their BLE dongles (I run it from the command line on Windows / MinGW, it connects to the BLE dongle and does its stuff), but haven’t been able to write C code that builds into a hex file that I can burn directly on the chip. I’m sure it’s possible to build C code on IAR for the BLE112 target since they use an 8051 inside, and it’s all sitting in a TI CC2540, but without the appropriate libraries it’s going to be difficult or impossible for us at the moment. BlueGiga’s rep couldn’t help me with this either.

        Their bgbuild.exe application is obviously doing all this magic for us, and converting your BGScript into a CC2540 hex executable.

        I’ll move this to the forum as Adam suggested, but let us know if any of you figure out how to build C code using IAR or something else, that will run on your BLE112.
      • Moiseson September 7, 2012 at 4:59 pm said:

        RS, I’m guessing you leave in Spain, me too, if there was a way to get in touch with you faster I’d appreciate it (email, IM, anything) since I’m having trouble and I am a newb at this and you seem to be slightly ahead of me on this. If not well, have you been able to develop BGScript applications on your own? I’m trying bgbuild but getting some issues regarding the bleapi.xml file.
30. RS on September 7, 2012 at 1:07 pm said:

    Hello Adam and others, have any of you successfully managed to get a star network running with any of the BLE modules above? I’m trying to get a simple star network running with BlueGiga’s BLE112 dev kit. According to the spec, it should support both star and point-to-point topologies.

    However, there’s nothing in the example code or C source that helps, nor can I find enough information in the documents. I’ve been exchanging mails with their rep but we haven’t got far on this.

    Since the BLE112 is based on the TI CC2540, can it handle a star network at all? There’s a post on the TI forum where a TI employee says “The CC2540 can be slave or master, but right now it cannot have more than one connection open at once in the master role.”
    Here :
    http://e2e.ti.com/support/low_power_rf/f/538/t/88642.aspx

    However, since the BLE112 uses a different BT stack, would this still hold? Lots of questions but not enough answers yet from BlueGiga. Thanks in advance for any pointers.

    Reply ↓
    • Adamon September 7, 2012 at 1:26 pm said:

      Hi RS, unfortunately I can’t answer your question either, since I haven’t spent much time working with the BLE112. Maybe post a message onbleforum.com so at least you might be able to get a discussion started, or someone may find your message through google and have a solution, or if you find the answer yourself you can update it so it may help others.

      Reply ↓
      • Moiseson September 10, 2012 at 6:38 pm said:

        Hey RS, I wouldn’t count much on BlueGiga’s support since they clearly told me you could not program the BLE112 with TI’s IAR and I just flashed a couple of TI’s examples and they worked like a charm.
31. Moises on September 10, 2012 at 7:34 pm said:

    Hey guys, I wrote a short tutorial on how to flash your own code for the first time with a BLE112 Dev Kit. Hope it helps any one as lost as I once was!http://bornagamer.blogspot.com.es/2012/09/getting-started-with-bluetooth-40.html

    Reply ↓
32. RS on September 11, 2012 at 11:29 am said:

    Hi Moises, sorry I’m not in Spain, I’m across the globe 
    Did you find a way to program the BLE112 USB dongle?

    Reply ↓
    • Moiseson September 11, 2012 at 1:41 pm said:

      No I did not but I did manage to flash my own code and I flashed TIs examples so I would say, contrary to what the BlueGiga rep told me, you should be able to flash IAR compiled hex files into the ble112

      Reply ↓

33. Pingback: Small Bluetooth sensor design

34. Datometer (@Datometer) on September 22, 2012 at 6:42 am said:

    Anyone tried the Blue Radio development kit – BR-EVAL-LE4.0-S2A ?
    It looks like if you buy it and/or related products you can get the IAR 8051 compiler for $1K vs $3K USD. Here is their statement on their Web site:
    “Purchasers of nBlue products are qualified to receive IAR Systems 8051 compiler for only $1K. MSRP is $3K”

    Like to page that says that: http://blueradios.com/hardware_EVAL-LE4.0-S2.htm

    Thanks

    Reply ↓
    • Adamon September 27, 2012 at 11:54 pm said:

      I haven’t tried the Blue Radio kit, I’ve only played around with the Bluegiga module, but thanks for posting the information. I’m curious if there are any country restrictions on the discount, since the local Australian rep for IAR quoted me $4K when I originally inquired about it, so maybe the discount isn’t quite as much for Aussies.

      Reply ↓
35. Robert on September 26, 2012 at 2:20 am said:

    Hi,
    I’m new to all of this and i have a very simple question. Can you establish just a simple connection between a device and the BLE112 for example? Leaving all other functionality aside, without any extra programming etc. That is, if I were to buy just the module itself, will I be able to just scan for it, connect and disconnect?

    Thanks in advance !

    Reply ↓
    • Adamon September 28, 2012 at 12:09 am said:

      I looked through some of the documentation for the BLE112, but was unable to find out what software (if any) comes pre-installed on the module, so I can’t say for certain, although if I had to guess I’d say that it’s not possible to do what you want. As a minimum, you’d need a CC Debugger device to interface your computer with the BLE112 module, which you could then flash with different software to allow you to connect to the device from an iPhone 4S/5 for example.

      Reply ↓
    • Don Mon September 28, 2012 at 3:47 am said:

      The BLE112 comes pre-loaded with BGDemo that will advertise and allow a connection. It broadcasts RSSI value, UUID and a Generic Access Profile. There isn’t really anything you can do with it though except test an app to see if it will connect, read and write values to the GATT.

      Another option is the tod Smart Beacon, which is extends the BLE112 into an open hardware rapid prototyping tool and proximity sensor.

      Reply ↓
      • Roberton September 28, 2012 at 7:46 pm said:

        Thanks a lot for the replies 
        Really appreciate it !
    • Moiseson September 28, 2012 at 7:51 pm said:

      As Don M says, it comes preloaded with the BGDemo, if by any chance you own a Galaxy SIII you can actually download the Bluetooth Smart Scanner app from Google Play, as of now it’s the only way I’ve found to interact with the BLE112 using an Android device. And it only scans the SSID and the broadcast address.

      Reply ↓

36. Pingback: Adding Bluetooth to your embedded device » A circular reference

37. jmldso@gmail.com on November 7, 2012 at 1:05 pm said:

    Great post!!
    Can you please just tell me your opinion about Panasonic’s turnkey Bluetooth 4.0 solutions (w/ integrated antenna), namely PAN1326 and PAN1720?
    Are they complete Turnkey solutions as BL112 or BR-LE4.0-S2A? Are they as easy to assemble in a breakboard? Are they compatible with iOS for iPhone4S/iPad3?
    Thank you all for your comments!

    Reply ↓
38. Greg Gage on December 4, 2012 at 12:47 pm said:

    I really loved your post. Great Job! We are using the CC2540 for our project, and it’s working very well with iOS devices. I have one question though. I have another project that requires 2-channels of audio streamed over bluetooth. BLE does not support this bandwidth. Do you have any similar turnkey module (or bluetooth module) for legacy 2.X devices that you can recommend? Preferably one that can use MfI for Apple Products. Is this a tall order? Thanks for the great post, and keep up the great work!

    Reply ↓
    • Adamon December 9, 2012 at 7:57 pm said:

      Hi Greg, have you seen the Roving Networks Bluetooth APL modules? You still need MFi approval, but it allows you to use the iPad Accessory Protocol without needing to implement it yourself on the microcontroller. I haven’t actually had any experience with it myself, but it looks very interesting, might be worth checking out.

      Reply ↓
39. coke in red on December 5, 2012 at 5:32 pm said:

    Hi,

    Thanks for the post. We are currently evaluating to use Bluetooth 4.0 for our product. We consider bluegiga but size does not fit. We are considering TI solution.

    We would like to build module base on TI. We wanted one module configure as client and one module as master and for the 2 to exchange data. We hope to run some simple application ont he onboard MCU 8051. We were told that the 2 modules cannot be paired directly. The module can pair only with handset or a host computer. Is this true?
    Thankyou

    Reply ↓
    • Adamon December 12, 2012 at 9:11 pm said:

      Where have you heard that 2 BLE modules cannot be paired directly? The Texas Instruments CC2540 Mini Dev kit includes a keyfob and USB dongle both of which use the CC2540 and can be paired together. The USB dongle is running the HostTestRelease code and connected to a host computer running BTool, which is providing it with the instructions necessary to pair with the keyfob. I see no reason why you can’t flash the USB dongle with different software, removing BTool from the mix, and still have it connect to the keyfob. Having said that, I haven’t actually tested it myself, since I’ve always either connected to a USB dongle or to an iPhone, but I’m pretty sure it would work. After all, interoperability is one of the key features of Bluetooth Low Energy (and Bluetooth in general).

      Reply ↓
40. Benjamin Luke on December 12, 2012 at 12:31 am said:

    Hey, I know this is a bit of a newb question but I am looking to develop a BLE proximity product. I noticed that nordic semi offers the nRF8002 chip specifically for proximity applications. How does this product differ from the nRF8001 or the competing TI product? I’m assuming the 8002 would be a better bet for me but I’m not actually sure what the differences are.

    Reply ↓
41. Benjamin Luke on December 12, 2012 at 2:15 am said:

    I have another question as well. In your blog post you mentioned that the BlueGiga device has an advantage in that it already has FCC approval. Do the development kits not have FCC approval already? For example I purchased the 8002 development kit, it includes reference schematics and production files. Could I not just use this reference design, or lightly modify this reference design for my own device production in order to avoid the FCC stuff? Thanks again 

    Reply ↓
42. gauam on January 3, 2013 at 3:31 pm said:

    Hi,
    Thanks for all your posts. You are doing a great job!!
    We are working on interfacing BLE(TI solution- CC2540) in master/slave configuration for our device. We want to go for CC2540EMK (eval module) to begin with development.
    How can I program and debug CC2540EMK with cc-debugger?(do not have SmartRF05 Evaluation Boards). What interfacing circuit is needed?
    Thanks…:)

    Reply ↓
43. Kai on January 12, 2013 at 2:45 am said:

    BLStack might be a option to overcome the IAR Cost Problem with the CC254x Chips.
    It seems they started to use BTStake in a BLE Enviroment with an CC256x + MSP430 Combo (Launchpad + Boster? ) but should be portable to the CC51 with CC2541 Radio for someone who is a little bit mor experienced with BTStack and the CC2541.

    http://code.google.com/p/btstack/wiki/BLE

    BTStack is open source and licence free for hobbists…

    Reply ↓
44. Sharry on January 15, 2013 at 10:33 pm said:

    Thanks Adam,
    Gr8 detailed post, saved a couple of days of research.
    I agree that cc245x is the choice for board level designing but the compiler cost is a bit of a -ve point for hobbiest market. We have to be sure that we can use it in more than 2-3 projects. My target products have to be lowcost, i.e. under 10$ BOM and yet has to support both 4.0 and 2.1 version. While CC2450/1 is for 4.0 only.

    I dont mind buying the compiler, but i would prefer to be able to make 2.0 compatible applications if I am gona spend 2-3K on protos and compiler.

    Guyz, would you be able to suggest a solution here?

    Reply ↓
45. sharry90 on January 15, 2013 at 10:54 pm said:

    Any reviews on nRF51822 ?

    Reply ↓
    • Geroge Rumelton June 2, 2013 at 2:11 am said:

      Just in case someone is interested in it: There’s a SoC with the nRF51822 now: http://www.rfduino.com/

      Reply ↓

46. Pingback: BLE112 - Switching to BlueRadios - Suresh's Site

47. ageacs on February 14, 2013 at 2:03 pm said:

    Hello,

    I would like to build a device that requires Bluetooth. I am very new to this, although i have lots of experience with coding and what not. I am trying to build a device that connects to my phone, and when my phone rings i would like a tiny light to go on. This is for a project that i will be carrying out for school. I have read everything this blog has to offer, and I’m still a bit confused as to how everything works. Hopefully someone can give me a few details (not asking for anything lengthy) on parts I will need to carry out this task. Thank you very much

    Reply ↓
48. SuckitBeotch on March 14, 2013 at 7:33 am said:

    Just a general response, the “BlueRadios” company is very difficult to work with in terms of getting any information on purchasing anything. If you email and ask them, they basically shut you down, and very rudely. I wouldn’t suggest trying to get their devices, due to rude customer service, and parts availability. I think the reason it is difficult to get parts is because “BlueRadios” consists of one guy living in his mom’s basement.

    If you are skilled enough to actually interface with the poorly document device, and work around all the weird problems, then you are probably skilled enough to attach a TI microcontroller to an antenna and use some open source stack SW….

    Reply ↓
49. crystaloman on April 22, 2013 at 10:57 pm said:

    Your blog saved my life since I have no idea about Bluetooth modules. Thanks a lot.

    There is one thing I need to make sure about regarding the BlueGiga module.
    In case I need just to program it to read data from a sensor via I2C protocol and then transmit the data to another module or to a PC. Is the Bluetooth Dongle (BLED122) is enough to program it to do that task or not? Plus, since is it based on TI CC2540 module, is CC2540 MIni kit enough to program the BLE211 module alone without the development kit?

    Regarding the BR-LE4.0-S2A from Blueradios, I e-mailed them 3 weeks ago and they replied to me that they only sell for OEMs..!!!!!

    Regards

    Reply ↓
50. DougB on May 21, 2013 at 8:34 am said:

    I have to amplify the previous comment. When we were designing in a BLE module a while ago we didn’t want to go with BlueRadios because of their awful attitude. They’ve never answered the phone and no one has ever returned a call. Half the time they do not respond to e-mails. We worked with BlueGiga for a while but they never had the functionality that we needed (to create a virtual pipe between two CPU’s on separate boards). At that time BlueRadios was the only module we could find that would do what we wanted without a bunch of extra development time (we’re not hobbyest’s, we’re a 25 year old company just wanting to get products designed and out the door). With BlueRadios demo kit it worked very easily and we thought it would be a slam dunk but once we got to actually implementing it we ran into all kinds of bizzarre bugs and behavior. We couldn’t even buy support from them, they said “We’ll give you support for $150us an hour but we’re busy and can’t get to you for 45 to 60 days” !!! We’ve also experience a high rate of failure with their modules which is surprising.

    Reply ↓
    • DougBon May 22, 2013 at 2:40 am said:

      I have to temper some of my previous comments, it turns out that some or most of the bugs / aberrant behavior we experienced was do to noise on the power supply line.

      Reply ↓
51. Steve on July 3, 2013 at 7:53 am said:

    You missed out on one of life’s real thrills by not pursuing CSR. It gets much, much worse.

    Reply ↓
52. Bill on July 16, 2013 at 12:19 pm said:

    Great blog and very useful. I have purchased the TI CC2541 DK Mini Dev Kit which is great value but using got road blocked trying to use the IAR Kickstart compiler that was limited to 4K.
    The stumbling block is the expensive IAR compiler. If there was a free alternative, then that would solve the major barrier to more people playing with BLE.

    Reply ↓
53. Mark Tierno on August 3, 2013 at 2:54 pm said:

    We are trying to find a Bluetooth module with A2DP like the csr8311

    Yet we need it pre approved by the FCC. We can’t wait to have it certified. We can wait for the verification process.

    I know there are different models of csr8311. Do you have a suggestion for our product.

    Best,

    Mark A. Tierno
    President, Founder
    App-Tronics
    (888)587-4111 toll free
    (440) 364-0920 cell
    Website: App-Tronics.com
    Email: m.tierno@app-tronics.com
    Skype: app-tronics

    Reply ↓