Trying to choose Bluetooth LE for project - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: jwill3289
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 27, 2014, 02:05:58 pm
content: Hi,I have a project for automating a few devices using my smartphone and I wanted to use Bluetooth Low Energy for that. I've been looking around and I noticed that both CC2540/C2541 and nRF51822 are popular. I found a good place that compares the nrf51822 vs cc2541 and cc2540http://www.argenox.com/design/wp_bluetooth.php.But, I still am not sure what to use. What do you guys think? I see arduino has nRF8001 boards, but I don't see a real open platform aside from TI's sensortag (with its requirement to use IAR).nRF51822 is a lot more open it seems but i'd have to setup my own GCC. Has anyone done this?

author: andyturk
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 28, 2014, 07:10:31 am
content: The biggest issue is not which chip to use, but which Bluetooth stack. The Nordic solutions have a built-in stack, which does a lot of the work for you. That's probably the quickest way to go.There's an arduino-like solution that's built on top of the nRF51822 platform. It may be exactly what you want:http://www.rfduino.com/products.htmlIf you don't want to go the rfduino route and want to use the nRF51 directly, here's an example project for blinking an LED on one of Nordic's development boards:https://github.com/andyturk/nrf_blink

author: jhappone
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 28, 2014, 08:35:53 am
content: Hi!I've been developing with Nordic devices since 2004 and lately I've been fooling around with nRF51822. First BLE devices I did with nRF8001, which is quite good because it is rather easy to setup with Nordic tools (nRFgo Studio). Just setup BLE profiles using PC and then upload settings via main MCU to nRF8001. You can use what ever MCU to control nRF8001, so it is not tied to any platform you are using.nRF51822 developing I've been mostly doing with Keil IDE. You can download a free evaluation version which has 32kb flash size limit. To go over 32kb limit, you'll need the full version. I also tried Eclipse/GCC combo and got it working, but debugging was not very reliable. Sometimes it worked and sometimes not. To setup a project was also difficult compared to Keil. Let's see do I need to start using Eclipse after 32kb limit is reached...- J

author: sateeshkumar
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 04, 2014, 05:48:11 am
content: hi friendss..i have two different BLE modules that are BLE Nano(nRf5182), DBM01(cc2540).i am going to use cc2540 as a central module and nRf as a peripheral module so .i am facing the problem is i connected the cc2540 using serial port and start the scanning but the nRf is not visible in the serial port.my doubts are1)is the way possible to communicate?2)nRf only supports with nRf only ha.?3)is there any firmware for combine the two modules and use.?

author: leppie
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 04, 2014, 06:07:13 am
content: I have been looking too.Other options not mentioned:- STM BlueNRG (they have a nice Nucleo shield for this)- Cypress PSoc4 BLE and ProC BLE

author: Dago
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 04, 2014, 06:32:10 am
content: There are also Bluegiga modules:https://www.bluegiga.com/en-US/products/bluetooth-4.0-modules/

author: hamdi.tn
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 04, 2014, 07:43:52 am
content: i used BLE112 from bluegiga in a recent project .. awesome module really easy to use and you don't need an external host micro controller if your application is simple equipped with multiple GPIO, UART, PWM etc ... so the module can do all by itself.They have a simple programming language.

author: jmole
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 04, 2014, 04:57:23 pm
content: Would definitely check out the new Cypress chips, especially the PSoC 4 BLE. It's a BYOA (bring your own antenna) design, but the integration you get with the PSoC seems well worth it to me. Then again, I love PSoC Creator, so I'm biased.There's a little project on Kickstarter now for a mostly-built version, but it's light on tech details:https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1867719983/thingy-a-bluetooth-device-for-everyday-life-psoc-bI'd spring for the Cypress kit instead. This application note has a pretty good overview of the functionality:http://www.cypress.com/?docID=51385

author: Sebastian
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 04, 2014, 07:45:54 pm
content: The CC254x is really nice. I am using it for a project right now.But be aware that you have to buy IAR if you want to use the onboard MCU. If you are using an external MCU, you can use a precompiled program that allows you to connect your own MCU with your own stack. (I think you don't need the full stack because some layers are running on the CC254x)

author: SteveyG
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 05, 2014, 09:26:46 am
content: Quote from: Sebastian on December 04, 2014, 07:45:54 pmThe CC25's are the worst performers on the market for BLE though in terms of actual power consumption. The nRF parts are great, and have good low power modes.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 05, 2014, 11:47:34 am
content: If you want to use the nordic parts you have to buy one of their HW kit because you need the code to donwload the BLE stack and all the other essential files and documents.If you are new to BLE like i was i reccomend this book "Getting Started with Bluetooth Low Energy: Tools and Techniques for Low-Power Networking". It explain how the ble protocol works talks about different modules and there is also a chapter on how to set up the gcc enviromnt for the nordic parts and some sample codes.

author: brycheiniog
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 06, 2014, 11:59:21 am
content: I am slightly surprised nobody has mentioned CSR. They have a low priced eval board which includes the tool chain & IDE:http://www.digikey.co.uk/product-detail/en/DK-CSR1010-10169-1A/DK-CSR1010-10169-1A-ND/4514908I will probably try a Nordic solution at some point, but for now I am very happy with what CSR offer.