Find a cheap BLE or Zigbee module ? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: JL34
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: April 21, 2022, 09:20:46 pm
content: Hello,I try to find a cheap and ultra low-power wireless module to embedded on a battery powered sensor board I am designing.This board is intended to make grid monitoring of temperature and soil moisture in my garden.As I need around few tens meters range, I thought about BLE and Zigbee modules.I have some difficulty to find cheap module (around 3-4$ or less) and make a choice between the numerous existing modules.I can go the simpler way and use a communication module only with a simple MCU, like the ATTiny441. Or try the hard way and use a module with a SoC. This could be a nice exercise.The cheapest modules I have found are mainly in China, but I not have enough experience to judge them :E104-BT06, E104-BT12, E104-BT52, E18-MS1-PCB, JDY-23, JDY-24, JDY-25.I will greatly appreciate any advice about this very interesting subject.Thanks in advance

author: JL34
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: April 23, 2022, 12:01:22 pm
content: Thanks to a Reddit user, I have found some solutions to look at.I have taken a look at devices with nRF52 or ERF32 family chip.Cheapest BLE modules seems to be those with nRF52832 and ERF32BG22 chip. Ebyte (China) sell cheap modules with these chips. Chips seems to be original ones, and quality and reputation seems to be not so poor. At least for a hobbyist point of view.nRF52832 module cost around 6-8€. ERF32BG22 ones cost around 4-5€.nRF52840 and ERF32MG22 seems to be interesting chip too. These are a bit more expensive (10-12€ for a module with the Nordic one). But they can run both BLE and Zigbee protocol. For another personal project with fewer number of deployed devices, it could be an interesting solution.Another solution could be a simple ATTiny85 (~1,5€) coupled with a nRF24L01 (~1€). Power-efficiency seems to be pretty good too.Have you some experiences or advices to share about these solutions ?Thanks.

author: tepalia02
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 24, 2022, 05:36:49 am
content: You can take a look at this :https://www.seeedstudio.com/EMB1061-BLE-Module-p-2854.html?queryID=ff2e0db0e328b9763b424543be6feef1&objectID=2854&indexName=bazaar_retailer_products

author: JL34
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: April 25, 2022, 08:20:52 pm
content: Thanks for your reply.After some search, I have found that there is an Ebyte's module (E104-BT53A3) with the EFR32BG22C224 chip.There is BLE 5.2 and BLE mesh embedded. There is no external antenna connector, but the module could be found in stock from decent China's sellers around 4€.So I'll give it a try

author: Genx10
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 25, 2022, 03:14:46 pm
content: Hi,You can take a look at SimpleBLE module, it is low power, cheap, and easy to use. BLE in general supports those distances, so 10m should work on any module you use.It is always consuming only what is required to sustain your configured functionality and achieving less than 3 µA of current consumption at idle.It is also written with multiplatform use in mind. It uses 0 lines of platform specific code which makes it easy to integrate into your project. It comes with nRF52805 chip.