Print Date: 21.09.2004 Product Manual RS232 Bluetooth Converter Version: 5.3 Brainboxes Limited, Unit 3C, Wavertree Boulevard South, Wavertree Technology Park, Liverpool, L7 9PF, UK Tel: +44 (0)151 220 2500 Fax: +44 (0)151 252 0446 Web: www.brainboxes.com Email: sales@brainboxes.
Table of Contents 1. Introduction ......................................................................................................4 1.1. Preamble............................................................................................................................................................. 4 1.2. Products and Firmware....................................................................................................................................... 4 1.3. Changes from earlier versions...
8.3.4. Secure the relationship .............................................................................................................................. 33 8.3.5. Connect to the Serial Port profile ............................................................................................................... 33 8.3.6. Connect your application to the new COM port ......................................................................................... 33 9. Worked Examples .............................
1. Introduction 1.1. Preamble Brainboxes’ RS232 Bluetooth converters are fully embedded, stand-alone Bluetooth solutions, which will Bluetooth enable any device with an RS232 port. Unlike many of Brainboxes wide range of Bluetooth products, the converters do not require any additional Bluetooth software. For many applications, a Bluetooth converter used in combination with another Bluetooth product (e.g.
2. Physical Product Features 2.1. BL-521 Reset button See section 6 for more details on how to use the reset button. LED’s a) LED1: The leftmost LED is Green. This is used to indicate the “Power” status of the converter. When power is applied at the specified voltage and current the LED turns ON. b) LED2: The middle LED is Orange. It indicates transmitted data activity. c) LED3: The rightmost LED is also Orange. It indicates received data activity.
3. Product Configuration This device contains a comprehensive set of Bluetooth and COM port features which can be changed from an easy to use Windows Configuration Application. This section gives full details about the changes that can be made, how to make them, and the implications the changes will have on the manner in which your converter behaves. 3.1. Configuration features at a glance Below is a quick list of the configuration options that are available from the configuration application.
3.3.
3.4. Using the Configuration Application The application will now load. There may be a short delay whilst the device is detected and its current configuration is queried and the appropriate fields are populated. As a rule, sections on the left-hand side of the application display information about your device. Settings cannot be changed here. Sections on the right-hand side are where settings can be changed as well as viewed.
3.5. Current Settings The Current Settings section is broken down into two sections; Local Device Settings and Partner Device Settings. Each field will be discussed further below. When the Current Settings has been selected, an additional section appears in the left-hand section called Default Settings. Both sections can be expanded at the same time to enable the user to view the current settings and the default settings at the same time.
PIN Code The PIN (Personal Identification Number) is used to create a secure and trusted connection between 2 Bluetooth devices during a process called pairing or bonding. The PIN can be any combination of printable characters. The PIN is only used when BL-521 is configured to be in security mode 2 or 3 (High or Medium security). The factory set PIN is “1234”. This can be changed and you may enter your own combination up to a maximum of 16 characters.
This feature can be used to connect to remote devices that support DUN, LAN or FAX services i.e. some Bluetooth phones will only let devices that are Dial Up Networking clients to connect to them. Although the BL-521 does not actually include all the software necessary for it to support DUN, LAN and FAX fully, these are all based on SPP, which the BL-521 does support. The additional software can come from the operating system such as XP.
3.6. Advanced Settings The Advanced Settings section contains a more detailed range of settings that are least likely to require modification for any particular scenario to work. Each field will be discussed further below. When the Advanced Settings has been selected, an additional section appears in the left-hand section called Default Settings. Both sections can be expanded at the same time to enable the user to view the current settings and the default settings at the same time.
Security Mode The factory set security mode is 3 (Highest). This field has 3 available settings from the drop down list: 1) Selecting option “1” will immediately place your converter into security mode 1. This is the lowest security mode that the converter can be configured to. Connections, including service discovery, can take place without the need for “pairing” or “bonding”.
Class of Device Some remote device applications will only communicate to devices of a certain type. This option allows you to reconfigure your BL-521 to appear as a number of different device types. The Factory setting for the Class of device is “Peripheral”. The available options are: Peripheral, Desktop, Laptop, Imaging, Phone/Modem and LAN. IMPORTANT NOTE: Changing this Class of Device setting does not alter the published functionality of the product.
A server device in park or sniff mode periodically wakes up to listen to transmissions from the master. The client device only transmits at these same times periodically. Also, in Park mode, a server device can have as many as 255-parked clients, as oppose to the usual limit of 7 clients. However, only 7 of the parked clients can be brought from park mode to be active at the same time. For further information on low power modes and their operation please see the Bluetooth website www.bluetooth.
3.7. Default settings The “Default Settings” section is simply a display page showing all the configuration options either as they were set in the factory (default or custom) or as the user has chosen to update them from this application or menu. These are the settings that will be restored if the “Restore Default” icon is selected at the bottom of the page.
4. Alternative Product Configuration 4.1. Accessing the configuration menus and commands. The converter’s configuration menu is available at any time that there is no Bluetooth radio connection established with another device (unless of course you have selected the option to disable the menu). As soon as a Bluetooth connection is made, the data sent to the converter will be sent over the radio link to the remote device.
Select the Port that you have connected the BL-521 to. All other fields will then be “greyed out” then Click OK. Select the communications parameters that your device is configured to. In this example we have used the factory defaults normally applied. If you have previously reconfigured these values, then you will need to make sure the settings here match those you have configured to device to be. Click OK HyperTerminal should now be running. Now hit the “Enter” key once.
4.2.2. Main Menu Sending the “Enter” character to the BL-521 accesses its main menu. This is also sometimes referred to as “Carriage Return”. All basic configuration options for BL-521 are accessed via this menu. Advanced features are not available from the menu interface. Users wishing to alter “advanced” settings can do so by either using the Windows Configuration application documented above, or by using the commands documented below. 4.2.3.
Next the user is prompted to set the converter’s Parity. Options here are None, Odd or Even. “Esc” skips this selection leaving the current setting unchanged. Then the user is prompted to change Stop bits. Options here are 1 or 2. Pressing “Esc” skips this selection leaving the current setting unchanged. The user is then asked if they wish to Apply the new settings immediately. If settings are not immediately applied, the changes will only take effect after the converter has had it’s power cycled.
The Currently configured partner device is shown (if any). The user is then prompted to enter a new partner device address. To keep the same partner, or skip this option, press the “Esc” key The user is then prompted for a new PIN to be entered. You can enter any characters you wish here up to a maximum of 16 characters. You should bear in mind that some devices have limited input mechanisms and may not be able to use a full character set.
The first screen that displays shows the current state of the converters settings. If any settings have been modified by the user following the instructions above, then this list will differ from the default (factory) settings Selecting option 2 from this menu shows the original factory settings for the product (if viewing for the first time). The one item that will be different for each individual product will be the local device setting.
4.2.8. Upgrading Firmware 3.0 This feature is only available from firmware version 3.0 onwards. Upgrade DFU (Device Firmware Upgrade) is an option to be taken seriously as it has the potential to leave your product in an unusable state.
4.3. Command Interface The command interface is a new addition to version 4 of the converter’s firmware. This interface has been developed primarily to support programming access to the configuration settings by an application such as our own configuration application, but can also offer a powerful human operated (e.g. via HyperTerminal) command driven interface in it’s own right. Additionally, the commands can be placed in a Text/script file and sent (e.g. by HyperTerminal) in one go to the converter.
5. Remote Configuration A new feature in this release of BL-521 firmware is the ability to remotely configure its settings from a second Bluetooth device, over a Bluetooth connection. For example, a Bluetooth connection can be created from a second device and that second device can change the baud rate, local name or any of the settings of the BL-521 over the Bluetooth link.
7. Upgrading your device If you have installed the Configuration Utility already, the Upgrade application will also have installed and a shortcut will be placed onto your desktop. Otherwise browse the CD, navigate to the “BL-521 Configuration Utility” directory, and run the “Setup.exe” application. Follow the onscreen instructions to install the application. This will create an entry in your start menu as well as a desktop shortcut. Run the application by selecting it from the “Start” menu.
Select the COM port to which you have connected your product. (Remember to close the Configuration Utility or Hyperterminal application if you still have either open) Then Click “Next”. Point the upgrade wizard to the upgrade file you wish to use. These upgrade files all have the extension .dfu and the latest version is available from the Brainboxes website. Confirm you have made the correct selections by clicking “Next” to start the upgrade procedure. Manual for BL-521 5_3.
Assuming you have selected the correct options, the wizard will detect the product connected to the selected port and begin the upgrade. This may take a few minutes, as the wizard will automatically make a copy of the firmware currently on the device before uploading the new version. A progress bar indicates how the procedure is going. If everything went well the final screen should show indicating any further action that may be required.
8. Physically connecting to your RS232 device 8.1. Configuring the communications parameters. The converters do not have the ability to auto-detect the communications parameters (e.g. baud rate) so they must be configured to match the data rate used in the application to which they are connected. Please refer to section 4.2.3 above, for details on how to do this.
9. Connecting converters over Bluetooth. There are 3 scenarios in which BL-521 can be connected via Bluetooth. This section details all 3 methods. a) Client/Server Pair: 2 converters, configured to perform a “true” cable replacement.
9.1.2. Configuration by Menu Select option 2 from the “Main Menu” menu to display the Bluetooth settings menu shown below left. You should enter here the Bluetooth Address (BD_ADDR) of the remote (server) device you wish to pair (in our case this is 000A-4F-00082D) followed by ENTER. This should be in the same format as indicated on the products label (NAP-UAP-LAP, for those of you who know) Press “Esc” to skip this section Press C to select the client option.
9.1.3. Configuration by Commands Access the converter you wish to change to “Client” for command mode as documented above and send the following commands: padd = 000A-4F-00082D svr = 0 Now power cycle your converter and it will attempt to connect to the server device. 9.2.
9.3.4. Secure the relationship This is where you must “Bond” or “Pair” with the device. This is a feature of Bluetooth, which allows secure communications to take place. It is also used to stop other devices from performing unauthorised connections. You can start the bonding process by selecting and right clicking on your BL-521 from the main screen. This brings up a context menu from which you should select the “Bond” option.
10. Worked Examples 10.1. Scientific equipment data logging: In this example we have connected a Tektronix TDS220 Oscilloscope to a BL-521 and plugged in the power adapter included. No additional cables or gender changers were used in this application scenario. In order to communicate to the oscilloscope/BL-521 we have connected a Brainboxes USB adapter (Order code BL-554) to a laptop with Brainboxes Bluetooth software suite installed.
12. Troubleshooting In the rare occasion that you experience difficulties using this product, please read the following suggestions from the table below before contacting our support team. Symptom Description Solution Data doesn’t seem to be received by the product, but seems to be sent by it (e.g. data only travelling in one direction) This is normally the result of the product being configured as requiring RTS/CTS handshaking, but being plugged into a device which does not support it.
13. Technical Specifications Qualified Output Power: average peak o = 14.43 dBm @2441 MHz, 25 C o = 18.21 dBm @2402 MHz, 0 C 13.1. Storage and Operating Environment 13.1.1. Storage Temperature Humidity o o : -40 C to +85 C : 8% to 95% non-condensing 13.1.2. Operational Temperature Humidity o o : 0 C to +40 C : 20% to 75% non-condensing 13.2. Power requirements 13.2.1. Input Voltage Requirements The product was qualified using a fully rectified AC/DC power supply supplying 800mA @ 5V.
13.3. Transmitter Characteristics Test Type Output Power Power Density Power Control Frequency Range 20 dB bandwidth o Adjacent Channel Power (0 C) Modulation Index Initial Carrier Frequency Tolerance Drift Rate European Conducted Emissions FCC Conducted Emissions Results +18.21 dBm (peak) +17.02 dBm Min step: 4.37dBm ; Max step: 5.67dBm 2400.05 MHz ~ 2481.60 MHz Worse case: 940 kHz 2 fails TX = 2405 MHz TX = 2441 MHz 1 fail TX = 2477 MHz 0 fails 0.94~1.03 (channel dependent) Worse case: 21.
13.5. Antenna Characteristics 13.5.1. Gain The antenna is integral to the printed circuit board. It is a quarter-wave Planar Inverted-F Antenna (PIFA) with a gain of -0.3 dBm. 13.5.2.
14. Regulatory Information Bluetooth product operating in 2.4GHz band for Home and Office use. 14.1.
15.
Version History Version Date Author 1.0 2.0 06/01/2003 10/01/2003 Gav Gav 2.1 3.0 14/01/2003 03/04/2003 Gav Gav 3.1 11/04/2003 Gav 3.2 11/04/2003 Gav 4.0 26/08/2003 Gav 4.1 5.0 5.1 04/09/2003 26/09/2003 10/12/2003 Gav Gav Gav 5.2 22/03/2004 Michelle Best 5.3 20/09/2004 Michelle Best Manual for BL-521 5_3.