Wanna add bluetooth BLE to your project?
frank freedman
Posts: 1,983
I may have started on this a while ago, but work has just been Crazy lately. Anyway, I took a PTO day a couple weeks ago to attend a presentation / workshop on the Cypress line of BLE devices using the CY8CKIT-042-BLE Pioneer kit. It was sponsored by Avnet, cost $0 and they even tossed in lunch. (Actually ran into someone there who was quite familiar with the propeller, that was a first).
Anyway the PSoC device is a combined Arm Cortex-M0, BLE radio, capsense for touch sensing, and a block of programmable logic and some analog stuff. We played around in class with this and another device, the PRoC. But one of the most interesting things we only saw a pass around sample of and that was the EZ-BLE PRoC module, and were told that the PSoC version would show up this fall sometime (i thnk.).
These last two are a 10mmx10mmx1.8mm cube containing the above capabilities. And they are certified through FCC, and a bunch of other regulatory bodies. What godd that is, they explained in the presentation. No need to go through the process of designing and building a BLE radio and then having to jump through certification process. (Is that as bad as they make it out to be?) Also, looks like the BLE overhead is far less for say a propeller to communicate with another BLE device.
You can get the Pioneer Kit through various dev kit resellers like Avnet, Mouser etc, for around $48.00. But you could look through Avnet for the rest of the years schedule to see if this presentation is still available where you live. Gotta hand it to Avnet. They have always done me right. All the way back to the 70s as Hamilton Avnet in Sunnyvale, when they would program my one-off devices (i.e. 1702s and PLAs 82S100s) since programmers were way out of a H.S seniors budget.
Almost forgot to mention, the software, PSoC Creator is easy to get and install. Was a breeze and no cost for the version we used in the class. not sure if there are other versions of if that is the full version.......
Anyway the PSoC device is a combined Arm Cortex-M0, BLE radio, capsense for touch sensing, and a block of programmable logic and some analog stuff. We played around in class with this and another device, the PRoC. But one of the most interesting things we only saw a pass around sample of and that was the EZ-BLE PRoC module, and were told that the PSoC version would show up this fall sometime (i thnk.).
These last two are a 10mmx10mmx1.8mm cube containing the above capabilities. And they are certified through FCC, and a bunch of other regulatory bodies. What godd that is, they explained in the presentation. No need to go through the process of designing and building a BLE radio and then having to jump through certification process. (Is that as bad as they make it out to be?) Also, looks like the BLE overhead is far less for say a propeller to communicate with another BLE device.
You can get the Pioneer Kit through various dev kit resellers like Avnet, Mouser etc, for around $48.00. But you could look through Avnet for the rest of the years schedule to see if this presentation is still available where you live. Gotta hand it to Avnet. They have always done me right. All the way back to the 70s as Hamilton Avnet in Sunnyvale, when they would program my one-off devices (i.e. 1702s and PLAs 82S100s) since programmers were way out of a H.S seniors budget.
Almost forgot to mention, the software, PSoC Creator is easy to get and install. Was a breeze and no cost for the version we used in the class. not sure if there are other versions of if that is the full version.......
Comments
http://www.cypress.com/products/ez-ble-proc-module-bluetooth-smart
http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Cypress-Semiconductor/CYBLE-022001-00/?qs=CWJ76vmrsO%2bYARuymL1qZQ==
some ways off , under View Delivery Dates but 466 are on order and $10 is ok,Missing from the Cypress overviews is * How much code & ram space is consumed by the running BLE* How easy is it to add small user stubs onto that* Can you accidentally brick the whole thing ? (or is there a ROM level BLE booter ?) (or is it easier to just clip on a Tiny MCU, and not touch the BLE Module ?)
I especially like this detail of Cypress nearly all PSoC devices :Wide operating voltage (1.9 to 5.5 V)[/list](Not sure if full RF operation is over that range.?)