SparkFun Electronics - Bluetooth Modem

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Product Info

Bluetooth Modem - BlueSMiRF Gold

sku: WRL-00582

Description: The BlueSMiRF is the latest Bluetooth^®wireless serial cable replacement from SparkFun Electronics! These modems work as a serial (RX/TX) pipe. Any serial stream from 9600 to 115200bps can be passed seamlessly from your computer to your target. We've tested these units successfully over open air at 350ft (106m)!

The remote unit can be powered from 3.3V up to 6V for easy battery attachment. All signal pins on the remote unit are 3V-6V tolerant. No level shifting is required. Do not attach this device directly to a serial port. You will need an RS232 to TTL converter circuit if you need to attach this to a computer.

Unit comes without a connector. Please see related male and female pins below.

Please note: This unit ships with the new Roving Networks bluetooth module. The command set is not compatible with the previous Mitsumi module, this unit uses an improved command set.

Specifications:

FCC Approved Class 1 Bluetooth^®Radio Modem
Extremely small radio - 0.15x0.6x1.9"
Very robust link both in integrity and transmission distance (100m) - no more buffer overruns!
Low power consumption : 25mA avg
Hardy frequency hopping scheme - operates in harsh RF environments like WiFi, 802.11g, and Zigbee
Encrypted connection
Frequency: 2.4~2.524 GHz
Operating Voltage: 3.3V-6V
Serial communications: 2400-115200bps
Operating Temperature: -40 ~ +70C
Built-in antenna

Dimensions: 51.5x15.8x5.6mm

Documents:

Schematic
RN-41 AT Command Set
Roving Networks Bluetooth^® module datasheet

This is a single unit only. We recommend the purchase a USB dongle to interface to a computer if you do not already have access to a computer with Bluetooth connectivity.

Pricing

	116 in stock backorder allowed

$64.95	price
$58.46	10-99 (10% off)
$51.96	100+ (20% off)

	quantity

click on image to enlarge

Comments

22 comments

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Member #17905

| February 3, 2006 at 2:23 PM

I use 2 of these plus a Lantronix Xport ( $50 from http://www.semiconductorstore.com/ ) for controlling my Robot wirelessly from my Linux workstation ( Ethernet-_Serial-_Wireless-_Serial ). These modems are incredibly easy to use. Truly a "wireless RS232" pipe. Very pleased. The USB-Dongle + SW I thought was garbage, but using 2 of the BlueSMiRFs to talk to each other has worked out great. My only recommendation would be for Sparkfun to sell them as sets of 2, preconfigured for creating a wireless link to each other.

Member #4941

| September 27, 2006 at 9:51 PM

+0.15

We found the BlueSMiRF after using Ambers BlueNiceComIII module in our first generation Bluetooth enabled amateur radio control products. The BlueSMiRF is easier to setup and is much more capable. It is great for the hobbiest that wants to experiment with Bluetooth technology. Our next generation of kits and completed products are based on the BlueSMiRF and will be available shortly. See http://www.lynovation.com for more information.

	by RK +3.2 \| November 1, 2008 at 10:15 AM +0.15
This is a great product, but if you want to get it started, Do not use Hyperterm - it does not seem to work on all systems. Instead, use the free Teraterm terminal program from http://www.rovingnetworks.com/support/teraterm.zip After using that, everything worked great.

	by piero +1.2 \| November 5, 2008 at 6:41 AM 0
Is there a way to connect this module with a MAC OS? I'm trying using an SPP connection over minicom but I have not answer from the module.

pomprocker

+5.4

| December 1, 2008 at 5:29 PM

+0.15

To use the BlueSMiRF with the mac, pop open a terminal, and use the 'screen' command. Do a 'man screen' if you need help.

My question is, I am trying to do wireless MCU programming, but there seems to be some latency that is tripping this up with the BlueSMiRF. I was told that the only way to accomplish this is to have an unencrypted full-duplex bi-directional connection. Is there any way to setup this sort of connection with this product?

I am already an owner of this product, and have used it successfully for regular UART RX/TX, but can not seem to get it to work for wireless programming.

	by DLC +3.9 \| December 1, 2008 at 10:54 PM +0.15
I use the low power Bluesmirf on my Mac with a modified Arduino bootloader on a MEGA168 with no problems. Yes, there is a latency, your bootloader should be able to deal with it. I use Zterm or the Arduino IDE to talk back and forth via the virtual serial port connection. This is a great device. DLC

GregEigsti

+5.6

| March 14, 2009 at 12:46 AM

+1.2

After soldering pins to the BlueSMiRF I had this unit paired with and talking to the Mac in a matter of minutes. So far very easy to use - and if it provides a true serial port like experience (like other commenters confirm) I'll be looking at a BT bootloader (PIC 18F2550). The reference doc contains the unit's default settings and I was able to connect/control the first time with the screen command:
$ screen /dev/tty.FireFly 115200
Will be replacing screen soon with the bootloader/project control software; drop me a note if you want a Mac command line app to talk to this unit over the BT wireless link.

Great device! Impressed!

	by aqua_scummm +1.5 \| April 21, 2009 at 9:47 PM 0
It says not to connect this directly to a serial port. Is the 12 volts too much, and is that the only issue?

tlied2

+6.2

| April 23, 2009 at 2:13 PM

+1.2

There are several differences between the UART provided in many devices and an RS-232 port (computer serial port). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RS232 is useful, but in addition to voltage levels being different as you mention, RS232 uses a negative voltage for a logic 1, and a positive for logic 0. The link in the article to the TTL UART (embedded device) -> RS232 converter is incorrect and takes you to the beginning embedded electronics tutorial. But if you get PRT-00133 or comparable (search for rs232 shifter comes up with a couple) - you can put that in between the device and the computer and you should be all set.

johnty

+1.8

| June 17, 2009 at 7:13 PM

got one of these recently. works fine out of the box. default to 9600.

tried it with arduino mini - talks fine to the computer.
tried it with FTDI usb-serial adapter - works fine too. i use one terminal program to connect to the usb end; another one to the bluetooth serial port. they can talk back and forth.

HOWEVER... i've been battling to get the thing into CONFIG mode - tried sending "$$$" to it... no response. (it does however push the data through to the other end) - so I can receive the $$$ on the other end of the connection... but I can't seem to config the device itself.

Any suggestions? thanks in advance.

Mathew Pottinger

+4.1

| June 17, 2009 at 8:34 PM

+0.2

There is a 'config timer' on these Bluetooth modules. Usually it is set at, say, 60. This means that there is a window of opportunity at which to send the $$$ command of 60 seconds from power-up/reset. After this time the unit ignores the $$$ command.

Turn off the device (remove power), then turn it on, and quickly send the $$$ command (i.e. within, say, 30 seconds). If successful, you should see 'CMD'.

From here you can increase the 'config timer' value if required.

Alternatively, if this doesn't work - reset the device to factory default - this will reset the config timer to a suitable length of time (~60).

	by johnty +1.8 \| June 17, 2009 at 11:36 PM 0
thanks for the reply. to avoid cluttering this page, continue discussion here: http://forum.sparkfun.com/viewtopic.php?t=15999 thanks again, johnty

	by Param +3 \| August 6, 2009 at 9:36 PM 0
Does this modem only work with Serial Port profile? Can I not say connect it to a J2ME application on a cellphone? Or use it in any other profile with a computer?

	by Aj Marquez +1.6 \| October 21, 2009 at 1:04 PM 0
I have the same question I guess. Send instructions with a J2ME app to the unit. Have you found out if its possible?

screwed

+2.1

| September 9, 2009 at 8:42 PM

After many failed attempts, succeeded in pairing two of these together by setting the master to auto-connect to a stored remote address (i programmed in the address of the slave) and configuring the other modem as a slave. However, now on power up they auto-connect and i can no longer connect through my Mac to the master to reconfigure it. Tried reprogramming the slave to perform a role switch and force the master to become a slave so i could reconfigure the master, didnt work.

Anyone face something like this? Or at least know of a way to factory reset without damaging the modem. If it matters im using my Macs bluetooth connection and the terminal to program both units.

	by Mitch +1.2 \| September 21, 2009 at 1:30 AM 0
Can this connect directly to my laptops bluetooth module and work in hyper terminal, or do I need 2 of these units? Does it use the standard bluetooth stack?

	by Tycho Vhargon +4.4 \| November 22, 2009 at 11:30 PM 0
Unless you have some tricky code, it's difficult or impossible to use this with another one. You have to use a computer.

	by Aj Marquez +1.6 \| October 21, 2009 at 12:43 AM 0
Greetings, I wonder If I can connect a mobile phone using this unit, I mean, send data thought the unit to the mobile

ArduinoRobotMaker

+1.5

| November 22, 2009 at 8:27 PM

I received a blueSMiRF as a gift and bought the bluetooth dongle from SparkFun. I loaded the BlueSoleii software but would never connect to the blueSMiRF. I uninstalled the BlueSoleii, plugged in the bluetooth dongle and seem to be connecting now with only XP drivers. When I first power up the blueSMiRF there is a red 'stat' light which blinks fast for about a minute and then slows to about 1 per second. My Bluetooth Devices screen says I have FireFly outgoing 'SPP' on COM8 and FireFly incomming on COM10. Using HyperTerminal, no combination of $$$ or +++ has resulted in a reply. Can't connect COM 8 either.

	by Maric +1 \| January 5, 2010 at 12:52 AM 0
Hey, any chance of releasing the eagle files? Since I'm just about to buy the smd module (waited too much for this to came to stock) and I want hookup this with an arduino. Thx.

	by JLC +2.3 \| January 13, 2010 at 1:20 AM 0
I see this does not have the DTR pin to use with Arduinos for auto reset. But can I somehow use the RTS or CTS pin?

quietlyconfident

+1.4

| January 16, 2010 at 12:57 AM

I lost two days to a stupid error which I thought I'd share, in the hopes that no one else need do the same thing.

Punchline - 115 kBaud does not equal 115000 baud, it equals 115200 baud.

When connecting to the BlueSmirf & a USB -> Serial adapter (to test wireless communications) use screen as so:

$> screen /dev/tty.usbserial-A0blahblah 115200
and
$> screen /dev/tty.FireFly-blahblah 115200

Using 115000 instead of 115200 will make things appear to work, but no communication.