INDUSTRIAL BLUETOOTH™

Serial Port Adapter™ 2nd Generation FAQ

Copyright © 2003 connectBlue AB. The contents of this document can be changed by connectBlue AB without prior notice and do not constitute any binding undertakings from connectBlue AB. connectBlue AB is not responsible under any circumstances for direct, indirect, unexpected damage or consequent damage that is caused by this document. All rights reserved. Release: 0303 Document version: 1.0 Document number: cBProduct-0303-08 (1) Printed in Sweden. Trademarks The BLUETOOTH trademarks are owned by their proprietor and used by connectBlue under license. Third party brands and names are the property of their respective owners.

FAQ This document contains answers to some of the most frequently asked questions nd regarding the 2 generation Serial Port Adapters from connectBlue. There are several Serial Port Adapter models. How do they differ from each other?

4

Can I use the Serial Port Adapter in a RS422/RS485 network?

4

What is the range of the Serial Port Adapter?

5

What is the throughput of the Serial Port Adapter?

5

What is the latency introduced by the Serial Port Adapter?

5

What is the current consumption of the Serial Port Adapter?

6

Do I have to have a RS232 driver on my device when communicating with the OEM Serial Port Adapter? 6 What is the power supply required by the Serial Port Adapter?

6

What is the size of the Serial Port Adapter?

7

What's the difference between the antennas available?

7

How can I configure the Serial Port Adapter?

7

What is the ECI protocol?

7

Is it possible to connect to several Bluetooth devices?

8

What is Wireless Multidrop™?

8

Does the Serial Port Adapter support AT commands?

9

Can I use AT commands via Bluetooth?

9

Can I configure a Serial Port Adapter via Bluetooth?

9

Explain the feature "Select server device on incoming connection"!

10

Can I upgrade the firmware in the Serial Port Adapter?

10

I need a feature that is not part of the standard Serial Port Adapter. Can connectBlue make custom variants of the Serial Port Adapter?

10

Do I have to pay for technical support if I purchase a Serial Port Adapter?

10

Do I have to Bluetooth qualify my product that contains/uses the Serial Port Adapter?

11

Do I have to type approve my product that contains/uses the Serial Port Adapter?

11

Has the Serial Port Adapter been tested with other Bluetooth products?

11

There are several Serial Port Adapter models. How do they differ from each other? There are currently nine Serial Port Adapter models available. Below you will find a short summary of the different models. To get a complete overview of the functionality of the different models please study the Serial Port Adapter Datasheet that can be downloaded from www.connectblue.se. OEM Serial Port Adapter 13i OEM Serial Port Adapter 13x OEM Serial Port Adapter 33i

No housing, short range (0 dBm), logic-level UART and RS232, internal antenna, 3.3-6 VDC power supply. No housing, short range (0 dBm), logic-level UART and RS232, external antenna, 3.3-6 VDC power supply. No housing, long range (20 dBm), logic-level UART and RS232, internal antenna, 3.3-6 VDC power supply.

OEM Serial Port Adapter 33x

No housing, long range (20 dBm), logic-level UART and RS232, external antenna, 3.3-6 VDC power supply.

Serial Port Adapter 12i

Plastic housing, short range (0 dBm), RS232 (DSUB), internal antenna, 5 VDC power supply.

Serial Port Adapter 32i

Plastic housing, long range (20 dBm), RS232 (DSUB), internal antenna, 5 VDC power supply.

Serial Port Adapter 33i

Plastic housing, long range (20 dBm), RS232/RS422/RS485 (terminal block), internal antenna, 8-30 VDC power supply. Plastic housing, long range (20 dBm), RS232/RS422/RS485 (terminal block), antenna on a cable, 8-30 VDC power supply.

Serial Port Adapter 33c

Rugged Serial Port Adapter 32s

Aluminum housing (IP65), long range (20 dBm), RS232/RS422/RS485 (DSUB), stub antenna, 8-30 VDC power supply.

Can I use the Serial Port Adapter in a RS422/RS485 network?

Yes, the Serial Port Adapter models SPA33i, SPA33c and RSPA32s support RS422 and RS485.

What is the range of the Serial Port Adapter? Both short-range and long-range variants of the Serial Port Adapter are available. Short-range models: OEMSPA13i, OEMSPA13x, SPA12i Long-range models: OEMSPA33i, OEMSPA33x, SPA32i, SPA33i, SPA33c, RSPA32s. The range depends heavily on the surrounding environment. Walls, furniture, etc limit the range. In an office environment the short-range models have a range of about 10 meters and the long-range models have a range of about 50 meters. But in open-air conditions the short-range models can reach up to 50 meters and the long-range models up to 300 meters. Below you can find the results of a range measurement performed at connectBlue. The measurement was performed with two OEMSPA13i and with two OEMSPA33i. All units were held 1.5 meters above the ground, there were no obstacles between the devices and the temperature was 0 degrees Celsius. The test was performed at 19200 baud. OEMSPA13i to OEMSPA13i test: • 10 meters: 100% throughput. • 15 meters: 100% throughput. • 30 meters: 50% throughput. • 70 meters: 15% throughput. • > 70 meters: Connection lost. OEMSPA33i to OEMSPA33i test: • 10 meters: 100% throughput. • 100 meters: 100% throughput. • 200 meters: 100% throughput. • 240 meters: 100% throughput. • > 240 meters: Could not be tested, test site was not long enough. Remember that the actual range depends on many factors. We always advise our customers to perform tests for their applications in the appropriate environment.

What is the throughput of the Serial Port Adapter? Throughput when using wireless transmission methods is effected by several factors. The first factor is the maximum data rate supported by the device 'over the air'. Although the theoretical maximum 1-way data rate is approximately 700k bits per second (after protocol overhead) for Bluetooth, device architectures and firmware and hardware overhead limits this. Another factor that limits throughput is the surrounding environment and the range between the devices. The Serial Port Adapter devices can currently achieve over 270k bits per second (data bits) for 1-way communication. We are constantly performing optimizations to increase the throughput. For serial cables the throughput is explicitly defined by the baud rate. Please note that 'baud' is related to the number of bits, but the 'number of bits per baud' depends on the number of data bits, start bits, stop bits, and parity. With one start bit and one stop bit 10 bits are used to transfer one byte. E.g. this means that 19200 baud equals 15360 data bits per second.

What is the latency introduced by the Serial Port Adapter? Latency is the time it takes for a set of data to be transferred from point A to point B. A regular serial cable has no latency. When the serial cable is replaced by a Bluetooth link, latency will be introduced.

Latency occurs in a wireless link like Bluetooth due to the need to pack data into packets appropriate for transmission, transmit them, and unpack them at the other end of the link. This means that there will be a delay in reception even in perfect conditions. When noise causes retransmissions, the latency increases. Thus both throughput and latency are affected by noise. The latency introduced by two Serial Port Adapters under normal conditions is 15 to 45 ms.

What is the current consumption of the Serial Port Adapter? Several factors affect the current consumption of the Serial Port Adapter. • Are logic level or RS232 levels used for serial communication? • If RS232 levels are used, what is the load? • What is the state of the device? o Idle, non-connectable and non-discoverable. o Idle, connectable and discoverable. o Connected and idle. o Connected sending data. o … • What is the selected baud rate? • Has the stop mode feature been enabled? The current consumption is different between the long-range and the short-range models of the Serial Port Adapter. A complete list of current consumption values can be found in the Electrical & Mechanical Datasheet that can be downloaded from www.connectblue.se. Below you can find an extract from the Electrical & Mechanical Datasheet: • OEMSPA13i (short-range), logic level UART @ 57600: o Waiting for connection in stop mode: 0.6 mA @ 5V. o Connected, idle: 35.6 mA @ 5V. • OEMSPA33i (long-range), logic level UART @ 57600: o Waiting for connection in stop mode: 0.5 mA @ 5V. o Connected, idle: 26.9 mA @ 5V.

Do I have to have a RS232 driver on my device when communicating with the OEM Serial Port Adapter? No, the Serial Port Adapter supports both RS232-level and logic-level UART communication. A pin on the connector called “mode” controls whether RS232 levels or logic levels shall be used. For more information please see the Electrical & Mechanical Datasheet that can be downloaded from www.connectblue.se.

What is the power supply required by the Serial Port Adapter? • • • • • • •

OEMSPA13i: 3-6 VDC OEMSPA13x: 3-6 VDC OEMSPA33i: 3.3-6 VDC OEMSPA33x: 3.3-6 VDC SPA12i: 5 VDC SPA32i: 5 VDC SPA33i: 8-30 VDC

• •

SPA33c: 8-30 VDC RSPA32s: 8-30 VDC

What is the size of the Serial Port Adapter? • • • • • • • • •

OEMSPA13i: 23*36*5 mm OEMSPA13x: 23*36*5 mm OEMSPA33i: 40*42*5 mm OEMSPA33x: 40*42*5 mm SPA12i: 63*80.2*25.7 mm SPA32i: 63*80.2*25.7 mm SPA33i: 63*80.2*25.7 mm SPA33c: 63*80.2*25.7 mm RSPA32s: 75.5*84.6*34.6 mm

What's the difference between the antennas available? Some Serial Port Adapter models are available with several different antennas: • Internal antenna (for OEMSPA13i and OEMSPA33i). o For devices with plastic covers. o For customers that do not want the antenna to be visible to the end user. • Stub antenna (for OEMSPA13x and OEMSPA33x). o For devices that cannot use an internal antenna. o For devices that require the longest possible range. • Puck antenna (for OEMSPA13x, OEMSPA33x, SPA33c). o The puck antenna is mounted on a three-meter long cable. o For devices were the antenna has to be moved away from the Serial Port Adapter. o For devices where the antenna has to be moved outside the cabinet were the Serial Port Adapter is mounted. • Microblue and Microsphere (for OEMSPA13x and OEMSPA33x). o To be mounted inside the same cabinet as the OEM Serial Port Adapter. o For devices where the OEM Serial Port Adapter is mounted in a way that makes the internal antenna unusable. All the antennas are documented thoroughly in the Electrical and Mechanical Datasheet that can be downloaded from www.connectblue.se. If you need help in selecting the correct antenna for your application, please contact connectBlue at [email protected].

How can I configure the Serial Port Adapter? There are three methods available to configure the Serial Port Adapter: • •

•

Use the Windows based configuration wizard. In the wizard you may configure serial settings and Bluetooth settings, configure connections, perform pairing and manage your list of favorite devices. Use AT commands. Around 50 easy to use AT commands are available to configure and control the Serial Port Adapter. This method is suitable for embedded devices that do not run Windows or do not have a user interface. The complete AT commands specification can be downloaded from www.connectblue.se. Use the ECI protocol. The ECI protocol provides the same functionality as AT commands. For more information on the ECI protocol see the question “What is the ECI protocol”.

What is the ECI protocol? The ECI protocol is provides the host with an interface towards all the Bluetooth functionality embedded in the Serial Port Adapter. The ECI protocol is a

lightweight protocol. It provides access to the profiles GAP, SPP, DUN, and LAN as well as some other miscellaneous functions. It supports true multi-point. Host Application Application Application ECI Driver

ECI protocol Serial Port Adapter GAP

SPP, DUN, LAN

Service Search

Misc

To quickly and easily utilize the ECI protocol connectBlue provides a development kit, the Bluetooth Enabler Development Kit. The kit contains: • ECI Driver, generic C-code for the ECI protocol. • User manual for the ECI Driver. • Sample application. • ECI specification. • ECI Toolbox, a PC program with a graphical user interface used to evaluate and learn about the ECI protocol. The ECI protocol provides roughly the same functionality as AT commands. There are two important differences though: • With the ECI protocol you can achieve true multi-point (communicate with several devices simultaneously). With AT commands you can also communicate with several devices simultaneously using the Wireless Multidrop™ feature. However this feature distributes data to all connected devices and this might not be appropriate for all applications. • With the ECI protocol several operations can be executed in parallel. With AT commands you can only execute one operation at a time.

Is it possible to connect to several Bluetooth devices? Yes, the Serial Port Adapter supports multipoint. Two methods may be used: • Wireless Multidrop™. • ECI protocol. The Wireless Multidrop feature is the easiest one to use. No changes in the host system are required. But the limitation is that data sent to the Serial Port Adapter via the serial interface will be forwarded to all the connected devices. For more information see the question “What is Wireless Multidrop”. The ECI protocol gives you full control over all the Bluetooth functionality embedded in the Serial Port Adapter. You can easily communicate with several devices simultaneously. For more information on the ECI protocol see the question “What is the ECI protocol”. If you need help in selecting the most suitable method for your application, please contact connectBlue at [email protected].

What is Wireless Multidrop™?

With Wireless Multidrop your Serial Port Adapter is able to communicate with several devices simultaneously without adding any software to your host system. The Wireless Multidrop feature is used when the Serial Port Adapter is in its transparent data mode. Data sent on the serial cable to the Serial Port Adapter is distributed to all connected remote devices. Data received from the connected remote devices is forwarded to the host system via the serial cable. Data received from a connected remote device will not be distributed to the other connected remote devices. Three scenarios where the Wireless Multidrop feature can be used: • Same to all. The same data is sent from the master device to all the connected remote devices. • Poll one, retrieve data from one device. The same data is sent from the master device to all the connected remote devices, but only the addressed remote device replies. An example of a higher-level protocol that can be used to accomplish this is Modbus RTU. • Command one. The same data is sent from the master device to all the connected remote devices, but only the addressed remote device executes the command. An example of a higher-level protocol that can be used to accomplish this is Modbus RTU. The Wireless Multidrop feature may be configured and controlled using the configuration wizard, AT commands or the ECI protocol.

Does the Serial Port Adapter support AT commands? Yes, around 50 easy to use AT commands can be used to configure and control the Serial Port Adapter. Some examples of tasks that can be performed with AT commands: • Search for devices in the vicinity. • Search for services on a specific device. • Configure o Local name of the device o Discoverability and connectability modes o Security settings o And more • Setup and close connections • And more The complete AT commands specification can be downloaded from www.connectblue.se.

Can I use AT commands via Bluetooth? Yes, in addition to using AT commands via the serial interface you may also use AT commands via the Bluetooth interface. This feature may be useful if your Serial Port Adapter is embedded in a device without a user interface, e.g. a portable printer. AT commands can in this case be used to change the name, the security settings etc. All the AT commands that are supported via the serial interface are also available via the Bluetooth interface.

Can I configure a Serial Port Adapter via Bluetooth? Yes, three methods can be used to configure the Serial Port Adapter via Bluetooth. •

Using the Windows based configuration wizard via Bluetooth.

•

Using AT commands via Bluetooth.

•

Using the ECI protocol via Bluetooth.

Configuration via Bluetooth may be useful if your Serial Port Adapter is embedded in a device without a user interface, e.g. a portable printer.

Explain the feature "Select server device on incoming connection"! In some scenarios the Serial Port Adapter is supposed to connect to another Bluetooth enabled device, e.g. a PDA. For the Serial Port Adapter to be able to connect to the remote device it must know its Bluetooth device address. The Bluetooth device address of the remote device is usually stored in the Serial Port Adapter using a configuration utility (the Serial Port Adapter configuration wizard). But when the Serial Port Adapter is built into another device it may not be possible to access it using a serial cable from a PC to configure it. The solution to this problem is to use a feature in the Serial Port Adapter called “Select server device on incoming connection”. When this feature is enabled the Bluetooth device address of the connecting device is automatically stored in the Serial Port Adapter every time another device connects to it. So the Serial Port Adapter is automatically reconfigured every time a device connects to it. For users of AT commands and the ECI protocol, this feature is called "Update remote peer on incoming connection". Example scenario: An OEM Serial Port Adapter has been built into a portable measuring device. The measuring device is supposed to connect to a Bluetooth enabled PDA every time it is powered up. To be able to do this the OEM Serial Port Adapter has the “Select server device on incoming connection” feature enabled. The PDA first connects once to the portable measuring device. From then on the measuring device is able to connect to the PDA.

Can I upgrade the firmware in the Serial Port Adapter? Yes, when a new version of the firmware is available it can be downloaded from our web site. It is possible for the customer to upgrade the Serial Port Adapter by himself.

I need a feature that is not part of the standard Serial Port Adapter. Can connectBlue make custom variants of the Serial Port Adapter? Yes, connectBlue has full control of both the hardware and the software in the Serial Port Adapter. If you need a feature that is not part of any of the standard Serial Port Adapter models, please contact connectBlue.

Do I have to pay for technical support if I purchase a Serial Port Adapter? No, all technical support for all connectBlue products is free of charge. connectBlue is committed to giving our customers around the world the best possible design-in support and technical support. It is important to us that our customers feel that they are supported during all the phases of the end product development and maintenance: • • •

During the evaluation of the Serial Port Adapter During the design-phase were the Serial Port Adapter becomes part of the end product During production of the end product

•

During the entire life-time of the end product

You may contact connectblue support at [email protected].

Do I have to Bluetooth qualify my product that contains/uses the Serial Port Adapter? No, the Serial Port Adapter is fully qualified for the Bluetooth profiles Generic Access Profile, Serial Port Profile, Dial-up Networking Profile, and the LAN Access Profile. For information about the required labeling please see the Serial Port Adapter User Manual that can be downloaded from www.connectblue.se.

Do I have to type approve my product that contains/uses the Serial Port Adapter? No, the Serial Port Adapter is fully type approved for use in the US and Europe. For information about the required labeling please see the Serial Port Adapter User Manual that can be downloaded from www.connectblue.se.

Has the Serial Port Adapter been tested with other Bluetooth products? Yes, interoperability tests with Bluetooth products are continuously made by connectBlue. If you have questions on interoperability with a specific Bluetooth product, please contact connectBlue at [email protected].