BL600 Bluetooth Breakout Boards
Overview
Designing Laird Connectivity’s BL600 into your system has never been easier. Laird Connectivity now introduces the Bx600 breakout board series, joining alongside the DVK-BL600 development kit. All allow you to connect to and program the BL600 from Windows, OSX, or Linux via UwTerminalX software. The Bx600 breakout boards provide a streamlined approach for simplified BL600 prototyping in as little as a tenth of the cost. They come in three packages: basic breakout board, board with coin cell attachment, and board with coin cell attachment and USB-to-UART adapter. The DVK-BL600 contains a wider variety of hardware components such as interfaces, sensors, LEDs, and power options.
The Right Hardware for your Design Requirement
Whether you need a simple prototype option or lots of sensors and interfaces for testing, Laird’s development options have you in mind. The Bx600 breakout boards are a cost-effective and direct: The BB600 has through holes for breadboarding; The BC600 includes a mounted coin cell power adapter for designing low-power solutions directly on the board; The BA600 bundles the coin cell adapter with a USB to UART adapter for power flexibility and PC testing with applications like vSP. The DVK-BL600 offers extensive onboard equipment to help you design for any application
Cross-Platform Software Lets You Development Your Way
Laird’s new UwTerminalX software takes UwTerminal to the next level, bringing smartBASIC to all desktop environments. UwTerminalX (Windows / Linux / OSX) lets you control the BL600 in command mode and compile, load, and run smartBASIC scripts on the device. Companion apps for UwTerminalX include MultiDeviceLoader, which lets you deploy a script to as many as ten devices at once, and TermNotify, which enables connection alerts and status info from the OS system tray. All of this is hosted on GitHub, so you can modify the project to meet your needs.
Personal Support from Design to Manufacture
Laird’s support team is always standing by to provide integration support, analysis, and troubleshooting for all currently supported hardware. Working in the same offices as Laird engineering, Embedded Wireless Support is your personal bridge to all of Laird’s software, experience, and expertise. Laird guarantees a fast response and is dedicated to seeing your product through design to manufacturing. And our online support center serves as an archive of many common questions, as well as hundreds of support documents and software files.
Specifications
| Product Type | Technology | OS/Software | System Architecture | Chipset (Wireless) | Antenna Type | Logical Interfaces | Frequency Range (Min) | Frequency Range (Max) | Additional Description | BLE Services | Bluetooth Version | Connector | Data Rate | Dimension (Height - mm) | Dimension (Length - mm) | Dimension (Width - mm) | Transmit Power (Max) | Power Consumption | Power Consumption (Rx) | Power Consumption (Tx) | Protocols | Range | Software | Wireless Specification | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BA600 | Development Kit | Bluetooth 4.0, Single Mode (BLE), Peripheral Mode | Nordic SDK, smartBASIC | Hostless | Nordic nRF51822 | Internal | USB, GPIO, SPI, I2C, ADC, Serial | 2402 MHz | 2480 MHz | Breakout board with coin cell holder and USB-to-UART adapter. More flexible development with a PC, especially applications like vSP. | Any that can be implemented with smartBASIC | v4.0 Single Mode | UART Pins (includes USB-to-UART adapter) | 1 Mbps (over the air) | 3.8 mm | 33 mm | 22 mm | +4 dBm | From 600 nA to 11.6 mA | 8.5 tp 8.9 mA | 5 to 11.6 mA | Any that can be implemented using smartBASIC | Up to 100 m | UwTerminalX terminal software | Bluetooth v4.0 Peripheral Mode |
| Product Type | Technology | OS/Software | System Architecture | Chipset (Wireless) | Antenna Type | Logical Interfaces | Frequency Range (Min) | Frequency Range (Max) | Additional Description | BLE Services | Bluetooth Version | Connector | Data Rate | Dimension (Height - mm) | Dimension (Length - mm) | Dimension (Width - mm) | Transmit Power (Max) | Power Consumption | Power Consumption (Rx) | Power Consumption (Tx) | Protocols | Range | Software | Wireless Specification | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BB600 | Development Kit | Bluetooth 4.0, Single Mode (BLE), Peripheral Mode | Nordic SDK, smartBASIC | Hostless | Nordic nRF51822 | Internal | GPIO, SPI, I2C, ADC, Serial | 2402 MHz | 2480 MHz | Basic breakout board and pin-based power supply. Access to I/O via through-holes. Most cost-efficient access to the full BL600 | Any that can be implemented with smartBASIC | v4.0 Single Mode | Through-holes | 1 Mbps (over the air) | 3.8 mm | 33 mm | 22 mm | +4 dBm | From 600 nA to 11.6 mA | 8.5 tp 8.9 mA | 5 to 11.6 mA | Any that can be implemented using smartBASIC | Up to 100 m | UwTerminalX terminal software | Bluetooth v4.0 Peripheral Mode |
| Product Type | Technology | OS/Software | System Architecture | Chipset (Wireless) | Antenna Type | Logical Interfaces | Frequency Range (Min) | Frequency Range (Max) | Additional Description | BLE Services | Bluetooth Version | Connector | Data Rate | Dimension (Height - mm) | Dimension (Length - mm) | Dimension (Width - mm) | Transmit Power (Max) | Power Consumption | Power Consumption (Rx) | Power Consumption (Tx) | Protocols | Range | Software | Wireless Specification | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BC600 | Development Kit | Bluetooth 4.0, Single Mode (BLE), Peripheral Mode | Nordic SDK, smartBASIC | Hostless | Nordic nRF51822 | Internal | GPIO, SPI, I2C, ADC, Serial | 2402 MHz | 2480 MHz | Breakout board with coin cell holder attached. Allows flexibility of power and mobile deployment for prototyping low-power solutions. | Any that can be implemented with smartBASIC | v4.0 Single Mode | Through-holes | 1 Mbps (over the air) | 3.8 mm | 33 mm | 22 mm | +4 dBm | From 600 nA to 11.6 mA | 8.5 tp 8.9 mA | 5 to 11.6 mA | Any that can be implemented using smartBASIC | Up to 100 m | UwTerminalX terminal software | Bluetooth v4.0 Peripheral Mode |
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BC600
BA600
BB600
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Documentation
Online Xcompiler is not accessible is there a way to Xcompile a smartBASIC Application locally when using UwTerminalX?
If you are having issues using the Online Xcompilers it could be related to security settings in your system which may be blocking access to the Online Xcompilers. If you are not able to resolve this it is possible to Xcompile locally by following the steps below:
- Disable (uncheck) the Online XCompilers on the Config Tab in UwTerminalX as shown below:
- Locate the Xcomp_mmmmm_xxxx_xxxx.exe file in the firmware zip folder (downloaded from module's Product Page) for the version of firmware loaded to the module.
Note: the Xcomp version MUST match the firmware version loaded to the module or the application will not compile.
mmmmm = module
xxxx_xxxx =Xcomp version - Copy or Move the Xcomp_mmmmm_xxxx_xxxx.exe to the same folder the smartBASIC application is stored in as shown below:
You should now be able to Xcompile the application using UwTerminalX by right-clicking in the terminal and selecting one of the Xcompile options :
- Xcompile
- Xcompile+Load
- Xcompile+Load+Run
Select the application from the folder where the Xcomp file is located. UwTerminalX will now look for the local Xcompiler in the application folder.
Is there protection from Hacking when using smartBASIC modules?
Our Bluetooth 5.0 smartBASIC modules (BL652, BL653, BL654) have the capability of supporting LE Secure Connections Pairing as well as encryption. LE Secure Connection is an enhanced security feature introduced in Bluetooth v4.2. It uses a Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) compliant algorithm called Elliptic Curve Diffie Hellman (ECDH) for key generation.
LE Secure Connections, supports four association models:
- Just Works
- Numeric Comparison (Only for LE Secure Connections)
- Passkey Entry
- Out of Band (OOB)
Additional information about LE Secure Connections and the models can be found here: www.bluetooth.com.
Our Bluetooth 4.0 smartBASIC modules (BT900 /BL600 /BL620) support Simple Secure Pairing and Encryption
Additional information about Simple Secure Pairing can be found here:
lairdconnect.com/resources/newsroom/secure-ble-pairing-iot
lairdconnect.com/resources/white-papers/ble-and-lairds-bl6x0-series-bt900-modules-guide-security-and-privacy
We recommend reviewing the Pairing, Bonding and Security Manager functions in the BL6xx/BT900 smartBASIC Extensions User Guides. The full security of the Bluetooth/Bluetooth Low Energy connection will depend largely on how the smartBASIC application is written, and what the input/output capabilities are of the devices that are connecting. If either device will not have any input/output capabilities then pairing will have to default to Just Works, which is the least secure pairing method. However there are additional layers of security that can be added to increase protection from hacking when the Just Works pairing model is used.
With Bluetooth Low Energy, to further secure the connection, it is recommended that the metadata for the characteristic attributes are configured for Encryption with man-in-the-middle protection for characteristic value access. This will prevent anyone from accessing data on the module without proper encryption keys. (See BleAttrMetadataEx in the BL6xx/BT900 smartBASIC Extensions User Guides.) Additionally, when using Just Works pairing, or any time additional security is required, we recommend adding a challenge/response question to the application layer, with a timer, which expects the connecting device to respond to the challenge question in a specified period of time after a connection has occurred. If the correct response is not received within that time period the application would force a disconnection. Finally, whisper mode pairing can be used during the pairing process as an additional layer of security. This is accomplished by reducing the Tx power while pairing using BleTxPwrWhilePairing as per the BL6xx/BT900 smartBASIC Extensions User Guide, which will reduce the radius which a hacker would need to breach in order to capture or spoof the encryption procedure.
How can I connect a Bluetooth Low Energy Device to a PC?
Bluetooth Low Energy uses Services as opposed to the set of standardized profiles that exists for Classic Bluetooth. While some Bluetooth Low Energy services have been standardized by the Bluetooth SIG, the development of custom services is allowed to meet custom application requirements.
Because Bluetooth Low Energy uses a completely different protocol than Classic Bluetooth and supports custom services, Bluetooth Low Energy devices cannot connect to a computer through the typical Bluetooth configuration of a computer. Therefore, connecting to a PC requires writing and running a Bluetooth Low Energy Central Role/Client application to collect the data sent from the Bluetooth Low Energy peripheral modules. Application development for PCs and Mobile devices is outside the scope of our support. Alternatively, a BL654 USB dongle could be used as a BLE Central Role device, to collect the BLE data and pass it to the PC over a COM Port. However, you would still need an application to view and process the data received over that COM Port.
We generally recommend customers who are new to Bluetooth Low Energy obtain a copy of Getting Started with Bluetooth Low Energy to help them understand the Bluetooth Low Energy protocol and the GATT table. There are also many resources available online which explain this.
When Bluetooth Low Energy was first introduced and we launched our BL6xx product line (predecessors to the BL65x series) we produced the BL600 and BL620 smartBASIC Application Walkthrough document, which provides an overview of how Bluetooth Low Energy works and how a GATT table is constructed.