BLE P click

BLE P click carries the nRF8001 IC that allows you to add Bluetooth 4.0 to your device. The click communicates with the target board MCU through mikroBUS™ SPI (CS, SCK, MISO, MOSI), RDY and ACT lines, and runs on 3.3V power supply.

Beside the mikroBUS™ socket, BLE P click also features additional UART input and output pins (RXD and TXD). These enable you to test the RF parameters of the BLE P click’s radio design.

nRF8001

nRF8001 IC combines Radio, Link Layer and Host into a single product. The 16 MHz crystal oscillator is automatically enabled when nRF8001 requires it.

The built-in stack features a low energy PHY layer, LE link layer slave, LE host for devices in the peripheral role, and a Application Controller Interface.

PCB trace antenna

BLE P click features a PCB trace antenna, designed for the 2400-2483.5 MHz frequency band. Maximum device range is up to 40 meters in open space. 

Low power consumption

The typical standby current consumption is only 2 mA. This kind of low power consumption is a great solution for today's smart devices, like fitness applications, medical devices, remotely controlling your home entertainment or home security systems, smart watches and many other things. It works by sending data when necessary and then powering down.

BLE or Bluetooth 4.0

BLE or Bluetooth 4.0 is Bluetooth Low Energy wireless network technology that allows users the same connection that the standard Bluetooth does but with much less power consumption.

BLE Android App

If you want to get started with BLE check out our BLE Android app that works on all devices with hardware and software support for BLE, just make sure you use it on Android devices. 

Key features

• nRF8001 Bluetooth low energy RF transceiver
  • 16 MHz crystal oscillator
  • Ultra-low peak current consumption <14 mA
  • Low current for connection oriented profiles, typically 2 μA
• PCB trace antenna
• BLE Android app
• Interface: SPI
• 3.3V power supply

Specification

Pinout diagram

This table shows how the pinout on BLE P corresponds to the pinout on the mikroBUS™ socket (the latter shown in the two middle columns).

Notes	Pin	mikroBUStm				Pin	Notes
Device RF front end activity indicator	ACT	1	AN	PWM	16	NC	Not connected
Reset (active low)	RST	2	RST	INT	15	RDY	ACI device ready indication
Chip select	CS	3	CS	RX	14	NC	Not connected
ACI clock input	SCK	4	SCK	TX	13	NC	Not connected
ACI Master In Slave Out	SDO	5	MISO	SCL	12	NC	Not connected
ACI Master Out Slave In	SDI	6	MOSI	SDA	11	NC	Not connected
Power supply	+3.3V	7	3.3V	5V	10	+5V	Power supply
Ground	GND	8	GND	GND	9	GND	Ground

Programming

The code sets up the BLE P click, then continually parses Bluetooth low energy messages.

01: void main ()
02 {
03 UART1_Write_Text("Uart initialized");
04 UART1_Write(10);
05 UART1_Write(13);
06 GPIO_Digital_Output(&GPIOD_BASE, _GPIO_PINMASK_13);
07 GPIO_Digital_Input(&GPIOA_BASE, _GPIO_PINMASK_4);
08 GPIO_Digital_Input(&GPIOD_BASE, _GPIO_PINMASK_10);
09 GPIO_Digital_Output(&GPIOC_ODR, _GPIO_PINMASK_2);   // Set PC2 (RST) as digital output
10 GPIO_Digital_Output(&GPIOA_BASE, _GPIO_PINMASK_0);  // Set PA0 (CONN)
11
12
13 SPI3_Init_Advanced(_SPI_FPCLK_DIV128,
14                    _SPI_MASTER | _SPI_8_BIT | _SPI_CLK_IDLE_LOW |
15                    _SPI_FIRST_CLK_EDGE_TRANSITION | _SPI_LSB_FIRST | _SPI_SS_DISABLE |
16                    _SPI_SSM_ENABLE | _SPI_SSI_1,
17                    &_GPIO_MODULE_SPI3_PC10_11_12);
18
19 blep_hal_init();
20 // Do the BLE UART setup:
21 ble_uart_setup(MOSI_PIN, MISO_PIN, SCK_PIN, REQN_PIN, RDYN_PIN, RESET_PIN);
22
23 // Clear the serial buffer:
24 clear_serial_buffer();
25
26 while(1)
27 {
28     // Run the BLE UART loop once in every loop,
29     // to let it handle any BLE events
30     ble_uart_loop();
31
32     // handle all serial reads in one separate function:
33     handle_serial_input();
34 }
35
36 }