NetMFBLE New Bluetooth Low Energy Module

If your Italian isn’t up to the challenge, might I suggest using Bing to translate this page

CodePlex site

https://netmfble.codeplex.com/

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i prefer google translation :wink:

Or the Gadgeteer module to the right of the red Mountaineer mainboard on the image here :wink:
http://www.mountaineer-boards.com/prime/bluetooth-low-energy/

Of course, our new flagship Limmat board (http://www.limmat.co) will integrate these plus our 3G module (left) on one PCB.

Unfortunately, as always, the proof of the pudding is in the driver writing :frowning:

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that module looks like a HM-11 (or one of the many knock-offs). I have some HM-10’s on the bench to tinker with, but I see there are reports of poor reliability with the HM-10 firmware for the CC254x devices, I don’t know if that’s the device’s fault or the chip, so it’ll be interesting to see how reliable any of these devices are.

@ Duke Nukem - Interesting. That’s the TI Bluetooth. Looks like Lorenzo is keeping busy :slight_smile:

Hi! Sorry for being so unresponsive about this thread :wink:

Just a quick reply to tell that we are currently showing some running demos using NETMFBLE library and hardware modules here at AppyDays (pun intended) faire in Todi, Italy: very soon we’ll post a couple of videos about them so…stay tuned!

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Here it is a video showing a custom embedded device (a toy Greenhouse controller using a Mountaineer USB board running .NETMF 4.3.1 and a user firmware taking advantage of NETMFBLE library) that implements a custom GATT service invoked by a general-purpose GATT-client app (nRF Master Control Panel by Nordic).

In a short we’ll post something showing a use case for BLE observer role, i.e. an iBeacon-based rough indoor positioning system, and a master/controller scenario where user firmware drives some RGB BLE-enabled bulbs by mean of several BLE links active at the same time.

If you are interested I can share source code, of course.

Enjoy (and thanks for watching :wink: )!

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@ Innovactive - Excellent use of Lego… Oh and BLE too.

Nice job.

Thanks for sharing!

Any chance you’re going to start talking about the hardware sometime ? That’s the bit I think is still a gap…

@ Brett : These modules are plain boards embedding TI CC254x BLE chip with minimal amount of needed components in order to work (oscillators, antenna, connectors, passive components, etc.). Board design is 90% based on TI reference kits.

At firmware level, TI chip is programmed with a “stock” NetworkProcessor firmware (part of TI BLE SDK 1.4.0) configured in order to get an “off-chip” GATT management (i.e. GAP/GATT management is implemented through sending/receiving HCI packets to external host microcontroller) and in such a way to provide same pinout used by off-the-shelf modules like BLE Mini by ReadBearLabs (despite it uses CC2540 instead of CC2541 used in my modules).

Although I don’t know very much of modules like HM-11, they on the contrary usually provide a custom firmware implementing a vendor specific API (often through an AT command protocol) running at a sligthly higher level than HCI (i.e. the one used by NETMFBLE managed library).

If you have some interesting ideas about how to use NETMFBLE and “companion” module, I can send one free sample to play with, so that you could maybe post something like a review/showcase about it, if you like.