Bluetooth Product Support - Frequently Asked QuestionsQ1 I'm losing data when transmitting or receiving via the BL-521
The data transfer rate over Bluetooth can be slow at times, depending on the distance and environment between the two devices, and the throughput can vary greatly.
Streaming data without the use of flow control can cause data loss between the RS232 port (local) and the BL-521 (local). This is especially likely if the receiving baud rate is slower than the BT throughput rate.
Therefore it is recommended that CTS/RTS handshaking is enabled on the BL-521 and that CTS/RTS handshaking is used for data transfer to enforce data integrity.
The handshaking option for the BL-521 can be altered either through the use of the Configuration Utility or by using the Firmware Upgrade Wizard by selecting the third option in the wizard. These tools can be downloaded from the BL-521 Support Site Q2 How can I upgrade the firmware on my BL-521?
As from firmware 3.01, all BL-521's can have their firmware upgraded in the field. BL-521's with firmware earlier than 3.01 will have to be returned to Brainboxes for upgrading.
The firmware version is displayed on the Configuration Menu screen when accessed from Hyperterminal
Go to the following webpage for the latest details and downloads for your BL-521/730:
BL-521 Information Q3 I am having trouble connecting to my Bluetooth Nokia phone
Please ensure that the Nokia phone has at least firmware 5.5 on it. Early versions of the Nokia firmware were only designed to work with Nokia Bluetooth devices and so can cause problems.
Also ensure that the latest version of Nokia PC Suite for your phone is in use.
To find the firmware version currently installed on your phone, please see the phone's documentation. For Nokia 6310's the code is
*#0000#
Though this may not be universal for all Nokia phones Q4 Where can I find more information on my BL-730 RS232 Bluetooth module?
The following document has been created for integrators of the BL-730 into their own custom Bluetooth devices:
BL-730 Information
The BL-730 datasheet may also be useful:
BL-730 Datasheet
To configure the communication or Bluetooth settings of the BL-730, please see the BL-521 webpage:
BL-521 Information Q5 Where are the drivers for my BL-521?
You do not need to install any drivers onto the PC for the BL-521. All the necessary software is on the BL-521 hardware itself.
The BL-521 can be configured using a terminal application such as HyperTerminal. The BL-521 webpage explains this procedure in more detail:
BL-521 Information Q6 Over what distance will a Class 1 device communicate with a Class 2 device?
Communication between 2 devices is governed by the capability of the lower power device.
Class 1 devices have a maximum output power of 100mW / 20dBm and an expected of range of up to 100m
Class 2 devices have a maximum output power of 2.5mW / 4dBm and an expected of range of up to 10m
Class 3 devices have a maximum output power of 1mW / 0dBm and an expected of range of up to 10cm
The expected ranges assume an unobstructed environment between the two devices
Q7 I am having problems sending and receiving data from my device, via a BL-521
If the device connected to the BL-521 does not support RTS/CTS handshaking then problems can occur which are usually seen as the data only being communicated in one direction.
Early versions of the BL-521 (pre 3.01) have RTS/CTS handshaking enabled. Therefore when connecting them to a device that does not support RTS/CTS, a physical change is required in the male to female grey connector that came with the BL-521.
The following document explains the connections required and also explains the reasons for change:
BL-521 RTS/CTS Changes
Later versions of the BL-521 (post 3.01) can change the RTS/CTS handshaking mode using an application called "BL521 Firmware Upgrade Utility". Please see the BL-521 webpage for more information and downloads:
BL-521 Information
Note: You can determine the firmware version of your BL-521 by accessing the configuration menu with Hyperterminal and making a note of the version displayed on the Main Menu screen. Q8 What Baud rates will your Bluetooth products work at?
Brain Boxes products will run at the maximum Bluetooth data rate of 1 Mbaud. Please see Bluetooth Baud Rates
The effective data throughput is 721kbps once encryption and authentication is taken into account.
To achieve these speeds, the RS232 Adaptor (BL-510) must be attached to a fast serial port (e.g. Brain Boxes CC-302 PCI 2 Port Velocity RS232 ).
Q9 What is the difference between BCSP and H4?
If you have a BCSP device and require a H4 card (or vice versa), please contact sales@brainboxes.com as we have H4 versions of all our Bluetooth products (with the exception of BL-521, which is in neither mode)
H4 is the standard way of transmitting Bluetooth data over a UART as defined in the Bluetooth specifications. The majority of software stacks from independent vendors will communicate with our products in H4 mode without any additional modification to the stack.
BCSP is a proprietary CSR protocol (more details below), thus for a software stack to communicate with our products in BCSP mode, it must have a BCSP module written for it - either by the vendor, or by the user.
To support flexible partitioning of software between the host and the Bluetooth subsystem, and to enhance the speed of product design, CSR offers a multi-protocol communications link known as BlueCore Serial Protocol (BCSP). BCSP provides a more sophisticated option than currently defined Bluetooth serial protocols: H4/UART or H3/RS232.
(CSR does not support H3/RS232 because of its high host memory and processing requirements.)
BCSP adds error checking and retransmission to accommodate any dropped data during 'wake-up', and flow control for several logical channels, while simultaneously reducing the processing overhead. It allows developers to link at HCI, L2CAP, RFCOMM, or SDP layers, providing flexibility for companies that have already begun software development. Q10 What is the temperature and humidity range for BL-521 and BL-730
Storage
Temperature: -40oC to +85oC
Humidity: 8% to 95% non-condensing
Operational
Temperature: 0oC to +40oC
Humidity: 20% to 75% non-condensing
Q11 I have a Windows CE Bluetooth(tm) stack - can I connect to your CompactFlash card?
When our CF card is plugged into a WinCE device, it will be automatically allocated a serial port by the operating system. You can then send HCI commands directly to the card through this COM port. Cards will usually install as COM4, but there are a couple of ways of checking this:
If you have a registry editor you can view the characteristics of the cards in [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Drivers\Active]. In this key there are further subkeys. They are numbered rather than named, but usually, the last card you installed is the highest number - The details of our card will usually appear in this last key. The key will contain a string referring to Brain Boxes included in the COM port name. The software stack can then be directed to communicate with the corresponding COM port.
Alternatively you can obtain a Device Manager for Pocket PC from a third party organisation (follow link below) in which you can identify the COM ports (CF card may appear under 'modems' rather than COM ports). Please note: Brain Boxes do not endorse, support or accept liability for damages arising from or relating to use of any third party software. - There is also a registry editor available at this link.
Device Manager and Registry Editor
Q12 Can I send HCI commands using the UART BT specification to the BL-510 RS232 device?
Yes - you can talk directly to the Bluetooth chip on the product at the HCI layer.
Q13 Is it possible to setup a SCO link using your products?
All of our hardware products support SCO links over HCI. The first revisions of the Brain Boxes' software do not support voice links, but a third party developer can take advantage of the facility in the hardware.
Examples of companies that have done this with our products are Wizcore and Norwood Systems.
The configuration of the cards is such that they are not set to use SCO by default but they can be changed by using CSR's Bluesuite tool 'PSTools' to change the following keys to False:
432 PSKEY_HOSTIO_MAP_SCO_CODEC
427 PSKEY_HOSTIO_MAP_SCO_PCM
Bluesuite is available from the CSR website www.csr.com. Please contact support@brainboxes.com if you have any problems.
Q14 What is the maximum distance your Bluetooth devices will cover?
Specifying distances for Bluetooth devices is not prudent, as distances achieved depend very much on the environment. However, in tests at Brain Boxes labs we have achieved distances of over 200m with line of sight and 30-35m in a typical office environment. This is for data transfer, not voice.
The CSR chip can be set to run at 1,382,400 baud. Do your products support this setting?
IMPORTANT: Brain Boxes PCMCIA (BL-500), CompactFlash (BL-565) and RS232 (BL-510) products use a UART to communicate with the BlueCore(tm) chip. The UARTs are capable of running at up to 921,600 baud. If the settings on the BlueCore(tm) chip are increased to 1,382,400baud, the UART and the BlueCore(tm) can no longer communicate and the product ceases to function. This problem can only be fixed by a return to the factory.
This is not an issue for the USB (BL-554) product.
Q15 Will your products work with the Linux Bluetooth stacks that are currently available?
Yes, H4 (as opposed to BCSP) versions of the cards will work with the Linux stacks.
When inserted into Linux, our Bluetooth cards identify themselves to the OS as a serial port. This makes it very easy to talk to the cards at the HCI layer over the virtual serial port.
We have supplied PCMCIA cards to companies that are now successfully running them in Linux using the Axis stack and the IBM Blue Drekkar stack. For more details See http://medien.informatik.uni-ulm.de/~frank/bluetooth/bluetooth-howto.html (not supported by Brain Boxes).
We are also happy to supply interface information which will allow you to access the card directly at the HCI layer.
We are currently supplying hardware only development kits directly from Brain Boxes.
Q16 Do you have Bluetooth drivers for Linux?
Brain Boxes has not developed Bluetooth drivers for Linux. However, Brain Boxes Bluetooth products work with the Linux stacks that are available.
Q17 Can I use your BL-510 RS232 Bluetooth Adaptor with my Bluetooth Stack?
If you buy the H4 version of our RS232 Adaptor, you can send standard HCI commands over the serial port. H4 is the standard way of transmitting Bluetooth data over a UART as defined in the Bluetooth specifications. The majority of software stacks from independent vendors will communicate with our products in H4 mode without any additional modification to the stack. No Brain Boxes software needs to be installed on the PC to enable this communication. The Bluetooth chip on the H4 version of the RS232 Adaptor is running a stack up to lower HCI level i.e. it sends and receives HCI data from the serial port. This means that the device to which it is connected must be running a Bluetooth software stack from upper HCI. This method of communication limits the connection to the standard RS232 baud rate (115,200 baud). If you wish to test higher baud rates, we have fast serial cards available (PCI, ISA, or PCMCIA) which you can plug into your computer to give you serial ports that run at up to 921,600 baud. Plugging our RS232 Bluetooth Adaptor onto one of these serial ports will allow you to test higher Bluetooth data rates.
Q18 What does your basic development kit consist of?
The basic developers kit includes hardware, with a hardware transport driver for the main Windows operating systems (not currently available for USB) and Bluetooth test tools. It does not include a compiled Bluetooth software stack. It allows a user with a Bluetooth stack to connect to the hardware at the HCI layer of the CSR chip via a virtual serial port.If you buy H4 versions of the PCMCIA, CF, or RS232 products you can connect them to any standard Bluetooth stack that is able to interface at HCI level to a serial port.
Using an IPAQ, Brainboxes software and a Compact flash card, opening the Bluetooth Manager icon displays the following message: "BTConn Manager CE Unable to Launch Bluetooth Manager The Bluetooth radio security code cannot be read or is invalid."
Due to a new security feature on the Pocket PC Bluetooth software, only Compact Flash cards with a certain security code can be used in your IPAQ. If the above message appears then you have one of the original CF cards, which do not have the security code built in. Please contact Technical Support to arrange the return of your card. Q19 Do the Brainboxes products allow communication with security enabled ie authentication and encryption?
Brainboxes products use security enabled encryption.
Q20 What is the difference between Windows CE 3.0 and Pocket PC 2000?
Pocket PC 2000 was created as a consumer focused subset of WinCE 3.0. Many people still referred to it as WinCE 3.0 because it is based on the same code. However, PocketPC has various consumer features added in as standard (Word / Excel / Windows Media / Windows Messenger etc.) that WinCE 3.0 does not contain.
Pocket PC 2002 was an update to PocketPC 2000 still based on the original code base. Q21 Does my Brain Boxes Bluetooth product support TCP/IP ?
Yes. All Brain Boxes Bluetooth products support TCP/IP when used with the Brain Boxes Bluetooth Software Suite. The profiles which support this protocol are Dial Up Networking and LAN Access profile.
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