BLE-Nano is a development board developed by eMakeFun company, which integrates a low-power Bluetooth chip onto the official Arduino Nano V3.0 board. It is a wireless Bluetooth-enabled development board that has the same functionality, pins, and usage methods as the standard Arduino Nano V3.0 board.
The BLE-Nano operates in the 2.4GHz frequency range and uses GFSK modulation. It has a receiver sensitivity of -96dBm and a maximum transmission power of +5dB, allowing for a maximum transmission distance of over 200 meters. The board is designed with the RISC-V architecture CH573 chip.
It supports users to view and modify device names, service UUIDs, transmission power, pairing passwords, and other instructions through AT commands, making it convenient and fast to use. The product is very small in size, making it suitable for applications with strict size requirements.
Providing Android and IOS mobile demo，You can quickly develop a hardware device that communicates with Android and iOS smartphones by leveraging the Arduino application ecosystem. Just like the popular wearable smartphone peripherals, you can use the BLE-Nano platform for development. With BLE-Nano, you can connect to BLE Bluetooth devices and enable communication between two BLE-Nano boards. We also provide developers with great flexibility and support, allowing you to debug the BLE-Nano using AT commands. Additionally, you can add Arduino-compatible expansion boards, sensors, motor drivers, and servo drivers to the BLE-Nano controller, offering even more possibilities for your projects.Support mobile phone download program
- The BLE chip: RISC-V architecture ch57xF chip (highly compatible with TI CC2540 Bluetooth SOC).
- Working channel: 2.4G
- When the transmission power is 0 dBm, the current is 6mA.
- The receiving sensitivity is -96 dBm, with a programmable +5 dBm transmission power.
- In an open environment, the communication distance is approximately 170m with a transmission power of 0 dBm and approximately 240m with a transmission power of 3 dBm.
- The device supports three types of communication interfaces: USB serial, Arduino serial, and Bluetooth. It can be configured using AT commands, and it also supports switching between master and slave modes.
- The device supports USB virtual serial port, hardware serial port, and BLE three-way transparent transmission.
- In host mode, the device supports automatic Bluetooth connection to a slave device.
- MTU:67
- Support mobile phone download program
- Processor: ATmega328P-MU QFN32
- Digital IO pins: 22 (6 of them used as PWM output).
- Analog input pins：8 (A0~A7)
- DC current of IO pins：40mA
- Current of the 5V pin: 500mA when VIN is input.
- Current of the 3.3V pin: 500mA.
- Flash memory: 32KB (0.5KB of which is used for bootloader).
- SRAM： 2KB
- EEPROM： 1KB
- USB to Serial chip: CH57xF chip, compatible with official Arduino Uno drivers.
- Working clock：16 MHZ
arduino nano , ble-nano3.0, ble-nano4.2 ble-nano5.3 Comparison Table for Four Products
| Name | nano | ble-nano3.0 | ble-nano4.2 | ble-nano5.3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Picture |  |
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| Main control chip | ATmega328P-AU(QFP32) | ATmega328P-MU(QFN32) | ATmega328P-MU(QFN32) | ATmega328P-MU(QFN32) |
| BLE | none | TI CC2540蓝牙4.0 0dBm Transmission 30 meters range, power consumption of 24mA |
WCH CH571F BLE4.2 0dBm Distance 150m, Transmit Power 6mA |
BLE5.3 Distance 300m |
| Driver | CH340G Serial Port Chip | CC2540 Driver | Compatible with Arduino Uno driver | Compatible with Arduino Uno driver |
| Parameter | PCB size：45x18mm Double-sided SMT |
PCB size：49x19mm Double-sided SMT |
PCB size：48x18mm Single-sided SMT |
PCB size：48x18mm Single-sided SMT Through-holes |
| Interface | Mini-Usb interface | Micro-Usb interface | Type C | Type C |
- B: When Bluetooth is not connected, it flashes at a 1-second interval. When Bluetooth is connected, it remains solid. When Bluetooth is receiving or sending data, it flashes rapidly.
- RX TX: Serial Data Transmission Indicator
- L : The "Blink" LED on pin 13 of Arduino
The USB interface of BLE-Nano uses the official Arduino-compatible serial driver, so the method for installing the driver is consistent with the driver for the official Arduino Uno.
BLE-Nano uses the latest Arduino Nano official bootloader, so you need to use Arduino IDE version 1.8.8 or above to download programs Please go to the Arduino官网 to download the latest IDE
To select the board type as Arduino Nano with the processor ATmega328P, like below:
Mobile Phone support download programming
- Running the BLE control program ble_control_led.ino,Open the LED light program on the board's Link (pin 13)
String ble_data;
int led_pin = 13;
void setup() {
Serial.begin(115200);
ble_data = "";
pinMode(led_pin, OUTPUT);
}
void loop() {
while (Serial.available() > 0)
{
ble_data += char(Serial.read());
delay(2);
}
if (ble_data.compareTo("on") == 0) {
Serial.println("turn on led");
digitalWrite(led_pin, HIGH);
}
if (ble_data.compareTo("off") == 0) {
Serial.println("turn off led");
digitalWrite(led_pin, LOW);
}
ble_data = "";
}- Android or iOS devices cannot be connected or used directly from the settings menu because the settings menu is only designed to connect to classic Bluetooth-compatible devices such as Bluetooth headphones, Bluetooth microphones, and other peripherals. It cannot connect to devices that use low energy Bluetooth (BLE).Install on an Android phone (Android version 4.2 or above)BleToolsTest You can refer to the open-sourceAndroid source code (Note that Bluetooth and location permissions need to be turned on)like following image）
| Enable location on your phone | Allow BLE Testing Tool to access location permission |
|---|---|
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3）Open the testing app and navigate to the interface. Find the corresponding Bluetooth name（ble-nano4.2/ble-nano5.3）and click to connect. You will see four options for testing different functionalities. Since we are only testing if Bluetooth can send and receive data properly, select 'SK Service' and then choose 'SK_KEYPRESSED'.
| Connect to Bluetooth name | Select service | Select char service |
|---|---|---|
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- We select 'SK-KEYPRESSED', and after clicking, as shown in figure 3.1.9, we can see a 'Write' button. Clicking on it will take us to another screen where we can input the desired data to be sent by clicking the 'red box'. After inputting the data, click 'Send' to transmit the data.
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- After clicking 'Send' on the string 'on', the message 'turn on led' will be printed on the Serial Monitor of Arduino IDE, and at the same time, the LED on the ble-nano will light up. This indicates that the app successfully controls the LED on the main board via Bluetooth. Similarly, after sending the string 'off', the LED on the ble-nano will turn off. With this, our Android phone Bluetooth testing is completed.
- In the App Store, search for 'LightBlue', download the software 'LightBlue RExplorer', and open it.
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- After installing the app, open it and scan for ble-nano, then connect to it.
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- Select the character type and click on 'Write new value.' You can enter characters to send data to ble-nano.
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- After clicking 'Done,' the string 'on' will be sent. Open the Serial Monitor in Arduino IDE and observe the message 'turn on led' printed. At the same time, observe the LED on ble-nano to light up. This indicates that the app successfully controls the LED on the Bluetooth board. Similarly, when the string 'off' is sent, the LED on ble-nano will turn off. This completes our Bluetooth testing on iOS.
Your laptop running Windows 10 cannot directly connect to ble-nano through the Bluetooth settings, it only support classic Bluetooth. In this case, you can download the 'Bluetooth LE Explorer' from the Microsoft Store
If you want to connect ble-nano to Windows 10 using the built-in Bluetooth, you will need to develop your application based on the official Microsoft Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) SDK. You can refer to the developer documentation at https://docs.microsoft.com/zh-cn/windows/uwp/devices-sensors/gatt-server and watch the video tutorial at https://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Build/2017/P4177 Fortunately, Windows 10 provides professional source code examples that you can use as a reference. You can find them at the following repositories: https://github.com/Microsoft/Windows-universal-samples/tree/master/Samples/BluetoothLE https://github.com/Microsoft/BluetoothLEExplorer However, please note that this process can be complex and time-consuming. If it is not necessary, I strongly recommend using two ble-nano devices to accomplish your goal. You can find more information on this in the subsequent chapters.
The AT instruction of BLE Nano can be controlled through the hardware serial ports 0 (RX) and 1 (TX) provided by Arduino. The baud rates supported are 9600, 19200, 38400, 57600, and 115200. The default baud rate for the BLE Nano serial port is 115200 bps.
AT instruction can also be used to control directly through a Type-C data cable and control through the APP using the '0xFFE2' characteristics.
（Note: When sending AT commands, a carriage return and line feed must be added. AT commands can only take effect when the module is not connected. Once the Bluetooth module is connected to a device, it enters data transparent mode. AT commands are case-sensitive and end with a carriage return and line feed characters：\r\n））
| Sequence | Instruction | Description | Master/Slave | Default |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AT | Test | M/S | |
| 2 | AT+ALL | Print all configuration information of BLE-Nano | M/S | |
| 3 | AT+RESET | Software reset the BLE Bluetooth chip | M/S | |
| 4 | AT+TARGE_RESET | Reset Arduino(Atmega328P chip) | M/S | |
| 5 | AT+VER | View the firmware version number of BLE-Nano | M/S | |
| 6 | AT+BAUD | Configure the baud rate of the serial port | M/S | 115200 |
| 7 | AT+NAME | View and configure Bluetooth broadcast name | ble-nano | |
| 8 | AT+MAC | View and configure 12-bit MAC address of the Bluetooth | M/S | |
| 9 | AT+AUTH | Set whether Bluetooth connection requires authentication | S | 0 |
| 10 | AT+PASS | Set the password for the Bluetooth connection | S | 123456 |
| 11 | AT+ROLE | Configure the master-slave mode | M/S | 1 |
| 12 | AT+SCAN | Scan for nearby Bluetooth devices | M | |
| 13 | AT+CONN | Connect to the Bluetooth device corresponding to the index of the scan result | M | |
| 14 | AT+CON | Connect to the Bluetooth device with the corresponding MAC address | M | |
| 15 | AT+AUTOCON | Automatically bind and connect to the last successfully connected slave device, the settings will take effect after restarting | M | 0 |
| 16 | AT+DISCON | Disconnect the current connection | M | |
| 17 | AT+BLEUSB | Set the Bluetooth USB and Bluetooth data transfer mode | M/S | 0 |
| 18 | AT+TXPOWER | Set the Bluetooth transmit power | M/S | 0 |
| 19 | AT+MINI_INTERVAL | Set the minimum communication interval for BLE Nano | M/S | 6 |
| 20 | AT+MAX_INTERVAL | Set the maximum communication interval for BLE Nano | M/S | 6 |
| 21 | AT+SERVUUID | Get the Bluetooth characteristic code SERVUUID | M/S | 0xFFE0 |
| 22 | AT+CHARUUID | Get the character characteristic code CHARUUID | M/S | 0xFFE1 |
| 23 | AT+SETTING | Restore factory system settings, with parameters | M/S | |
| 24 | AT+SLEEP（Not implemented yet） | Set sleep mode | M/S |
1、Test Instruction
| Instruction | Response | Parameter |
|---|---|---|
| AT | OK | None |
2、Print all configuration information of BLE-Nano
| Instruction | Response | Parameter |
|---|---|---|
| AT+ALL | Detailed configuration information OK |
None |
3、Software reset the BLE Bluetooth chip
| Instruction | Response | Parameter |
|---|---|---|
| AT+RESET | None | None |
4、Reset Arduino main control
| Instruction | Response | Parameter |
|---|---|---|
| AT+TARGE_RESET | OK | None |
5、View the firmware version number of BLE-Nano
| Instruction | Response | parameter |
|---|---|---|
| AT+VER | +VERSION=v1.0 +DATE=Apr 16 2023 +TIME= OK |
None |
6、Configure the baud rate of the serial port
| Instruction | Response | Parameter |
|---|---|---|
| AT+BAUD=< Param> | +BAUD=< baud > OK |
0:9600 1:19200 2:38400 3:57600 4:115200 |
7、Configure Bluetooth name
| Instruction | Response | Parameter |
|---|---|---|
| AT+NAME=< Param > | +NAME=< param > OK |
Bluetooth name |
8、View or configure MAC address of the Bluetooth
| Instruction | Response | Parameter |
|---|---|---|
| AT+MAC | +MAC=< Result > OK |
None |
9、Set whether Bluetooth connection requires authentication
| Instruction | Response | Parameter |
|---|---|---|
| AT+AUTH | +AUTH=< Result > OK |
0: no need 1: need authenticatuion |
10、Set the password for the Bluetooth connection
| Instruction | Response | Parameter |
|---|---|---|
| AT+ PASS=< Param > | +PASS=< Param > OK |
6 bit numble |
11、Query or set Bluetooth master/slave mode
| Instruction | Response | Parameter |
|---|---|---|
| AT+ROLE=< Param > | +ROLE=< Param > OK |
0:master 1:slave |
12、Scan for nearby slaves in Bluetooth host mode
| Instruction | Response | Parameter |
|---|---|---|
| AT+SCAN | +SCAN OK mac[1]:xxxx mac[2]:xxxx …… |
None |
13、Connect to a slave Bluetooth device by scanning return subscript
| Instruction | Response | Parameter |
|---|---|---|
| AT+CONN=< Param > | OK+CONN=< Param > | Scan slave Bluetooth subscript number |
14、Connect to a slave Bluetooth device by using the MAC address
| Instruction | Response | Parameter |
|---|---|---|
| AT+CON=< Param > | OK+CON=< Param > | Bluetooth address of the slave |
+SCAN OK mac[1] 3e:bb:9e:e4:e9:9a mac[2] 8c:5a:f8:ef:5c:f8 mac[3] 6b:9c:b3:c4:4b:0c mac[4] 17:cc:ef:66:40:b1 mac[5] fd:e2:4e:af:ea:da mac[6] 67:3a:b1:45:c2:e8 mac[7] d0:44:7a:9e:e4:e4 OK AT+CONN=1 represents Connecting to the second Bluetooth device obtained from the scan AT+CON=d0:44:7a:9e:e4:e4 Directly connect to the device with the MAC address d0:44:7a:9e:e4:e4
15、Enable Bluetooth auto-connect mode. When enabled, the Bluetooth module will automatically connect to the last successfully connected device
| Instruction | Response | Parameter |
|---|---|---|
| AT+AUTOCON=< Param > | +AUTOCON=< Param > OK |
0:Disable auto-connect 1:Enable auto-connect |
16、Disconnect the currently connected Bluetooth device
| Instruction | Response | Parameter |
|---|---|---|
| AT+DISCON | +DISCON OK |
None |
17、Set whether a password is required for the Bluetooth connection
| Instruction | Response | Parameter |
|---|---|---|
| AT+AUTH=< Param > | +AUTH=< Param > OK |
0:Connect without a password 1:Connect with a password |
18、Set the USB and Bluetooth data transfer mode for Bluetooth
| Instruction | Response | Parameter |
|---|---|---|
| AT+ BLEUSB=< Param > | +BLEUSB=< Param > OK |
0:Close 1:Transfer USB serial data to BLE 2:Transfer BLE data to USB serial port 3:USB serial port data and BLE transparent transmission |
19、Set the transmission power of Bluetooth
| Instruction | Response | Parameter |
|---|---|---|
| AT+MINI_INTERVAL=< Param > | + MINI_INTERVAL=< Param > OK |
For PC and Android devices, it is recommended to set the transmission power to 10 For IOS devices, it is recommended to set the transmission power to 20 |
20、Set the maximum communication interval for the BLE chip, in milliseconds.
| Instruction | Response | Parameter |
|---|---|---|
| AT+MAX_INTERVAL=< Param > | + MAX_INTERVAL=< Param > OK |
For PC and Android devices, it is recommended to set the connection interval to 10 For IOS devices, it is recommended to set the connection interval to 40 |
21、Obtain the UUID of a BLE service characteristic
| Instruction | Response | Parameter |
|---|---|---|
| AT+SERVUUID | +SERVUUID=0xffe0 OK |
22、Obtain the BLE character feature code UUID
| Instruction | Response | Parameter |
|---|---|---|
| AT+CHARUUID | +CHARUUID=0xffe0 OK |
23、System Settings
| Instruction | Response | Parameter |
|---|---|---|
| AT+SETTING=< Param > | +SETTING=< Param > OK |
DEFAULT Restore to Factory Settings PARI_DEFAULT Clear Pairing Information |
Because the Bluetooth of the product has transparent transmission function, Bluetooth programming actually involves reading and writing operations on the Arduino serial port (Serial). When programming, we need to pay attention to two points: 1、The BLE protocol specifies that the length of each Bluetooth data packet cannot exceed 64 bytes. Our Bluetooth module has implemented packet segmentation for transmission, but there is a low probability of packet loss. Therefore, when the data exceeds 64 bytes, dividing it into smaller packets and sending them using Arduino is the most reliable method. 2、Each packet of data should have an interval of more than 100ms between transmissions, otherwise, there is a higher chance of packet loss.
BLE Nano supports three types of AT Instruction configuration methods：
- You can directly send AT commands through the USB serial port by opening the Serial Monitor in the Arduino IDE
To configure the serial port baud rate to 115200 and select newline (NL) and carriage return (CR) as the line ending characters.
2）How do use AT Instruction in code
The hardware serial port (RX0, TX1) of Arduino is directly connected to the serial port module of the Bluetooth. Therefore, we can send AT commands directly through the hardware serial port of Arduino.By operating the Serial functions of Arduino, we can communicate with the Bluetooth module
String ble_data;
int led_pin = 13;
void setup() {
Serial.begin(115200);
pinMode(led_pin, OUTPUT);
Serial.println("AT+ROLE=0"); // Set the Bluetooth as the host
delay(50); // After setting the AT commands, it is necessary to delay for 10ms
Serial.println("AT+CON=83:46:8c:e4:c2:84"); //Connect to the Bluetooth slave with the MAC address
delay(50);
}
void loop() {
while (Serial.available() > 0)
{
ble_data += char(Serial.read());
delay(2);
}
if (ble_data.endsWith("OK\r\n") > 0) { //Check if the AT command response is "OK"
Serial.println("connect success");
digitalWrite(led_pin, HIGH);
}
if (ble_data.endsWith("ERROR\r\n") > 0) { //Check if the AT command response is "ERROR"
Serial.println("connect fail");
digitalWrite(led_pin, LOW);
}
ble_data = "";
}- Steps to configure AT Instruction in a mobile app
| Selecting the characteristics for AT commands | Click "Start Notification" | Click "Add New Line" |
|---|---|---|
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In many applications, we need two BLE Nano devices to accomplish our ideas. Below are two classic ways to achieve communication between two BLE Nano devices.
一、 The host BLE Nano sends control commands to the slave BLE Nano's LED via USB to Serial communication from a computer.
Set the USB and Bluetooth data transfer modes of both BLE Nano devices to USB serial data and BLE transparent, i.e., AT+BLEUSB=3
Slave device burnble_control_led.ino
After sending "on" through the USB serial port of the host device, we can see the LED on the slave device light up. After sending "off" through the USB serial port, we can see the LED on the slave device turn off.
二、 We can separately program the host and the slave BLE Nano to control the LED on the slave BLE Nano to turn on and off.
The host program is as followsmaster
String ble_data;
int led_pin = 13;
int ble_status = 0;
void setup() {
Serial.begin(115200);
pinMode(led_pin, OUTPUT);
Serial.println("AT+ROLE=0"); // Set the Bluetooth as the host
delay(50);
Serial.println("AT+BLEUSB=0"); // Set the data communication mode to 0
delay(50);
Serial.println("AT+CON=83:46:8c:e4:c2:84"); // Connect to the Bluetooth slave with the MAC address
//delay(10);
ble_data = "";
while (Serial.available() > 0)
{
ble_data += char(Serial.read());
delay(2);
}
if (ble_data.endsWith("OK\r\n") > 0) {
Serial.println("connect success");
digitalWrite(led_pin, HIGH);
ble_status = 1;
}
if (ble_data.endsWith("ERROR\r\n") > 0) {
Serial.println("connect fail");
digitalWrite(led_pin, LOW);
ble_status = 0;
}
}
void loop() {
if (ble_status)
{
Serial.print("on");
delay(1000);
Serial.print("off");
delay(1000);
}
}- The Slave program is as followsslave
String ble_data;
int led_pin = 13;
void setup() {
Serial.begin(115200);
pinMode(led_pin, OUTPUT);
Serial.println("AT+ROLE=1"); // Set the Bluetooth as the slave
delay(50);
Serial.println("AT+BLEUSB=0"); //Set the data communication mode to 0
delay(50);
}
void loop() {
while (Serial.available() > 0)
{
ble_data += char(Serial.read());
delay(2);
}
if (ble_data.compareTo("on") == 0) {
Serial.println("turn on led");
digitalWrite(led_pin, HIGH);
}
if (ble_data.compareTo("off") == 0) {
Serial.println("turn off led");
digitalWrite(led_pin, LOW);
}
ble_data = "";
}After successful connection, we can see that the LED on the slave device blinks once every second.
1) Questions：What are the differences between the BLE Nano and other regular Nano boards, and how do I get started with this development board?
Answer： The BLE Nano is based on the official Arduino Nano v3.0, with the CH340G serial chip replaced by a Bluetooth chip with a USB interface. Its driver is compatible with the official Arduino driver, and the interface has been upgraded from Mini-USB to Type-C, while the pins and functionalities are fully compatible with the regular Nano v3.0. If you are not using the Bluetooth feature, you can refer to the usage instructions for the Arduino Nano. If you want to use Bluetooth, please refer to the user manual.
2) Questions：How to connect Bluetooth to a mobile phone or computer? Answer： The BLE Nano is a low-power Bluetooth device and cannot be directly connected through the Bluetooth settings on a mobile phone. To connect to it, you will need to use an Android app called BLETestTools.apk (or iOS app called LightBlue). If you want to develop and reference the source code for further customization, on Windows, you can use the classic Bluetooth connection method through the Windows settings. For this, you will need to refer to the BLE SDK development documentation provided by Microsoft on their official website.
3） Questions：Why can't my phone connect to BLE Nano, and even if it connects, it can't communicate?
Answer：Please check if your phone supports Bluetooth 4.2. Please use the Scan button within the BLE testing app to scan and connect to the BLE Nano. Connecting does not require a password. Do not try to connect through the Bluetooth settings interface on your phone, as that is for connecting to classic Bluetooth devices.
4）Questions：How to use Ibeacon and mesh function？
Answer：It is currently not supported, but we will consider adding support in future updates.
5）Questions：Does the BLE Nano support multiple connections? I want to use one central device to connect to multiple peripheral devices. How many devices can it connect to at most？
Answer：The BLE Nano does not currently support multiple connections, but you can achieve a similar concept of connecting to multiple peripherals by continuously switching and bonding with different peripheral devices.
6) Questions：Why can't Bluetooth 4.2 devices from the BLE Nano series connect to Bluetooth 2.0 devices？
Answer：Our BLE Nano series, in order to achieve extremely low power consumption, utilizes Bluetooth Low Energy (Bluetooth Smart) as a single-mode. Hardware and software optimizations have been made specifically for BLE, which means it does not support connecting to Bluetooth 2.0 devices.
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