I am looking at 2 BT modules, and having a difficulty to understand the difference between them,
and so to be able to choose which one to buy.
The first is "Bluetooth Specification V4.0 BLE", and is based on TI CC2541:
And the second is "Bluetooth v3.0 SPP + v4.2 BLE", and I cannot see the 2 chips that it is based on:
My question is this:
I need a BT module that I can have my Arduino Nano (5v) communicate with it, in Serial UART protocol.
The second module is defined as a "Dual Mode Bluetooth Module", and has "SPP" in its name.
That's the Serial Port Profile, so it sounds good.
But If you read the description of the first module,
it say "Logic Interface Type: UART TTL serial port",
and also "The module enters data transparent mode once it is connected".
So despite the fact that the first module does not mention "SPP" in its name or description, it seems that it also does it.
(am I correct?)
cattledog:
What is your application which requires BLE
My application doesn't specifically require BLE, old Bluetooth could be good too..
I just want a way to wirelessly be able to pass info (as Strings) from an Android smartphone to Arduino Nano, or the other direction too.
cattledog:
or the HS v3.0?
What is HS?
cattledog:
What does bluetooth classic not do that you need to do?
Old (non-LowEnergy) could be good too,
but if LE uses less current, then is there any reason not to prefer it?
My current Android phone runs on Android v8.0,
with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 650
According to GSMArena,
I have "Bluetooth v4.2, A2DP, aptX, LE".
Please note that the project I build is only for personal use,
not for the masses,
so I don't need to support as many smartphones as possible.. I only need to be able to connect to my phone..
Does this change the answer regarding whether to use the newer BLE, or old BT?
Old (non-LowEnergy) could be good too,
but if LE uses less current, then is there any reason not to prefer it?
BLE is way more complicated, sometimes problematic with Android, and never seems worth the trouble for standard smart phone to Arduino communications. If you're not familiar with BLE, the learning curve can be steep. YMMV, but unless you have some strong reason to use BLE, my advice is to stick with original Bluetooth 2.0.
So from what you say, a better module would be the famous HC-06?
I think that the HC-05 is a better choice for the more extensive AT command set, and the possibility to use it as a master at some point in a different application.
I remember that the HC-05 is able to be Master/Slave,
vs the HC-06 that can only be Slave,
but apart from that is there any other addition to the HC-05?
(assume that the module will only be used as a Slave)
The HC-06 would be fine for your job but the HC-05 is more versatile and the price is about the same these days, so I don't think there is much point in getting an HC-06.
BTW, I am curious to understand something for the future:
I will use the HC-05 for now,
but If in the future I want to switch to BLE, for example when creating a battery powered project and wanting to use a Bluetooth chip that uses less Current,
can you please tell me in what way BLE will be more complicated?
Like I wrote before,
the BLE modules mention that they act as Serial UART once paired: "The module enters data transparent mode once it is connected"
So doesn't this mean that working with it will be the same, whether I use the older HC-05 or a newer BLE module?
It sounds like it but I'm not sure that is really the case. One thing is clear, as mentioned above, and that is that BLE is usually more trouble than it is worth. This to the point, I understand, that it is not even necessarily more frugal with power.
This does not mean that you cannot use it as an HC-05 replacement but I understand that you have to have "BLE tolerant" apps at the phone end. This may be because BLE is not really bluetooth. Check the Martyn Currey website. He seems to be getting more familiar with BLE as days go by.
card5:
And it seems that it is critical for them..
I think that is nonsense. The only differences I know of are in the activity LED characteristics, which may be disconcerting for the uninitiated, but hardly critical. You might be alluding to the HM-10, a BLE device, and, in normal use, not so critical there either.
The only operational variation I am aware of is the JY-MCU v1.06, which I understand has an extra diode included to prevent the module futilely attempting to power Arduino when it has power and Arduino doesn’t. This requires the line
pinMode(0, INPUT_PULLUP); // just a precaution
and this probably applies to all breakout boards these days.
The place to buy an HC-05 is the place that sells it for about $3-50
