3

What is meant by the "Transparent UART" function in connection with BLE? I have found this expression for the Dual BT Chip RF 4677. The Datasheet say's:

It supports GAP, SDP, SPP, and GATT profiles. Data is transferred over the Bluetooth link by sending/receiving data via transparent UART mode, making it easy to integrate with any processor or Microcontroller with a UART interface. Configuration is made easy using a ASCII commands via UART. Windows® based GUI, or PIC MCU configuration driver are also used to access configuration settings over UART.

Philipp Kyeck
  • 18,402
  • 15
  • 86
  • 123
  • The way that serial data is typically transmitted in a BLE device is via a pair of GATT characteristics - one for send data and one for receive. These characteristics are mapped to the send/receive pins in the BLE chip and can be connected to a microcontroller. The microcontroller can simply send and receive serial data without being aware that Bluetooth is involved - the Bluetooth link is transparent. – Paulw11 Sep 22 '15 at 21:50
  • Okay thanks, for this explanation! But how can I send and receive some data in my iOS app? I have searched in every documentation I could find but I have never seen a documentation about the used services and characteristics. So how can I handle this "transparent" mode in my app? –  Sep 22 '15 at 23:15
  • 1
    You need to identify the service and characteristics that are used for send/receive. You then write to the send characteristic in your app and the bluetooth chip will send that data via the hardware serial port. You set up a notify on the receive characteristic and then you will be notified whenever data is written to the hardware serial port – Paulw11 Sep 22 '15 at 23:18
  • 1
    If you have the module you can use an app like LightBlue to see what services and characteristics it exposes – Paulw11 Sep 23 '15 at 06:27

0 Answers0