How To Make Almost Anything Neil Gershenfeld
MIT Center For Bits And Atoms
NETWORKING
Fab labs share an evolving inventory of core capabilities to make (almost) anything, allowing people and projects to be shared. These are my projects.
Networking &
Communications -
Bluetooth and iPhone
11.28.18
This week our assigment was to " design, build, and connect wired or wireless node(s) with network or bus addresses".
I chose to tackle Bluetooth for this week's assignment, opting to use the RN4871 (2.4 GHz Bluetooth). I designed and milled a variation on Niel's board with some help from Rob. I'm getting better at Eagle and actually starting to like it, which is something I never thought I'd say. I added a couple LEDs to Niel's board, one that turns on with power and one that blinks when the devices is connected successfully. When designing your board take care to ensure that the bluetooth chip hangs off the side, otherwise the board underneath interferes with the chip's ability to send signals.
Once the board was made and stuffed, it was time to communicate between devices. I plugged my board into my Macbook Air via FTDI/USB and used a program called CoolTerm for a serial interface. Meanwhile, on my iPhone, I downloaded an app called BLE scanner that allowed me to connect my phone to the board. You can see the video at the top on the left for my results. It worked! I took my cues from Niel's video here.
