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ANT Protocol and BLE Stack difference?

Spandan89

Hi,

I'm planning to use the nrF51822 in the end product and the nRF51DK kit has nRF51422 and not the nRF51822. the user guide for the kit says that 51422 supports ANT protocol and BLE also, where as 51822 supports only BLE. so is it possible to develop firmware for 51822 using the nRF51 kit and using the BLE stack. Do I need to make any modification afterwards?

Another thing is regarding SoftDevices. is it simillar to BLE protocol stack? do we need to buy those or its available for download openly? is there any difference between S110/120/130?

  • 0

    Hi Spandan89,

    The 51422 and 51822 are very similar. If you are only using BLE, you will not notice a difference in how you use the SDK to create firmware for either variation of the chip. You can develop all of your firmware code for the 51422 and then put down a 51822 on your design without modifications other than build settings potentially. I am not 100% sure, but I believe the 51822 is slightly cheaper.

    The SoftDevice for BLE from Nordic is free to use with their BLE chipset (either 51422 or 51822). All SoftDevices for the nRF51 are included in the SDK. There are differences between the S110, S120, and S130. The main differences are the roles supported by each stack.

    • S110: Supports peripheral roles
    • S120: Supports central and peripherals roles but only one or the other (i.e. you can't do both roles at the same time)
    • S130: Supports operations as both central and peripheral roles at the same time

    Other than the above, the API for all SoftDevices is very similar. All of the SoftDevices have varying Flash space and Ram requirements with S110 being the lowest.

    Hope this helps,

    Eric

  • 0 in reply to Eric Stutzenberger

    Hi Eric,

    Thanks for quick reply. After digging more into this I understood it, but I', not still clear about what do they mean by peripheral / central / broadcaster role? can you throw some light on it? How do I decide which one I want?

  • 0 in reply to Eric Stutzenberger

    It depends on what you are trying to achieve. A peripheral device is typically a device that offers a service with interesting data. For example, a BLE Heart Rate Monitor implements the Heart Rate Service and provides the Heart Rate and some other data. A central device is a device that connects to peripheral devices and receives information from those devices (and also may write information to them as well). A broadcaster role is a peripheral which advertises certain information but a connection cannot be created with it. A beacon is a good example of a broadcaster. There is also the observer role which is a central device that listens passively without making connections. This AdaFruit page provides some decent information. Also, consider reading this EE Times article.

  • 0 in reply to Eric Stutzenberger

    Hi Eric,

    I'm planning to interface the BLE chip to the SD card or external flash memory from which I can read the data and send it to phone. this falls under peripheral role, as you have explained. I guess S110 would be enough for me. is that correct?

    thanks

  • 0 in reply to Eric Stutzenberger

    Yes, the S110 will fit this need. However, do keep in mind the BLE is a very slow connection. You can send lots of data but it will take a while.

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