Help for complete beginner with Fanstel BU840XE Unit.

[Jakka351]

Hi I am looking for some advice with regards to getting a Fanstel BU840XE (BU840XE, The longest range, Remote USB Dongle for BLE 5, Thread, Zigbee — Fanstel) device to function as a plug and play USB Bluetooth Dongle, such as one that you would purchase from a retail store. My intent is to be able to scan for bluetooth low energy devices and see their MAC addresses on both Windows & Raspberry Pi Linux.

I have absolutely zero experience with this kind of thing and would really appreciate some advice and pointers in the right direction with regards to programming this unit and flashing firmware and getting it to work. I have spent a fair amount of time communicating with the manufacturer and they have provided some documentation and software but not really enough information for someone with no experience to be able to jump in and get the device working.

At this stage I have downloaded and installed the NRF Connect windows applications and I can see the device in the applications, but I am not able to communicate with the device at all, serial communications seem to fail and the device has a serial number of 00000000000. If anyone could provide some advice that would be much appreciated.

Thank you.

Jack

[Edvin]

Hello,

If you want the functionality of a Bluetooth Dongle that you can buy in an electronics store, I am not sure this is actually the best product for you. But let us have a look.

First I need to clarify that I don't know the content of this device. If it is a device with the nRF52XXX chip, and only that, then it doesn't support Bluetooth classic, and therefore, Windows will not accept it as a generic Bluetooth dongle. On Linux, you could use it as a bluetooth dongle (if the correct firmware is programmed on the device). But it will obviously only work with Bluetooth Low Energy, not Bluetooth Classic. 

FYI: Bluetooth Classic is almost only used for Bluetooth Audio. 

If you want generic Bluetooth dongle functionality, the device needs to be programmed with HCI firmware (Host Controller Interface), since this is what computers expect Bluetooth dongles to use. It looks like this is not preprogrammed on the device, as it states here:

-------

Modules are loaded with production test codes to

enable Bluetooth transmitter for power measurement.

set each GPIO pin to high/low for continuity measurement.

Production test codes are not erased when modules are shipped from factory.

------- (Although it doesn't specify directly whether this also applies for that specific device. I couldn't really find much information about that device). 

So you need to build and flash your own application, and unfortunately, if you don't know how to do it, you need to reach out to Fanstel, because I don't know what's inside the device that you have. 

serial communications seem to fail and the device has a serial number of 00000000000

This suggests that it doesn't have a programmer/debugger. You are probably connecting to the nRF's USB port. This USB port is controlled by the nRF, but it can't be used for programming. Reach out to Fanstel and ask what is already programmed on the device, and how to reprogram it. I can help you interpret the answer you receive if you'd like, but as I said, I am not familiar with the device, and I don't know what's on the PCB, or what it is programmed with.

Best regards,

Edvin