Bluetooth: Direction Finding Central and Peripheral Sample Code

RE: Bluetooth: Direction Finding Central and Peripheral Sample Code

Elfving — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 12:26:23 GMT

I guess any cable would work this.

RE: Bluetooth: Direction Finding Central and Peripheral Sample Code

mgl — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 12:10:49 GMT

That’s what I am currently using though. Female to male jumper cables connected from the nrf5340 to the ANT-B10-00C.

RE: Bluetooth: Direction Finding Central and Peripheral Sample Code

Elfving — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 08:10:08 GMT

I am not sure if I understand. You do not have to use lab cables.

RE: Bluetooth: Direction Finding Central and Peripheral Sample Code

mgl — Thu, 03 Apr 2025 20:11:59 GMT

Would this kind of setup (lab cables connected via UART) work for the direction finding AoA solution?

RE: Bluetooth: Direction Finding Central and Peripheral Sample Code

Elfving — Sat, 29 Mar 2025 12:35:02 GMT

I guess this depends a bit on your use-case. If you just want to power it and find a way to get the uart pins for the DK then 20pin header /splitter and a breadboard could do the trick.

Regards and have a good week-end,

Elfving

RE: Bluetooth: Direction Finding Central and Peripheral Sample Code

mgl — Fri, 28 Mar 2025 15:04:52 GMT

Would you happen to know how I could connect lab cables to the ANT-B10-00C? That is currently what I am having issues with as the antenna array board connections aren't originally set up to make UART connections since it has the 20-pin header.

RE: Bluetooth: Direction Finding Central and Peripheral Sample Code

Elfving — Fri, 28 Mar 2025 14:22:27 GMT

Ah I see. Yeah the NRF53, along with all other nRFs, do use UART.

You can connect this to an nRF53 with no problem. For more on how to continue this, you can for instance have a look at our DevAcademy course on UART, or a UART sample on how to work with it.

Regards,

Elfving

RE: Bluetooth: Direction Finding Central and Peripheral Sample Code

mgl — Fri, 28 Mar 2025 14:00:48 GMT

This is what I've been told, "The ANT-B10 antenna board has a NINA-B4 module with an nRF52833 chip inside that does the angle calculations. It then outputs the angles as AT events over the UART, so you need a host that can take care of the angles and do the processing. This host can be for example an STM32 or other MCU, it does not need to have Bluetooth AoA capability."

RE: Bluetooth: Direction Finding Central and Peripheral Sample Code

Elfving — Fri, 28 Mar 2025 13:52:12 GMT

Hmm... yeah I guess so.

Did they say anything about what the onboard NINA-B411 helped out with BLE-wise? I guess it could be that it does not.

Regards

RE: Bluetooth: Direction Finding Central and Peripheral Sample Code

mgl — Thu, 27 Mar 2025 17:17:05 GMT

That’s what I was told yesterday. However, today they are saying that all the ANT-B10-00C needs is a host board that can handle the UART connection and associated pins in the ANT-B10-00C interface. Would the nrf5340 be able to handle this?

RE: Bluetooth: Direction Finding Central and Peripheral Sample Code

Elfving — Thu, 27 Mar 2025 16:43:31 GMT

I am not sure if I understand. Does ublox say that ANT-B10-00C wouldn’t work for my application of indoor tracking?

They know their products better than I do.

What I was trying to say in that previous response of mine, was that if you require a cable for the antenna array, get the correct one. Though as it turns out, it looks as if the ublox product doesnt require one, since the NRF and the antenna looks to be on the same board.

Regards,

Elfving

RE: Bluetooth: Direction Finding Central and Peripheral Sample Code

mgl — Thu, 27 Mar 2025 12:38:20 GMT

Are you saying that the u-blox ANT-B10-00C should work while u-blox is saying it wouldn’t work for my application of indoor tracking?

RE: Bluetooth: Direction Finding Central and Peripheral Sample Code

Elfving — Thu, 27 Mar 2025 08:27:13 GMT

[quote user="mhort"]I’m being told that the u-blox ANT-B10-00C is not made for developing third-party solutions[/quote]

Great. I'm interpreting that is it following the spec, and providing the default AOA solution.

[quote user="mhort"]Which antenna array are you using above?[/quote]

What do you mean by "above" here?

Regards,

Elfving

RE: Bluetooth: Direction Finding Central and Peripheral Sample Code

mgl — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 18:58:23 GMT

Which antenna array are you using above? Does it work for AoA solutions? I’m being told that the u-blox ANT-B10-00C is not made for developing third-party solutions so it wouldn’t work even though the Nordic website says any antenna array would work.

RE: Bluetooth: Direction Finding Central and Peripheral Sample Code

Elfving — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 13:10:42 GMT

[quote user="mhort"]And would I need to flash any code on the antenna array board and power it?[/quote]

Well yes you would have to power it. And I assume you do not need to flash anything to it.

Though I am not sure about the specifics here. It would be best to check this with the docs from u-blox.

[quote user="mhort"]Would an nrf5340 be compatible for the tag with the antenna array having the nrf52833?[/quote]

Yes, given that the u-blox solution follows the spec.

Regards,

Elfving

RE: Bluetooth: Direction Finding Central and Peripheral Sample Code

mgl — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 12:37:41 GMT

Okay, thank you. Would an nrf5340 be compatible for the tag with the antenna array having the nrf52833? And would I need to flash any code on the antenna array board and power it?

RE: Bluetooth: Direction Finding Central and Peripheral Sample Code

Elfving — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 08:20:31 GMT

No my impression is that the nRF is already onboard. The B10 contains a NINA-B411, which contains an nRF52833.

You do need another nRF (for instance a DK) as the direction finding tag though.

It might be an idea to check this with ublox though.

Regards,

Elfving

RE: Bluetooth: Direction Finding Central and Peripheral Sample Code

mgl — Mon, 24 Mar 2025 20:06:43 GMT

But I would still need to connect the B10 to my nrf5340 somehow, correct?

RE: Bluetooth: Direction Finding Central and Peripheral Sample Code

Elfving — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 09:17:13 GMT

Hi again,

[quote user="PaKa"]ANT-B10 features the NINA-B411 Bluetooth 5.1 standalone module, programmed with the u-locateEmbed* software, which implements the unique u-blox direction-finding algorithm. It includes a widely available standard pin header that provides a digital interface to the application board, thus forming a complete AoA anchor point. [/quote]

It does sound like you do not need anything more than the b10 for the locator, as that already has the NRF on it.

[quote user="PaKa"]Alongside the EVB-ANT-1 development platform (part of the XPLR-AOA-3 kit), the user can plug the two boards together and have an AoA anchor point within seconds.[/quote]

Even though it mentions using another board here, it seems a bit like it isn't necessary. Atleast I do not think you need an antenna cable. You should have a look at the ublox docs or contact ublox about this.

Regards,

Elfving

RE: Bluetooth: Direction Finding Central and Peripheral Sample Code

mgl — Wed, 19 Mar 2025 16:10:39 GMT

Which boards would I be plugging together in this case to create an AoA anchor point if I don't need any cables? I am just trying to create the system using the ANT-B10-00C board and nrf5340 development kits. I do not have the EVB-ANT-1 development platform or anything else that comes with the XPLR-AOA-3 kit.

RE: Bluetooth: Direction Finding Central and Peripheral Sample Code

PaKa — Wed, 19 Mar 2025 10:06:43 GMT

The ublox antenna array has the Nordic device on the antennnaboard directly connected to the array so no cables should be used/needed. For the transmitter you only need the single antenna so no external antenna needed.

From the ANT-B10 webpage:

The ANT-B10 is a compact antenna board designed specifically for Bluetooth angle of arrival (AoA) direction-finding systems. It features eight patch-antenna elements in an arrangement that offers optimal performance in the presence of multipath effects. It measures the angle of an incoming Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) radio signal with high accuracy, and in conjunction with at least two more ANT-B10 boards and positioning engine software, it can determine the precise position of a Bluetooth LE device in an indoor environment.

ANT-B10 features the NINA-B411 Bluetooth 5.1 standalone module, programmed with the u-locateEmbed* software, which implements the unique u-blox direction-finding algorithm. It includes a widely available standard pin header that provides a digital interface to the application board, thus forming a complete AoA anchor point. Alongside the EVB-ANT-1 development platform (part of the XPLR-AOA-3 kit), the user can plug the two boards together and have an AoA anchor point within seconds.

RE: Bluetooth: Direction Finding Central and Peripheral Sample Code

Elfving — Wed, 19 Mar 2025 07:50:00 GMT

I can't recommend specific products here, and I don't really know what the Antenna array you have requires (so it might be worth asking/checking with u-blox about this directly). But make sure that you have the right SMA connector. The antenna array I have requires a male SMA, the product you're linking to uses a female one.

Regards,

Elfving

RE: Bluetooth: Direction Finding Central and Peripheral Sample Code

mgl — Tue, 18 Mar 2025 16:07:43 GMT

Thank you. So something like this:

https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/TE-Connectivity-Linx-Technologies/2478574-1?qs=sGAEpiMZZMtYRSmx0IAE0uxleH0x23v9Rb8Lznv66DXZk6DMb8jjMQ%3D%3D

Is this right?

RE: Bluetooth: Direction Finding Central and Peripheral Sample Code

Elfving — Tue, 18 Mar 2025 15:48:40 GMT

An SMA to SWF cable.

Regards,

Elfving

RE: Bluetooth: Direction Finding Central and Peripheral Sample Code

mgl — Tue, 18 Mar 2025 15:32:06 GMT

I understand that I need to use the antenna connector J1 but what part do I need to make this connection?