Hello everyone,
I’m currently planning to develop an application that involves multiple Bluetooth devices operating within a certain range outdoors. Since there’s no option for a stationary power supply, all Bluetooth devices need to be powered either by battery or via USB using a power bank.
In this setup, there will be one “master” device that periodically connects to several other devices, reads data from them, and then disconnects. During this process, the master device should also send data to a connected PC - either over UART, USB, or BLE.
Because this is still an early evaluation phase and I’ll need quite a few Bluetooth devices, cost-efficiency is important. I also don’t have the option to design a custom PCB at this stage. However, I do need to be able to write custom firmware and debug the devices during development. Additionally, I’d like to use the nRF Connect SDK for this project.
I’ve been considering using the nRF52840 Dongle since it can be powered without cables, but I’m unsure how well debugging works on that device. Another idea is to develop on the nRF52840 DK and later port the firmware to the Dongle, though I’m not certain how straightforward that process is. Also, I’m wondering if it’s possible to debug the USB connection when the Dongle is connected to a PC.
As I’m relatively new to this topic, I’d really appreciate any advice or insights on how to choose the best development setup for this kind of Bluetooth application.
Thank you!
