Will a new nRF dongle be released due to Bluetooth 5?

RE: Will a new nRF dongle be released due to Bluetooth 5?

run_ar — Mon, 21 Aug 2017 09:00:03 GMT

@Nivetha: as answered by Ulrich. The nRF51 based sniffer will work for 1mbit mode only. The same goes for the unofficial nRF52 sniffer firmware.

RE: Will a new nRF dongle be released due to Bluetooth 5?

Nivetha — Mon, 07 Aug 2017 09:01:58 GMT

@MANGO: Did you use an nRF51 sniffer for nRF52DK. Did it work? I am planning to buy one. Please confirm. I am using nrf52840 as central and nRF52840 as a peripheral device. I tried using another nRF52840 as a sniffer between these two devices with the unofficial hex file. However, I am planning to buy a sniffer. So your suggestion, please!

RE: Will a new nRF dongle be released due to Bluetooth 5?

Ulrich Myhre — Thu, 08 Dec 2016 16:58:19 GMT

Yes, it is mentioned in the Radio chapter of the Product Specification (Ch. 23) and is set with the MODE register. There is no mode for BLE_2Mbit, only Nrf_2Mbit, because 2Mbit was not officially supported until today. You are unlikely to encounter such devices for quite some time, so an nRF51 based sniffer should do just fine for a while.

RE: Will a new nRF dongle be released due to Bluetooth 5?

MANGO — Thu, 08 Dec 2016 14:17:08 GMT

Thanks. Before closing this question, is there an explanation about the "2bit mode" in the nRF52 product specification?

I wish to read the document about that part.

-Deeply appreciate your help

RE: Will a new nRF dongle be released due to Bluetooth 5?

Ulrich Myhre — Thu, 08 Dec 2016 13:30:10 GMT

Yes, the nRF52 has a 2mbit mode that can now be utilized in BT 5.0. Until the adoption of 5.0 today, it could not be utilized outside proprietary modes. I have sent you a message with the contact information.

RE: Will a new nRF dongle be released due to Bluetooth 5?

MANGO — Wed, 07 Dec 2016 15:08:48 GMT

Hi, Ulrich. You mean the nRF52832 supports the new radio modes? Which one are you mentioning?

I use PCA10040 and I never realized it.

I live in Seoul, Korea. I do know the contact info of the domestic distributor.

However, I don't know the contact info of the sales representative.

Can you provide me about the info?

RE: Will a new nRF dongle be released due to Bluetooth 5?

Ulrich Myhre — Wed, 07 Dec 2016 15:04:27 GMT

For future releases, you should contact the sales representative for your region. If you do not know who this is, send me a message with your location and I will provide you with contact information.

As for your first question, the answer is mostly yes. The nRF52840 supports two new radio modes that are not supported in the nRF51 series. The already existing nRF52832 already supports one of these too.

So an nRF51 based sniffer is able to pick up packets sent on the normal PHY, which is 1mbit. It will not be able to pick up the newer ones, if these are put to use. Right now, these newly defined speeds are not backwards-compatible for sniffing purposes, but in normal connections a BT 5 device can choose to fall back to 1mbit if it cannot establish a connection.