Laird Bx600, BA600, BC600, BB600 User Manual

User Guide

Bx600 Breakout Board Series

For BL600 Modules – Bluetooth Low Energy Single Mode

Version 1.3

Version 1.0 of BA600-0x, BC600-0x, BB600-0x

Bx600 Series of Breakout Boards for BL600 module

User Guide

Embedded Wireless Solutions Support Center:
http://ews-support.lairdtech.com
www.lairdtech.com/bluetooth

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REVISION HISTORY

Version

Date

Notes

Approver

1.0

09 Sept 2015

Initial Release

Raj Khatri

1.1

28 Sept 2015

Fixed JTAG Schematic Glitch

Jonathan Kaye

1.2

21 Oct 2015

Changed J2 errors – changed to J3 (pin3)

Raj Khatri

1.3

24 Nov 2015

Restructured. Updates to key features of each
variant. Reorganized to create sections on Use and

Testing and Power Supply Options for BL600
Breakout Boards. Added Bx600 Series Breakout
Board Schematic. Removed section on JTAG.

Jonathan Kaye

Bx600 Series of Breakout Boards for BL600 module

User Guide

Embedded Wireless Solutions Support Center:
http://ews-support.lairdtech.com
www.lairdtech.com/bluetooth

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Laird

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Europe: [phone]

Hong Kong: [phone]

CONTENTS

Laird - BL600 series Mini Development Kits .......................................................................................................4

Overview .............................................................................................................................................................4

2.1 BA600 .........................................................................................................................................................4

2.1.1 BA600 Package Contents ....................................................................................................................5

2.1.2 BA600 Key Features ............................................................................................................................5

2.1.3 Understanding the BA600-0x Breakout Board with Coin Cell Holder and Laird FTDI USB-UART

Bridge Board .......................................................................................................................................................6

2.1.4 Understanding the Laird FTDI USB-UART Bridge Board .....................................................................7

2.1.5 Connecting the Breakout Board BA600 to the Laird FTDI USB-UART Bridge Board...........................8

2.2 BC600 ..........................................................................................................................................................9

2.2.1 BC600 Package Contents ....................................................................................................................9

2.2.2 BC600 Key Features ............................................................................................................................9

2.2.3 Understanding the BC600 Breakout Board with Integrated Coin Cell Holder ...................................9

2.3 BB600 ....................................................................................................................................................... 11

2.3.1 BB600 Package Contents ................................................................................................................. 11

2.3.2 BB600 Key Features ......................................................................................................................... 11

2.3.3 Understanding the BB600 Breakout Board ..................................................................................... 11

2.3.4 Powering the BB600 Breakout Board .............................................................................................. 12

Use and Testing ............................................................................................................................................... 14

3.1 Breakout Board PTH vias, J3 and J5 Signal Mapping to Bx600-07 Module ............................................. 14

3.2 UART smartBASIC Firmware Upgrade through Laird FTDI USB-UART Bridge Board ............................... 15

3.3 AutoRUN Function ................................................................................................................................... 17

3.4 VSP Command Mode ............................................................................................................................... 20

Power Supply Options for BL600 Breakout Boards ......................................................................................... 23

4.1 CR1632 Coin Cell Battery ......................................................................................................................... 23

4.1.1 CR1632 Coin Cell Battery Holder ..................................................................................................... 23

4.1.2 Inserting CR1632 Coin Cell Battery into Holder............................................................................... 24

4.2 External System VCC via J4 or U3 ............................................................................................................ 24

4.2.1 External Supply 3.6V or Less ............................................................................................................ 25

4.2.2 External Supply Greater than 3.6V .................................................................................................. 25

Appendix I – Non-populated Circuitry on Breakout Boards ............................................................................ 27

5.1 ADC Input Voltage Scaling through R4, R5, and C5 ................................................................................. 27

5.2 SPI EEPROM U2 ........................................................................................................................................ 28

Bx600 Series Breakout Board Schematic ......................................................................................................... 29

Ordering Information ...................................................................................................................................... 30

Additional Documentation .............................................................................................................................. 30

Bx600 Series of Breakout Boards for BL600 module

User Guide

Embedded Wireless Solutions Support Center:
http://ews-support.lairdtech.com
www.lairdtech.com/bluetooth

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LAIRD - BL600 SERIES MINI DEVELOPMENT KITS

Laird has produced a new series of breakout boards for the BL600 modules. The basic product is a PCB carrier
board (breakout board) with a BL600-SA-07 version module soldered on it to enable rapid prototyping
capabilities and help advance the product design cycle. The three part numbers from this series represent BOM
(bill of material) variants of a basic core design.

The boards, in order from greatest to least additional hardware, are the BA600, BC600, and BB600 and are
shown below for reference:

BA600

BB600

BC600

BL600 breakout board with integrated coin
cell holder and Laird FTDI USB-UART bridge
board

BL600 breakout
board

BL600 breakout board with integrated
coin cell holder

Each of the breakout boards uses the latest BL600 module variant (top level part # BL600-SA-07) which takes
advantage of Nordic’s third generation silicon (nRF51822-QFAA-Hx0 – 256k memory/16k RAM QFN). The BL600­SA-07 module also integrates Laird’s smartBASIC firmware image v1.8.88.0. The BL600 Release Notes – v1.8.88.0
document (available from the Documentation tab of the BL600 product page) identifies additional features and
improvements available with this firmware image. One key benefit of the v1.8.88.0 FW image is that firmware
upgrades can now be completed 100% over the UART interface, regardless of whether the underlying Nordic
soft device has changed.

OVERVIEW

The Laird Bx600 series of BLE breakout boards provides a platform for rapid wireless connectivity prototyping,
providing multiple options for the development of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) applications based on Laird’s
BL600 BTv4.0 single mode modules. More information regarding this product series including a detailed BL600
Hardware Integration Guide and smartBASIC Core and BL600 firmware-specific User Guides are available from
the Documentation tab of the Laird BL600 product pages.

The breakout board kit hardware is offered with the Laird BL600-SA-07 (or higher) hardware variant and
smartBASIC runtime engine FW version v1.8.88.0 or greater.

2.1 BA600

The BA600 variant incorporates all hardware options available in the BL600 Breakout Board design, subsequent
sections 2.2. BC600 and 2.3. BB600 will only list differences from this main description:

Bx600 Series of Breakout Boards for BL600 module

User Guide

Embedded Wireless Solutions Support Center:
http://ews-support.lairdtech.com
www.lairdtech.com/bluetooth

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Europe: [phone]

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2.1.1 BA600 Package Contents

The followings table outlines what is included in the BA600 product package:

Breakout Board

The breakout board has the BL600-SA-07 module soldered on and exposes all available
hardware interfaces.

Laird FTDI USB­UART Bridge Board

Laird FTDI USB to 3.3VTTL-UART Bridge Board. This miniature PCB connects to the
breakout board to provide serial communications between a PC and the BL600 module.

Power Options

 USB from a PC through the Laird FTDI USB-UART Bridge Board, VCC = 3.3V
 Battery option via integrated Coin-cell holder (CR1632)*
 1.8V to 3.6V range through J4 (plated through hole)

*No coin cell battery is provided.

Pin Header x 2

J5 (1x6) 6-pin, 2.0 mm pitch header that allows configuration of vSP and nAUtoRUN
functions.
J3 (1x6) 6-pin, 2.54 mm pitch, right-angle header that allows connection from the Laird
FTDI USB-UART Bridge Board, included.

Jumpers

2 x jumpers for use with J5 (2.0 mm pitch) pin header to set configuration for vSP and
nAutoRUN functions.

USB Cable

USB A to Micro USB B Cable – black, 1.2m

Web link card

Provides links to Support, Documentation, Utilities, sample applications, videos and
firmware.
Note: Sample smartBASIC applications are available to download from the Laird BL600

product pages or via BL600 GitHub page..

2.1.2 BA600 Key Features

 UART access (via J3) and Laird USB to UART FTDI bridge board.

– 6-pin right-angle header (J3, with 2.54mm pitch) brings out BL600 module VCC, GND, and UART pins

(TX, RX, CTS, RTS).

– The Laird FTDI board is USB (PC) to UART bridge that allows the BL600-07 module UART to interface

with a PC USB.

 Power supply options (no added components needed):

– Regulated 3.3V into J3 (pin3) – generated by Laird FTDI board from USB (PC)
– Coin-cell battery holder (fits CR1632), J2 (fitted on underside of BA600 breakout board)
– 1.8V to 3.6V range through J4 (plated through hole)

 Jumpers (used to configure nAutoRUN [SIO_28] and vSP [SIO_7]).
 Analog input sensing with optional resistive divider (R4 and R5) to scale down external voltages to below

BL600-07 series module ADC pin maximum.

Note: You must fit R5 and modify R4 value to scale. See Appendix 5.1. for more information on ADC.

 smartBASIC FW upgrade capability:

– Via UART (using the Laird FTDI USB-UART bridge board)

 smartBASIC application loading capability:

– Via UART (using the Laird FTDI USB-UART bridge board)
– Via Laird’s vSP OTA app from Android or iOS or Laird Central role BLE radio running a smartBASIC vSP

OTA script

Bx600 Series of Breakout Boards for BL600 module

User Guide

Embedded Wireless Solutions Support Center:
http://ews-support.lairdtech.com
www.lairdtech.com/bluetooth

6

Laird

Americas: [phone]

Europe: [phone]

Hong Kong: [phone]

2.1.3 Understanding the BA600-0x Breakout Board with Coin Cell Holder and Laird FTDI USB-UART

Bridge Board

This section describes the BA600 breakout board hardware options. This breakout board is delivered with the
BL600-07 series module loaded with integrated smartBASIC runtime engine firmware; but no onboard

smartBASIC application is loaded.

Note: smartBASIC applications are simple and easy to develop for any BLE application. Sample

smartBASIC applications are available to download from the Laird BL600 product webpage or via
the Laird global FAE network.

The following images show the BA600 breakout board from the top and bottom sides.

 Shown with the Laird FTDI USB-UART Bridge Board unconnected from J3.

J5 – Access to

SIO_7 (pin 5) and (SIO_28)

nAutoRUN (pin 2)

PTH via holes (1.27 mm pitch)

bring out BL600-07
pins SIO_1 to SIO_8 and SIO_25 to SIO_30

J2 – CR1632 Battery Coin-cell Holder
J3 – UART

PTH via holes (1.27 mm pitch)

bring out BL600-07
pins SIO_8 to SIO_20.

J3 pin1

Top

Bottom

Bx600 Series of Breakout Boards for BL600 module

User Guide

Embedded Wireless Solutions Support Center:
http://ews-support.lairdtech.com
www.lairdtech.com/bluetooth

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Figure 1: BA600 breakout board

2.1.4 Understanding the Laird FTDI USB-UART Bridge Board

The following is a picture of the Laird FTDI USB-UART bridge board supplied with the BA600.

Top

Bottom

Figure 2: FTDI USB-UART bridge board supplied with the BA600 breakout board with integrated coin cell holder.

The BA600 is the only breakout board package that is supplied with the Laird FTDI USB-UART bridge board which
allows the BL600 series module to physically connect to a PC for ease of development.

The Laird FTDI USB-UART bridge board provides USB-to-Virtual COM port conversion through a FTDI chip (part
number FT232R). Any Windows PC (XP or later) should auto-install the necessary drivers; if your PC cannot
locate the drivers, you can download them from http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm

Micro-USB

Type-B

Micro-USB
Type-B

GND – pin 1

B_PC_CTS – Pin 2

CC (3.3V) – Pin 3

USB_PC_TX – Pin 4

USB_PC_RX – Pin 5

USB_PC_RTS – Pin 6

Bx600 Series of Breakout Boards for BL600 module

User Guide

Embedded Wireless Solutions Support Center:
http://ews-support.lairdtech.com
www.lairdtech.com/bluetooth

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Laird

Americas: [phone]

Europe: [phone]

Hong Kong: [phone]

2.1.5 Connecting the Breakout Board BA600 to the Laird FTDI USB-UART Bridge Board

The following picture shows the correct Laird FTDI USB-UART bridge board orientation to connect to the
breakout board BA600.

Figure 3: FTDI USB-UART bridge board orientation to connect to the breakout board BA600

Laird FTDI USB-UART Bridge Board (pin 1 at top)

GND – Pin 1

USB_PC_CTS – Pin 2

VCC (3.3V) – Pin 3

USB_PC_TX – Pin 4

USB_PC_RX – Pin 5

USB_PC_RTS – Pin 6

J3 on BA600-0x (pin1 at top)

Pin 1 – GND

Pin 2 – BL600 RTS (SIO_23)

Pin 3 – (VCC 3.3V input)

Pin 4 – BL600 RX (SIO_22)

Pin 5 – BL600 TX (SIO_21)

Pin 6 – BL600 CTS (SIO24)

Pin 1

Bx600 Series of Breakout Boards for BL600 module

User Guide

Embedded Wireless Solutions Support Center:
http://ews-support.lairdtech.com
www.lairdtech.com/bluetooth

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Laird

Americas: [phone]

Europe: [phone]

Hong Kong: [phone]

2.2 BC600

2.2.1 BC600 Package Contents

The followings table outlines what is included in the BC600 product package:

Breakout Board

The breakout board has the required BL600-07 module soldered on and it exposes all
available hardware interfaces.

Power Option

Battery option via integrated coin-cell holder (CR1632*), 1.8V to 3.6V range.
*No coin cell battery is provided.

Pin Header x 1

J5 (1x6) 6-pin, 2.0 mm pitch header that allows configuration of vSP and nAUtoRUN
functions.

Jumpers

2 x jumpers for use with J5 (2.0 mm pitch) pin header to set configuration for vSP and
nAutoRUN functions.

Web Link Card

Provides links to Support, Documentation, Utilities, sample applications, videos and
latest firmware.

Note: Sample smartBASIC applications are available to download from the Laird BL600

product pages or via BL600 GitHub page.

2.2.2 BC600 Key Features

 Configurable nAutoRUN pin and SIO_7 (vSP, OTA) with J5.

– 6-pin header (J5, 2.0 mm pitch) brings out BL600 module pin 9, SIO_7 (to configure module vSP

between Command, OTA, mode and Bridge mode), and nAutoRUN pin 40, [SIO_28] (for use with
configuring the module into AutoRUN mode or development [interactive] mode).

– J5 header allows vSP [SIO _7] and nAutoRUN [SIO_28] to be pulled either to VCC or GND with the aid

of jumpers (included).

 Power supply option:

– Coin-cell battery CR1632 holder, J2 (fitted on underside of BC600 breakout board)

 Jumpers (used to configure nAutoRUN [SIO_28] and vSP [SIO_7]).
 Analog input sensing with optional resistive divider (R4 and R5) to scale down external voltages to below

BL600-07 series module ADC pin maximum.

Note: You must fit R5 and modify R4 value to scale. See Appendix section 5.1. for more information on

ADC.

 smartBASIC application loading capability

- Via Laird’s vSP OTA app from Android or iOS or Laird Central role BLE radio running a smartBASIC

vSP OTA script

2.2.3 Understanding the BC600 Breakout Board with Integrated Coin Cell Holder

This section describes the BC600 breakout board hardware options. This breakout board is delivered with the
BL600-07 series module loaded with integrated smartBASIC runtime engine firmware; but no onboard

smartBASIC application is loaded.

Note: smartBASIC applications are simple and easy to develop for any BLE application. Sample

smartBASIC applications are available to download from the Laird BL600 product webpage or via
the Laird global FAE network.