Roving Networks FIREFLY RN-240, FIREFLY RN-422 Install Manual And User Manual

FireFly User Manual

www.rovingnetworks.com

RN-240-um Version 1.0 2/22/2010

F

IREFLY

RN-240 & RN-422

Bluetooth Serial Adapter

Install Guide and User Manual

Version 1.0

Copyright © 2010 Roving Networks, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The contents of this document can be changed by Roving networks without prior notice and do not

constitute any binding undertakings from Roving networks. Roving Networks is not responsible under any

circumstances for direct, indirect, unexpected or consequent damage that is caused by this document.

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FireFly User Manual

www.rovingnetworks.com

RN-240-um Version 1.0 2/22/2010

Overview

The FireFly serial adapter is compact, versatile Class 1 Bluetooth serial adapter. It enables wireless connections
to any legacy serial port and supports bi-directional RS232 or RS422 signaling at a rate of up to 464Kbps. Just
attach the FireFly to your device's RS232/EIA232/422 port, connect over Bluetooth, and you have a wireless cable
replacement solution. The transmit range can be up to 330' (100M), depending upon environmental factors.

FireFly Bluetooth adapter can be used as a Bluetooth Master or Slave device. The SPP connection to the unit
appears via a virtual COM interface. Data is sent and received on the client exactly as if a serial cable was
connected to a real COM port on the client.

FireFly can also be used in cable replacement mode where two Roving Networks Bluetooth devices are paired
using the configuration switches. The USB to Bluetooth (RN-USB-X) has pairing switches and can be used with
the FireFly BP to create a wireless connection to a PC without using the PC’s Bluetooth stack. For more
information on cable replacement, please refer to our “Cable Replacement Application Note” on the website.

Status LEDs

The GREEN LED shows the Bluetooth connection status and the adapter operational mode. Upon boot up, it blinks
two times per second. In configuration mode, it blinks at a fat rate of ten times per second. When the module is in
discoverable or idle mode, the GREEN LED blinks one time per second. When the module is in connected sate, the
GREEN LED is solid ON.

MODE GREEN LED BLINK

In Configuration mode Fast, 10 x per second
Boot up, Remote Configurable 2 times per second
Discoverable/Idle 1 time per second
Connected On Solid

The yellow LED blinks when data is sent or received on the serial interface. This does not indicate that the data
was sent over the Bluetooth connection. If the yellow LED is not flashing when your device is sending data to the
serial port, you likely have the connection or flow control incorrectly set.

Some versions of RN-240 have a RED LED. This LED blinks when there is data being received over the RF link.

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FireFly User Manual

www.rovingnetworks.com

RN-240-um Version 1.0 2/22/2010

Making a Bluetooth Connection

By default, the FireFly acts as a slave and the PC is the master. Connecting to the FireFly is done through the
Bluetooth device manager which has a different look and feel in Window CE, 2K, XP, Vista and Windows 7.
Regardless of the PC operating system, the process is essentially the same: Discovery, Pairing, and Connecting.

These processes are described below for a Windows 7 machine.

Discovery: The FireFly must be discoverable by simply turning it on. The Green LED should be blinking. On
your PC open the Bluetooth device manager and click on “Add” a new device. The Bluetooth device manager is
located in the bottom right corner of your screen in the taskbar. The Bluetooth device manager will display a list
of all the Bluetooth devices that are discoverable. The FireFly will be displayed as “FireFly-XXXX” where XXX is
the last 4 digits of the MAC address.

Pairing: Next you must pair with the device by double clicking on FireFly-XXXX in the list. Select “Enter the
device’s pairing code” option from the list. Enter the default pin code of 1234. Once the Bluetooth device
manager completes you will see a message to the effect, “Bluetooth device installed on COMX” where COMX is
unique to your machine. In some cases the Bluetooth device manager will create two COM ports, in this case you
only want to use the COM port labeled “outgoing”.

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FireFly User Manual

www.rovingnetworks.com

RN-240-um Version 1.0 2/22/2010

You only need to pair with the FireFly once.

Connecting: To establish a Bluetooth connection, open up the COM port assigned to the device from either your
application or a terminal emulator. Once the COM port is open you will notice the green LED switches from
blinking to solid ON. The device will remain connected until the COM port is closed or the FireFly is turned off.

Pin Codes and Link Keys

If either the local or the remote Bluetooth device has authentication enabled, the following process occurs.

1. The first time a connection is attempted, a “passkey” is required. This is a series of numbers or
characters. (1234 is the default for the Roving Networks Bluetooth devices and modules)

2. Once this is entered, the remote Bluetooth device and local device compare their passkeys and if they
match, a link key is generated, and stored. Usually, but not always this is stored by the remote device.

3. Upon subsequent connections, the devices will first compare link keys and if they are correct, no pin code
will have to be re-entered.

If the remote device is a PC or PDA, a prompt is generally made to the user to enter this pincode. To remove the
stored link key on the remote device, generally you “unpair” or remove the device from the Bluetooth manager.
You can change the Pin Code to remove the link key on the FireFly. This will be forcing a new Pin Code exchange
process to occur upon subsequent connection attempts.

NOTE: Only one Master can connect to the FireFly at a time.

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