Pico-BLE

Introduction

Note

The module can only be connected to the mobile phone currently.
V1.1 (purchased after 2022/02/20), supports connection with Raspberry PI.

Introduction

The Pico-BLE is a dual-mode Bluetooth 5.1 expansion module designed for Raspberry Pi Pico, which is controlled via UART AT commands, with SPP and BLE support. Combined with the Raspberry Pi Pico, it can be used for Bluetooth wireless communication applications.

Features

Standard Raspberry Pi Pico header, supports Raspberry Pi Pico series.
Controlled via UART AT commands, get started quickly.
Comes with online development resources and manual (Raspberry Pi Pico C/C++ and MicroPython examples).

Specifications

Input voltage: 3.3V/5V
Communication: UART
Communication rate: up to 1,000,000 bps
Dimensions: 56.5 × 21mm

Pinout

Dimensions

Examples

For the Pico-BLE module, we provide an serial example. Hereby we take C codes to explain the function.

Hardware Interface

BLE.c

The Bluetooth module initialization function mainly judges whether the Bluetooth module is successfully connected to the mobile phone, whether the notify function is enabled, querying the baud rate of the Bluetooth module, judges whether it is in low power mode, name, address, and modifying the name of the module.

void BLE_Init()

Execute and process BLE commands.

uint8_t Cmd_Process(uint8_t *data)
    data: the address of the command pointer to send

Transparent transmission receiving function, what data the mobile phone sends to the module, the module receives and returns the same data with this function.

void UART_RX()     Query receive
void UART_RX_IRQ() Interrupt receive

Parameter Modification

BLE.h

#define UART_ID uart0       Pico serial port selection
#define BAUD_RATE 115200    Serial port baud rate selection
#define DATA_BITS 8         Serial port data bits
#define STOP_BITS 1         Serial port data stop bits
#define PARITY UART_PARITY_NONE  Whether the serial port performs parity check
#define UART_TX_PIN 0       Pico serial port TX pin selection
#define UART_RX_PIN 1       Pico serial port RX pin selection
#define BLE_MODE_PIN 15     Bluetooth module status detection pin

Module Command

CMD.h

For specific use, please refer to the user manual.

Demonstration

Mobile Phone APP Demo

Connect the Pico/Pico2 and Pico-BLE:
Open the Python demo and run:

Open the software on the smartphone. (This is just a demo, you can download any Bluetooth APP from the app store.)

Click to pair:

Click on Pairing and the following will appear on the computer and the phone:

Enter the data on your cell phone and click send (your computer will show you the screen where you sent it):

PS: Apps using the BLE protocol on the mobile side need to open the notify interface.

Computer AT Command Demonstration

Use the USB to the serial port module to connect the computer and Pico-BLE, open the SSCOM software, select the corresponding baud rate (the default is 115200), enter the command, and enable "carriage return and line feed" (must be, otherwise the command will be invalid).

The above command is a reset command, please refer to the user manual for more commands.

V1.1 (Purchased after 2022/02/20)

Includes all the features of the previous version, with the following new features.

Raspberry Pi Connection

Input "bluetoothctl" to enter the Bluetooth interactive mode.
Input "Show" to check the Bluetooth status.
"Powered: yes" means the Bluetooth can be opened.
"Discoverable: no" means it cannot be searched by other devices.
"Pairable: yes" runs to pair.

powered yes opens the Bluetooth, powered no closes the Bluetooth
pairable yes allows it to pair, pairable no means no pairing

Input "scan on" to query the Bluetooth.

Input "pair [MAC]" to pair the Bluetooth.
When pairing SPP, input the contents according to the requirements if the pairing code is set.
When pairing BLE, you can directly observe whether it is paired successfully.

Input "exit" to exit the Bluetooth interactive mode.
Automatically connect to the Bluetooth corresponding to the address.

sudo rfcomm conn /dev/rfcomm0 [MAC]

When it is successfully created the label characters are shown.

The port is already in use when the following content is shown.

After successfully creating, the Raspberry Pi will automatically generate a serial port number, rfcomm0.
Send the data

echo 1234541 > /dev/rfcomm0

Read the data.

cat /dev/rfcomm0

Resource

Document

Demo

Demo codes

Serial Port Assistant

Development Softwares

Pico Getting Started

Firmware Download

MicroPython Firmware Download

C_Blink Firmware Download

Introduction

Raspberry Pi Pico Basics

MicroPython Series

Install Thonny IDE

In order to facilitate the development of Pico/Pico2 boards using MicroPython on a computer, it is recommended to download the Thonny IDE

Download Thonny IDE and follow the steps to install, the installation packages are all Windows versions, please refer to Thonny's official website for other versions
After installation, the language and motherboard environment need to be configured for the first use. Since we are using Pico/Pico2, pay attention to selecting the Raspberry Pi option for the motherboard environment

Configure MicroPython environment and choose Pico/Pico2 port
- Connect Pico/Pico2 to your computer first, and in the lower right corner of Thonny left-click on the configuration environment option --> select Configture interpreter
- In the pop-up window, select MicroPython (Raspberry Pi Pico), and choose the corresponding port

Flash Firmware

Click OK to return to the Thonny main interface, download the corresponding firmware library and burn it to the device, and then click the Stop button to display the current environment in the Shell window
Note: Flashing the Pico2 firmware provided by Micropython may cause the device to be unrecognized, please use the firmware below or in the package
- Pico firmware library
- Pico2 firmware library
How to download the firmware library for Pico/Pico2 in windows: After holding down the BOOT button and connecting to the computer, release the BOOT button, a removable disk will appear on the computer, copy the firmware library into it
How to download the firmware library for RP2040/RP2350 in windows: After connecting to the computer, press the BOOT key and the RESET key at the same time, release the RESET key first and then release the BOOT key, a removable disk will appear on the computer, copy the firmware library into it (you can also use the Pico/Pico2 method)

MicroPython Series

【MicroPython】 machine.Pin class function details
【MicroPython】machine.PWM class function details
【MicroPython】machine.ADC class function details
【MicroPython】machine.UART class function details
【MicroPython】machine.I2C class function details
【MicroPython】machine.SPI class function details
【MicroPython】rp2.StateMachine class function details

C/C++ Series

For C/C++, it is recommended to use Pico VS Code for development. This is a Microsoft Visual Studio Code extension designed to make it easier for you to create, develop, and debug projects for the Raspberry Pi Pico series development boards. No matter if you are a beginner or an experienced professional, this tool can assist you in developing Pico with confidence and ease. Here's how to install and use the extension.

Official website tutorial: https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/pico-vscode-extension/
This tutorial is suitable for Raspberry Pi Pico, Pico2 and the RP2040 and RP2350 series development boards developed by Waveshare
The development environment defaults to Windows11. For other environments, please refer to the official tutorial for installation

Install VSCode

First, click to download pico-vscode package, unzip and open the package, double-click to install VSCode

Note: If vscode is installed, check if the version is v1.87.0 or later

Install Extension

Click Extensions and select Install from VSIX
Select the package with the vsix suffix and click Install
Then vscode will automatically install raspberry-pi-pico and its dependency extensions, you can click Refresh to check the installation progress
The text in the right lower corner shows that the installation is complete. Close VSCode

Configure Extension

Open directory C:\Users\username and copy the entire .pico-sdk to that directory
The copy is completed

Open vscode and configure the paths for the Raspberry Pi Pico extensions

The configuration is as follows:

Cmake Path:
${HOME}/.pico-sdk/cmake/v3.28.6/bin/cmake.exe

Git Path:
${HOME}/.pico-sdk/git/cmd/git.exe    

Ninja Path:
${HOME}/.pico-sdk/ninja/v1.12.1/ninja.exe

Python3 Path:
${HOME}/.pico-sdk/python/3.12.1/python.exe

New Project

The configuration is complete, create a new project, enter the project name, select the path, and click Create to create the project
To test the official example, you can click on the Example next to the project name to select
The project is created successfully

Compile Project

Select the SDK version
Select Yes for advanced configuration
Choose the cross-compilation chain, 13.2.Rel1 is applicable for ARM cores, RISCV.13.3 is applicable for RISCV cores. You can select either based on your requirements
Select Default for CMake version (the path configured earlier)
Select Default for Ninjaversion
Select the development board
Click Complie to compile
The uf2 format file is successfully compiled

Import Project

Select the project directory and import the project
The Cmake file of the imported project cannot have Chinese (including comments), otherwise the import may fail
To import your own project, you need to add a line of code to the Cmake file to switch between pico and pico2 normally, otherwise even if pico2 is selected, the compiled firmware will still be suitable for pico
```
set(PICO_BOARD pico CACHE STRING "Board type")
```

Update Extension

The extension version in the offline package is 0.15.2, and you can also choose to update to the latest version after the installation is complete

Arduino IDE Series

Install Arduino IDE

First, go to Arduino official website to download the installation package of the Arduino IDE.
Here, you can select Just Download.
Once the download is complete, click Install.

Notice: During the installation process, it will prompt you to install the driver, just click Install

Arduino IDE Interface

After the first installation, when you open the Arduino IDE, it will be in English. You can switch to other languages in File --> Preferences, or continue using the English interface.
In the Language field, select the language you want to switch to, and click OK.

Install Arduino-Pico Core in the Arduino IDE

Open the Arduino IDE, click on the file in the top left corner, and select Preferences

Add the following link to the attached board manager URL, and then click OK

https://github.com/earlephilhower/arduino-pico/releases/download/4.0.2/package_rp2040_index.json

Note: If you already have an ESP32 board URL, you can use a comma to separate the URLs as follows:

https://dl.espressif.com/dl/package_esp32_index.json,https://github.com/earlephilhower/arduino-pico/releases/download/4.0.2/package_rp2040_index.json

Click Tools > Development Board > Board Manager > Search pico, as my computer has already been installed, it shows that it is installed

Upload Demo at the First Time

Press and hold the BOOTSET button on the Pico board, connect the pico to the USB port of the computer via the Micro USB cable, and release the button after the computer recognizes a removable hard disk (RPI-RP2).
Download the program and open D1-LED.ino under the arduino\PWM\D1-LED path
Click Tools --> Port, remember the existing COM, do not click this COM (the COM displayed is different on different computers, remember the COM on your own computer)
Connect the driver board to the computer using a USB cable. Then, go to Tools > Port. For the first connection, select uf2 Board. After uploading, when you connect again, an additional COM port will appear
Click Tools > Development Board > Raspberry Pi Pico > Raspberry Pi Pico or Raspberry Pi Pico 2
After setting it up, click the right arrow to upload the program

If issues arise during this period, and if you need to reinstall or update the Arduino IDE version, it is necessary to uninstall the Arduino IDE completely. After uninstalling the software, you need to manually delete all contents within the C:\Users\[name]\AppData\Local\Arduino15 folder (you need to show hidden files to see this folder). Then, proceed with a fresh installation.

Open Source Demos

MircoPython video demo (github)
MicroPython firmware/Blink demos (C)
Raspberry Pi official C/C++ demo (github)
Raspberry Pi official micropython demo (github)
Arduino official C/C++ demo (github)

FAQ

Question:

Can Pico-BLE be used as a host?

Answer:

No, currently only the slave mode is supported

Support

Technical Support

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