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  • Author Author: fvan
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[Bluetooth Unleashed] Felo'melorn #2: Redbear Blend

fvan

My hero board has arrived!

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Redbear Blend v1

 

The Redbear Blend is an Arduino compatible board "blending" it with BLE 4.0 functionality, hence the name "Blend". It is basically an Arduino Leonardo powered by an Atmel ATmega32U4, combined with a Nordic nRF8001 BLE chip.

image

Source: redbear

 

It has the classic Arduino header layout and reset button, but also has a switch to toggle between 5V and 3.3V I/O and a whole bunch of jumpers. I haven't been able to find what these jumpers are for, except switch certain I/O from REQN to RDYN, making a connection to the BLE chip. Probably wisest to no touch and leave as is, for the moment.

 

There is also a micro version of the board, for more compact applications, where size is relevant.

 

This is the version of the board I received for this challenge, but there is a successor ...

 

Redbear Blend v2

 

The Blend v2 has an upgraded MCU and BLE chip. It is powered by a Cortex-M3 MCU and the newer nRF52832 BLE 5.0 chip.

image

Source: seeedstudio

 

It adds two Grove connectors to the board, but no longer has the configurable 5V/3.3V operation switch (now 3.3V only). Everything still packaged in the classic Arduino form factor.

 

But ...

 

Redbear Blend ... Retired

 

And this is where the importance of research comes in. I applied quite late to the challenge, and intuitively went for something that wasn't completely new to me. Not being too familiar with bluetooth, I opted for familiar hardware and coding technique.

 

I saw two options: pick the Raspberry Pi or go with Arduino.

 

Because of the nature of the project, Arduino seemed like the way to go: low power, small form factor, easier hardware control. So, at the time, I picked the Redbear Blend.

 

It was only later, when I was looking at potentially purchasing more, or even smaller variants like the Redbear Blend Micro, that I discovered that range of boards had been retired. This means that I'm now building a project with obsolete hardware, which is not ideal for anyone trying to reproduce this projects or some elements from it.

 

From what I understood, Redbear has recently been acquired by Particle, which you may know from their original Spark Core or more recent Particle Photon and Electron, meaning the company's focus is shifting and there is no longer room many dev boards.

 

Redbear has published an announcement on their website: https://redbear.cc/particle

 

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In case of the Blend, the most relevant line, is the following:

All other products will be discontinued once the existing stocks are cleared and supported till end of September 2018

 

Ouch ... image

 

Alternatives

 

Though it's not the best feeling to know I'll be working with obsolete hardware from the start, it's comforting to know there are alternatives out there, like Adafruit's nRF8001 breakout board for example.

 

The fact that this device is Arduino compatible, also makes the code easily portable to another type of Arduino, apart from the Bluetooth part, depending on the module used.

 

Could perhaps be an interesting thing to test near the end of the project: port the code to a non-obsolete hardware combination and see if everything still works.

 

Felo'fact

 

Let's finish this post with another fact about Felo'melorn:

Elven blades grow stronger with each reforging, but only in the hands of the finest craftsmen.

 

 

See you soon, as I get started with the Redbear and blink an LED!