Author Topic: Newbie Bluetooth Question re: default comm data rates  (Read 811 times)

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Offline DundaraveTopic starter

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Newbie Bluetooth Question re: default comm data rates
« on: February 24, 2019, 07:02:30 am »
Since I can't find an answer despite a robust Google effort, I'm sure this must be an incredibly stupid question...

I'm playing with three Bluetooth modules, one an HC-05, another embedded in a Soma Smart Shades blind motor, and a 3rd embedded RPi Bluetooth module, trying to figure out how to get the HC-05 (connected to an Arduino Nano) to talk directly to the blind motor without needing to use the HCI & HomeBridge code via the RPi.  I.e. use the HC-05/Arduino combo to simply emulate the 4 or 5 commands I need to send to the Soma blinds device without needing to use the whole RPi/HomeBridge enchilada.

My question is this:  how does a Bluetooth master know at which data rate to initially talk to an arbitrary slave device (i.e. one it has not connected with before)?  Default commands for HC-05 are at the 38400 rate, and default on-line data rate is 9600, but they can both be changed manually.  The HCITools program on the RPi can return various inquiry and scan data, but I see nothing returned from any device about its presently-configured (i.e. on-line) data rate.

I ask because while the RPi can "inquire" and get data from both the HC-05 and the Soma blind transceiver, I cannot get the Soma transceiver to respond to the HC-05 module via a connect/scan/inquiry command, and I'm thinking that until I confirm that the current Soma blind transceiver on-line data rate is 9600 (or not), I'm just wasting my time. 

For example, if the Soma blind device has been set for on-line data at 19200, how would the HC-05 ever find out? The RPi seems to be able to figure it out, so I'm thinking that there must be a well-known convention that deals with this, but I sure can't find it.  Does it perhaps simply run through all the data rates until it gets a valid response?  If so, I would have hoped that it would display any data rate-finding result in the inquiry response... :-//

Thanks for any insight...
 

Offline DundaraveTopic starter

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Re: Newbie Bluetooth Question re: default comm data rates
« Reply #1 on: February 24, 2019, 06:40:30 pm »
Since I can't find an answer despite a robust Google effort, I'm sure this must be an incredibly stupid question...

Further googling has sent me down an interesting rabbit-hole of low-energy Bluetooth vs legacy types, and the Linux BlueZ Bluetooth stack with its associated command line tool set.  I can so far see that the answer to my question is ultimately buried in the sophisticated Bluetooth master-slave handshake protocols, and that these appear to be done on a "well-known" Bluetooth channel at some standard data rate.

I'll eventually follow up with a summary of what I find re: connecting (and controlling) the standalone HC-05 Bluetooth module to the Soma window blind motor for those interested.  I love getting "down to the metal" with new (to me) technologies. 
 

Offline mvs

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Re: Newbie Bluetooth Question re: default comm data rates
« Reply #2 on: February 24, 2019, 06:57:31 pm »
My question is this:  how does a Bluetooth master know at which data rate to initially talk to an arbitrary slave device (i.e. one it has not connected with before)?  Default commands for HC-05 are at the 38400 rate, and default on-line data rate is 9600, but they can both be changed manually.  The HCITools program on the RPi can return various inquiry and scan data, but I see nothing returned from any device about its presently-configured (i.e. on-line) data rate.
Bluetooth SPP profile is just emulation of UART, there is no fixed/defined bit rate like in UART. If you send a symbol between RPi and HC-05, it will be transmited at available bluetooth link speed, which can be some hunderts of kbit/s.
 

Offline Karel

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Re: Newbie Bluetooth Question re: default comm data rates
« Reply #3 on: February 24, 2019, 07:37:58 pm »
In practice, using Serial Port Profile you can go up to approx. 40 KBytes/sec.

Keep in mind that there's no minimum speed, at least because you have to share the 2.4GHz band with other devices
(Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Industrial, Scientific, Medical, Microwaves, etc.).

https://www.linux.org/threads/bluetooth-and-linux.4555/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISM_band

In short, there's no manufacturer of Bluetooth modules that will guarantee that you can transmit at least one byte per second over a distance of 1 meter...

 


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