Bluetooth modules for long-range industrial cabling replacement?

Sept. 26, 2013
Laird announces new Class 1 Bluetooth series; BT700 modules developed for long range cable replacement applications.

Laird has released its high performance Class 1 Bluetooth 700 Series modules, including both the BT730 and BT740 variant modules. A key application area for the BT700 Series includes industrial cable replacement, says the company.

Every BT700 Series module is designed to add robust, long-range Bluetooth data connectivity to any device. Other applications include medical devices, ePOS terminals, automotive diagnostic equipment and barcode scanners.

“Laird’s Bluetooth modules have been used in a wide variety of portable, battery-powered applications for many years,” comments Jonathan Kaye, product manager for Laird. “And the release of the BT700 series of modules allows us to further enhance our portfolio for longer range Bluetooth applications. The BT700 series packs incredible output power and receive sensitivity into a tiny module form factor.”

Based on the Cambridge Silicon's (CSR) BC04 chipset, the modules provide exceptionally low power consumption with outstanding Class 1 range via 18 dBm of transmit power. All BT700 series modules support either on board antenna or u.FL for external antenna connection plus a broad range of Bluetooth profiles including Serial Port Profile (SPP) and a robust AT command interface.

See: Supporting industrial networks with cabling and wireless systems

The BT730 variant modules are based on the Bluetooth v2.0 specification, providing OEMs with a time served firmware implementation, used across similar Laird Bluetooth modules. The range of the BT730 variant modules are proven in the Laird application note, Laird BT730 Range Testing. The application note describes the setup, procedure and results of reaching almost 1,000 meters with two Laird BT730 radios.

The BT740 variant modules support the Bluetooth v 2.1 specification, including Secure Simple Pairing, which enhances security and ease of use for end customers. The innovative embedded firmware provides programming support for multi-point applications that use up to seven simultaneous data connections to and from the BT740 modules.

The BT700 Series modules are all fully qualified as Bluetooth End products, enabling designers to integrate the modules in devices without the need for further Bluetooth Qualification. A developer’s kit makes it easy for an OEM to integrate the module and guarantees the fastest route to prototype and then mass production.

Mass production quantities of modules and the associated development kits are available now from all Laird global distributors. Embedded wireless solutions from Laird include Summit Wi-Fi radio modules, a full line of Bluetooth radio modules and RAMP radio modules. Visit http://www.lairdtech.com for more information.

More: White paper discusses role of wireless in industrial networks

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