HC-06 Bluetooth module, or an unexpected development in the story of the bench power supply.
While I’m getting a short but fairly complex review ready, I decided to take a little break and write about a Bluetooth-UART module.
Not long ago, I did a series of reviews devoted to one of the amateur radio enthusiast’s essential tools: a bench power supply. By the time I was writing the review of the USB-RS232 adapter, I was already planning to call it a day. But then I thought: why use wires to control a power supply in the 21st century? Read on for more about this experiment.
.
As I mentioned above, while working on the last review in the series about the bench power supply
converter
encoder
USB-UART converter
And, indirectly, with small converters
I was about to wrap up this topic, but then I thought: why have an extra cable cluttering up my workbench? No, if a device is installed permanently, a cable is much better, cheaper, more reliable, and so on. But if I use the power supply relatively rarely (certainly much less often than my soldering iron, for example), an extra cable that could end up under that same soldering iron would be a real nuisance.
So I thought about it and ordered a Bluetooth adapter board.
But let’s take things in order.
I ordered the board on June 26. On the 28th, I got a notification that the seller had shipped my package, and by the 29th it was already trackable. That seemed very prompt to me. I picked up the package at the post office on July 11, which also seemed pretty prompt. It then sat untouched at my place for a month—I didn’t have time to work on it—but recently I finally got around to experimenting with it.
It arrived in a little white envelope (I’m so used to yellow ones that it felt a bit strange).
Inside were just the module itself and a short cable, packed in an antistatic bag.
There really shouldn’t be anything else in there, which is also nice.
The module itself is a small board that essentially acts as an adapter, with the actual Bluetooth transceiver board mounted on it. The pin functions are marked on the back. It’s all very minimalist: power, ground, RX, TX.
From the front, you can see the Bluetooth module itself and the adapter board it’s mounted on. The board has a voltage regulator (the Bluetooth module itself runs on 3.3 V) and an LED that indicates the connection status (it stays on when connected and blinks when there’s no connection). There’s nothing stopping you from using the Bluetooth module on its own, without the adapter board (it’s also sold that way), but this setup was more convenient for me.
Next, I had to get the module up and running somehow. I powered it up and used BlueSoleil to search for devices. Almost immediately, it found a new device nearby. I clicked it, entered the standard code for this module, 1234, and the LED on the board came on steadily. The serial ports button in BlueSoleil also became active.
After I clicked that button, I was delighted to be told that I now had COM5.
First, I decided to check how much current the device draws.
The device has two modes: active and low-power sleep.
It automatically enters sleep mode after 5 seconds of inactivity and wakes up when it receives any command.
In active mode, it draws a little over 20 mA from 5 V.
A little over 4 mA in sleep mode. I think more than half of that is the LED and the 3.3 V regulator. If you remove those, the current will be even lower.
After that, I connected the module's RX and TX pins together and checked for an echo in the terminal (I use PuTTY). The connection works without any problems. I checked the range, and it works within a room. If anyone's interested, I can test it over a longer distance, but the test wouldn't be objective, since the range also depends on the Bluetooth adapter in the computer.
That was the limit of my knowledge, so I went online to look for instructions on using these modules.
After browsing around, I found out that there are many versions of these modules. When I bought mine, I just read on AliExpress that it could only work as a client. There are modules that can work as a master, but I didn't need one of those.
Here I found some information about the modules, which I'll copy here.
Types of modules —
The command set varies between modules (since it depends on the firmware; there are HC-05 and Linvor versions). The HC-05 firmware (HC-03/HC-05 modules) uses one set of commands (there are quite a few), while the Linvor firmware (HC-04/HC-06 modules) uses another (just three AT commands). The procedure for using AT commands also differs.
By the way, when sending a command to the module, you have to send it all at once: first type the entire command, then send it. Otherwise, the module won't recognize it. I first tried doing this with Bray's terminal, and it worked without any problems, but it wasn't very convenient.
After some more browsing, I came across a page with a pretty handy program for configuring these modules.
I connected the module using an adapter.
Everything worked without a hitch. By the way, the module's default settings are standard for many devices: 9600,n,8,1
The program showed that my module has firmware version 1.8. I don't know whether that's good or bad; I'm just mentioning it in case it's useful to someone.
I immediately renamed my module after the power supply I planned to install it in.
So, I opened up the power supply, disconnected the COM-USB adapter that was already installed, connected four wires, and launched the power supply control software—and hit a wall. :((((
The software couldn't see my power supply, even though the echo test worked without a problem.
After trying a few things, I figured out that the software's commands were reaching the power supply. In fact, the power supply was even responding, but the manufacturer's software simply couldn't see its replies.
I was pretty disappointed, so I decided to use the old “phone a friend” option.
My friend is a programmer, and we sometimes work on projects together: I handle the hardware, and he handles the software.
He surprised me this time. After reading my review of the power supply, he had decided to write his own software to control it—but, as you'd expect, with all the bells and whistles: graphs, large readouts, the ability to add battery charging modes with proper charge termination, logging, and so on…
The most interesting part was that, to make it easier to write the software for the power supply, he wrote an emulator for it.
In other words, after reading the power supply's command set, he built a virtual power supply. A typical programmer's approach—it reminded me of CPU not found! Press any key to emulation. :)))
But the most surprising thing was that Bluetooth worked flawlessly with this software.
So, by chance, software written while working with the power supply emulator ended up working better than the manufacturer's own software.
Below are some screenshots of the software. These are still test versions, without the extra features, but they're already showing signs of life—and, most importantly, they work properly with the Bluetooth adapter (USB works without a problem too).
You can see from the screenshots that the software is still a bit rough around the edges. The graph auto-scales, so at 12 V it shows the maximum.
Here I tried to show that the software works over Bluetooth. Sorry, this is the best I could do. :)
The software will be further developed. Most likely, I'll add it to this review or a later one if it's related to this topic (my urge to improve things won't let me leave well enough alone).
Summary.
The adapter works without any problems; I have no complaints or issues. I tried leaving it running for 24 hours, and it didn't freeze or get hot. I can't comment on its current consumption, but its performance more than met my needs, as did its range. The price is quite reasonable.
I haven't found any downsides so far.
My plans for the future include polishing the software (though that's more on the programmer's to-do list). I want to modify the COM-USB adapter board so that both connection options can be used (though obviously not at the same time), with automatic switching between them. In theory, the signals from the modules could be isolated with simple diode circuits, but I haven't got around to it yet.
Just in case, here's the software for configuring these modules.
P.S. Some people might say that a lab power supply with Bluetooth control is a gimmick, and they'd have a point. But I don't use the power supply often, and it isn't always on my desk. An extra cable just gets in the way. This way, I can put it in another corner of the room, start charging a battery, for example, and check on the progress from time to time without getting up from my desk. I find that pretty convenient.
I hope someone finds this review useful.
Not long ago, I did a series of reviews devoted to one of the amateur radio enthusiast’s essential tools: a bench power supply. By the time I was writing the review of the USB-RS232 adapter, I was already planning to call it a day. But then I thought: why use wires to control a power supply in the 21st century? Read on for more about this experiment.
.
As I mentioned above, while working on the last review in the series about the bench power supply
converter
encoder
USB-UART converter
And, indirectly, with small converters
I was about to wrap up this topic, but then I thought: why have an extra cable cluttering up my workbench? No, if a device is installed permanently, a cable is much better, cheaper, more reliable, and so on. But if I use the power supply relatively rarely (certainly much less often than my soldering iron, for example), an extra cable that could end up under that same soldering iron would be a real nuisance.
So I thought about it and ordered a Bluetooth adapter board.
But let’s take things in order.
I ordered the board on June 26. On the 28th, I got a notification that the seller had shipped my package, and by the 29th it was already trackable. That seemed very prompt to me. I picked up the package at the post office on July 11, which also seemed pretty prompt. It then sat untouched at my place for a month—I didn’t have time to work on it—but recently I finally got around to experimenting with it.
It arrived in a little white envelope (I’m so used to yellow ones that it felt a bit strange).
Inside were just the module itself and a short cable, packed in an antistatic bag.
There really shouldn’t be anything else in there, which is also nice.
The module itself is a small board that essentially acts as an adapter, with the actual Bluetooth transceiver board mounted on it. The pin functions are marked on the back. It’s all very minimalist: power, ground, RX, TX.
From the front, you can see the Bluetooth module itself and the adapter board it’s mounted on. The board has a voltage regulator (the Bluetooth module itself runs on 3.3 V) and an LED that indicates the connection status (it stays on when connected and blinks when there’s no connection). There’s nothing stopping you from using the Bluetooth module on its own, without the adapter board (it’s also sold that way), but this setup was more convenient for me.
Next, I had to get the module up and running somehow. I powered it up and used BlueSoleil to search for devices. Almost immediately, it found a new device nearby. I clicked it, entered the standard code for this module, 1234, and the LED on the board came on steadily. The serial ports button in BlueSoleil also became active.
After I clicked that button, I was delighted to be told that I now had COM5.
First, I decided to check how much current the device draws.
The device has two modes: active and low-power sleep.
It automatically enters sleep mode after 5 seconds of inactivity and wakes up when it receives any command.
In active mode, it draws a little over 20 mA from 5 V.
A little over 4 mA in sleep mode. I think more than half of that is the LED and the 3.3 V regulator. If you remove those, the current will be even lower.
After that, I connected the module's RX and TX pins together and checked for an echo in the terminal (I use PuTTY). The connection works without any problems. I checked the range, and it works within a room. If anyone's interested, I can test it over a longer distance, but the test wouldn't be objective, since the range also depends on the Bluetooth adapter in the computer.
That was the limit of my knowledge, so I went online to look for instructions on using these modules.
After browsing around, I found out that there are many versions of these modules. When I bought mine, I just read on AliExpress that it could only work as a client. There are modules that can work as a master, but I didn't need one of those.
Here I found some information about the modules, which I'll copy here.
Types of modules —
The command set varies between modules (since it depends on the firmware; there are HC-05 and Linvor versions). The HC-05 firmware (HC-03/HC-05 modules) uses one set of commands (there are quite a few), while the Linvor firmware (HC-04/HC-06 modules) uses another (just three AT commands). The procedure for using AT commands also differs.
By the way, when sending a command to the module, you have to send it all at once: first type the entire command, then send it. Otherwise, the module won't recognize it. I first tried doing this with Bray's terminal, and it worked without any problems, but it wasn't very convenient.
After some more browsing, I came across a page with a pretty handy program for configuring these modules.
I connected the module using an adapter.
Everything worked without a hitch. By the way, the module's default settings are standard for many devices: 9600,n,8,1
The program showed that my module has firmware version 1.8. I don't know whether that's good or bad; I'm just mentioning it in case it's useful to someone.
I immediately renamed my module after the power supply I planned to install it in.
So, I opened up the power supply, disconnected the COM-USB adapter that was already installed, connected four wires, and launched the power supply control software—and hit a wall. :((((
The software couldn't see my power supply, even though the echo test worked without a problem.
After trying a few things, I figured out that the software's commands were reaching the power supply. In fact, the power supply was even responding, but the manufacturer's software simply couldn't see its replies.
I was pretty disappointed, so I decided to use the old “phone a friend” option.
My friend is a programmer, and we sometimes work on projects together: I handle the hardware, and he handles the software.
He surprised me this time. After reading my review of the power supply, he had decided to write his own software to control it—but, as you'd expect, with all the bells and whistles: graphs, large readouts, the ability to add battery charging modes with proper charge termination, logging, and so on…
The most interesting part was that, to make it easier to write the software for the power supply, he wrote an emulator for it.
In other words, after reading the power supply's command set, he built a virtual power supply. A typical programmer's approach—it reminded me of CPU not found! Press any key to emulation. :)))
But the most surprising thing was that Bluetooth worked flawlessly with this software.
So, by chance, software written while working with the power supply emulator ended up working better than the manufacturer's own software.
Below are some screenshots of the software. These are still test versions, without the extra features, but they're already showing signs of life—and, most importantly, they work properly with the Bluetooth adapter (USB works without a problem too).
You can see from the screenshots that the software is still a bit rough around the edges. The graph auto-scales, so at 12 V it shows the maximum.
Here I tried to show that the software works over Bluetooth. Sorry, this is the best I could do. :)
The software will be further developed. Most likely, I'll add it to this review or a later one if it's related to this topic (my urge to improve things won't let me leave well enough alone).
Summary.
The adapter works without any problems; I have no complaints or issues. I tried leaving it running for 24 hours, and it didn't freeze or get hot. I can't comment on its current consumption, but its performance more than met my needs, as did its range. The price is quite reasonable.
I haven't found any downsides so far.
My plans for the future include polishing the software (though that's more on the programmer's to-do list). I want to modify the COM-USB adapter board so that both connection options can be used (though obviously not at the same time), with automatic switching between them. In theory, the signals from the modules could be isolated with simple diode circuits, but I haven't got around to it yet.
Just in case, here's the software for configuring these modules.
P.S. Some people might say that a lab power supply with Bluetooth control is a gimmick, and they'd have a point. But I don't use the power supply often, and it isn't always on my desk. An extra cable just gets in the way. This way, I can put it in another corner of the room, start charging a battery, for example, and check on the progress from time to time without getting up from my desk. I find that pretty convenient.
I hope someone finds this review useful.
This page was found when searching for:
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The figures from this review are in the measurement database: Other devices
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