BLE application builder/s?

Does anyone have experience with application builders for BLE coprocessors?

Background: what I need seems, on the surface, to be exceptionally simple. In a new product/PCB, I would like to use a Bluetooth module, in coprocessor mode - that is, not as the primary MCU - to act as a wireless “serial port” to connect mobile devices, such as a phone.

When starting my search for an appropriate module, I figured it would be drop-dead simple - basically a half-step up from an Adafruit BlueFruit demo. I expected to pick a Nordic chip, load some stock (or nearly stock) firmware, or maybe even flip a bootstrap pin on the module to use it in this least-common-denominator mode. Instead, what I found is that, while there is plenty of documentation on APIs and other misc, what’s out there always seems to be quite vague - never leaving to any specific use cases.

At this point, I’d be happy with a BLE Hello World.

Ultimately, I had to make a hardware selection before I was able to prototype any firmware on any of the modules under consideration. I ended up going with one from the STM BlueNRG-2 series.

Yet, months later, I’m still not able to get a toehold on the software/firmware part - and software is usually my strong suit. Even after contacting STM directly for support, I still have not encountered any explanation as to how to start building the simple serial-to-BLE serial application - or any BLE application - that will run on the BlueNRG. I suspect that there is a Windows(?) tool to help build up a skeleton, similar to CubeMX for the STM32. Nordic has a tool that does something similar, but it’s not complete either. Despite a multiple, concerted attempts, I’ve yet to locate such a tool.

So, I’m really crossing my fingers here: has anyone built firmware for one of STM’s Bluetooth modules? And/or, does anyone know of a practical document that explains how to get started?

In lieu of that, I think I would even consider going to bat for swapping out the STM module for a Nordic one, if that finally gets the ball rolling.

Thanks in advance.

ST, like most vendors, seems to require you to search for just the right search term to find the starter application pack. Frustrating when you feel like you’ve pulled every thread.

I found UM2666, and that seems like it might have some fruitful links in it for you to look through, if you haven’t found that yet.

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Frustrating barely begins to describe it. :wink: Totally agree about the search string guessing game. STM seems to be one of the worst offenders.

I don’t think I’ve encountered UM2666. Just browsing it so far, it looks to be one of the best references I’ve seen. There is still plenty of STM’s trademark hand waving. But, if I can get ahold of the examples mentioned in the docs, and work through any working example, maybe I can finally prime the pump.

I’m not sure, but it looks like I will need this exact dev board. If that’s the case, so be it. I’ll just have to check and see if it’s one of the ones in my small collection that I put together last fall. :wink:

Sincere thanks for the hot tip!

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