6.1 Setting Up the Bluetooth Nodes

The following are the steps to set up a wireless Bluetooth node:

  1. Connect the RN4678 PICtail board’s PICtail Header J1 to the PIC18 Explorer Development board’s J3 connector.
  2. The following figure illustrates the position of jumpers and switches on the PIC18 Explorer board. Set the jumpers/positions on the PIC18 Explorer Development board as follows:
    • Remove the JP3 and connect J7 Pin No 10 (RH0) to JP3 top side pin
    • JP1 to enable LEDs
    • J13 to ensure that communication is routed through the RS-232 socket
    • J4 to ensure the Main PIC is programmed
    • Switch S4 to enable Processor In Module (PIM) (pointing towards MPLAB REAL ICE In-Circuit Emulator when ON).
  3. Use the switches (S1 and S2) and LCD (LCD1) on the PIC18 Explorer Development board for configuring and monitoring the wireless terminals.
  4. Connect the programmer or debugger (MPLAB REAL ICE In-Circuit Emulator, MPLAB ICD 3 or PICkit 3) to the PIC18 Explorer Development board.
  5. Plug-in the 9V power supply to the PIC18 Explorer Development board through the 9V adapter (wall power) or through a 9V battery, as illustrated in the following figure.
  6. Open the downloaded application demo source code and compile it. Alternatively, in the download folder, use the precompiled RN4678_MCU18_Interface.X.production.hex file.
  7. The generated or precompiled RN4678_MCU18_Interface.X.production.hex file can, then, be programmed into the two wireless nodes A and B using any of the Microchip devices supporting the PIC18F87J11.
  8. The boards are now ready to run the demo. In some instances, it is necessary to run a Hardware Reset to run the code, specifically in the case of the PIC18 Explorer Development board.
    Note:
    • Only connect the 9V battery supply to the PIC18 board if a battery socket provision is made, as illustrated in the following figure.
    • For the application demo, use the 9VMN1604 (9V-6LF22, alkaline manganese dioxide) battery.

For additional information on programming/debugging with the MPLAB ICD 3, refer to the MPLAB® ICD 3 In-Circuit Debugger User's Guide for MPLAB X IDE. For more details on the PIC18 Explorer Development board, refer to the PICDEM™ PIC18 Explorer Demonstration Board User's Guide.

Figure 6-1. Switch and Jumper Positions on the PIC18 Explorer Board