5.1.2.2 BLE Legacy Advertisements

This section explains how to enable BLE Advertisements on the PIC32-BZ6 Curiosity board using the MPLAB Code Configurator (MCC). In this basic application example, the advertisement interval will be set to 1 sec.

Users can choose to either run the precompiled Application Example hex file provided on the PIC32-BZ6 Curiosity Board or follow the steps to develop the application from scratch.

These examples build upon one another. It is recommended to follow the examples in sequence to understand the basic concepts before progressing to the advanced topics.

Hardware Required

Table 5-12. Hardware Prerequisites
S. No.	Tool	Quantity
1	PIC32-BZ6 Curiosity Board	1
2	Micro USB cable	1
3	Android/iOS Smartphone	1
4	(Optional) Power Debugger⁽¹⁾/Multimeter/Oscilloscope to measure power Note: For more information, refer to Power Debugger in Reference Documentation from Related Links.	1

SDK Setup

Refer to Getting Started with Software Development from Related Links.

Software

To install Tera Term tool, refer to the Tera Term web page in Reference Documentation from Related Links.

Smartphone App

Light Blue iOS/Android app available in stores.

Programming the Precompiled Hex File or Application Example

Using MPLAB® X IPE:

Import and program the precompiled hex file: <Harmony Content Path>\wireless_apps_pic32_bz6\apps\ble\building_blocks\peripheral\legacy_adv\precompiled_hex\legacy_adv.X.production.signed.hex.
For detailed steps, refer to Programming a Device in MPLAB® IPE in Reference Documentation from Related Links.

Note: Ensure to choose the correct Device and Tool information.

Using MPLAB® X IDE:

Perform the following the steps mentioned in Running a Precompiled Example. For more information, refer to Running a Precompiled Application Example from Related Links.
Open and program the application: <Harmony Content Path>\wireless_apps_pic32_bz6\apps\ble\building_blocks\peripheral\legacy_adv\firmware\legacy_adv.X.
For more details on how to find the Harmony Content Path, refer to Installing the MCC Plugin from Related Links.

Demo Description

This application example enables transmitting non-connectable, undirected BLE Advertisements. On reset, “Advertising” will appear on a terminal emulator like TeraTerm, denoting the start of advertisements.

Testing

Using a micro USB cable, connect the Debug USB on the Curiosity board to a PC.
Program the precompiled hex file or application example as mentioned.
Open Tera Term:
- Set the “Serial Port” to USB Serial Device.
- Speed to 115200.
For more details on how to set the “Serial Port” and “Speed”, refer to COM Port Setup in Running a Precompiled Application Example from Related Links.
Press the NMCLR Button on the Curiosity board and console should output this.
Open the LightBlue app on your smartphone to scan for advertisements. A device with the name “pic32cx-bz6” will appear. Users with an iOS device may see the device name as “Microchip”.
Users using a wireshark sniffer can examine the complete Application Payload sent.
Figure 5-71. Wireshark

Note: Users can use another PIC32-BZ6 Curiosity board configured as BLE Legacy Scan (central) instead of using a mobile app. For more information, refer to BLE Legacy Scan from Related Links.

Current Consumption Measurement

Hardware modification

Remove the resistors R925 and R777 on PIC32-BZ6 Curiosity board .

Note: Current measured in Sleep mode as per Wireless_ble v 1.4.0 in PIC32-BZ6 Curiosity board is around 1.2 mA.

Developing this Application from scratch using MPLAB Code Configurator

Follow the steps below to build the application manually:

Note: It is recommended for the new users of the MPLAB Code Configurator to refer MPLAB® Code Configurator (MCC) User’s Guide in Reference Documentation from Related Links.

Create a new harmony project. For more details, see Creating a New MCC Harmony Project from Related Links.
Setup the basic components and configuration required to develop this application, import component configuration: <Harmony Content Path>\wireless_apps_pic32_bz6\apps\ble\building_blocks\peripheral\legacy_adv\firmware\legacy_adv.X\legacy_adv.mc3.
Accept dependencies or satisfiers when prompted.
Verify if the Project Graph window has all the expected configuration.
Figure 5-72. Project Graph

Verify Advertisement Configuration

Select the BLE Stack component in the Project Graph.
Configure Extended Advertisements in the Configuration Options panel as shown in the following image.

Figure 5-73. BLE Stack Configuration

Tip: The advertisement payload can be configured by the user here.

Generating Code

For more details on code generation, refer to MPLAB Code Configurator (MCC) Code Generation from Related Links.

Files and Routines Automatically Generated by the MCC

After generating the program source from the MCC interface (by clicking Generate Code), the BLE configuration source and header files can then be found in the following project directories.

Initialization routines for OSAL, RF System, and BLE System are auto-generated by the MCC. See OSAL Libraries Help in Reference Documentation from Related Links. Initialization routine executed during program initialization can be found in the project file.C.

The BLE stack initialization routine executed during Application Initialization can be found in project files. This initialization routine is automatically generated by the MCC. This call initializes and configures the GAP, GATT, SMP, L2CAP and BLE middleware layers.

Autogenerated, Advertisement Data Format

Table 5-13. Source Files
Source Files	Usage
`app.c`	Application State machine, includes calls for Initialization of all BLE stack (GAP,GATT, SMP, L2CAP) related component configurations
`app_ble.c`	Source code for the BLE stack related component configurations, code related to function calls from `app.c`
`app_ble_handler.c`	GAP, GATT, SMP and L2CAP event handlers

Note: app.c is autogenerated and has a state machine-based application code sample. Users can use this template to develop their own application.

Header Files

ble_gap.h contains BLE GAP functions and is automatically included in app.c

Function Calls

MCC generates and adds the code to initialize the BLE Stack GAP, GATT, SMP and L2CAP in APP_BleStackInit()
APP_BleStackInit() API is called in the Applications Initial State APP_STATE_INIT in app.c

User Application Development

Include

Include the user action. For more information, refer to User Action from Related Links.
definitions.h must be included in all the files, where UART will be used to print debug information.
Note: definitions.h is not specific to UART but instead must be included in all the application source files where any peripheral functionality will be exercised.

Set Public Device Address in app_ble.c.

BLE_GAP_SetDeviceAddr(&devAddr);

    BLE_GAP_Addr_T devAddr;
    devAddr.addrType = BLE    _GAP_ADDR_TYPE_PUBLIC;
    devAddr.addr[0] = 0xA1;
    devAddr.addr[1] = 0xA2;
    devAddr.addr[2] = 0xA3;
    devAddr.addr[3] = 0xA4;
    devAddr.addr[4] = 0xA5;
    devAddr.addr[5] = 0xA6;

    // Configure device address
    BLE_GAP_SetDeviceAddr(&devAddr);