Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER 6
Debugging Tools
This chapter introduces useful several debugging and development tools for working
with Bluetooth Low Energy. It includes hardware tools, such as wireless protocol ana‐
lyzers or
sniffers
(which sniff traffic over the air, displaying the captured data in a UI to
analyze later), and tools to interact directly with BLE peripherals during the debug
process.
To keep things accessible to small startups or engineers and developers who are just
getting started with BLE, this chapter focuses on inexpensive tools, rather than high-
end products that can run thousands or tens of thousands of dollars.
PCA10000 USB Dongle and the Master Control Panel
The PCA10000 is a USB dongle included in Nordic Semiconductor's nRF51822-EK
(
“Working with the nRF51822-EK” on page 77
), a low-cost evaluation kit for the
nRF51822 system-on-chip (SoC). While this kit is designed for embedded hardware
engineers who are designing their own BLE peripherals, it might be worth purchasing
the kit even if you are only developing mobile applications, because it includes a number
of extremely useful debug tools for a relatively modest price tag.
One of these tools is the Master Control Panel (MCP), a Windows-based utility that
turns the PCA10000 USB dongle into something that can simulate a BLE central device.
It features an easy-to-use interface that allows you to see any data available on BLE
peripherals in range or send data back to any peripheral you are connected to. This is
particularly useful on Windows 7, which doesn't include native support for Bluetooth
Low Energy (BLE support was introduced in Windows 8, but that operating system
doesn't include a comparable application for testing and debugging).
