An Introduction to the Silicon Labs DKBLE Development Kit

The Bluegiga BLE Development Kit (DKBLE) provides an effective environment for developing and prototyping Bluetooth Smart applications. The kit contains all of the required hardware for development; the SDK and most documentation is not included, as these are updated frequently. Current versions are kept online.

DKBLE Contents:

• DKBLE evaluation board, the main development kit which provides the following features:
  • Carrier board connector to allow easy connection of all four full-stack BLE modules
  • GPIO pin access via the row of loop connectors and header pin holes on the right side of the board
  • Built-in CC debugger for easy reprogramming of modules without external devices
  • External debug target header for programming custom designs with the on-board debugger
  • Micro USB connectors for power and CC debugger, UART connectivity, and USB connectivity
  • Built-in Prolific PL2303HX USB-to-UART bridge for serial connectivity wired to BLE module's USART1/Alt1 port (UART mode)
  • Coin cell battery holder for CR2032 batteries
  • Built-in TPS62730 DC/DC converter with "enable" control wired to module's P1_7 pin
  • Current consumption test points (BNC connector with voltage amplifier, and three jumpers near the BNC for pure DC current measurement)
  • Three generic buttons wired to module's P0_0, P0_1, and P2_0, pins through 510-ohm resistors
  • Potentiometer wired to module's P0_6 pin
  • Accelerometer wired to the module's USART0/Alt2 port (SPI master mode)
  • LCD wired to module's USART0/Alt2 port (SPI master mode)
  • 2Mbit SPI flash chip wired to module's USART0/Alt2 port (SPI master mode)
  • I2C altimeter wired to module's I2C pins (or P1_6/P1_7 for BLE112)
• 4x BLE modules carrier boards: with one carrier board included for each of the BLE112, BLE113, BLE113-M256K, and BLE121LR modules. These carrier boards provide full 0.1" pin access to all of each module's pins and are designed specifically to plug into the header on the edge of the main DKBLE board. The carrier boards are also specifically labeled to identify which connector pins are routed to which module pins, and what each one's intended function is.
• BLED112 USB dongle: a full-stack Bluetooth Low Energy dongle which enumerates as a USB CDC device (virtual serial port) and may be fully controlled with the Bluegiga BGAPI protocol. The BLEGUI application that is part of the SDK is designed to control this dongle, allowing a simple way to test BLE devices regardless of other Bluetooth functionality that may or may not be present on the host PC.
  • Note: this dongle is not a typical HCI-mode Bluetooth dongle, and will not integrate into a host operating system such as Windows using Microsoft's Bluetooth stack or another host stack.
• CR2032 coin cell: this can be inserted into the coin cell holder on the DKBLE112 board for testing battery-powered designs. The board may also be powered from USB; in this case, the battery is not required.
  • Note: there is no real-time clock, either internal to the module or external on the main DKBLE board, so there will be no substantial change in module functionality if you do not have the battery connected.
• CC debugger ribbon cable: used to connect the shrouded J11 header on the DKBLE main board to the programming header on external target devices to allow the built-in debugger to program external devices. This cable is not needed to program the modules on the carrier boards.
• 2x micro-USB cables: standard male USB-A to male micro-USB cables which can be used to connect the DKBLE's debugger, UART, and/or USB connections to a host PC. Common applications will need both the debugger and the UART bridge plugged into the host PC, though some use USB instead of UART, while others do not use a peripheral interface at all and only need the debugger. All of the micro-USB connectors can be used to power the DKBLE and module.

To order your Bluegiga DKBLE or any other Bluegiga products, call Symmetry Electronics at (310) 536-6190, or contact us online.