My Bluefruit EZ-Link fails to connect to any device

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samyng
 
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My Bluefruit EZ-Link fails to connect to any device

Post by samyng »

Setup:
-Bluefruit EZ-Link shield on top of an UNO with stacking headers (2 attached photos to show the setup)
-Uno is connected to computer via USB
-Tested on both a Windows 7 PC and a Macbook Pro

Problem:
My Bluefruit EZ-Link does not pair with any device.

With my Macbook Pro, it connects then disconnects after 20 seconds (see attached photo). With my Windows 7 PC, the UNO shows up in "Devices and Printer" under the category "unspecified" and the Bluefruit does not show up. In regards to hardware, I soldered stacking headers onto the Bluefruit (see attached photo for close-up of the soldering connections) and placed the shield directly on top of the UNO, which is connected to the computer via USB. The shield's "Conn" LED is blinking red slowly. When I hold down the "pair" button, the LED continues to blink at the same slow rate. Also, if I try to upload a simple sketch onto the UNO, it doesn't upload when the Bluefruit is stacked on top (the sketch does upload when the UNO is by itself).

I have looked through the forums, tested soldering connections, tested on both a Windows and PC, and haven't found a solution.

Thanks in advance for any answers.
Attachments
disconnects-20sec-after-it-says-connected.png
disconnects-20sec-after-it-says-connected.png (134.09 KiB) Viewed 361 times
setup-Bluefruit-solder-connection-closeup.JPG
setup-Bluefruit-solder-connection-closeup.JPG (734.89 KiB) Viewed 362 times
setup-Bluefruit-stacked-on-UNO.JPG
setup-Bluefruit-stacked-on-UNO.JPG (725.26 KiB) Viewed 362 times

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adafruit_support_rick
 
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Re: My Bluefruit EZ-Link fails to connect to any device

Post by adafruit_support_rick »

samyng wrote:With my Macbook Pro, it connects then disconnects after 20 seconds (see attached photo).
This is normal behavior. Do you see the EZ-Link in the list of serial ports in the Arduino IDE? If so, open Serial Monitor with that port selected. You should see it become 'connected', and the red LED should start to flash rapidly.

samyng
 
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Jul 31, 2014 6:51 pm

Re: My Bluefruit EZ-Link fails to connect to any device

Post by samyng »

Got it working on Mac. Still not working on PC, but I think that's a hardware issue for the PC.
Can you explain to me why the board needs to be connected to the computer via USB for pairing and for the echo test? I know the board has to be powered, but isn't the point of bluetooth to be able to communicate wirelessly? I'd really like to understand this point.

Next, I'm running into two more issues:

(1) Ran the echo test successfully; however, it's unclear how to do the DTR/DSR test on Mac. I downloaded Serial Tools, but can't find the pin for DSR on the shield. The tutorial at learn.adafruit.com was made for the EZ-link that isn't a shield and for Windows. Where is the pin for DSR? And how do I run the test using Serial Tools (see attached photo for successful echo test using Serial Tools)?

(2) Can you provide the pinout for the EZ-link shield? Again, the tutorial was made for the EZ-link that isn't a shield, and I'm unable to use the EZ-link shield to program my arduino. Unsure where the pin for DSR is, and if I need to connect the Conn pin or the 3V0 pin to anything. When should soft serial be used? vs. direct? (see attached photo for my current setup)
Attachments
confusedAboutPinOutForEZLinkShield.JPG
confusedAboutPinOutForEZLinkShield.JPG (698.27 KiB) Viewed 330 times
UsingSerialToolsToDoEchoTest.png
UsingSerialToolsToDoEchoTest.png (29.21 KiB) Viewed 330 times

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adafruit_support_rick
 
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Re: My Bluefruit EZ-Link fails to connect to any device

Post by adafruit_support_rick »

You need to connect to usb for power only.

You can't do the DTR/DSR test with the shield - DTR is connected to the reset line on the shield.

You don't need to do anything special to use the shield for Arduino programming. The DTR connections and capacitors are for the breakout only. This is all built into the shield. Just plug the shield into an Arduino Uno and you're done.

The Direct mode is for programming Arduino over bluetooth

SoftSerial mode is for passing bluetooth data to an Arduino program. RX is pin 8 and TX is pin 7.

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