iPhone to RS-232 via Bluetooth

Question

I\'m looking to connect my iPhone to an RS-232 serial device via Bluetooth. Has anyone implemented this successfully and can offer advice on hardware to use? It\'s kind of t

Answer 1

Well. It seems like my answer could be something you didnt ask for. But the guy you referred to is the answer. Buy his product and you are good to go, all you need is a MAX232 chip. Converts logic level UART to RS232. the diffrence high + voltage low zero voltage is converted to high +~10volts low -~10volts.

I use the MAX232 chip with my microprocessor, that uses logic level USART to communicate over RS232.

There is a lot of tutorials out there explaining how to hook things up.

Answer 2

most of the question was answered by yourself already.
Basically you have 5 (+2) choices.

1. Join the MFi program. This might be hard to impossible if you are not part of a at least mid-size company.

2. Buy the OEM Bluetooth Module. I'm not sure if this is even allowed by the apple policies.

3. Use WiFi. Keep in mind that you want to use a wifi chipset that can act as at least ad-hoc access point. Those chipsets are quite expensive, and you have to think of a way to join existing networks (customers don't want to leave their home network to use your product). This will add a lot of cost to the BOM of your device.

4. Jailbreak might be an option. I never tried to use accessories with a jailbreak, so I don't know if it's possible to use bluetooth without authentication.

5. Work with a company that is member of the MFi program.

6. (Maybe an option, and depending of the speed you want to have via RS232: Eventually you can convert the audio output of the head-phone jack to RS232 levels and vice versa)

7. (Not really an option: develop for Android and do whatever you want)

Answer 3

This product works: https://serialio.com/product/bluetooth-serial-adapter/bluesnap-smart-bluetooth-40-ble-rs232-adapter

The only downside is that the adapter requires power.

Answer 4

If you jailbreak your device, you can use BTstack.org (disclaimer: I'm the author of BTstack) to connect to a Bluetooth device that supports the Serial Port Profile. You can get Bluetooth Modules that implement SPP and provide UART level output. As David R. above points out, you then need a UART to RS232 converter, e.g. the MAX232.

Answer 5

It should be possibly I would think to create something in the middle that accept the bluetooth commands and convert them to serial, similar to what this does with TCP connections: https://www.npmjs.com/package/stellar-socks

Answer 6

Ok. Another option. There are one or two companies that sell RS232 cables for iOS, eg. Skywire here: http://www.southernstars.com/products/skywire/index.html

Then, you could uses a Bluetooth RS232 extender, which consists of a RS232-to-SPP and a SPP-to-RS232 pair. Ugly, but within Apple's rules.