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How to Setup a Wireless RS232 Link Step-by-Step
This guide will show you step-by-step how to setup a serial RS232 communication link between your computer and a Serial Bluetooth adapter. This information is based on Windows 7 and the UCBT232B/EXA Serial Bluetooth adapter from U.S. Converters, using a computer without built-in Bluetooth. If your computer has built-in Bluetooth you can still use this setup guide however you do not need the USB Bluetooth dongle mentioned below.
Getting Started.
Lets first identify the products we need.If you plan to communicate with a serial device which is in the range of 100 feet or less, we recommend these products:
In this case the setup will look like this:
If you plan to communicate with a serial device which is in the range of 300 feet or less, we recommend these products:
In this case the setup will look like this:
Installing the drivers.
As mentioned earlier, if your computer does not already have built-in Bluetooth, you can instead use a USB Bluetooth dongle (part number BLDONG or BLDONG2). Plug-in the dongle to your computer's USB port. Windows should now search for the drivers for the USB Bluetooth dongle, (you may need to be connected to the internet).
Windows automatically installing the drivers.
After the installation has finished successfully (there might be some failed control items as shown in the image above, you do not need to worry about this) you will be able to see two COM ports in Windows Device Manager. One is an outgoing port and the other is an incoming port. Both are virtual COM ports created by the Bluetooth drivers and the dongle.
Starting Windows Bluetooth Service
Now enter the word "Bluetooth" in the start menu and click the Bluetooth link that shows up. This will start Windows default Bluetooth management software (if this has successfully been installed on your computer).
A Bluetooth icon should now appear in the task bar:
Click the Bluetooth icon and click "Open Setting"s in the menu:
The Bluetooth settings window will open. Use the settings as shown below:
Under the COM ports tab you will see the USB Bluetooth dongle's virtual COM port, in this case COM16 port has been assigned by the system (as you also could see in Device Manager). Only one of the virtual COM ports is shown.
Adding / pairing a Bluetooth Device
Click the Bluetooth icon in the task bar on Windows desktop and chose "Add a Device" from the menu. Windows should now search for the serial Bluetooth adapter and be able to find it:
After windows have found the adapter, click "Enter the device pairing code":
The pairing code is "1234":
Click Next
The serial Bluetooth adapter is now successfully installed and paired:
Problems with Adding / pairing a Bluetooth Deivce.
If Windows do NOT find the serial Bluetooth adapter it might be because it has already been found earlier, and already exists in the system. In that case you may need to first remove the serial Bluetooth adapter from the system. Click the Bluetooth icon in Windows task bar and chose "Show Bluetooth devices" from the menu:
In the above picture the right icon called (Serial Adaptor) is the serial Bluetooth adapter, the left-side icon is the serial Bluetooth dongle. Remove only the serial Bluetooth adapter (the right-side icon). Right-click the icon and chose "Remove Device" to remove it. Now you can again try to add the serial Bluetooth adapter by clicking the Bluetooth icon in the task bar and chose "Add Device" from the menu.
Determining and Changing the COM port number.
Assuming that the serial Bluetooth adapter has been successfully installed, click the Bluetooth icon in the Windows task bar and chose "Open Settings". In the Bluetooth settings window you can now see the COM ports for the serial Bluetooth adapter. I this case COM port number 8 and 17 have been assigned by Windows. Windows assigns an ingoing and an outgoing port. To simplify things; COM8 is the main port which we will use for our communication. You do not need to worry about incoming or outgoing ports as long as you identify which port is the main port. The main port in this case for the UCBT232B/EXA is usually indicated as "Serial Adaptor 'Dev B'" as shown below:
COM16 shown above is the USB Bluetooth dongle.
If you wish to change the COM port number from COM 8 to for example COM2 then you can do so in Device Manager. Right-click the COM port listed under Ports (COM & LTP) in Device Manager and chose "Properties". Under the "Port Settings" tab click the "Advanced" button, you can here change several settings including the COM port number.
Testing the adapter by making a loop-back test.
A loop-back test is a simple test to find out if the serial Bluetooth adapter is successfully linked and properly working.Open AccessPort and click Tools -> Configuration in the top menu bar, and enter the correct COM port settings. In this case we use the settings as shown below:
Click OK. AccessPort will now connect to COM8 which is the serial Bluetooth adapter. The blue LED light on the serial Bluetooth adapter will turn from flashing to steady ON. This means that the serial Bluetooth adapter is paired and connected to our computer via Bluetooth.
If you loop the TX and Rx signals (pin 2 and 3) on the serial Bluetooth adapter you should now get a response back from the adapter as shown above. This indicates that the serial Bluetooth adapter has been properly connected and can communicate successfully.
