BLUETOOTH reception on iPhone

[Speedy Builder5Participant @speedybuilder5]

Can anyone suggest an iPhone app where I could receive data from Arduino/ BLE 4.0 bluetooth transmissions.

The history to the request is to format power usage on an Arduino (received from my LINKY (France) smart meter) and send this via a DSD HM-10 BLE 4.0 bluetooth adaptor to an app on the iPhone.

I currently use an app called DSD TECH (available on the Apple App Store), which can receive data, however you can’t format the data once received.

Reading the Apple App developer stuff, writing code for an app is far too complicated for me and requires licences and all sorts.

What I want is a simple Apple app where you can format incomming bluetooth data.

Any ideas?

Bob

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

This could be what you need … but the two reviews are dire !

https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/bluetooth-data-logger/id1465251278

… it’s free though, so may be worth a try: perhaps you can make more sense of it.

MichaelG

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Digressing a little [but, hey, no-one else has joined the discussion] … I’ve just found this:

https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/gui-1256/id6443750653

which communicates with these:

https://www.ti.com/product/ADS1256

 

MichaelG.

.

Edit: __ https://curiousscientist.tech/blog/ads1256-full-demonstration

 

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

DSD Tech seems to me a supplier of assorted serial comms kit, amongst which is a BTLE serial terminal app.  I don’t think you will find an app which allows you to format the data – usually they would just tuck it into a file for something else to deal with.  Do you have a spec for the formatting needed?  Are you sure it’s just formatting?  If I were an electricity supplier I’d be very nervous about installing meters with an RF interface that didn’t have encryption – in fact it would be contrary to regulations I think.  You would anyway find it easier to get the data onto a PC rather than try to develop a phone app.

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

I can point Bob in the right direction if he were doing this on Linux or Windows, and MacOS is similar to Linux.  iPhone is a step too far for me!  I’m confident it’s possible because iPhones run iOS, which is based on MacOS,  so should be similar ‘under the bonnet’.

But, might be difficult  because smart phones are race-tuned to support smart phone functionality, not as a general purpose platform, and Bluetooth is a layered system function, part of the network stack.  Development is often done cross-platform, so the functionality Bob needs may not be cheap or readily accessible.

That said try looking for Bluetooth Analyzer, Diagnostic, Logger, Debugger etc.   There are plenty of app developers who need to understand where Bluetooth might be failing, but most work at high-level, and don’t need to look at the data.  I don’t know what’s available for iPhone (or Android).

Bluetooth is based on a short range radio link operating in the 2.4GHz band.   It channel hops and is packetised, so receiving and transmitting it is best left to the hardware!

The Bluetooth hardware presents to the operating system as a network peripheral that behaves in much the same way as an Ethernet Card, WiFi, ADSL etc.   The operating system receives and orders packets, then wakes up the program that started the connection, presenting it with a block of data.   The data might be encrypted.

Wireshark is the go to tool for examining network traffic on Linux, Windows and MacOS.  It’s an advanced packet sniffer.  There’s at least one Packet Sniffer for iPhone.   Take a bit of setting up and not easy to learn because sniffers are full-throttle diagnostic tools, but packet sniffing is a good place to start.   Might find Bob’s meter sends plain text data, that can be easily logged and read.

A packet sniffer may not be enough.  It won’t decrypt.  That, and decoding the data format is down to the program.  The sniffer might reveal clues.   The Bluetooth header identifies the protocol, Bob’s meter is probably serial, but serial can carry text or binary data.   Text is human readable,  binary requires more work, identifying how each field was packed.  Other protocols are possible.  The header also identifies if a CODEC is needed,  as when the data-stream is audio/visual.   Worst case, reverse engineering an encrypted proprietary data stream is hard work!

Dave

 

 

 

 

 

[Speedy Builder5Participant @speedybuilder5]

Thanks to all who have responded so far.

MichaelG has found this app  DABBLE – looks interesting (its for 4+ yr olds,  in your dreams !)

Dabble [back to School ?]

Bob

[Author]

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