I just received my ArduinoBT in the mail, and was a little confused about how to get code onto it. Typically, you can upload it via USB through the Arduino IDE.
I have a vague understanding of what a bootloader is - which comes pre-installed on the ArduinoBT, but I don't understand how I can get the code to the bootloader.
The docs suggest that you can still connect via the IDE and they provide the default name of the device, along with a default password. However, wouldn't I need some sort of BlueTooth receiver on my PC to achieve communication with the ArduinoBT?
Do I have to have an AVR ISP Programmer? Is there another way to get code on the device?
2 Answers 2
The ArduinoBT, after pairing, exposes a virtual serial port that you can use.
After that, you connect to it using the Arduino IDE over that virtual serial port.
So yes, you need a Bluetooth receiver on your PC for this to work, as the virtual serial port used for programming (typically provided by a virtual serial port over USB on a conventional Arduino), is now provided via the Bluetooth connection. You'll definitely want to use that instead of a ICSP programmer.
If you don't have Bluetooth on your PC, there are addon USB adapters that provide it.
To use the bootloader, yes, you would have to connect to it over BlueTooth (wiring a TTL converter in between the BT module and AVR would be tricky).
If you have an ISP, you can skip over everything and directly program the AVR without any bootloaders. BlueTooth transceivers for computers nowadays are extremely cheap, so I would pick one up to use your ArduinoBT to the fullest, but ISPs are also very handy when things go wrong or you want to graduate from Arduinos.