BlueConsole 2 Installation guide

R e v . 1 . 3 . 7 – 0 4 / 2 0 0 6 1
FAQ
What makes BlueConsole different from other Bluetooth to R S 2 3 2 / S erial adap ters?
BlueConsole is unique from all other Bluetooth S erial ad ap ters b ec ause it requires no AC ad ap ter or D B9 P in-9 c onnec tion for p ow er.
I t is p arasitic ally p ow ered d irec tly from the e isting R S 2 3 2 hard w are hand shak ing lines. I t offers T R U E w ireless ac c ess to R S 2 3 2
ap p lic ations. BlueConsole uses the smallest p ossib le p ac k ag e and has an integ rated 9 V b attery c onnec tion to sup p ort R S 2 3 2 d ev ic es
lac k ing hand shak ing lines.
H ow does BlueConsole ob tain p ow er?
BlueConsole2 utiliz es the e isting R S 2 3 2 hard w are hand shak ing lead s to ob tain p ow er. T he S p ec ific ations sec tion of the U ser’ s
Manual ind ic ates w hic h lead s on the D B9 or R J 4 5 c onnec tion c an b e used to p rov id e p ow er. BlueConsole2 c onsumes ab out 5 0 mW of
p ow er ev en w hile Connec ted and T ransmitting . I f y our R S 2 3 2 d ev ic e d oes not hav e ad equate p ow er for BlueConsole, y ou c an
c onnec t a 9 V b attery d irec tly to p rov id e p ow er. O ur testing and feed b ac k has show n that a maj ority of R S 2 3 2 d ev ic es c an self-p ow er
BlueConsole2 w ithout the need for a b attery .
What does the term “ p arasitic p ow er mean?
A p arasite is something that feed s off of a host. I n elec tronic s, p arasitic p ow er refers to a d ev ic e that rob s p ow er for itself from a d ata
c onnec tion w hic h may not hav e orig inally b een intend ed to p rov id e p ow er. T his eliminates the c omp le ity of e tra AC/ D C p ow er
sourc es and w ires. R S 2 3 2 hard w are hand shak ing lead s ( D CD , D T R , R T S , CT S , D S R ) w ere not orig inally intend ed as a p ow er sourc e,
althoug h a limited amount of p ow er c an b e d raw n from them. T he most c ommon p arasitic p ow ered R S 2 3 2 ap p lic ation w as the I BM
P S 2 mouse w hic h used hard w are hand shak ing lead s to p ow er the elec tronic s in the mouse. Many U S B p erip herals also c ommonly use
p arasitic p ow er from the 5 V U S B d ata p ort.
What is the deal w ith R S 2 3 2 D B9 P in 9 P ow er that some v endors adv ertise?
P in 9 ( R I ) is ty p ic ally unused on an R S 2 3 2 D B9 c onnec tion. S ome Bluetooth S erial v end ors ad v ertise that they c an ob tain p ow er
from P in 9 . T he R S 2 3 2 d ev ic e w ould hav e to b e d esig ned in ad v anc e to p rov id e P in 9 as a hig h c urrent p ow er sourc e. T he reality is
that on most all R S 2 3 2 d ev ic es P in 9 is op en w ith no p ow er at all. E v en w orse, if y ou p lug in an AC p ow er b ric k into a Bluetooth
S erial Ad ap ter it c ould short into P in 9 on y our R S 2 3 2 d ev ic e and d amag e it. S ome other v end ors ac tually d oc ument this risk in their
Manuals. BlueConsole c an ob tain line p ow er from the e isting hard w are hand shak ing lead s or from P in 9 . I t is a true w ireless
p arasitic ally p ow ered Bluetooth S erial solution. BlueConsole also p rov id es full isolation and rev erse-v oltag e p rotec tion b etw een all
p ow er sourc es.
When do I need to use a 9 V Battery to p ow er BlueConsole?
Many R S 2 3 2 d ev ic es c an p rov id e ad equate p ow er to BlueConsole. H ow ev er if y ou c annot D isc ov er or Connec t to BlueConsole it is
usually an ind ic ation that there is inad equate p ow er. I n these c irc umstanc es, y ou w ill need a 9 V b attery to p ow er BlueConsole.
F ac tors suc h as lac k of hard w are hand shak ing lead s, low c urrent on hand shak ing lead s, hig h b aud rates, or hig h-load on the R S 2 3 2 T
lead may p rev ent inline p ow er from oc c urring thus requiring the 9 V b attery .
I s it safe to use a 9 V b attery on BlueConsole w hen the R S 2 3 2 dev ic e is also p rov iding p arastic p ow er?
T here is isolation and rev erse-v oltag e p rotec tion b etw een the 9 V b attery and the R S 2 3 2 lines. U sing b oth inline p ow er and a 9 V
b attery tog ether w ill not d amag e BlueConsole or y our R S 2 3 2 d ev ic e.
Whic h Cisc o dev ic es req uire a 9 V b attery on the BlueConsole R J 4 5 model?
W e hav e found that all Cisc o routers ( w ith the e c ep tion of 2 5 0 0 , 7 5 0 0 , G S R ) w ill self-p ow er BlueConsole2 . L AN S w itc hes are a
mi ed b ag ( ab out 5 0 % ) , w here some mod els only p rov id e one p ositiv e hand shak e lead w ith inad equate p ow er. T ry it first w ithout a
b attery , and then attac h a 9 V b attery if y ou c annot Connec t. D ev ic es lik e P I X , AS A, I D S , W L C, and W AE / CE w ill also g enerally
self-p ow er BlueConsole. D ev ic es lik e CS S , MD S , and w ireless AP s w ill alw ay s need a 9 V b attery for p ow er.
What driv ers are req uired on my P C or M ac to use BlueConsole?
N o sp ec ial d riv ers are need ed to use BlueConsole. All that is required is a P C, Mac , or P D A equip p ed w ith Bluetooth, as w ell as
T erminal S oftw are ( suc h as H y p erterminal) . Most W ind ow s/ P C Bluetooth ad ap ters use W id c omm d riv ers. Mic rosoft W ind ow s X P
S P 2 also inc lud es an integ rated Bluetooth E numerator that c an b e used in p lac e of W id c omm d riv ers. T he BlueConsole U ser’ s
Manual c ontains full d oc umentation for c ommon Clients suc h as W ind ow s X P , W ind ow s V ista, Mac O S -X , W ind ow s Mob ile 5 .0 ,
L inu , and P alm/ T reo.

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Can I c onnec t to multip le BlueConsole adap ters from the same Bluetooth P C - and how many c an I use?
Y ou c an p air as many BlueConsole ad ap ters as y ou lik e on y our Bluetooth equip p ed P C/ Mac . E ac h one w ill show up as a d ifferent
CO M p ort w hic h c an b e used b y ap p lic ation softw are. T he only limitation is that up to 7 may b e Connec ted ( in use) at the same time
b y y our ap p lic ation softw are. T his is a Bluetooth p rotoc ol limitation ( 7 S lav es p er P ic onet) . T he d efinition of Connec ted is that the
softw are/ terminal p rog ram has p erformed a Connec t/ O p en op eration on the Bluetooth CO M p ort to loc k it for e c lusiv e use.
Can multip le P Cs ac c ess a sing le BlueConsole adap ter?
Y ou may P air as many Bluetooth Clients ( P C/ Mac / P D A) as y ou lik e w ith BlueConsole. U sing the d efault firmw are, only one Client
c an b e Connec ted to a BlueConsole ad ap ter at any g iv en time. O nc e that Client d isc onnec ts ( i.e. c loses the CO M p ort) , then another
Client c an Connec t. U sing the Multip oint firmw are, y ou c an hav e up to 7 Clients simultaneously Connec t to a sing le BlueConsole
ad ap ter and see the same d ata stream. S ee the Multip oint Ap p lic ation N ote for more d etails. BlueConsole is the only Bluetooth S erial
Ad ap ter w hic h offers the Multip oint feature.
I w ant to rep lac e an R S 2 3 2 c ab le. S hould I b uy 2 BlueConsole adap ters or 1 BlueConsole & U S B Bluetooth dong le?
Y ou c an use tw o BlueConsole ad ap ters to form a p hy sic al c ab le rep lac ement b etw een tw o R S 2 3 2 d ev ic es. T his is referred to as the
BlueConsole AutoConnec t feature. H ow ev er if one end of the c onnec tion is a W ind ow s X P P C, y ou may find it easier and c heap er to
equip the c omp uter w ith a U S B Bluetooth d ong le to mak e it a N ativ e Bluetooth Client. Commod ity U S B Bluetooth d ong le are
av ailab le from a v ariety of manufac turers for as low as $ 2 0 .
I need a Bluetooth U S B A dap ter to add N ativ e Bluetooth to my Window s X P P C. Whic h one should I use?
T here are a v ariety of low c ost Bluetooth U S B ad ap ters on the mark et. T he most imp ortant thing is to ensure y ou p urc hase a
Bluetooth U S B ad ap ter that is Class 1 w ith up to 1 0 0 m d istanc e. Y ou may not b e hap p y w ith a low p ow er Class 2 p rod uc t. BestBuy
sells the K ensing ton U S B ad ap ter on the shelf for ab out $ 4 0 . Y ou c an also p urc hase Bluetooth U S B ad ap ters from online retailers
suc h as www.newegg.com. W e hav e seen g ood results w ith the T rend net T BW -1 0 2 U B. I t is Class 1 , Bluetooth 2 .0 c ertified ,
w ork s w ith N ativ e Mic rosoft X P S P 2 Bluetooth d riv ers ( thoug h it ship s w ith BlueS oleil d riv ers) , and is less than $ 2 0 .
H ow are Baud R ate and other S erial S etting s used on a Bluetooth V irtual ( O utg oing ) CO M P ort?
An O utg oing Bluetooth CO M P ort on a P C is not a p hy sic al S erial P ort, althoug h it d oes emulate one. Y our ap p lic ation softw are may
allow y ou to selec t a Baud R ate for this Bluetooth CO M P ort, how ev er it is not used b y d riv er. Y ou w ill find that any Baud R ate
setting on this v irtual CO M p ort w ill w ork . H ow ev er the Baud R ate setting on the p hy sic al D B9 / R J 4 5 of the BlueConsole ad ap ter
must matc h that of y our targ et R S 2 3 2 d ev ic e. T his p hy sic al R S 2 3 2 Baud R ate is set using the BlueConsole Config U tility . T he
Config U tility c an b e used w ith BlueConsole ov er a L oc al P C D B9 CO M P ort, or ov er a Bluetooth V irtual ( O utg oing ) CO M P ort.
D oes BlueConsole w ork w ith WM 5 / 6 S martp hones suc h as M otorola Q or S amsung Blac kj ac k Bluetooth?
W ind ow s Mob ile 5 / 6 S martp hone is a lig htw eig ht v ersion of the P oc k etP C softw are. W e hav e heard rep orts of this w ork ing w ith
BlueConsole thoug h it is d ep end ant on y our p hone’ s firmw are d istrib ution. Clic k Bluetooth Manag er, S etting s, Menu – and y ou
should see an op tion for “ CO M P orts” or “ S erial P orts” . I f this is missing , then y our c arrier ( Cing ular/ V eriz on) has remov ed
Bluetooth S erial P rofile sup p ort from the firmw are. I f Bluetooth S erial sup p ort is on the S martp hone then y ou should b e ab le to p air
w ith BlueConsole and use an O utg oing CO M P ort. S ee the U ser’ s Manual W ind ow s Mob ile sec tion for some setup g uid elines. Y ou
should use P oc k etT T Y as terminal softw are, as the V H P C terminal d oes not sup p ort W M5 S martp hones.
H ow far aw ay c an my P C b e from BlueConsole and still func tion?
BlueConsole uses a 5 mW Class 1 Bluetooth rad io w ith an outd oor unob struc ted rang e of up to 1 0 0 m. J ust lik e W iF i, this rang e may
b e red uc ed if there are ob struc tions suc h as interior w alls b etw een y our c omp uter and BlueConsole. T he rang e c an also b e red uc ed if
y our c omp uter or P D A has a low p ow er Bluetooth rad io or low -g ain antenna. A P D A w ith a v ery low p ow er Class 2 rad io may only
ac hiev e ab out 1 0 m of trav el.
T he rang e/ distanc e to my Bluec onsole adap ter seems limited. What is c ausing this?
T here are a numb er of fac tors that c an influenc e y our Bluetooth rang e. Mak e sure y our Bluetooth Client ( P C, P D A) is using a Class 1
hig h p ow er Bluetooth rad io. Class 1 rad ios w ith ap p rop riate p ow er and antennas c an ac hiev e up to 1 0 0 m ( 3 3 0 ft) unob struc ted b est
c ase, w hereas low p ow er Class 2 rad ios or U S B d ong le w ill only y ield c lose to 1 0 m ( 3 0 ft) . BlueConsole is a Class 1 Bluetooth rad io,
b ut y ou w ill b e limited b y the low est c ommon d enominator. I f y ou hav e a Class 2 Bluetooth U S B d ong le, y ou should c onsid er
rep lac ing it w ith a Class 1 U S B rad io.
S imilar to W iF i, Bluetooth 2 .4 G hz rang e w ill also b e imp ac ted b y ob struc tions suc h as b uild ing w alls. Av oid p lac ing metal housing s
or heav y metal ob j ec ts v ery c lose to any Bluetooth d ev ic es or antennas. S ig nific ant interferenc e from other Bluetooth d ev ic es or W iF i
d ev ic es may also hav e some imp ac t on rang e, thoug h Bluetooth emp loy s frequenc y hop p ing to w ork around suc h interferenc e.

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H ow does the BlueConsole interac t w ith 8 0 2 . 1 1 b / g WiF i netw orks?
W hile Bluetooth and W iF i b oth use the 2 .4 G hz sp ec trum, Bluetooth utiliz es a frequenc y hop p ing tec hnique to c ontinuously hop
b etw een 7 9 d ifferent 1 Mhz c hannels – eac h hop using a 6 2 5 us time slot b efore mov ing to another c hannel. Coup led w ith this rap id
Ad ap tiv e F requenc y H op p ing are strong error c orrec tion c ontrols in the Bluetooth stac k . T his allow s Bluetooth to c leanly c oe ist w ith
other W iF i or Bluetooth sig nals in the same w ork area. Y ou c an find g reater d etail on the sub j ec t of Bluetooth W ifi interac tion here:
http://www.eurescom.de/~pub-deliverables/P1100-series/P1118/D3/B TandW AN.html
http://www.eurescom.de/~pub-deliverables/P1100-series/P1118/D3/B T-W AN-interference.pdf
H ow does Bluetooth 1 . 2 / 2 . 0 A dap tiv e F req uenc y H op p ing ( A F H ) w ork?
I t is c ommon to hav e b oth 2 .4 G hz Bluetooth and 8 0 2 .1 1 b / g W iF i in the same area. A Bluetooth c onnec tion hop s ac ross 7 9 d ifferent
1 Mhz c hannels 1 6 0 0 times p er sec ond , how ev er it usually end s up step p ing on W iF i sig nals along the w ay . AF H w as ad d ed to the
Bluetooth 1 .2 sp ec ific ation to help w ith this issue. AF H allow s a Bluetooth c onnec tion to loc k out a p artic ular c hannel from the hop
sequenc e if the sig nal is c orrup ted b y a W iF i c arrier. After ab out 3 0 sec ond s, another attemp t is mad e to use the c hannel ag ain in the
hop sequenc e. T his imp rov es the p erformanc e of Bluetooth and help s eliminate interferenc e w ith 8 0 2 .1 1 b / g W iF i c onnec tions.
Can BlueConsole send an R S 2 3 2 < BR E A K > S eq uenc e?
BlueConsole sup p orts the transmission of an R S 2 3 2 < BR E AK > sequenc e. BlueConsole uses the c harac ter sequenc e \\\ to transmit a
log ic < BR E AK > to the R S 2 3 2 d ev ic e. < BR E AK > sup p ort requires v ersion 3 .7 or b etter firmw are. S ee the Ap p lic ation N ote: S end ing
an R S 2 3 2 < BR E AK > for further d etails. BlueConsole is the only Bluetooth S erial Ad ap ter w hic h offers the BR E AK feature.
When I unp lug BlueConsole to mov e it to another R S 2 3 2 dev ic e, my terminal session dies. I s there a w ay to mov e BlueConsole
w ithout hav ing to rec onnec t my T erminal session?
W hen y ou unp lug BlueConsole it loses inline p ow er and y our c urrent Bluetooth terminal c onnec tion is lost. I f y ou w ant to mov e
BlueConsole b etw een sev eral d ev ic es w ithout hav ing to rec onnec t y our terminal, attac h a 9 V b attery . W hen using a 9 V b attery
BlueConsole w ill nev er lose p ow er.
What is the S ec urity b est p rac tic e for my BlueConsole A dap ter?
BlueConsole p rov id es sec ure Bluetooth p airing and link enc ry p tion. T he first sec urity op tion is to d isab le D isc ov erab ility so others
c an’ t see y our BlueConsole w ith c ommon tools. T his c an op tionally b e d one after y ou hav e ad d ed the BlueConsole CO M p ort to
y our sy stem. T he sec ond op tion is to c hang e the d efault P I N c od e from 1 2 3 4 to something unique. T his w ay others may see y our
BlueConsole b ut w ill b e unab le to p air w ith it w ithout k now ing y our P I N c od e. I f y ou are v ery sec urity c onsc ious, then y ou c an
emp loy b oth these op tions for the g reatest sec urity .
I s there an easy w ay to test BlueConsole w ithout c onnec ting it to an R S 2 3 2 dev ic e?
An easy w ay to test BlueConsole is to attac h a 9 V b attery and then loop b ac k the T ransmit ( T ) and R ec eiv e ( R ) lead s. T hese are
p ins 2 & 3 of a D B9 c onnec tion or 3 & 6 of an R J 4 5 c onnec tion. Y ou c an then c onnec t to BlueConsole v ia a Bluetooth P C/ Mac / P D A
terminal p rog ram and see y our c harac ters ec ho b ac k as y ou ty p e. W hen y ou remov e the loop b ac k , the c harac ter ec ho should stop .
What Bluetooth P rofiles are sup p orted b y BlueConsole?
BlueConsole sup p orts a S erial P ort P rofile ( S P P ) . T y p ic ally w hen y ou D isc ov er and Connec t to BlueConsole using y our Bluetooth
equip p ed P C, y our Bluetooth d riv ers w ill automatic ally ad d this S P P S erv ic e using the ne t av ailab le CO M p ort on y our sy stem.
BlueConsole only requires an “ O utg oing S erial P ort” . I f y our Bluetooth d riv ers ad d an instanc e for “ I nc oming S erial P ort” , that
I nc oming CO M P ort c an b e safely d eleted .
H ow do I c hang e the CO M p ort numb er used in Window s for the BlueConsole S P P serv ic e?
W ind ow s X P ty p ic ally assig ns the ne t av ailab le CO M p ort numb er for y our BlueConsole unit. T his c an b e c hang ed v ia H ard w are
D ev ic e Manag er. R ig ht-c lic k on “ My Comp uter” , “ H ard w are” , “ D ev ic e Manag er” , “ P orts” . S elec t the CO M p ort, rig ht-c lic k and
c hoose “ P rop erties” , “ P ort S etting s” , “ Ad v anc ed ” . T he d rop -d ow n b o w ill allow y ou to reassig n the CO M p ort numb er in W ind ow s
X P . N ote this is only an op tion on Mic rosoft N ativ e X P S P 2 Bluetooth d riv ers. W id c omm d riv ers d o not allow reassig nment of CO M
p ort numb ers.
I rec eiv e an “ A c c ess is D enied error under the M ic rosoft X P Bluetooth driv ers w hen D isc ov ering BlueConsole
Mic rosoft has a k now n issue in X P w here in c ertain c irc umstanc es the Bluetooth d atab ase sec urity setting s c an b ec ome c orrup t. T his
is d oc umented in this Mic rosoft artic le along w ith a resolution to the p rob lem: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/892891
I c an’ t seem to g et Bluetooth w orking on my L ap top ev en after loading the manufac turer driv ers
T his is not a BlueConsole issue, b ut a c ommon lap top issue. Most lap top s hav e a sp ec ial func tion k ey to turn the Bluetooth and W iF i
rad ios O n & O ff ( F n+ F 5 on L enov o, F n+ F 2 on D ell, etc .) T his is used to sav e p ow er or d isab le R F on airp lanes. Y ou may hav e
ac c id entally p ressed this k ey c ausing the Bluetooth rad io hard w are to b e turned O F F on y our lap top .

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D oes BlueConsole c omp ly w ith U S F CC and Canada I C reg ulations?
T he rad io is c omp lies w ith F CC ( I D : P V H 0 9 0 1 0 3 S ) and I C ( 5 3 2 5 A-0 9 0 1 0 3 S ) . I t also c omp lies w ith P art 1 5 of the F CC R ules.
What is the w arranty p eriod for BlueConsole?
T he w arranty p eriod for BlueConsole is 1 y ear from ship ment d ate. T he w arranty c ov ers rep lac ement of the unit if it fails d ue to
normal op eration. T he d efec tiv e unit and a c op y of the rec eip t or p ac k ing -slip should b e ship p ed b ac k to BlueConsole’ s mailing
ad d ress b efore it c an b e rep lac ed .
H ow does the 3 0 D ay M oney Bac k G uarantee Work?
W e b eliev e y ou w ill b e v ery p leased w ith the BlueConsole solution. I f y ou are not satisfied , y ou may return the p rod uc t w ithin 3 0
d ay s for a refund . T he refund w ill b e the full p rod uc t v alue minus the ship p ing c ost. I f y ou hav e any tec hnic al issues w ith
BlueConsole, w e enc ourag e y ou to first c ontac t us v ia email at [e-mail] to try to resolv e the issue b efore
returning the p rod uc t.
H ow c an I p rov ide feedb ac k on the BlueConsole p roduc t?
W e are alw ay s hap p y to hear ab out w ay s w e c an imp rov e the BlueConsole p rod uc t. I f y ou hav e any sug g estions on how to mak e the
p rod uc t b etter, imp rov e our w eb site or ord ering p roc ess, or an item y ou think should b e inc lud ed in our U ser Manual or F AQ , p lease
email us at: i nf o@ b l u econs ol e.com