Potential chip for STM32duino, the BlueNRG-1
Posted: Thu Jan 28, 2021 2:44 am
Hello everyone! Sorry if this is the wrong place to post this topic.
STM offers a very low power BLE chip called the BlueNRG-1. Technically, it is not an STM32. HOWEVER, I feel like it's a pretty good candidate for becoming a widely used BLE chip in the hobbyist community, especially if Arduino code can be run on it.
Here is the datasheet https://www.st.com/resource/en/datasheet/bluenrg-1.pdf
MxChip offers an FCC approved BLE module called the EMB1061. It requires no external circuitry to run due to its built in vreg good for 1.7-3.6v, and is extremely low power. It has a built in Cortex M0 and it can easily last for 3 years on a single CR2032 battery. The main reason why this module is so good however, is that it costs $2.60 from Digikey, or even as low as $1.60 from Alibaba. That's compared to similar NRF modules that cost $6+
One of the main reasons why this chip was not used was the price of the IDE's, requiring IAR or Kiel MDK5 to work properly, both costing upwards of $1500 a year. I created an open source toolchain https://github.com/calebmarting/BlueNRG-1-VSCode that allows compilation of code and debugging, bypassing the paywall. With the bones of this project, I think the community could make this chip a really good candidate for the STM32duino treatment, and could be a great addition to the goal of STM products with Arduino support
Anyone have any comments or considerations for this project, or a link to where this should be posted?
Thank you!
If you're interested in a little introduction video about the BlueNRG-1/EMB1061, here you go https://youtu.be/VH6JlEohDSQ
STM offers a very low power BLE chip called the BlueNRG-1. Technically, it is not an STM32. HOWEVER, I feel like it's a pretty good candidate for becoming a widely used BLE chip in the hobbyist community, especially if Arduino code can be run on it.
Here is the datasheet https://www.st.com/resource/en/datasheet/bluenrg-1.pdf
MxChip offers an FCC approved BLE module called the EMB1061. It requires no external circuitry to run due to its built in vreg good for 1.7-3.6v, and is extremely low power. It has a built in Cortex M0 and it can easily last for 3 years on a single CR2032 battery. The main reason why this module is so good however, is that it costs $2.60 from Digikey, or even as low as $1.60 from Alibaba. That's compared to similar NRF modules that cost $6+
One of the main reasons why this chip was not used was the price of the IDE's, requiring IAR or Kiel MDK5 to work properly, both costing upwards of $1500 a year. I created an open source toolchain https://github.com/calebmarting/BlueNRG-1-VSCode that allows compilation of code and debugging, bypassing the paywall. With the bones of this project, I think the community could make this chip a really good candidate for the STM32duino treatment, and could be a great addition to the goal of STM products with Arduino support
Anyone have any comments or considerations for this project, or a link to where this should be posted?

Thank you!
If you're interested in a little introduction video about the BlueNRG-1/EMB1061, here you go https://youtu.be/VH6JlEohDSQ