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	<title>ibeacon &#8211; Terence Eden’s Blog</title>
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	<title>ibeacon &#8211; Terence Eden’s Blog</title>
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		<title><![CDATA[Inside a Physical Web BLE Beacon]]></title>
		<link>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2016/02/inside-a-physical-web-ble-beacon/</link>
					<comments>https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2016/02/inside-a-physical-web-ble-beacon/#respond</comments>
				<dc:creator><![CDATA[@edent]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 23 Feb 2016 12:35:22 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[/etc/]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ble]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bluetooth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hack]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hardware]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ibeacon]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=22482</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[As regular readers know, I&#039;ve turned a BLE Beacon into a wireless business card.  Physical Web used the Bluetooth beacon standard to continually broadcast not an ID number, but a URL.  If you&#039;re in my proximity, you can grab my contact details.  The one problem with the beacon I have is that it has an exposed button.  Every time it got bumped in my pocket, the token would emit a couple of shrill…]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>As regular readers know, <a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2015/10/ibeacon-business-cards/">I've turned a BLE Beacon into a wireless business card</a>.  Physical Web used the Bluetooth beacon standard to continually broadcast not an ID number, but a URL.  If you're in my proximity, you can grab my contact details.</p>

<p>The one problem with the beacon I have is that it has an exposed button.  Every time it got bumped in my pocket, the token would emit a couple of shrill beeps and set itself into config mode.  <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200924215838/https://twitter.com/scottjenson/status/701910022066929667?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">After a couple of months, the CR2032 battery died</a>.</p>

<p>Replacing the battery is easy - but let's crack the casing open to see what powers this wee beastie!</p>

<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Physical-Web-Token-.jpg" alt="Physical Web Token-" width="720" height="720" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-22487">

<p>There's no obvious way in - but several months of being in my pocket has shifted the top sticker.  Apply a little heat and it peals right off.</p>

<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Physical-Web-No-Sticker-.jpg" alt="Physical Web No Sticker-" width="720" height="720" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-22486">

<p>Hurrah! Standard screws! No pentalobes or other weird things.  What's that in the top right? An LED window!  Covered up by the sticker and, it seems, disabled in the firmware.</p>

<p>The casing lifts off and the circuit board pops out easily.</p>

<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Physical-Web-Circuit-Board-.jpg" alt="Physical Web Circuit Board-" width="720" height="683" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-22485">

<p>Two things become apparent - the left third of the board is completely unpopulated, and there's a massive <a href="https://jlcpcb.com/partdetail/Keliking-KLJ1230/C201042">KLJ-1230 buzzer</a> on the bottom. With those two removed, the circuit would be around the same size as the coin cell powering it.</p>

<p>Time to dive underneath that sticker and see its brains.</p>

<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Physical-Web-Circuit-Board-Close-Up-.jpg" alt="Physical Web Circuit Board Close Up-" width="1024" height="576" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-22484">

<p>It's the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160219222850/http://www.csr.com/products/bluetooth-smart-csr101x-product-family">CSR 1010 BLE chip</a>.</p>

<p>Finally, flip it over and see what mysteries the back holds.
<img src="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Physical-Web-Circuit-Reverse-Debug-Pins-.jpg" alt="Physical Web Circuit Reverse Debug Pins-" width="720" height="576" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-22483"></p>

<p>As well as the battery connector, we have an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_Peripheral_Interface_Bus">SPI Bus</a> - presumably for flashing the ROM and/or debugging.</p>

<p>And that's all there is to it.</p>

<p>Personally, I'd have jettisoned the speaker and <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200924215833/https://twitter.com/scottjenson/status/701897946921623554?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">used the LED</a> to indicate if the beacon was ready to be overwritten.</p>

<p>After replacing the battery, I snipped off the plastic button, and reassembled the unit.  I covered up the hole with a little tape.  Now the beacon can't be put into pairing mode accidentally and, as a consequence, the battery life should be much improved.</p>

<p>Now all I need to find is someone with the Physical Web app so I can share my business card ?</p>
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