Continuing the discussion from LoRa APRS Tracker (Part 5) - #100 by M0LEP.
Previous discussions:
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@M0LEP have you tried a different PC? I had problems initially but once I swapped PC, I have not had any problems (and I have programmed lots of Heltec Tracker boards).
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My choice of computers for this game is presently no choice. This is the only one which will run VScode and also has a suitable USB-C port. Also, it’s on my shack desk.
The main problem seems to be getting the Heltec into a mode where it will accept program and file system uploads. That seems to involve pressing both its buttons simultaneously. However, it doesn’t have a positive “ready for upload” indicator of any sort. The best clue is that the screen goes blank and stays blank, but that might also indicate that the device has been switched off…
Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, and sometimes it pretends to work but actually doesn’t.
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I suspect there was some other problem with the software I installed in the Heltec tracker first time round. It was, as I’ve mentioned previously, not the smoothest of processes.
Burrowing into the code, I find that values of 0 and 2 for bluetoothType indicate BLE, while 1 indicates “classic” bluetooth. For type 0, messages go through an AX25_Utils class, while for type 2 they’re left un-touched. In the menu code 0 is “BLE iPhone”, 1 is “BT Android” and 2 is “BLE Text” while anything else is “no BT”.
My second install attempt has been a little less fraught, and this time round the phone sees the Heltec. Neither APRSdroid nor Serial Bluetooth Terminal will actually talk to the Heltec, but at least they admit that it exists, which is progress. Serial Bluetooth Terminal complains “Connection failed: no serial profile found → use long click on device to define a custom profile”. That long click opens up a menu with a Custom option which requires three things, a “Service UUID”, a “Read characteristic UUID” and a “Write characteristic UUID”. At the moment I have no clue what these should be…
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I’m hoping that Pete will edit the wiki with the setup information.
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I’ll do some testing later to see what the different values do at my end, then I’ll update it.
I have the TBeam rather than the Heltec board.
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That would be good, thanks. You can edit the pages directly. Feel free to make it clear that your settings were tested on a T Beam. I’m guessing that they will be the same for all boards.
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Uploads will only work with my older computer, but not my main newer computer. My Heltec tracker will only accept uploads when, press and hold P button, briefly press R, then release P.
Only a blank screen will show on my tracker, this only seems to put it in boot mode but does not switch off the tracker, as the battery still drains.
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BluetoothType:
0 = iPhone BLE
1 = Android BT classic
2 = BLE for Android or anything as is in testing alpha state
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Have you tried the messaging yet?
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No, that’s the next thing to try 
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I think I have now tried all possible combinations with my Heltec Tracker and Samsung Galaxy A6 phone (using both APRSdroid and Serial Bluetooth Terminal).
Type=0:
- Phone will pair with tracker.
- APRSdroid does not work, but gives no helpful hints why.
- Serial Bluetooth Terminal tries to connect, then complains either “Connection failed: gatt status 133” or “Connection failed: no serial profile found → use long click to define a custom profile”.
Type 1:
- Phone does not see tracker at all. This is presumably because Type 1 is “classic bluetooth” which the Heltec Tracker knows nothing about and cannot speak.
Results for Type 2 are the same as for Type 0.
I conclude that at present it is not possible to use a Heltec Tracker with an Android phone for messaging.
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I cannot see me even looking at this, I have enough hair loss just setting the tracker on the T-Beam. 
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The T-Beam seems to be a more capable device, at least as far as Bluetooth (and therefore messaging) is concerned than the Heltec. As far as I can tell, so far, folk reporting Messaging success with Android phones are using T-Beam trackers, not Heltec ones. However, not everyone mentions exactly which tracker they’re using…
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I’m using my Heltec WT with BLE & Android
use this Branch:
This APP:
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Thanks. The changes look promising. Any idea how soon they’ll get into the main repository?
(I’ll try to include them next time I’m updating my Heltec tracker (which may be in the next day or three, if I have time).)
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Can’t say depends when Ricardo @CA2RXU has time to implement it.
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Ok. I’ve applied the changes to my local copy, set bluetoothType to 2, and re-loaded my Heltec. My Android phone can still see it, and Serial Bluetooth Terminal has connected to it. Now looking for some sort of confirmation that messages are going out over LoRa…
Thanks.
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Watch the screen on the tracker when you press enter - it should change to <TX> when it’s transmitting.
You can then look on aprs.fi to see who picked you up.
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I have an iGate in the garden, and it logs what comes through so I can see signals going both ways. This is what the iGate logged when I sent a message from APRSdroid (via APRS-IS) to the tracker:
:49 M0LEP-10 CA2RXU_LoRa_iGate_1.3 TX / MESSAGE / M0LEP-10 ---> M0LEP-7 :Test from Net{1
:58 M0LEP-10 CA2RXU_LoRa_iGate_1.3 RX / MESSAGE / M0LEP-7 ---> M0LEP-5 :ack1 / -60dBm / 6.25dB / 2450Hz
Going the other way, there’s no ack:
:55 M0LEP-10 CA2RXU_LoRa_iGate_1.3 RX / <<FF>#001M0LEP-7>M0LEP-5:Test back to Net#015#012 / -78dBm / 5.50dB / 2471Hz
I think the <FF>#001 and #015#012 indicate something’s not being handled correctly.
(APRSdroid is *-5, *-7 is the tracker, and *-10 is the iGate,in case that’s not clear.)
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