Project guidance and sleep modes for HM-11: CC2541 module from texas

Dear Seeddstudio-Team,

I’ve purchased a couple of these HM-11 modules with the CC2541 chip form texas:
http://wiki.seeedstudio.com/Bluetooth_V4.0_HM_11_BLE_Module/#tech-support

I’ve done some literature research and went through the datasheets but the amount of information for these modules is kind of overwhelming (more than 500 pages manuals)…

Could you help me on following project: I’d like to use the BLE module for an outdoor sensor node. The node should be sleeping most of the time unless a user comes with an android/iOS app and wants to read/write data. I saw, this can be accomplished by sending a string with more than 80 characters. Does it work only over UART, which would require a MCU that does not sleep to send the data or can it also be done via a smartphone and Bluetooth?

Another question: is it possible to access the antenna over breakout pins? I’m thinking about using my own antenna that can be ‘pulled out’ of the metal casing for the sensor node. If not, it’s also not a deal.

Thank you for your help!

BLE doesn’t travel very far outdoors.Have you thought about that?