Atmel Germany E33SD X5B 00 UserMan
Figure 1-1. REB233CBB Module.
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APPLICATION NOTE
Atmel AT03911: REB233CBB Module – User Manual
Atmel MCU Wireless
Features
REB233CBB Module targeted for IEEE 802.15.4
6LoWPAN and ISM applications
Industry leading 101dB link budget
Ulta-low current consumption
Ultra-low supply voltage (1.8V to 3.6V)
®
, ZigBee®, ZigBee RF4CE,
Hardware supported antenna diversity
Board information EEPROM
MAC address
Board identification, features, and serial number
Powered by two AAA batteries for stand-alone operation
Introduction
This manual introduces the Atmel® REB233CBB Module, a module consisting of an
Atmel AT86RF233 radio transceiver and Atmel ATxmega256A3 microcontroller
forming a fully functional wireless node. Detailed information is given in the individual
sections about the REB233CBB Module assembly, functionality, interfaces, and
usage.
2
Table of Contents
2. Disclaimer .......................................................................................... 3
3. Overview ............................................................................................ 3
4. Assembly instructions ........................................................................ 3
4.1 Delivery state .................................................................................................... 3
4.2 Preparing the REB233CBB Module .................................................................. 3
5. Functional description ........................................................................ 4
5.2 Radio PCB ........................................................................................................ 5
5.3 Antennas ................................................................................................ ........... 5
5.4 Microcontroller PCB .......................................................................................... 5
5.5 Power Supply .................................................................................................... 5
5.6 LEDs and buttons .............................................................................................. 5
5.7 UART/USART ................................................................................................... 5
5.8 ID EEPROM ...................................................................................................... 6
6. Mechanical description ....................................................................... 7
7. Firmware description .......................................................................... 8
7.1 Range measurement ......................................................................................... 8
7.1.1 Power up the modules ........................................................................ 8
7.1.2 Run range measurement application .................................................. 8
7.2 Packet error rate measurement......................................................................... 8
7.2.1 Module preparation ............................................................................. 8
7.2.2 Driver installation ................................................................................ 9
7.2.3 Set up the terminal program on the host-PC ....................................... 9
7.2.4 Power up REB233CBB Modules ........................................................ 9
7.2.5 Run the packet error rate measurement ............................................. 9
8. Electrical characteristics ................................................................... 10
8.1 Absolute maximum ratings .............................................................................. 10
8.2 Recommended operating range ...................................................................... 10
8.3 Current consumption ....................................................................................... 10
8.4 Duty cycle requirements .................................................................................. 11
Appendix A. Abbreviations ............................................................... 12
Appendix B. Radio certification ........................................................ 13
B.1 United States (FCC) ........................................................................................ 13
B.2 Europe (ETSI) ................................................................................................. 14
B.3 Approved antenna ........................................................................................... 14
Appendix C. References .................................................................. 15
Appendix D. Revision History ........................................................... 16
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2. Disclaimer
Typical values contained in this application note are based on simulations and testing of individual examples.
Any information about third-party materials or parts was included in this document for convenience. The vendor may
have changed the information that has been published. Check the individual vendor information for the latest changes.
3. Overview
The REB233CBB Module is a compact solution providing wireless connectivity between IEEE 802.15.4/ZigBee
compliant devices. The module is compliant to EU and US regulatory requirements.
The REB233CBB Module is an ideal platform to:
Become familiar with a ready-to-use radio product by Atmel
No configuration required for out-of-box experience
Evaluate the outstanding REB233CBB Module performance, such as
Excellent receiver sensitivity achieved at ultra-low current consumption
Performance improvements and robustness by operating antenna diversity
Test the REB233CBB Module hardware support of the IEEE 802.15.4 standard [1]
4. Assembly instructions
4.1 Delivery state
The REB233CBB Module is delivered in dismounted state. Figure 4-1 shows the Microcontroller PCB with batteries
inserted, the Radio PCB and two swivel antennas.
Figure 4-1. REB233CBB Module delivery state
4.2 Preparing the REB233CBB Module
Follow these steps to setup the REB233CBB Module for correct operation:
1. Check or set the power switch off at the Microcontroller PCB.
2. Insert the two delivered batteries and check for correct polarization.
3. The RF-Shielding of the Radio PCB must be faced to the battery holder of the Microcontroller PCB. Plug in the
Radio PCB header ‘X1’ into the Microcontroller PCB socket ‘Expand 1’.
4. The swivel antennas provided with the REB233CBB Module are tested and approved (see B.3). One antenna
must be mounted on each SMA coaxial connector ‘X2’ and ‘X3’ port of the Radio PCB.
Note, to ensure compliance, the use of any other antenna type is not permitted, see B.3.
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AT86RF233
SMA1
SMA2
ANT1
ANT2
GPIORF1
SPI
Switch
RF2
RF
ATxmega256A3
Battery
Interface
LEDs
Buttons
Radio PCB Microcontroller PCB User Interface
Figure 5-2. REB233 Module features (dismounted view for better description)
Radio PCB
Microcontroller PCB
Battery holder
JTAG
Power switch
UART
LEDs
Buttons
GPIOs
ANT1
SMA1
Mounting header
SMA2
ANT2
OFF
ON
5. Functional description
The block diagram of the REB233CBB Module is shown in Figure 5-1. The Radio PCB and Microcontroller PCB are
connected via a mounting header. The Radio PCB is not functional without connecting it correctly to the Microcontroller
PCB. The Radio PCB is equipped with two approved antennas; see B.3 and [2], to enable antenna diversity (AD)
operation.The Microcontroller PCB controls the Radio PCB, provides the power supply as well as the user interface. The
user interface consists of three LEDs and two pushbuttons for manual user control of the module. Additional
microcontroller (MCU) GPIOs, like USART, UART and JTAG, are available to control the module with a host-PC.
Figure 5-1. REB233CBB Module block diagram
The two REB233CBB Module components, the Radio PCB, equipped with two swivel antennas, and Microcontroller
PCB, are shown in detail in Figure 5-2. Here, the REB233CBB Module is dismounted for better explanation of all
important hardware features.
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ATxmega256A3
I/O
ATxmega256A3
I/O
PB0 (6)
D1
PB3 (9)
T1
PB1 (7)
D2
RESET
T2
PB2 (8)
D3
ATxmega256A3
Header USARTD0
Description
PD2 (28)
RxD (4)
Asynchronous serial in
PD3 (29)
TxD (1)
Asynchronous serial out
5.2 Radio PCB
The Radio PCB carries the radio transceiver AT86RF233 [3]. The radio transceiver is a high performance RF-CMOS
2.4GHz radio transceiver targeted for IEEE802.15.4, ZigBee, RF4CE, 6LoWPAN, and ISM applications. The
identification EEPROM carries Radio PCB information used by the Microcontroller PCB.
5.3 Antennas
The antennas intended for the REB233CBB Module, see B.3 and [2], are to be connected to the SMA connectors on the
Radio PCB. A proper antenna orientation can enhance the radio link budget. Especially an orthogonal orientation
between the two antennas, see Figure 6-1, decreases the probability of RF signal extinction.
5.4 Microcontroller PCB
The Microcontroller PCB carries the ATxmega256A3 MCU [4]. The MCU is a high-performance, low-power 8/16-bit
Atmel AVR® XMEGA® MCU with 256KB in-system, self-programmable flash, 8KB boot code section with independent
lock bits, 16KB internal SRAM and 4KB EEPROM.
5.5 Power Supply
The REB233CBB Module is powered by two AAA batteries. The power switch disconnects batteries from the entire
board. External power is not routed through the power switch.
Note: There is no protection against over-voltage.
5.6 LEDs and buttons
For simple applications, and to provide status information, a user interface is provided on-board, consisting of three
LEDs and two pushbuttons
The LEDs (D1…D3) are connected to PB0..2 for active-high operation, whereas the pushbutton (T1) pulls PB3 to GND.
The second pushbutton (RESET) is connected to the MCUs reset pin.
Table 5-1. LED/Button connection
5.7 UART/USART
The signal lines for asynchronous serial operation of the Atmel ATxmega256A3 (USARTD0) are connected to header
USARTD0. In addition, the MCU reset line is connected to pin 5 of this header. This can be used to work with a serial boot
loader. No level conversion is done; therefore, an external RS232/TTL conversion circuit is required.
The header pin-out mates with the available RS232/TTL converter in Figure 5-3.
Table 5-2. Connection of USARTD0
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ATxmega256A3
Header USARTD0
Description
RESET (57)
RESET (5)
MCU reset
VTG (2)
Operating voltage
GND (6)
Ground
Figure 5-3. USB level shifter stick.
Address
Name
Type
Description
0x00
MAC address
uint64
MAC address for the 802.15.4 node, little endian byte order
0x08
Serial number
uint64
Board serial number, little endian byte order
0x10
Board family
uint8
Internal board family identifier
0x11
Revision
uint8[3]
Board revision number ##.##.##
0x14
Feature
uint8
Board features, coded into seven bits
7
Reserved
6
Reserved
5
External LNA
4
External PA
3
Reserved
2
Diversity
1
Antenna
0
SMA connector
0x15
Cal OSC 16MHz
uint8
RF233 XTAL calibration value, register XTAL_TRIM
0x16
Cal RC 3.6V
uint8
Atmel ATxmega256A3 internal RC oscillator calibration value @ 3.6V
0x17
Cal RC 2.0V
uInt8
Atmel ATxmega256A3 internal RC oscillator calibration value @ 2.0V
Synchronous operation is not supported.
PC connectivity can be easily achieved by using a serial to USB level shifter stick [8] as shown in Figure 5-3.
5.8 ID EEPROM
The REB233CBB Module identifies the Radio PCB by checking the correct content of the Radio PCB identification (ID)
EEPROM, which handles information about the Radio PCB, the node MAC address and production calibration values.
This ensures no other Radio PCB type can be used in conjunction with the delivered Microcontroller PCB and firmware.
The firmware running on the Microcontroller PCB checks the correct content of the Radio PCB ID-EEPROM before
continuing with any radio operation. In case of wrong or unexpected content of the Radio PCB ID-EEPROM the
operation is stopped which is indicated by LEDs D1…D2 blinking.
Table 5-3 shows a detailed description of the Radio PCB ID-EEPROM data structure.
Table 5-3. ID EEPROM mapping.
Atmel AT03911: REB233CBB Module – User Manual [APPLICATION NOTE]
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