Note the following details of the code protection feature on Microchip devices:
•Microchip products meet the specification contained in their particular Microchip Data Sheet.
•Microchip believes that its family of products is one of the most secure families of its kind on the market today, when used in the
intended manner and under normal conditions.
•There are dishonest and possibly illegal methods used to breach the code protection feature. All of these methods, to our
knowledge, require using the Microchip products in a manner outside the operating specifications contained in Microchip’s Data
Sheets. Most likely, the person doing so is engaged in theft of intellectual property.
•Microchip is willing to work with the customer who is concerned about the integrity of their code.
•Neither Microchip nor any other semiconductor manufacturer can guarantee the security of their code. Code protection does not
mean that we are guaranteeing the product as “unbreakable.”
Code protection is constantly evolving. We at Microchip are committed to continuously improving the code protection features of our
products. Attempts to break Microchip’s code protection feature may be a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If such acts
allow unauthorized access to your software or other copyrighted work, you may have a right to sue for relief under that Act.
Information contained in this publication regarding device
applications and t he lik e is provided only for your convenience
and may be su perseded by upda t es . It is y our responsibility to
ensure that your application meets with your specifications.
MICROCHIP MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR
WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND WHETHER EXPRESS OR
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OTHERWISE, RELATED TO THE INFORMATION,
INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ITS CONDITION,
QUALITY, PERFORMANCE, MERCHANTABILITY OR
FITNESS FOR PURPOSE. Microchip disclaims all liability
arising from this information and its use. Use of Microchip
devices in life supp ort and/or safety ap plications is entir ely at
the buyer’s risk, and the buyer agrees to defend, indemnify and
hold harmless M icrochip from any and all dama ges, claims,
suits, or expenses re sulting from such use. No licens es are
conveyed, implicitly or otherwise, under any Microchip
intellectual property rights.
Trademarks
The Microchip name and logo, the Microchip logo, dsPIC,
K
rfPIC and UNI/O are registered trademarks of Microchip
Technology Incorporated in the U.S.A. and other countries.
FilterLab, Hampshire, HI-TECH C, Linear Active Thermistor,
MXDEV, MXLAB, SEEVAL and The Embedded Control
Solutions Company are registered trademarks of Microchip
Technology Incorporated in the U.S.A.
logo, REAL ICE, rfLAB,
Select Mode, Total Endurance, TSHARC, WiperLock and
ZENA are trademarks of Microchip Technology Incorporated
in the U.S.A. and other countries.
SQTP is a service mark of Microchip Technology Incorporated
in the U.S.A.
All other trademarks mentioned herein are property of their
respective companies.
Microchip received ISO/TS-16949:2002 certification for its worldwide
headquarters, design and wafer fabrication facilities in Chandler and
Tempe, Arizona; Gresham, Oregon and design centers in California
and India. The Company’s quality system processes and procedures
are for its PIC
devices, Serial EEPROMs, microperipherals, nonvolatile memory and
analog products. In addition, Microchip’s quality system for the design
and manufacture of development systems is ISO 9001:2000 certified.
All documentation becomes dated, and this manual is no exception. Microchip tools and
documentation are constantly evolving to meet customer needs, so some actual dialogs
and/or tool descriptions may differ from those in this document. Please refer to our web site
(www.microchip.com) to obtain the latest documentation available.
Documents are identified with a “DS” number. This number is located on the bottom of each
page, in front of the p age number. The numbering convention for the DS number is
“DSXXXXXA”, where “XXXXX” is the document number and “A” is the revision level of the
document.
For the most up-to-date information on development tools, see the MPLAB
Select the Help menu, and then Topics to open a list of available on-line help files.
®
IDE on-line help.
INTRODUCTION
This chapter contains general information that will be useful to know before using the
MRF49XA PICtail/PICtail Plus Daughter Board. Items discussed in this chapter
include:
• Document Layout
• Conventions Used in this Guide
• Warranty Registration
• Recommended Reading
• The Microchip Web Site
• Development Systems Customer Change Notification Service
• Customer Support
• Document Revision History
DOCUMENT LAYOUT
This document describes how to use the MRF49XA PICtail™/PICtail Plus Daughter
Board. The manual layout is as follows:
• Chapter 1. “Overview ” This chapter provides an overview of the MRF49XA PICtail/PICtail Plus Daughter Board, including board contents and features.
• Chapter 2. “Getti ng Started” This chapter describes how to start using your
MRF49XA PICtail/PICtail Plus Daughter Board
• Appendix A. “MRF49XA PICtail/PICtail Plus Daughter Board Schematic” This
appendix contains the schematics, PCB information and Bill of Materials for the
MRF49XA PICtail/PICtail Plus Daughter Board.
Please complete the enclosed Warranty Registration Card and mail it promptly.
Sending in the Warranty Registration Card entitles users to receive new product
updates. Interim software releases are available at the Microchip web site.
RECOMMENDED READING
This user's guide describes how to use the MRF49XA PICtail/PICtail Plus Daughter
Board. Other useful documents are listed below. The following Microchip documents
are available and recommended as supplemental reference resources.
MRF49XA ISM Band Sub-GHz RF Transceiver Data Sheet (DS70590)
PICDEM PIC18 Explorer Demonstration Board User’s Guide (DS51721)
Explorer 16 Development Board User’s Guide (DS51589)
2K SPI Bus Serial EEPROM with EUI-48™ Node Identity Data Sheet (DS22123)
MRF49XA PICtail™/PICtail Plus Daughter Board User’s Guide
THE MICROCHI P WEB SITE
Microchip provides online support via our web site at www.microchip.com. This web
site is used as a means to make files and information easily available to customers.
Accessible by using your favorite Internet browser, the web site contains the following
information:
• Product Support – Data sheets and errata, application notes and sample
programs, design resources, user’s guides and hardware support documents,
latest software releases and archived software
• General Technical Support – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), technical
support requests, online discussion groups, Microchip consultant program
member listin g
• Business of Microchip – Product selector and ordering guides, latest Microchip
press releases, listing of seminars and events, listings of Microchip sales offices,
distributors and factory representatives
DEVELOPMENT SYSTEMS CUSTOMER CHANGE NOTIFICATION SERVICE
Microchip’s customer notification service helps keep customers current on Microchip
products. Subscribers will receive e-mail notification whenever there are changes,
updates, revisions or errata related to a specified product family or development tool of
interest.
To register, access the Microchip web site at www.microchip.com, click on Customer
Change Notification and follow the registration instructions.
The Development Systems product group categories are:
• Compilers – The latest information on Microchip C compilers and other language
tools. These include the MPLAB C18 and MPLAB C30 C compilers; MPASM™
and MPLAB ASM30 assemblers; MPLINK™ and MPLAB LINK30 object linkers;
and MPLIB™ and MPLAB LIB30 object librarians.
• Emulators – The latest information on Microchip in-circuit emulators.This
includes the MPLAB ICE 2000 and MPLAB ICE 4000.
• In-Circuit Debuggers – The latest information on the Microchip in-circuit
debugger, MPLAB ICD 2.
• MPLAB
Integrated Development Environment for development systems tools. This list is
focused on the MPLAB IDE, MPLAB SIM simulator, MPLAB IDE Project Manager
and general editing and debugging features.
• Programmers – The latest information on Microchip programmers. These include
the MPLAB PM3 and PRO MATE
Plus and PICkit™ 1 development programmers.
®
IDE – The latest information on Microchip MPLAB IDE, the Windows®
Users of Microchip products can receive assistance through several channels:
• Distributor or Representative
• Local Sales Office
• Field Application Engineer (FAE)
• Technical Support
Customers should contact their distributor, representative or field application engineer
(FAE) for support. Local sales offices are also available to help customers. A listing of
sales offices and locations is included in the back of this document.
Technical support is available through the web site at: http://support.microchip.com
The MRF49XA PICtail™/PICtail Plus Daughter Board is a demonstration and development daughter board for the MRF49XA ISM Band Sub-GHz RF Transceiver. The
daughter board can plug into multiple Microchip Technology demonstration and development boards. For example, for 8-bit microcontroller development using the PIC18
Explorer Board (DM183032) or for 16-bit microcontroller development using the
Explorer 16 Development Board (DM240001).
A simple demonstration program has been written for the PIC18 Explorer Board. It may
be downloaded from the Microchip website http://www.microchip.com/wireless
This chapter discusses:
• MRF49XA PICtail/PICtail Pl us Daughter Board Contents
• MRF49XA PICtail/ PICtail Plus Daughter Board
1.2MRF49XA PICtail/PICtail PLUS DAUGHTER BOARD CONTENTS
.
The MRF49XA PICtail/PICtail Plus Daughter Board contains the following items:
• Two MRF49XA PICtail/PICtail Plus Daughter Boards
The daughter boards come in two frequency versions. The individual part numbers are
listed in T able 1-1.
TABLE 1-1:MRF49XA PICtail™/PICtail PLUS DAUGHTER BOARD
DescriptionPart Number
MRF49XA PICtail™/PICtail Plus Daughter Board (433.92 MHz)AC164137-1
MRF49XA PICtail/PICtail Plus Daughter Board (868/915 MHz)AC164137-2
1.3MRF49XA PICtail/PICtail PLUS DAUGHTER BOARD
The MRF49XA PICtail/PICtail Plus Daughter Board is a complete sub-GHz wireless
transceiver. The features are shown in Figure 1-1.
CAUTION
Power to the MRF49XA PICtail/PICtail Plus Daughter Board should be in the range
of 2.2-3.8V. Ensure that the development/demonstration board that the daughter
board is plugged into meets this voltage requirement; otherwise, damage to the
MRF49XA may occur.
MRF49XA PICtail™/PICtail Plus Daughter Board User’s Guide
SMA Connector
PCB Footprint
Power Disconnect/
Current Measurement
Headers
MRF49XA
Sub-GHz
Transceiver
PICtail™ and
PICtail Plus
Connectors
Wire Antenna
24AA02E48 EUI
Node
Identity Serial
EEPROM
FIGURE 1-1:MRF49XA PICtail™/PICtail PLUS DAUGHTER BOARD
PICtail Connector (P1) – 28-pin right angle connector to connect to 8-bit development
boards’ PICtail connector.
PICtail Plus Connector (P2) – 30-pin card edge connector for connecting into 16 and
32-bit development boards’ PICtail Plus connector.
MRF49XA (U1) – ISM sub-GHz Transceiver.
Power Disconnect/Current Measurement Headers (JP1/JP2) – Two, 2-pin headers are
connected in parallel. A shunt connects power to the MRF49XA circuitry. A current
meter can be placed on the header and the shunt removed to measure current
consumption.
TIP: To prevent power interruption to the MRF49XA, keep the shunt on the header
while connecting the current meter. Once connected, remove the shunt to measure
current.
Antenna Connector (J1) – Populated with a receptacle pin to accept a wire antenna (24
AWG solid wire). For 433.92 MHz, the wire length is 6.8 inches. For 868/915 MHz, the
wire length is 3.3 inches.
EUI Node Identity Serial EEPROM (U2) – Contains a unique IEEE EUI address. For
more information, refer to the “2K SPI Bus Serial EEPROM with EUI-48™ Node Identity Data Sheet” (DS22123).
Note:Do not allow shunt resistance to exceed 50 ohms as it may lower the supply
voltage to the MRF49XA and cause a glitch reset.
Note:The receptacle can be removed and a SMA or reverse polarity SMA
The MRF49XA PICtail/PICtail Plus Daughter Board can be plugged into multiple Microchip T echnology demonstration and development boards. This allows the developer to
choose the microcontroller that best suits the customer’s development environment.
The PICtail connector right angle header, P1, can plug into 8-bit demonstration and
development boards, such as the PIC18 Explorer Board (DM183032). The PICtail Plus
card edge connector, P2, can plug into Explorer 16 Development Board (DM240001).
This chapter shows how the daughter board is plugged into the PIC18 Explorer and
Explorer 16 Development Boards, and how to run the PIC18 Explorer Board demo
programs.
2.2PLUGGING INTO THE PIC18 EXPLORER BOARD
The MRF49XA PICtail/PICtail Plus Daughter Board can be plugged into the PIC18
Explorer Board PICtail connector, J3, as shown in Figure 2-1. Make sure to align pin 1
to RE2 as shown.
CAUTION
Ensure that the PIC18F87J11 PIM is plugged into the PIC18 Explorer Board. This
sets the system V
PICtail/PICtail Plus Daughter Board.
FIGURE 2-1:MRF49XA PICtail™/PICtail PLUS DAUGHTER BOARD
DD voltage to 3.3 volts, which is required by the MRF49XA
MRF49XA PICtail™/PICtail Plus Daughter Board User’s Guide
2.2.1Downloading and Running the Demo Program
A simple demonstration program has been written for the PIC18 Explorer Board. It may
be downloaded from the Microchip website http://www.microchip.com/wireless
Quick Start Guide is included in the software installation package that explains the
installation and operation of the demo program.
2.3PLUGGING INTO THE EXPLORER 16 DEVELOPMENT BOARD
The MRF49XA PICtail/PICtail Plus Daughter Board can be plugged into the Explorer
16 Development Board as shown in Figure 2-2.
The Daughter Board 30-pin card edge connector can be plugged into the top section
of the PICtail Plus connector. This will connect to the SPI Port 1 on the PIC
troller plugged into the PIM socket. If the Daughter Board is plugged into the
mid-section of the PICtail Plus connector, this will connect to SPI Port 2 on the PIC
microcontroller.
FIGURE 2-2:MRF49XA PICtail™/PICtail PLUS DAUGHTER BOARD