Microchip Technology RN2903 User Manual

Low-Power Long Range LoRa™ Technology

Transceiver Module

General Features

• On-board LoRaWAN™ Class A protocol stack

• ASCII command interface over UART

• Compact form factor: 17.8 x 26.7 x 3 mm

• Castellated SMT pads for easy and reliable PCB mounting

• Environmentally friendly, RoHS compliant

• Compliance:

- Modular Certified for the United States (FCC)

and Canada (IC)

- Australia and New Zealand

• Device Firmware Upgrade (DFU) over UART (see

“RN2903 LoRa™ Technology Module Command Reference User’s Guide” DS40000000A)

RN2903

Description

Operational

• Single operating voltage: 2.1V to 3.6V (3.3V typical)

• Temperature range: -40°C to +85°C

• Low-power consumption

• Programmable RF Communication Bit Rate up to 300 kbps with FSK modulation, 12500 bps with LoRa™ Technology modulation

• Integrated MCU, Crystal, EUI-64 Node Identity Serial EEPROM, Radio Transceiver with Analog Front End, Matching Circuitry

• 14 GPIOs for control and status

RF/Analog Features

• Low-Power Long Range Transceiver operating in the 915 MHz frequency band

• High Receiver Sensitivity: down to -148 dBm

• TX Power: adjustable up to +20 dBm high efficiency PA

• FSK, GFSK, and LoRa Technology modulation

• IIP3 = -11 dBm

• >15 km coverage at suburban and >5 km coverage at urban area

Microchip’s RN2903 Low-Power Long Range LoRa Technology Transceiver module provides an easy to use, low-power solution for long range wireless data transmission. The advanced command interface offers rapid time to market.

The RN2903 module complies with the LoRaWAN Class A protocol specifications. It integrates RF, a baseband controller, command Application Programming Interface (API) processor, making it a complete long range solution.

The RN2903 module is suitable for simple long range sensor applications with external host MCU.

Applications

• Automated Meter Reading

• Home and Building Automation

• Wireless Alarm and Security Systems

• Industrial Monitoring and Control

• Machine to Machine

• Internet of Things (IoT)

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RN2903

1.0 Device Overview .......................................................................................................................................................................... 3

2.0 General Specifications.................................................................................................................................................................. 6

3.0 Typical Hardware Connections..................................................................................................................................................... 8

4.0 Physical Dimensions .................................................................................................................................................................... 9

5.0 Application Information............................................................................................................................................................... 10

6.0 Regulatory Approval................................................................................................................................................................... 12

Appendix A: Revision History............................................................................................................................................................... 17

The Microchip Web Site....................................................................................................................................................................... 19

Customer Change Notification Service................................................................................................................................................ 19

Customer Support................................................................................................................................................................................ 19

Product Identification System............................................................................................................................................................... 21

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Most Current Data Sheet

To obtain the most up-to-date version of this data sheet, please register at our Worldwide Web site at:

http://www.microchip.com

You can determine the version of a data sheet by examining its literature number found on the bottom outside corner of any page. The last character of the literature number is the version number, (e.g., DS30000000A is version A of document DS30000000).

Errata

An errata sheet, describing minor operational differences from the data sheet and recommended workarounds, may exist for current devices. As device/documentation issues become known to us, we will publish an errata sheet. The errata will specify the revision of silicon and revision of document to which it applies.

To determine if an errata sheet exists for a particular device, please check with one of the following:

• Microchip’s Worldwide Web site; http://www.microchip.com

• Your local Microchip sales office (see last page) When contacting a sales office, please specify which device, revision of silicon and data sheet (include literature number) you are

using.

Customer Notification System

DS00000A-page 2 Advance Information  2015 Microchip Technology Inc.

RN2903

GND

UART_RTS

UART_CTS

RESERVED

UART_TX

UART_RX

GND

GPIO13

GPIO12

GND

VDD

GPIO11

GPIO10

252423

GND

VDD

GND

TEST 0

TEST 1

RESET

GPIO0

GPIO1

GPIO2

GPIO3

GPIO4

GPIO5

GPIO6

GPIO7

GPIO8

GPIO9

User Hardware: Status LEDs, switches, logic IOs, etc.

RN2903 Module

MCU

LoRaTM

Technology radio

Command Processor

14 GPIO Pins

Real Time

Clock

LoRaWANTM Protocol Stack

I2C

SPI

UART

32768 Hz

Crystal

EUI-64

EEPROM

Host MCU

Antenna

915 MHz

1.0 DEVICE OVERVIEW

The RN2903 transceiver module features LoRa Technology RF modulation, which provides long range spread spectrum communication with high interference immunity.

Using LoRa Technology modulation technique, RN2903 can achieve a receiver sensitivity of -148 dBm. The high sensitivity combined with the integrated +20 dBm power amplifier yields industry leading link budget, which makes it optimal for applications requiring extended range and robustness.

FIGURE 1-1: RN2903 TOP VIEW

LoRa Technology modulation also provides significant advantages in both blocking and selectivity compared to the conventional modulation techniques, solving the traditional design compromise between extended range, interference immunity, and low-power consumption.

The RN2903 module delivers exceptional phase noise, selectivity, receiver linearity, and IIP3 for significantly lower power consumption. Figure 1-1, Figure 1-2, and

Figure 1-3 show the module’s top view, the pinout, and

the block diagram.

FIGURE 1-2: RN2903 PIN DIAGRAM

FIGURE 1-3: RN2903 BLOCK DIAGRAM

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RN2903

Table 1-1 describes the module’s pins.

TABLE 1-1: PIN DESCRIPTION

Pin Name Type Description

1 GND Power Ground supply terminal 2 UART_RTS Output Communication UART RTS signal 3 UART_CTS Input Communication UART CTS signal 4 RESERVED — Do not connect 5 RESERVED — Do not connect 6 UART_TX Output Communication UART Transmit (TX) 7 UART_RX Input Communication UART Receive (RX) 8 GND Power Ground supply terminal

9 GPIO13 Input/Output General purpose I/O pin 10 GPIO12 Input/Output General purpose I/O pin 11 GND Power Ground supply terminal 12 VDD Power Positive supply terminal 13 GPIO11 Input/Output General purpose I/O pin 14 GPIO10 Input/Output General purpose I/O pin 15 NC — Not connected 16 NC — Not connected 17 NC — Not connected 18 NC — Not connected 19 NC — Not connected 20 GND Power Ground supply terminal 21 GND Power Ground supply terminal 22 GND Power Ground supply terminal 23 RF RF analog RF signal pin 24 GND Power Ground supply terminal 25 NC — Not connected 26 GND Power Ground supply terminal 27 GND Power Ground supply terminal 28 GND Power Ground supply terminal 29 NC — Not connected 30 TEST0 — Do not connect 31 TEST1 — Do not connect 32 RESET 33 GND Power Ground supply terminal 34 VDD Power Positive supply terminal 35 GPIO0 Input/Output General purpose I/O pin 36 GPIO1 Input/Output General purpose I/O pin 37 GPIO2 Input/Output General purpose I/O pin 38 GPIO3 Input/Output General purpose I/O pin 39 GPIO4 Input/Output General purpose I/O pin 40 GPIO5 Input/Output General purpose I/O pin 41 GND Power Ground supply terminal 42 NC — Not connected 43 GPIO6 Input/Output General purpose I/O pin

Input Active-low device Reset input

(1) (1)

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TABLE 1-1: PIN DESCRIPTION (CONTINUED)

Pin Name Type Description

44 GPIO7 Input/Output General purpose I/O pin 45 GPIO8 Input/Output General purpose I/O pin 46 GPIO9 Input/Output General purpose I/O pin 47 GND Power Ground supply terminal

Note 1: Optional handshake lines are supported in future firmware releases.

RN2903

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RN2903

2.0 GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS

Table 2-1 provides the general specifications for th e module. Table 2-2 and Table 2-3 provide the module's electrical

characteristics and current consumption. Table 2-4 and Table 2-5 show the module's dimensions and the RF output power calibration data.

TABLE 2-1: GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS

Specification Description

Frequency Band 902.000 MHz to 928.000 MHz Modulation Method FSK, GFSK and LoRa™ Technology modulation Maximum Over-the-Air Data Rate 300 kbps with FSK modulation; 12500 bps with LoRa T echnology modulation RF connection Board edge connection Interface UART Operation Range >15 km coverage at suburban; >5 km coverage at urban area Sensitivity at 0.1% BER -148 dBm RF TX Power Adjustable up to max. 20 dBm on 915 MHz band Temperature (operating) -40°C to +85°C Temperature (storage) -40°C to +115°C Humidity 10% ~ 90%

non-condensing

Note 1: Depends on modulation. Expand Spreading Factor (SF).

2: TX power is adjustable. For more information, refer to the “RN2903 LoRa™ T echnology Module Command

Reference User’s Guide” (DS40000000A).

(1)

(2)

TABLE 2-2: ELECTRICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Parameter Min. T yp. Max. Units

Supply Voltage 2.1 — 3.6 V Voltage on any pin with respect to VSS (except VDD) -0.3 — VDD + 0.3 V Voltage on VDD with respect to VSS -0.3 — 3.9 V Input Clamp Current (IIK) (VI < 0 or VI > VDD) — — +/-20 mA Output Camp Current (IOK) (VO < 0 or VO > VDD) — — +/-20 mA GPIO sink/source current each — — 25/25 mA Total GPIO sink/source current — — 200/185 mA RAM Data Retention Voltage (in Sleep mode or Reset state) 1.5 — — V VDD Start Voltage to ensure internal Power-on Reset signal — — 0.7 V VDD Rise Rate to ensure internal Power-on Reset signal 0.05 — — V/ms Brown-out Reset Voltage 1.75 1.9 2.05 V Logic Input Low Voltage — — 0.15 x VDD V Logic Input High Voltage 0.8 x VDD — — V Input Leakage at <25°C

(VSS<VPIN<VDD, Pin at high-impedance) Input Leakage at +60°C

(VSS<VPIN<VDD, Pin at high-impedance) Input Leakage at +85°C

(VSS<VPIN<VDD, Pin at high-impedance) RF Input Level — — +10 dBm

—0.150nA

—0.7100nA

—4200nA

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RN2903

TABLE 2-3: CURRENT CONSUMPTION

Mode Typical Current at 3V (mA)

Idle 2.7 RX 13.5 Deep Sleep 0.022

TABLE 2-4: MODULE DIMENSIONS

Parameter Value

Dimensions 17.8 x 26.7 x 3 mm Weight 2.05g

TABLE 2-5: OUTPUT POWER OF TX

POWER SETTING

TX Power

Setting

23.042.6

34.044.8

45.047.3

56.049.6

67.052.0

78.055.0

89.057.7

910.061.0 10 1 1.0 64.8 11 12.0 73.1 12 13.0 78.0 14 14.7 83.0 15 15.5 88.0 16 16.3 95.8 17 17.0 103.6 20 18.5 124.4

Output Power

(dBm)

T ypical Supply

Current at 3V

(mA)

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RN2903

GPIOsHost MCU

TXRX

CTS

(1)

RTS

(1)

CTS

RFH

915 MHz band

UART

Status LEDs,

switches,

logic IOs,

etc.

Note 1: Optional handshake lines are supported in future firmware releases.

3.0 TYPICAL HARDWARE CONNECTIONS

Figure 3-1 shows the typical hardware connections.

FIGURE 3-1: HARDWARE CONNECTIONS

3.1 INTERFACE TO HOST MCU

The RN2903 module has a dedicated UART interface to communicate with a host controller. Optional handshake lines are supported in future firmware releases. The “RN2903 LoRa™ Technology Module Command Reference User’s Guide” (DS40000000A) provides a detailed UART command description.

Table 3-1 shows the default settings for the UART

communication.

TABLE 3-1: DEFAULT UART SETTINGS

Specification Description

Baud Rate 57600 bps Packet Length 8 bit Parity Bit No Stop Bits 1 bit Hardware Flow Control No

3.2 GPIO PINS (GPIO1–GPIO14)

The module has 14 GPIO pins. These lines can be connected to switches, LEDs, and relay outputs. The pins are either logic inputs or outputs that can be accessed via the module firmware. These pins have limited sink and source capabilities. The current firmware release only supports output function on all GPIOs. Electrical characteristics are described in

Table 2-2.

3.3 RF CONNECTION

When routing RF path, use proper strip lines with an impedance of 50 Ohm.

3.4 RESET PIN

The module’s reset pin is an active-low logic input.

3.5 POWER PINS

It is recommended to connect power pins (Pin 12 and

34) to a stable supply voltage with sufficient source current. Table 2-2 shows the current consumption.

Additional filtering capacitors are not required but can be used to ensure stable supply voltage in noisy environment.

DS00000A-page 8 Advance Information  2015 Microchip Technology Inc.

+ 16 hidden pages

Microchip Technology RN2903 User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

General Features

Table of Contents

Most Current Data Sheet

Errata

1.0 DEVICE OVERVIEW

FIGURE 1-1: RN2903 TOP VIEW

FIGURE 1-2: RN2903 PIN DIAGRAM

FIGURE 1-3: RN2903 BLOCK DIAGRAM

2.0 GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS

TABLE 2-1: GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS

TABLE 2-2: ELECTRICAL CHARACTERISTICS

TABLE 2-3: CURRENT CONSUMPTION

TABLE 2-4: MODULE DIMENSIONS

3.0 TYPICAL HARDWARE CONNECTIONS

FIGURE 3-1: HARDWARE CONNECTIONS

3.1 INTERFACE TO HOST MCU

TABLE 3-1: DEFAULT UART SETTINGS

3.2 GPIO PINS (GPIO1–GPIO14)

3.3 RF CONNECTION

3.4 RESET PIN

3.5 POWER PINS