u-blox EVK-ANNA-B112, EVK-ANNA-B112C, EVK-ANNA-B112U User Manual
EVK-ANNA-B112
Evaluation Kit for ANNA-B112 Bluetooth 5 low energy
modules
User Guide
Abstract
This document describes how to set up the EVK-ANNA-B112 evaluation kit to evaluate ANNA-B112
series standalone Bluetooth®
5 low energy modules. It also describes the different options for
debugging and the development capabilities included in the evaluation board.
www.u-blox.com
UBX-18018539 - R01
EVK-ANNA-B112 - User Guide
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Document Information
Title EVK-ANNA-B112
Subtitle Evaluation Kit for ANNA-B112 Bluetooth 5 low energy modules
Document type User Guide
Document number UBX-18018539
Revision and date R01 5-Jun-2018
Disclosure Restriction
This document applies to the following products:
Product name Type number Firmware version PCN reference
EVK-ANNA-B112U EVK-ANNA-B112U-00 EVK-ANNA-B112C EVK-ANNA-B112C-00 -
u-blox or third parties may hold intellectual property rights in the products, names, logos and designs included in this
document. Copying, reproduction, modification or disclosure to third parties of this document or any part thereof is only
permitted with the
express written permission of u-blox.
The information contained herein is provided “as is” and u
-blox assumes no liability for its use. No warranty, either express or
implied, is given, including but not limited
to, with respect to the accuracy, correctness, reliability and fitness for a particular
purpose of the information. This document may be revised by u
-blox at any time without notice. For the most recent
documents, visit www.u
-blox.com.
Copyright © u
-blox AG.
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Contents
Document Information ................................................................................................................................ 2
Contents .......................................................................................................................................................... 3
1 Product description .............................................................................................................................. 4
1.1 Overview ........................................................................................................................................................ 4
1.2 Kit includes ................................................................................................................................................... 5
1.3 Key features ................................................................................................................................................. 5
1.4 EVK-ANNA-B112 block diagram ............................................................................................................... 6
1.5 Connectors ................................................................................................................................................... 7
1.6 Powering options ......................................................................................................................................... 7
1.6.1 Selecting the power configuration jumpers .................................................................................. 8
1.6.2 Default power, 3.3 V ........................................................................................................................... 9
1.6.3 Battery powered, 3 V ........................................................................................................................ 10
1.6.4 Battery powered with protection diode, 2.7 V ............................................................................. 10
1.6.5 External supply ................................................................................................................................... 11
1.6.6 Raspberry Pi HAT ............................................................................................................................... 11
1.7 Arduino interface .......................................................................................................................................12
1.7.1 Arduino shield compatibility ........................................................................................................... 13
1.8 Raspberry Pi compatible interface ........................................................................................................ 14
1.8.1 Powering considerations ................................................................................................................. 16
1.8.2 UART ................................................................................................................................................... 16
1.8.3 EEPROM support .............................................................................................................................. 16
1.9 Buttons and LEDs ...................................................................................................................................... 17
1.10 Disconnecting ANNA signals from board peripherals ........................................................................ 17
1.11 Software debug options .......................................................................................................................... 19
2 Setting up the evaluation board .................................................................................................... 20
2.1 Evaluation board setup ............................................................................................................................ 20
2.2 Starting up ................................................................................................................................................. 20
2.2.1 EVK-ANNA-B112 ................................................................................................................................ 20
2.2.2 EVK-ANNA-B112 SDK ....................................................................................................................... 20
2.3 Getting the latest software .................................................................................................................... 20
Appendix ........................................................................................................................................................ 21
A Placement and Schematics .............................................................................................................. 21
B Glossary .................................................................................................................................................. 27
Related documents ................................................................................................................................... 28
Revision history .......................................................................................................................................... 28
Contact ...........................................................................................................................................................29
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1 Product description
1.1 Overview
The u-blox EVK-ANNA-B112 evaluation kit is a versatile development platform that allows quick
prototyping of a variety of extremely low-power Internet of Things (IoT) applications, using Bluetooth
5, Bluetooth mesh and NFC.
The u-blox EVK-ANNA-B112 boards are available in the following two variants depending on the
required antenna:
• EVK-ANNA-B112U, with an ANNA-B112U module including u-blox connectivity software, and an
antenna connector for connecting to external antennas
• EVK-ANNA-B112C, with an ANNA-B112C module including u-blox connectivity software and an
internal antenna (a unique 2.4 GHz antenna in the SIP).
The evaluation board provides access to all 25 IO pins and interfaces available on the
ANNA-B112 modules through a variety of connectors and interfaces, including Arduino™ Uno R3 and
Raspberry Pi header connectors.
The stand-alone ANNA-B112 is based on the Nordic Semiconductor nRF52832 chip. The nRF52832
uses an Arm
®
Cortex®-M4F microcontroller with 512 kB internal flash and 64 kB RAM, running at a
system clock of 64 MHz. The evaulation board provides simple USB drag-n-drop programming and a
SEGGER J-Link debug interface that can be used with the open CPU variants of the EVK. Nordic
provides a free Software Development Kit (SDK) with a broad selection of drivers, libraries, and
example applications that can be used for rapid prototyping.
Figure 1: EVK-ANNA-B112 evaluation boards
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Figure 2: Left: EVB ANNA-B112U including U.FL connector; Right: EVB ANNA-B112C including an internal antenna.
Figure 3: Left: EVB ANNA-B112U including NFC antenna; Right: EVB ANNA-B112U including NFC antenna, turned 180
degrees. Both options are valid.
1.2 Kit includes
The EVK-ANNA-B112 evaluation kit includes the following:
• EVK-ANNA-B112 evaluation board
• 2.4 GHz external antenna with U.FL connector (only in EVK-ANNA-B112U)
• NFC antenna
• USB cable
• Quick Start card
1.3 Key features
• u-blox ANNA-B112 Bluetooth low energy module based on the Nordic nRF52832 chipset:
o Bluetooth 5 support
o Bluetooth mesh
o NFC tag functionality
o Integrated Arm® Cortex®-M4F microcontroller with 512 kB flash, 64 kB RAM, and 64
MHz system clock
o Wide 1.7-3.6 V supply range
• The ANNA-B112 module supports different interfaces that can be configured to any of the 25
available IO pin(s):
o 8 analog capable inputs
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o 12 PWM capable outputs
o 3x SPI
o 1x UART with HW flow control
o 2x I
2
C
o 1x I
2
S
• Full UART to USB converter with a Virtual COM port that allows control of the extended UART
features of the u-blox connectivity software
• On-board J-Link debugger/programmer:
o Mass Storage Device interface to PC, for drag-n-drop programming
o Debug port
o An additional Virtual COM port that, for example, may be connected to add-on boards
or to a debug UART on the ANNA-B112
• RGB LED and push buttons
• Arduino UNO R3 and Raspberry Pi compatible pin header interfaces
• Jumper headers and level shifters allow for flexible powering options of the ANNA-B112 module,
even with full board support. They isolate the module entirely and control each power net
separately in order to precisely measure low power applications or disconnect only unused parts
of the board to save battery life.
• Multiple board power supply options:
o 5-12 V power plug
o 5 V USB supply
o 5-12 V Arduino VIN input
• Battery holder supporting CR2032 coin cell batteries
1.4 EVK-ANNA-B112 block diagram
The block diagram of EVK-ANNA-B112 is shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4: EVK-ANNA-B112 block diagram
The block diagram shows the major interfaces and internal connections of the EVK-ANNA-B112. The
following sections describe in detail how the different interfaces are connected and used, and how
the evaluation board may be configured to suit the needs of the user.
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1.5 Connectors
Figure 5 shows the available connectors on the EVK-ANNA-B112 and their layout. Table 1 describes
the connectors and their uses in detail.
Figure 5: Available connectors and their pinout
Connector
annotation
Function Description
J5 Power supply 2.1 mm power jack, the center pin is the positive terminal. 5 – 12 V input.
J17 Power supply Pin header that can be used to connect external power supplies. 5 – 12 V input.
BT1 Battery holder
CR2032 coin cell battery holder. CR2032 usually has a 3 V potential when fully
charged.
J11
NFC antenna
connector
Pin header that connects to the u-blox NFC antenna included in the kit.
J10
2.4 GHz RF antenna
connector
U.FL coaxial connector that can be used to connect antennas or RF equipment. This
connector is included only in the EVK-ANNA-B112U.
J12
Cortex Debug
connector
10-pin, 50 mil pitch connector that can be used to connect external debuggers to
the ANNA-B112 module. The ANNA-B112 modules support Serial Wire debug (SWD)
and Serial Wire Viewer, but not JTAG debug.
J21
Cortex Debug+ETM
connector
20-pin, 50 mil pitch connector. This extended connector has the same features as
J12, but also allows for instruction trace operations via the Embedded Trace
Macrocell (ETM) of the Cortex
®
-M4F microcontroller inside the ANNA-B112 module.
This requires a special external debugger. Note that the 50 mil pitch pin header is
not soldered onto the evaluation board by default.
J8
Power supply, COM
port and debug USB
The main USB connector that is used to program, debug, and communicate with the
ANNA-B112 module. It can also be used to power the entire board.
Table 1: EVK-ANNA-B112 connector description
1.6 Powering options
Power can be supplied to the board in one of the following ways:
• Via the USB connector, J8
• Using the power jack, J5
• Using the Arduino interface VIN pin
• Using the pin header J17
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• Plugging in a battery to the battery holder BT1
These power supply sources are distributed to the rest of the board as shown in Figure 6.
Figure 6: Block diagram of the power net distribution
1.6.1 Selecting the power configuration jumpers
The EVK-ANNA-B112 offers flexible powering options for the ANNA-B112 module and the board itself.
To configure this, jumpers are added to or removed from pin headers, shorting two of the pins
together and connecting or disconnecting different power nets on the evaluation board. Figure 7
shows the location of the power configuration jumper headers. The 3V3 net is supplied by the board
and will always be powered as long as any of the power sources shown in Figure 6 are connected. The
3V3 net will not provide power unless a jumper is added to jumper header J7.
Figure 7: Jumper headers J7 and J22 are used to select power configurations
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Connector
annotation
Pin
number
Schematic
net name
Description
J7 1 3V3
Regulated 3.3 V net. This net is supplied by the board and will always be powered
as long as a power source is connected.
2 3V3_PI
Connects to the Raspberry Pi header’s (J14) 3V3 pins. If a Raspberry Pi is
connected, this net must be floating to prevent back currents. If a HAT is
connected, this net can be shorted to the EVK 3.3 V supply to power the HAT.
3 VBAT_DIODE
To protect the battery from current back surges, connect the battery to the
ANNA-B112 module via a protection diode using this pin.
4 VDD_ANNA
Connects to J22 pin 3, from where it can be connected to the module supply pin or
somewhere else.
5 VBAT Battery + terminal
6 VDD_ANNA
Connects to J22 pin 3, from where it can be connected to the module supply pin or
somewhere else.
7 3V3
Regulated 3.3 V net. This net is supplied by the board and will always be powered
as long as a power source is connected.
8 VDD_ANNA
Connects to J22 pin 3, from where it can be connected to the module supply pin or
somewhere else.
9 3V3
Regulated 3.3 V net. This net is supplied by the board and will always be powered
as long as a power source is connected.
10 VDD_MCU
Supply net for the board functions not directly connected to the ANNA-B112
module; Interface MCU, USB hub, UART to USB converter etc.
11 GND Ground net.
12 GND Ground net.
J22 1 VCC
ANNA-B112 module voltage supply that connects to the module VCC pin. Shorted
to the VCC_IO net via 0 Ω resistor R4 by default.
2 VCC_IO VCC_IO pin not connected.
3 VDD_ANNA
Connects to J7 pins 4, 6 and 8. Short J22 pins 1 and 3 allow the EVK to power the
ANNA-B112 module.
4 VDD_IO
Supply net for LEDs and peripherals connected directly to the ANNA-B112 module.
Short J22 pins 2 and 4.
5 GND Ground net.
6 GND Ground net.
Table 2: Pinout of jumper headers J7 and J22 used to configure the board power nets
The following sections describe different jumper configurations and power scenarios that is available
on the board, including the default configuration.
⚠ Check the jumper positions carefully; if a jumper is connected in a wrong way, it can permanently
damage the components that are on the board or connected to it.
1.6.2 Default power, 3.3 V
This is the default power configuration for the evaluation board, and the jumpers are installed out of
the box with this power configuration. All board peripherals are powered up, the ANNA module is
directly supplied by the board and everything is running at 3.3 V.
Figure 8: Jumper positions for default power configuration
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