eRIC4-DK

eRIC Development Kit The eRIC Development Kit provides a platform for the test and evaluation of eRIC radio transceivers and allows demonstration of the transfer of serial data over the RF link and simple manual/auto transmit/receive modes. The kit comprises: Two eRIC400 (400MHz) or eRIC900 (900MHz) RF Transceiver modules Two eRIC Development boards Two matching antenna (400/900MHz) with SMA (Male) connectors Two 9V Alkaline PP3 Batteries Two USB Type A to Micro-B USB connector jump leads for connection to PC One Wireless Mike 4GB USB memory stick containing data sheets and software Using this kit together with the supplied easyRadio Companion software, connection can be made to the eRIC modules allowing the default operating frequency (channels), RF power output, Over Air and Host serial communication rates to be configured and changed. Development Board Description N.B. Board supplied may differ slightly from illustration Vcc Out Pwr LED JTAG Connector JP1 On/Off Switch SW1/LED1 Micro USB Pin 16 Connector SW2/LED2 9V PP3 Battery Pin 17 Tx LED - Red SW3/LED3 Rx LED - Green Pin 18 SW4/LED4 Pin 19 RF In/Out Potentiometer Reset Gnd Pin VRef Feature Description SW1/LED1 to SW4/LED4 Momentary push button switch and LED indicator connected to eRIC I/O pins JTAG Connector TI compatible JTAG programming connector JP1 Bootloader enable jumper. Jumper in place to enable bootloader mode Vcc Out 5V or 3V3 (20mA max) outputs and Gnd Ref for powering external circuitry Pwr LED Indicates that board is powered On/Off Switch Board power On/Off Micro USB Connector USB Serial Data and 5V USB power Battery 9V PP3 battery for board power Tx LED (Red) Indicates serial USB data activity Rx LED (Green) Indicates eRIC receive data activity Potentiometer Provides variable voltage output on adjacent pin for testing A-D etc. VRef Top of potentiometer. Connect to Vcc Out pin 5V/3V3 or other voltage RF In/Out 50R SMA Female RF connector for antenna or test equipment connection Gnd Pin 0V Gnd reference for scope or other test equipment. Reset Switch Momentary push button eRIC reset switch eRIC Dev Kit 1.2.docx Page 1 of 6 eRIC Development Kit Notes The eRIC development board is provided with both a spring pinned socket and an area/pads for the alternative and permanent SMD mounting of eRIC. All eRIC pins (123) are brought out to Single In Line (SIL) turned pin sockets allowing easy interconnection to external prototype/development circuitry via jumper wires. The board can be powered either by the PC USB connection (5V) or for portable/remote range testing by the supplied 9V PP3 battery. An onboard FT230 device provides a USB to serial connection to a host PC or other device and is used both for sending and receiving serial data to eRIC, sending configuration commands and at a later stage for programming the flash memory of the device using the embedded bootloader software. Status LEDs are used to indicate presence of board power and both transmitted and received serial data activity. Four of the I/O pins are connected to pushbutton switches/LEDs to provide useful user input/outputs for test and demonstration during later application development. Users in the United States using eRIC9 modules should permanently connect eRIC pin 14 (Frequency Select Pin) to 0V (Gnd). This action will change the default operating frequency from 869.75 MHz to 915.00 MHz and reduce the default transmit power output from +7dBm to -3dBm. Check and Set Up the Development Boards Inspect the boards and familiarise yourself with the layout. Insert the eRIC modules into the spring clips and carefully press down until the module snaps in place. Note the orientation of the eRIC module Pin 1 is adjacent to the UFL RF connector. After multiple insertions and removals the spring clips may need to be carefully re-tensioned by bending them gently inwards to maintain contact with the castellated half pads. Check that the Bootloader jumper (JP1) is not in place. (Pins not bridged) Screw the supplied whip antennas into the SMA RF connectors. Note that in operation the boards should be separated by a minimum distance of about 30cm (12 inches) to prevent RF front end overload (swamping). Demonstration Modes To allow stand-alone (portable) operation for range testing etc. without the need for a host PC, the built in demos are accessed as follows: Power the eRIC Development boards by either connecting the supplied 9V PP3 batteries or connecting the boards to a PC USB port via the supplied USB adapter leads. Ensure that the miniature power slide switch is On and check that the Red power LEDs light. To enter demonstration mode(s) press and hold down Switch 1. Whilst holding down Switch 1, momentarily press and release the red reset button, now release Switch1.The blue LEDs 3 & 4 will flash twice indicating demonstration mode is now active. Decide which board is to be the receiver, then press and release Switch 3 to select Receive mode for this board. To select Manual Transmit mode on the other (transmitter) board repeat the initial procedure then press and release Switch 2. Any button now pressed on this transmitter board will be remotely echoed on the receiving board by a corresponding LED indication. To select Automatic Transmit mode on the other (transmitter) board repeat the initial procedure then press and release Switch 4. The transmitting board will then display an incrementing binary pattern on the local LEDs that will be echoed on the receiving board by a corresponding LED indication. This mode is useful for performing battery powered walkabout range tests. To return the boards back to the default easyRadio mode, simply press and release the red reset button. easyRadio Mode The modules supplied with the eRIC development kit are embedded with a subset of the LPRS easyRadio Operating System (eROS). This provides a serial connection to easyRadio Companion software running on a Windows PC or any application software running on any device that generates and processes serial data. The PC software should be installed and configured as detailed below: If running Windows XP on your PC download the FTDI Virtual Com Port Drivers from: