GPACERS LORA MODULE USER GUIDE MODEL: GPM-RF2021 VERSION : V2021.1 Gpacers Technology TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 OVERVIEW 1.2 FEATURES 1.3 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION CHAPTER 2. HARDWARE DESCRIPTION 2-1 BLOCK DIAGRAM 2.2 FRONTSIDE OF BOARD 2.3 BACKSIDE OF BOARD CHAPTER 3. METHOD OF OPERATION 3.1 PIN MAPPING BETWEEN MCU AND LORA TRANSCEIVER 3.2 PIN MAPPING BETWEEN MCU AND CONNECTORS 3.3 POWER ON THE MCU AND LORA TRANSCEIVER 3.4 USING HALL SWITCH AS EXTERNAL FUNCTION CONTROL 3-5 PIN MAPPING BETWEEN MCU AND DEBUG PIN 2 PREFACE IMPORTANT NOTES Information contained in this publication regarding device applications and the like is provided only for your convenience and may be superseded by updates. It is your responsibility to ensure that your application meets with your specifications. GPACERS MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, WRITTEN OR ORAL, STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE, RELATED TO THE INFORMATION, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ITS CONDITION, QUALITY, PERFORMANCE, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR PURPOSE. GPACERS disclaims all liability arising from this information and its use. Use of GPACERS devices in life support and/or safety applications is entirely at the buyers risk, and the buyer agrees to defend, indemnify and hold harmless GPACERS from any and all damages, claims, suits, or expenses resulting from such use. No licenses are conveyed, implicitly or otherwise, under any GPACERS intellectual property rights unless otherwise stated. THE GPACERS WEBSITE Gpacers provides online support via our website at www.gpacers.com . This website is used as a means to make files and information easily available to customers. Accessible by using your favorite Internet browser, the website contains the following information:
Technical Support Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), technical support requests, online discussion groups, Gpacers consultant program member listing Business of Gpacers Product selector and ordering guides, latest Gpacers press releases, listing of seminars and events, listings of Gpacers sales offices, distributors and factory representatives CUSTOMER SUPPORT Users of Gpacers 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 Gpacers website. Technical support is available through the website at: https://www.gpacers.com/home/technical-support/
DOCUMENT LAYOUT This document describes how to use the Gpacers LoRa module as a demonstration to show how it works. The document is organized as follows:
Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION This chapter describes the module and presents the technical specification and features. Chapter 2. HARDWARE DESCRIPTION This chapter describes the hardware requirements for getting started with the module. Chapter 3. METHOD OF OPERATION This chapter describes the firmware programming requirements for transceiver functions with the module. 3 FCC WARNING FCC 15b devices (15.105) This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:
Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna. Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver. Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected. Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help. FCC Part 15.21 information for user You are cautioned that changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void your authority to operate the equipment. FCC Part 15.19 This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions:
(1) this device may not cause harmful interference and
(2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation Modular Approval OEM INTEGRATION INSTRUCTIONS:
This device is intended only for OEM integrators under the following conditions: 1) The module must be installed in the host equipment such that 20 cm is maintained between the antenna and users, and 2) the transmitter module may not be co-located with any other transmitter or antenna. As long as conditions above are met, further transmitter test will not be required. However, the OEM integrator is still responsible for testing their end-product for any additional compliance requirements required with this module installed (for example, digital device emissions, PC peripheral requirements, etc.). Any changes or modifications not expressly approved by the manufacturer could void the user's authority to operate this equipment. IMPORTANT NOTE:
In the event that these conditions cannot be met (for example certain laptop configurations or colocation with another transmitter), then the FCC authorization for this module in combination with the host equipment is no longer considered valid and the FCC ID of the module cannot be used on the final product. In these circumstances, the OEM integrator will be responsible for re-evaluating the End Product (including the transmitter) and obtaining a separate FCC authorization. USERS MANUAL OF THE END PRODUCT:
The OEM integrator has to be aware not to provide information to the end user regarding how to install or remove this RF module in the users manual of the End product which integrates this module. The end user manual shall include all required regulatory information/warning as show in this manual. Part 15 Subpart B disclaimer the host product manufacturer is responsible for compliance to any other FCC rules that apply to the host not covered by the modular transmitter grant of certification. 4 FCC WARNING LABEL OF THE END PRODUCT:
THE END PRODUCT MUST BE LABELED IN A VISIBLE AREA WITH THE FOLLOWING " Contains FCC ID: 2ARB9-GPM-
RF2021 ". THE FOLLOWING FCC PART 15.19 STATEMENT MUST ALSO BE AVAILABLE ON THE LABEL: THIS DEVICE COMPLIES WITH PART 15 OF FCC RULES. OPERATION IS SUBJECT TO THE FOLLOWING TWO CONDITIONS: (1) THIS DEVICE MAY NOT CAUSE HARMFUL INTERFERENCE AND (2) THIS DEVICE MUST ACCEPT ANY INTERFERENCE RECEIVED, INCLUDING INTERFERENCE THAT MAY CAUSE UNDESIRED OPERATION. MOBILE DEVICE THIS EQUIPMENT COMPLIES WITH FCC RADIATION EXPOSURE LIMITS SET FORTH FOR AN UNCONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT. THIS EQUIPMENT SHOULD BE INSTALLED AND OPERATED WITH MINIMUM DISTANCE 20CM BETWEEN THE RADIATOR & YOUR BODY. 5 Chapter 1. Introduction 1.1 OVERVIEW The Gpacers LoRa module is a Low-Power Long Range LoRa Technology Transceiver Module, need to build-up the MCU firmware before use. The module provides the following interfaces for various applications:
The 22x I/O port of the connectors configured by firmware of MCU can be used for high/low output to control the receiver, LNA, transmitter, PA functions , or converted into serial USART/SPI/I2C control signals to communicate with different peripheral devices to be integrated in user's system, such as: OLED, GPS module, LED, Wi-Fi module... Etc. Use 1 magnet to power on/off the whole module through one hall switch. 4 port of the connectors can output 3.3V output power. Use 1~4 magnet to control the i/o port of MCU through drv5032 hall switch, used as external control switches to activate the desired functions such as receiver or transmitter function. 1.2 FEATURES The Gpacers LoRa module has the following features:
868/915 MHz high-frequency antenna secured on SMA connector. Microchip MCU firmware programming by through holes. Long range RF transceiver function of Semtech LoRa technology. 18dB LNA and 32dB PA available for receiver and transmitter function. Using external magnets for ON/OFF control of Power supply and application functions Control. 22 I/O ports including 4 serial USART/SPI/I2C and 3.3V output power for peripherals control. 1.3 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION RF modulation Lora RF frequency 920.5~924.5 MHz Transmission power 27 dBm(Max) Working Temperature
-20C ~60C Power input DC 3.7 V Dimensions (H x W) Antenna (H x D) 80x44 mm Antenna: 66x8 mm 6 CHAPTER 2. HARDWARE DESCRIPTION 2.1 BLOCK DIAGRAM Figure 2-1 Block diagram 7 2.2 FRONTSIDE OF BOARD The frontside of board shown in Figure 2-2 contains RF and MCU_POWER block, provides 6 connectors, 52 pins in total, 1 RF antenna and a set of 5xDebug pins. Figure 2-2 Frontside of board r o t c e n n o c i s n p 2 1 2 0 _ A 4 2 P r o t c e n n o c i s n p 2 1 2 0 _ B 4 2 P 12 10 8 6 4 2 12 10 8 6 4 2 11 9 7 5 3 1 11 9 7 5 3 1 4 pins connector P21A_02 2 1 4 3 6 5 RF block MCU_POWER block 6 pins connector P21B_02 2 1 4 3 6 5 5xDebug pins 2 1 4 3 6 5 8 7 P25B_02 8 pins connector 2 1 4 3 6 5 8 7 P25A_02 8 pins connector 8 2.3 BACKSIDE OF BOARD The backside of board shown in Figure 2-3 supports using external magnets for ON/OFF control of power supply and application functions control. Figure 2-3 Backside of board Hall Switch-5 Hall Switch-4 Hall Switch-3 Hall Switch-2 Hall Switch-1 9 Chapter 3. Method of operation 3.1 PIN MAPPING BETWEEN MCU AND LORA TRANSCEIVER The module contains MCU ATSAMD20J18A to control Lora transceiver SX1276, LNA Qorvo SPF-
5043Z and PA Qorvo RFPA0133. The pin to pin mapping is shown as Table 3-1, Table 3-2 and Table 3-3. Pin of ATSAMD20J18A PA16 PA17 PA19 PA18 PA21 PA20 PB17 PB16 PA25 Pin of SX1276 MISO SCK MOSI SS DIO0 DIO1 DIO2 DIO3 RF_RESET Table 3-1 Pin mapping between MCU and LoRa transceiver Pin of ATSAMD20J18A PB14 PA12 PB15 PA08 = high PA08 = low Table 3-2 Pin mapping between MCU and PA Pin of RFPA0133 PD G8 G16 RFPA0133 power off RFPA0133 power on Pin of ATSAMD20J18A PA24 = low PA24 = high Pin of SPF-5043Z SPF-5043Z power off SPF-5043Z power on Table 3-3 Pin mapping between MCU and LNA 10 3.2 PIN MAPPING BETWEEN MCU AND CONNECTORS There are 52 pins of 6 connectors shown in Figure 2-2. 22 of the 52 pins configured by firmware of MCU can be used for high/low output to control the receiver, LNA, transmitter, PA functions , or converted into serial USART/SPI/I2C control signals to communicate with different peripheral devices to be integrated in user's system, such as: OLED, GPS module, LED, Wi-Fi module... Etc. Depend on the peripherals, the user can use the Microchip studio to conduct the firmware program incorporating with external control through magnets. Table 3-4 indicates the pin mapping required for firmware programming. Connector Pin no. Pin of MCU 1~6 P21A_02 1 GND PB13 Type
I/O O I/O I/O
I/O I/O I/O I/O I/O I/O I/O
I I/O I I/O I/O I/O
I/O 2 VCC_P3V3 P21B_02 P24A_02 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7~10 PB12 PB10 GND PB11 PB22 PB23 PA22 PA27 PA23 PA28 GND 11~12 3V3_EN_1 1 2,4,6 3 5 7 8,10,1 2 9 PB03 V_IN PB02 PB01 PB00 GND PB31 11 VCC_P3V3 O 1,3,5 2 4 6 7 8 1,3,5,7 GND PB09 PA04 PA05 PA07 PA06 GND
I/O I/O I/O I/O I/O
P24B_02 P25A_02 P25B_02 2,4 VCC_P3V3 O 6 8 PB07 PB08 I/O I/O Description GND ATSAMD20J18A MCU I/O port After feed in 3.3~5V DC battery power to the pin V_IN and (1) place a magnet on Hall Switch-1 or (2) pull up pin 3V3_EN_1 to VIH, pin VCC_P3V3 will output 3.3V DC power. ATSAMD20J18A MCU I/O port ATSAMD20J18A MCU I/O port GND ATSAMD20J18A MCU I/O port ATSAMD20J18A MCU I/O port ATSAMD20J18A MCU I/O port ATSAMD20J18A MCU I/O port ATSAMD20J18A MCU I/O port ATSAMD20J18A MCU I/O port ATSAMD20J18A MCU I/O port GND VIH : 2.5~4.2 V, VIL : 1.35~0V ; Pull up to VIH to power on the module. ATSAMD20J18A MCU I/O port Here to feed in battery 3.3~5V DC power ATSAMD20J18A MCU I/O port ATSAMD20J18A MCU I/O port ATSAMD20J18A MCU I/O port GND ATSAMD20J18A MCU I/O port After feed in 3.3~5V DC battery power to the pin V_IN and (1) place a magnet on Hall Switch-1 or (2) pull up pin 3V3_EN_1 to VIH, pin VCC_P3V3 will output 3.3V DC power. GND ATSAMD20J18A MCU I/O port ATSAMD20J18A MCU I/O port ATSAMD20J18A MCU I/O port ATSAMD20J18A MCU I/O port ATSAMD20J18A MCU I/O port GND After feed in 3.3~5V DC battery power to the pin V_IN and (1) place a magnet on Hall Switch-1 or (2) pull up pin 3V3_EN_1 to VIH, pin VCC_P3V3 will output 3.3V DC power. ATSAMD20J18A MCU I/O port ATSAMD20J18A MCU I/O port Table 3-4 Pin mapping of connectors 11 3.3 POWER ON THE MCU AND LORA TRANCEIVER There are two ways to power on the MCU and Lora transceiver. After feed in 3.3~5V DC battery power to the pin V_IN and
(1) place a magnet on Hall Switch-1 or
(2) pull up pin 3V3_EN_1 to VIH(2.5~4.2V). When the MCU is powered on, the power output pin VCC_P3V3 will be activated as well. Table 3-5 specifies the technical maximum ratings of above operations. Pin Name Parameter Max Typical V_IN Input battery power supply High magnetic threshold operate point Low magnetic threshold release point VIH VIL 5 1.5 0.5 4.2 1.35 4.2 3 1.5 3.3 0 Min 3.3 4.8 3 2.5 0 Unit V mT mT V V Table 3-5 Technical maximum ratings Hall Switch-1 w/o magnet w/o magnet with magnet with magnet w/o magnet w/o magnet with magnet with magnet 3V3_EN_1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 VCC_P3V3 off off off off off on on on Table 3-6 Control logic of power supply to the module. 12 Hall Switch 3V3_EN_1 3V3_EN_1
. V_IN 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 3.4 USING HALL SWITCH AS EXTERNAL FUNCTION CONTROL The Module adopts TI Hall switch drv5032, which can switch MCU I/O pin high/low status and power ON/OFF function with magnet. Hall switch Type Function Hall Switch-1 IN Hall Switch-2 Hall Switch-3 Hall Switch-4 Hall Switch-5 IN IN IN IN After feed in 3.3~5V DC battery power to the pin V_IN and (1) place a magnet on Hall Switch-1 or (2) pull up pin 3V3_EN_1 to VIH, pin VCC_P3V3 will output 3.3V DC power. The user can place a magnet on the switch to modify the high/low status of MCU pin PB07 for peripherals control. The user can place a magnet on the switch to modify the high/low status of MCU pin PA02 for peripherals control. The user can place a magnet on the switch to modify the high/low status of MCU pin PA03 for peripherals control. The user can place a magnet on the switch to modify the high/low status of MCU pin PB04 for peripherals control. Table 3-7 Hall switches control functions 3.5 PIN MAPPING BETWEEN MCU AND DEBUG PIN ATMEL-ICE is used to edit, debug and burn firmware. Please refer to Figure 3-1 to link the Debug pins and ATMEL-ICE with cable when developing firmware. Figure 3-1 Debug pin mapping 13