ZigBee/802.15.4 Application Kit from Rabbit Semiconductor and MaxStream

Posted in Development Tools, Embedded Ethernet, ZigBee, Zilog
On Friday, November 3, 2006

Rabbit Semiconductor and MaxStream offer solution for ZigBee wireless control system developer. The ZigBee/802.15.4 Application Kit combines MaxStream XBee RF modem with the popular RCM3720 RabbitCore module. ZigBee paired with the RCM3720 provides a low-cost, robust wireless infrastructure that allows users to monitor and control remotedevices within a wireless meshed network.

ZigBee, based on the established IEEE 802.15.4 standard for packet-based, is a wireless technology known for its reliable, low-cost, lower power characteristics.

The kit contains three MaxStreamÂ® ZigBee modules for full application reference. One ZigBee module is connected to an Ethernet enabled RCM3720 RabbitCore Module. The RCM3720 runs at 22.1 MHz, and provides 10Base-T Ethernet, 512K Flash, 256K SRAM, 1MB Serial Flash as on-board memory, and 33 GPIO lines. The other two ZigBee modules are standalone node devices.

A user-configurable interface allows users to set up a network, discover other similar ZigBee devices, and control LEDs and switches from an RF Interface board as a node device. The kit serves as a template for countless wireless applications where low power and low data rates are required. The samples illustrate how a user can connect via the various topologies such as point-to-point, point-to-multipoint, and mesh.

Key Features

RabbitCore module running @ 22.1 MHz, and 10Base-T Ethernet. 512K Flash, 256K SRAM, 1MB Serial Flash as on-board memory, and 33 GPIO lines
Three MaxStreamÂ® ZigBee wireless modules and cables for simple connections
Sample programs and libraries that allow for simple digital I/O feedback and control, Ethernet to ZigBee gateway functionality, mesh networking communication
RabbitWeb™ simplified html programming software with refresh mechanism
User-friendly web interface for ZigBee/802.15.4 network setup, RF modem configuration, and firmware update functions.

Design Advantages

Reference application that uses a low-cost, low-power ZigBee 802.15.4 infrastructure to connect Rabbit-based
devices
Supports topologies: point-to-point, point-to-multipoint
and mesh
Easily scalable for commercial deployment applications
RabbitCore can function as a network coordinator,
gateway, or control device

Applications

Low-cost wireless embedded control applications
Ideal for remote monitoring of equipment, devices,
assets
Simple data logging applications
Control of meshed devices
Wireless I/O Control
Controlling XBee™ equipped devices

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ZigbeeTM /802.15.4 Application Kit Specifications
FEATURE	RF Interface Module
RF Modem (Frequency)	MaxStreamÂ® XBee™ (ISM 2.4 GHz)
vAlign=top>Compliance	802.15.4 standard (ZigBee™ compliant)
vAlign=top>Performance	• Indoor Range = 100 ft (30 m) • Outdoor Line-of Sight Range = 300 ft (90 m) • Transmit Power Output = 1 mW (0 dBm) • RF Data Rate = 250,000 bps • Receiver Sensititvity = -92 dBm (1% PER)
Antenna	Chip antenna
Supported Network Topologies	vAlign=top>Point-to-point, Point-to-multipoint, Peer-to-peer, Mesh
Number of RF Channels	16 direct-sequence channels (software-selectable)
Filtration Options	PAN ID, Channel, Source/destination addresses
Power (typical)	• Transmit = 55 mA @ 3.5–6.0 V • Idle/Receive = 60 mA @ 3.5–6.0 V
Battery Pack	3 AAA each battery pack
Operating Temperature	–40Â°C to +70Â°C
Humidity	5% to 95%, non-condensing
vAlign=top>Connectors	Two 2 Ã— 10, 0.1” pitch sockets; One power connector One 2 Ã— 5, 2 mm pitch serial header; One 2 Ã— 5, 0.1” pitch serial header
RF Interface Module Size	2.00” Ã— 2.00” Ã— 0.50” (51 mm Ã— 51 mm Ã— 13 mm) (XBee™ RF modem extends 0.2” beyond edge of board)
FEATURE	RCM3720
RabbitCore Module	RabbitÂ® 3000 processor at 22.1 MHz
Ethernet Port	10Base-T interface, RJ-45, 2 LEDs
Flash Memory	512K
SRAM	256K
Serial Flash Memory	1Mbyte
General-Purpose I/O	33 parallel digital I/0 lines: • 31 configurable I/O • 2 fixed outputs
Serial Ports	Two 3.3 V CMOS-compatible ports confi gurable as: • 2 asynchronous serial ports (with IrDA) or • 1 clocked serial ports (SPI) plus 1 HDLC (with IrDA)
Serial Rate	Maximum asynchronous baud rate = CLK/8
Real-Time Clock	Yes
Watchdog Supervisor	Yes
Pulse-Width Modulator	4 PWM output channels with 10-bit free-running counter and priority interrupts
Input Capture/ Quadrature Decoder	2-channel input capture can be used to time input signals from various port pins • 1 quadrature decoder unit accepts inputs from external incremental encoder modules or • 1 quadrature decoder unit shared with 2 PWM chan nels
Power	4.75–5.25 V DC, 100 mA @ 22.1 MHz, 5 V; 78 mA @ 11.05 MHz, 5 V
Operating Temperature	–40Â°C to +70Â°C
Humidity	5% to 95%, non-condensing
Connectors	One 2 Ã— 20, 0.1” pitch header; One 2 Ã— 5 header for programming with 1.27 mm pitch; One RJ-45 Ethernet jack
Board Size	1.20” Ã— 2.95” Ã— 0.89” (30 mm Ã— 75 mm Ã— 23 mm)
Kit Details
Application Kit Part Number

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