APPLICATION NOTE AT02876: Atmel REB212BSMA Hardware User Manual Atmel MCU Wireless Introduction This manual describes the REB212BSMA radio extender board, demonstrating the high performance at ultra-low power consumption of the Atmel AT86RF212B radio transceiver. Features High-performance 700/800/900MHz, RF-CMOS AT86RF212B radio transceiver targeted for ZigBee , IEEE 802.15.4, 6LoWPAN, and ISM Applications 121dB link budget Ultra-low current consumption Ultra-low supply voltage (1.8V to 3.6V) RF reference design and high-performance evaluation platform Interfaces to several of the Atmel microcontroller development platforms Board information EEPROM MAC address Board identification, features, and serial number Crystal calibration values Atmel-42097B-WIRELESS-AT02876-REB212BSMA-Hardware-User-Manual ApplicationNote 062014 1 Introduction This manual describes the REB212BSMA radio extender board, demonstrating the high performance at ultra-low power consumption of the Atmel AT86RF212B radio transceiver. Detailed information is given in the individual sections about the board functionality, the board interfaces, and the board design. The REB212BSMA connects directly to the REB controller base board (REB-CBB) 2 , or can be used as an RF interface in combination with one of the Atmel microcontroller development platforms. The REB212BSMA together with a microcontroller forms a fully functional wireless node. Figure 1-1. REB212BSMA Radio Extender Board 2 Disclaimer Typical values contained in this application note are based on simulations and testing of individual examples. Any information about third-party materials or parts was included in this document for convenience. The vendor may have changed the information that has been published. Check the individual vendor information for the latest changes. 3 Overview The radio extender board is assembled with an Atmel AT86RF212B radio transceiver 1 and equipped with an SMA connector for an external whip antenna. External antennas can be connected to the SMA ports as well as RF measurement equipment for performance evaluation of the radio transceiver. The radio extender board was designed to interface to the Atmel microcontroller development or evaluation platforms (for example, Atmel STK 500). The microcontroller platform in combination with the REB provides an ideal way to: Evaluate the outstanding radio transceiver performance, such as the excellent receiver sensitivity achieved at ultra-low current consumption Test the radio transceivers comprehensive hardware support of the IEEE 802.15.4-2011 standard Test the radio transceivers enhanced feature set, which includes MAC hardware acceleration, AES encryption and high data rate modes AT02876: Atmel REB212BSMA Hardware User Manual APPLICATION NOTE 2 Atmel-42097B-WIRELESS-AT02876-REB212BSMA-Hardware-User-Manual ApplicationNote 062014