Achieve reliable RF communication for diverse applications with cc2500 and TM4C129XKCZAD
2.4GHz transceiver capable of various modulation schemes like OOK, 2-FSK, GFSK, and MSK
Published May 27, 2023
Click board™
ccRF Click
Dev. board
Fusion for Tiva v8
Compiler
NECTO Studio
MCU
TM4C129XKCZAD
Develop a tiny radio station for things like remote control, home appliances, or other gadgets that need to send or receive information wirelessly
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Hardware Overview
How does it work?
ccRF Click is based on the CC2500, a low-power, high-performance 2.4GHz transceiver from Texas Instruments, operating in the worldwide ISM frequency band from 2400MHz to 2483.5. The CC2500 has excellent receiver selectivity and blocking performance with an embedded packet handler engine suitable for packet-oriented systems. It also has a highly configurable baseband modem that supports various modulation formats (OOK, 2-FSK, GFSK, and MSK) and user-configurable parameters like frequency channel, output power, and air data rate. The transceiver has a programmable data rate from 1.2 to 500kBaud depending on frequency range over a PCB trace 2.4GHz antenna, making the ccRF Click
suitable for ultra-low power designs. The CC2500 has a built-in state machine that switches between different operation states (modes) to achieve optimum performance for many applications. Change of the states is performed using command strobes or internal events such as TX FIFO underflow. These states take care of Sleep, Idle, Active, Receive or Transmit modes, Wake-on-Radio (WOR), and more. In addition, the CC2500 comes with on-chip support for synchronization word detection, address check, flexible packet length, and automatic CRC handling. The ccRF Click uses an SPI serial interface to communicate with the host MCU. There are two pins in addition, the GD0 and GD2, routed where the RST and PWM pins of
the mikroBUS™ socket stand by default. With the GD2 as a digital output pin, the user can get test signals, FIFO status, clear channel indicator, serial output RX data, and more. The GD0 as a digital output pin can be used to get the same data as the GD2, plus it can provide serial input TX data. This Click board™ can only be operated with a 3.3V logic voltage level. The board must perform appropriate logic voltage level conversion before using MCUs with different logic levels. However, the Click board™ comes equipped with a library containing functions and an example code that can be used as a reference for further development.
Features overview
Development board
Fusion for TIVA v8 is a development board specially designed for the needs of rapid development of embedded applications. It supports a wide range of microcontrollers, such as different 32-bit ARM® Cortex®-M based MCUs from Texas Instruments, regardless of their number of pins, and a broad set of unique functions, such as the first-ever embedded debugger/programmer over a WiFi network. The development board is well organized and designed so that the end-user has all the necessary elements, such as switches, buttons, indicators, connectors, and others, in one place. Thanks to innovative manufacturing technology, Fusion for TIVA v8 provides a fluid and immersive working experience, allowing access
anywhere and under any circumstances at any time. Each part of the Fusion for TIVA v8 development board contains the components necessary for the most efficient operation of the same board. An advanced integrated CODEGRIP programmer/debugger module offers many valuable programming/debugging options, including support for JTAG, SWD, and SWO Trace (Single Wire Output)), and seamless integration with the Mikroe software environment. Besides, it also includes a clean and regulated power supply module for the development board. It can use a wide range of external power sources, including a battery, an external 12V power supply, and a power source via the USB Type-C (USB-C) connector.
Communication options such as USB-UART, USB HOST/DEVICE, CAN (on the MCU card, if supported), and Ethernet is also included. In addition, it also has the well-established mikroBUS™ standard, a standardized socket for the MCU card (SiBRAIN standard), and two display options for the TFT board line of products and character-based LCD. Fusion for TIVA v8 is an integral part of the Mikroe ecosystem for rapid development. Natively supported by Mikroe software tools, it covers many aspects of prototyping and development thanks to a considerable number of different Click boards™ (over a thousand boards), the number of which is growing every day.
Microcontroller Overview
MCU Card / MCU
Type
8th Generation
Architecture
ARM Cortex-M4
MCU Memory (KB)
512
Silicon Vendor
Texas Instruments
Pin count
212
RAM (Bytes)
262144
Used MCU Pins
mikroBUS™ mapper
Take a closer look
Click board™ Schematic
Step by step
Project assembly
Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the Fusion for Tiva v8 as your development board.
Track your results in real time
Application Output
1. Application Output - In Debug mode, the 'Application Output' window enables real-time data monitoring, offering direct insight into execution results. Ensure proper data display by configuring the environment correctly using the provided tutorial.
2. UART Terminal - Use the UART Terminal to monitor data transmission via a USB to UART converter, allowing direct communication between the Click board™ and your development system. Configure the baud rate and other serial settings according to your project's requirements to ensure proper functionality. For step-by-step setup instructions, refer to the provided tutorial.
3. Plot Output - The Plot feature offers a powerful way to visualize real-time sensor data, enabling trend analysis, debugging, and comparison of multiple data points. To set it up correctly, follow the provided tutorial, which includes a step-by-step example of using the Plot feature to display Click board™ readings. To use the Plot feature in your code, use the function: plot(*insert_graph_name*, variable_name);. This is a general format, and it is up to the user to replace 'insert_graph_name' with the actual graph name and 'variable_name' with the parameter to be displayed.
Software Support
Library Description
This library contains API for ccRF Click driver.
Key functions:
ccrf_writeBytes- Sequential ( burst ) write function.ccrf_readBytes- Sequential ( burst ) read function.ccrf_defaultConfiguration- Default configuration function.
Open Source
Code example
The complete application code and a ready-to-use project are available through the NECTO Studio Package Manager for direct installation in the NECTO Studio. The application code can also be found on the MIKROE GitHub account.
/*!
* \file
* \brief ccRF Click example
*
* # Description
* This example demonstrates the use of an ccRF click board by showing
* the communication between the two click boards configured as a receiver and transmitter.
*
* The demo application is composed of two sections :
*
* ## Application Init
* Initializes the driver and logger, performs the click default configuration and
* displays the selected application mode.
*
* ## Application Task
* Depending on the selected mode, it reads all the received data or sends the desired message
* every 2 seconds.
*
* \author MikroE Team
*
*/
#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "ccrf.h"
// Comment out the line below in order to switch the application mode to receiver
#define DEMO_APP_TRANSMITTER
// Text message to send in the transmitter application mode
#define DEMO_TEXT_MESSAGE "MIKROE - ccRF click board\0"
static ccrf_t ccrf;
static log_t logger;
void application_init ( void )
{
log_cfg_t log_cfg;
ccrf_cfg_t cfg;
/**
* Logger initialization.
* Default baud rate: 115200
* Default log level: LOG_LEVEL_DEBUG
* @note If USB_UART_RX and USB_UART_TX
* are defined as HAL_PIN_NC, you will
* need to define them manually for log to work.
* See @b LOG_MAP_USB_UART macro definition for detailed explanation.
*/
LOG_MAP_USB_UART( log_cfg );
log_init( &logger, &log_cfg );
log_info( &logger, " Application Init " );
// Click initialization.
ccrf_cfg_setup( &cfg );
CCRF_MAP_MIKROBUS( cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
ccrf_init( &ccrf, &cfg );
ccrf_default_cfg( &ccrf );
#ifdef DEMO_APP_TRANSMITTER
log_printf( &logger, " Application Mode: Transmitter\r\n" );
#else
log_printf( &logger, " Application Mode: Receiver\r\n" );
#endif
log_info( &logger, " Application Task " );
}
void application_task ( void )
{
#ifdef DEMO_APP_TRANSMITTER
ccrf_transmit_packet( &ccrf, DEMO_TEXT_MESSAGE, strlen( DEMO_TEXT_MESSAGE ) );
log_printf( &logger, " The message \"%s\" has been sent!\r\n", ( char * ) DEMO_TEXT_MESSAGE );
Delay_ms( 2000 );
#else
uint8_t data_buf[ 64 ] = { 0 };
uint8_t data_len = sizeof( data_buf );
if ( CCRF_CRC_OK == ccrf_receive_packet( &ccrf, data_buf, &data_len ) )
{
log_printf( &logger, " A new message has received: \"" );
for ( uint16_t cnt = 0; cnt < data_len; cnt++ )
{
log_printf( &logger, "%c", data_buf[ cnt ] );
}
log_printf( &logger, "\"\r\n" );
}
#endif
}
void main ( void )
{
application_init( );
for ( ; ; )
{
application_task( );
}
}
// ------------------------------------------------------------------------ END
Additional Support
Resources
Category:2.4 GHz Transceivers
