Beginner
10 min

Open the door to a world of IoT opportunities with DTCR-76DA and STM32L496AG

Transcend limits, transmit brilliance

IQRF click with Discovery kit with STM32L496AG MCU

Published Jul 22, 2025

Click board™

IQRF click

Dev. board

Discovery kit with STM32L496AG MCU

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

STM32L496AG

Experience the next level of wireless excellence with our RF transceiver designed for the 868/916 MHz ISM band, ensuring unparalleled reliability and range for your applications.

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Hardware Overview

How does it work?

iqRF Click is based on the DCTR-76DA, an RF transceiver from iqRF, operating in the 868/916 MHz frequency. The click is designed to run on a 3.3V power supply. It communicates with the target microcontroller over SPI or UART interface, with additional functionality provided by the following pins on the mikroBUS™ line: AN, RST, PWM, INT. DTCR-76DA is an RF transceiver operating in the 868/916 MHz license-free ISM (Industry, Scientific, and Medical) frequency band.

Its highly integrated ready-to-use design containing MCU, RF circuitry, serial EEPROM, and optional onboard antenna requires no external components. RF transceiver modules DCTR-72DA fit in the SIM connector. They are fully programmable under the IQRF OS operating system and allow the utilization of hardware profiles under the DPA framework. To upload application codes in DCTRs and configure DCTR parameters, a CK-USB-04A kit is intended. When

the application is uploaded to the IQRF, it can be put in the mikroBUS™ socket and communicate with it with MCU. This Click board™ can be operated only with a 3.3V logic voltage level. The board must perform appropriate logic voltage level conversion before using MCUs with different logic levels. Also, it comes equipped with a library containing functions and an example code that can be used as a reference for further development.

IQRF Click top side image
IQRF Click bottom side image

Features overview

Development board

The 32L496GDISCOVERY Discovery kit serves as a comprehensive demonstration and development platform for the STM32L496AG microcontroller, featuring an Arm® Cortex®-M4 core. Designed for applications that demand a balance of high performance, advanced graphics, and ultra-low power consumption, this kit enables seamless prototyping for a wide range of embedded solutions. With its innovative energy-efficient

architecture, the STM32L496AG integrates extended RAM and the Chrom-ART Accelerator, enhancing graphics performance while maintaining low power consumption. This makes the kit particularly well-suited for applications involving audio processing, graphical user interfaces, and real-time data acquisition, where energy efficiency is a key requirement. For ease of development, the board includes an onboard ST-LINK/V2-1

debugger/programmer, providing a seamless out-of-the-box experience for loading, debugging, and testing applications without requiring additional hardware. The combination of low power features, enhanced memory capabilities, and built-in debugging tools makes the 32L496GDISCOVERY kit an ideal choice for prototyping advanced embedded systems with state-of-the-art energy efficiency.

Discovery kit with STM32L496AG MCU double side image

Microcontroller Overview

MCU Card / MCU

STM32L496AG Image

Architecture

ARM Cortex-M4

MCU Memory (KB)

1024

Silicon Vendor

STMicroelectronics

Pin count

169

RAM (Bytes)

327680

Used MCU Pins

mikroBUS™ mapper

Analog Output
PA4
AN
General-Purpose I/O
PB2
RST
SPI Chip Select
PG11
CS
SPI Clock
PI1
SCK
SPI Data OUT
PD3
MISO
SPI Data IN
PI3
MOSI
Power Supply
3.3V
3.3V
Ground
GND
GND
General-Purpose I/O
PA0
PWM
Interrupt
PH2
INT
UART TX
PG10
TX
UART RX
PB6
RX
NC
NC
SCL
NC
NC
SDA
NC
NC
5V
Ground
GND
GND
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Take a closer look

Click board™ Schematic

IQRF click Schematic schematic

Step by step

Project assembly

Discovery kit with STM32H750XB MCU front image hardware assembly

Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the Discovery kit with STM32L496AG MCU as your development board.

Discovery kit with STM32H750XB MCU front image hardware assembly
Thermo 21 Click front image hardware assembly
Prog-cut hardware assembly
Board mapper by product7 hardware assembly
Necto image step 2 hardware assembly
Necto image step 3 hardware assembly
Necto image step 4 hardware assembly
Necto image step 5 hardware assembly
Necto image step 6 hardware assembly
Discovery kit with STM32H750XB MCU NECTO MCU Selection Step hardware assembly
Necto No Display image step 8 hardware assembly
Necto image step 9 hardware assembly
Necto image step 10 hardware assembly
Necto image step 11 hardware assembly

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 IQRF Click driver.

Key functions:

  • iqrf_generic_single_read - This function read one byte data.

  • iqrf_generic_multi_write - This function writes data.

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 iqRF Click example
 * 
 * # Description
 * IQRF Click carries the RF transceiver, operating in the 868/916 MHz frequency.
 *
 * The demo application is composed of two sections :
 * 
 * ## Application Init 
 * Application Init performs Logger and Click initialization.
 * 
 * ## Application Task  
 * Checks if new data byte has received in RX buffer ( ready for reading ),
 * and if ready than reads one byte from RX buffer. In the second case, 
 * the application task writes message data via UART. Results are being sent 
 * to the Usart Terminal where you can track their changes.
 * 
 * \author Mihajlo Djordjevic
 *
 */
// ------------------------------------------------------------------- INCLUDES

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "iqrf.h"

// ------------------------------------------------------------------ VARIABLES

//#define DEMO_APP_RECEIVER
 #define DEMO_APP_TRANSCEIVER


static iqrf_t iqrf;
static log_t logger;

static const char demo_message[ 9 ] = { 'M', 'i', 'k', 'r', 'o', 'E', 13, 10, 0 };
static char rx_message[ 10 ];
static uint8_t idx;

// ------------------------------------------------------- ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONS


// ------------------------------------------------------ APPLICATION FUNCTIONS

void application_init ( void )
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;
    iqrf_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 ----" );
    Delay_ms ( 1000 );

    //  Click initialization.

    iqrf_cfg_setup( &cfg );
    IQRF_MAP_MIKROBUS( cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    iqrf_init( &iqrf, &cfg );
    
    log_printf( &logger, "------------------------------------\r\n" );
    log_printf( &logger, "------------ iqRF  Click -----------\r\n" );
    log_printf( &logger, "------------------------------------\r\n" );
    Delay_ms ( 1000 );
    
    iqrf_default_cfg ( &iqrf );
    Delay_ms ( 1000 );
    
    log_printf( &logger, "---------- Initialization ----------\r\n" );
    log_printf( &logger, "------------------------------------\r\n" );
    Delay_ms ( 1000 );
}

void application_task ( void )
{
    char tmp;
    
#ifdef DEMO_APP_RECEIVER

    // RECEIVER - UART polling

    tmp =  iqrf_generic_single_read( &iqrf );
    log_printf( &logger, " %c ", tmp );
        
#endif
        
#ifdef DEMO_APP_TRANSCEIVER

    // TRANSMITER - TX each 2 sec
        
    uint8_t cnt;
        
    for ( cnt = 0; cnt < 9; cnt ++ )
    {
        iqrf_generic_single_write( &iqrf, demo_message[ cnt ] );
        Delay_ms ( 100 );
    }
    
    Delay_ms ( 1000 );
    Delay_ms ( 1000 );
       
#endif
}

int main ( void ) 
{
    /* Do not remove this line or clock might not be set correctly. */
    #ifdef PREINIT_SUPPORTED
    preinit();
    #endif
    
    application_init( );
    
    for ( ; ; ) 
    {
        application_task( );
    }

    return 0;
}

// ------------------------------------------------------------------------ END

Additional Support

Resources

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