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GNSS2 Click with Nucleo-64 with STM32F030R8 MCU

Published Feb 26, 2024

Click board™

GNSS2 Click

Dev Board

Nucleo-64 with STM32F030R8 MCU

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

STM32F030R8

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Hardware Overview

How does it work?

GNSS2 Click is based on the L76, a compact GNSS module from Quectel Wireless Solutions. The L76 supports the L1 band only (1575.42MHz) with tracking 33 channels, 99 acquisition channels, and 210 PRN channels. It can also acquire and track any mix of multiple satellite signals. The module is an ultra-low tracking power consumption device with a high sensitivity of -165dBm while tracking and -148dBm in acquisition mode with a less than 1-second reacquisition time. The greater number of visible satellites increases positioning accuracy (<2.5m CEP) and decreases acquisition time (<5s TTFF with a warm start). GNSS 2 Click supports anti-jamming and better positioning under weak signal conditions with onboard LNA, multi-tone active interference canceller, and balloon mode for high altitudes up to 80km. The L76 can automatically predict satellite orbits from data stored in its internal flash (EASY™ technology), and it can adaptively adjust its ON/OFF time to balance positioning accuracy and power

consumption (AlwaysLocate™ technology). To save power consumption, GNSS2 Click comes with a VBAT connector for connecting an external power supply which can supply power to the module’s SRAM memory. This memory serves for storing GPS information for quick Start-Up sequences. Periodic standby mode can control the power on/off time of GNSS2 Click periodically to reduce average power consumption, and on/off time can be configured using the PMTK command. GNSS2 Click will enter the periodic mode after successfully fixing the position. For communication with the host microcontroller, L76 uses the UART interface with commonly used UART RX and TX pins as its default communication protocol operating at 9600bps by default configuration to transmit and exchange data. In addition, the Click board™ features some other functions accessible through mikroBUS™ signals, such as Force on (FON), Reset (RST), and Standby (STB). Logic high state on FON will force the

module to be woken up from Backup mode, while the RST pin provides a general reset feature. The STB pin can put the module into or exit from Standby mode. In addition to precise positioning, the GNSS 2 Click also has an accurate timing signal indicated via a red LED indicator marked as PPS and an SMA antenna connector used to connect the appropriate active antenna that MIKROE has in its offer, for improved range and received signal strength. This Click board™ can operate with either 3.3V or 5V logic voltage levels selected via the PWR SEL jumper. An appropriate voltage level translator performs a proper logic voltage level conversion, while the onboard LDO, the AP7331, ensures the recommended voltage levels power module. However, the Click board™ comes equipped with a library containing easy-to-use functions and an example code that can be used, as a reference, for further development.

GNSS2 Click hardware overview image

Features overview

Development board

Nucleo-64 with STM32F030R8 MCU offers a cost-effective and adaptable platform for developers to explore new ideas and prototype their designs. This board harnesses the versatility of the STM32 microcontroller, enabling users to select the optimal balance of performance and power consumption for their projects. It accommodates the STM32 microcontroller in the LQFP64 package and includes essential components such as a user LED, which doubles as an ARDUINO® signal, alongside user and reset push-buttons, and a 32.768kHz crystal oscillator for precise timing operations. Designed with expansion and flexibility in mind, the Nucleo-64 board features an ARDUINO® Uno V3 expansion connector and ST morpho extension pin

headers, granting complete access to the STM32's I/Os for comprehensive project integration. Power supply options are adaptable, supporting ST-LINK USB VBUS or external power sources, ensuring adaptability in various development environments. The board also has an on-board ST-LINK debugger/programmer with USB re-enumeration capability, simplifying the programming and debugging process. Moreover, the board is designed to simplify advanced development with its external SMPS for efficient Vcore logic supply, support for USB Device full speed or USB SNK/UFP full speed, and built-in cryptographic features, enhancing both the power efficiency and security of projects. Additional connectivity is

provided through dedicated connectors for external SMPS experimentation, a USB connector for the ST-LINK, and a MIPI® debug connector, expanding the possibilities for hardware interfacing and experimentation. Developers will find extensive support through comprehensive free software libraries and examples, courtesy of the STM32Cube MCU Package. This, combined with compatibility with a wide array of Integrated Development Environments (IDEs), including IAR Embedded Workbench®, MDK-ARM, and STM32CubeIDE, ensures a smooth and efficient development experience, allowing users to fully leverage the capabilities of the Nucleo-64 board in their projects.

Nucleo 64 with STM32F030R8 MCU double side image

Microcontroller Overview

MCU Card / MCU

default

Architecture

ARM Cortex-M0

MCU Memory (KB)

64

Silicon Vendor

STMicroelectronics

Pin count

64

RAM (Bytes)

8192

You complete me!

Accessories

Click Shield for Nucleo-64 comes equipped with two proprietary mikroBUS™ sockets, allowing all the Click board™ devices to be interfaced with the STM32 Nucleo-64 board with no effort. This way, Mikroe allows its users to add any functionality from our ever-growing range of Click boards™, such as WiFi, GSM, GPS, Bluetooth, ZigBee, environmental sensors, LEDs, speech recognition, motor control, movement sensors, and many more. More than 1537 Click boards™, which can be stacked and integrated, are at your disposal. The STM32 Nucleo-64 boards are based on the microcontrollers in 64-pin packages, a 32-bit MCU with an ARM Cortex M4 processor operating at 84MHz, 512Kb Flash, and 96KB SRAM, divided into two regions where the top section represents the ST-Link/V2 debugger and programmer while the bottom section of the board is an actual development board. These boards are controlled and powered conveniently through a USB connection to program and efficiently debug the Nucleo-64 board out of the box, with an additional USB cable connected to the USB mini port on the board. Most of the STM32 microcontroller pins are brought to the IO pins on the left and right edge of the board, which are then connected to two existing mikroBUS™ sockets. This Click Shield also has several switches that perform functions such as selecting the logic levels of analog signals on mikroBUS™ sockets and selecting logic voltage levels of the mikroBUS™ sockets themselves. Besides, the user is offered the possibility of using any Click board™ with the help of existing bidirectional level-shifting voltage translators, regardless of whether the Click board™ operates at a 3.3V or 5V logic voltage level. Once you connect the STM32 Nucleo-64 board with our Click Shield for Nucleo-64, you can access hundreds of Click boards™, working with 3.3V or 5V logic voltage levels.

Click Shield for Nucleo-64 accessories 1 image

GNSS Active External Antenna is a unique multi-band type of antenna coming from u-Blox that is the perfect selection for high precision GNSS applications, which require highly accurate location abilities such as RTK. The ANN-MB-00 is a multi-band (L1, L2/E5b/B2I) active GNSS antenna with a 5m cable and SMA connector. The antenna supports GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and BeiDou and includes a high-performance multi-band RHCP dual-feed patch antenna element, a built-in high-gain LNA with SAW pre-filtering, and a 5 m antenna cable with SMA connector, and is waterproof.

GNSS2 Click accessories image

Used MCU Pins

mikroBUS™ mapper

Wake Up
PC0
AN
Reset
PC12
RST
NC
NC
CS
NC
NC
SCK
NC
NC
MISO
NC
NC
MOSI
Power Supply
3.3V
3.3V
Ground
GND
GND
Standby Mode
PC8
PWM
NC
NC
INT
UART TX
PA2
TX
UART RX
PA3
RX
NC
NC
SCL
NC
NC
SDA
Power Supply
5V
5V
Ground
GND
GND
1

Take a closer look

Schematic

GNSS2 Click Schematic schematic

Step by step

Project assembly

Click Shield for Nucleo-64 accessories 1 image hardware assembly

Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the Nucleo-64 with STM32F030R8 MCU as your development board.

Click Shield for Nucleo-64 accessories 1 image hardware assembly
Nucleo 64 with STM32F401RE MCU front image hardware assembly
LTE IoT 5 Click front image hardware assembly
Prog-cut hardware assembly
LTE IoT 5 Click complete accessories setup image hardware assembly
Nucleo-64 with STM32XXX MCU Access MB 1 Mini B Conn - upright/background 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
Clicker 4 for STM32F4 HA MCU Step hardware assembly
Necto No Display image step 8 hardware assembly
Necto image step 9 hardware assembly
Necto image step 10 hardware assembly
Debug Image Necto Step hardware assembly

Track your results in real time

Application Output via Debug Mode

1. Once the code example is loaded, pressing the "DEBUG" button initiates the build process, programs it on the created setup, and enters Debug mode.

2. After the programming is completed, a header with buttons for various actions within the IDE becomes visible. Clicking the green "PLAY" button starts reading the results achieved with the Click board™. The achieved results are displayed in the Application Output tab.

DEBUG_Application_Output

Software Support

Library Description

This library contains API for GNSS2 Click driver.

Key functions:

  • gnss2_generic_read - This function reads a desired number of data bytes by using UART serial interface

  • gnss2_clear_ring_buffers - This function clears UART tx and rx ring buffers

  • gnss2_parse_gpgga - This function parses the GPGGA data from the read response buffer

Open Source

Code example

This example can be found in NECTO Studio. Feel free to download the code, or you can copy the code below.

/*!
 * @file main.c
 * @brief GNSS 2 Click Example.
 *
 * # Description
 * This example demonstrates the use of GNSS 2 click by reading and displaying
 * the GPS coordinates.
 *
 * The demo application is composed of two sections :
 *
 * ## Application Init
 * Initializes the driver and logger.
 *
 * ## Application Task
 * Reads the received data, parses the GPGGA info from it, and once it receives the position fix
 * it will start displaying the coordinates on the USB UART.
 *
 * ## Additional Function
 * - static void gnss2_clear_app_buf ( void )
 * - static err_t gnss2_process ( gnss2_t *ctx )
 * - static void gnss2_parser_application ( char *rsp )
 * 
 * @author Stefan Filipovic
 *
 */

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "gnss2.h"
#include "string.h"

#define PROCESS_BUFFER_SIZE 200

static gnss2_t gnss2;
static log_t logger;

static char app_buf[ PROCESS_BUFFER_SIZE ] = { 0 };
static int32_t app_buf_len = 0;

/**
 * @brief GNSS 2 clearing application buffer.
 * @details This function clears memory of application buffer and reset its length.
 * @return None.
 * @note None.
 */
static void gnss2_clear_app_buf ( void );

/**
 * @brief GNSS 2 data reading function.
 * @details This function reads data from device and concatenates data to application buffer.
 * @param[in] ctx : Click context object.
 * See #gnss2_t object definition for detailed explanation.
 * @return @li @c  0 - Read some data.
 *         @li @c -1 - Nothing is read.
 * See #err_t definition for detailed explanation.
 * @note None.
 */
static err_t gnss2_process ( gnss2_t *ctx );

/**
 * @brief GNSS 2 parser application function.
 * @details This function parses GNSS data and logs it on the USB UART. It clears app and ring buffers
 * after successfully parsing data.
 * @param[in] ctx : Click context object.
 * See #gnss2_t object definition for detailed explanation.
 * @param[in] rsp Response buffer.
 * @return None.
 * @note None.
 */
static void gnss2_parser_application ( gnss2_t *ctx, char *rsp );

void application_init ( void ) 
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;  /**< Logger config object. */
    gnss2_cfg_t gnss2_cfg;  /**< Click config object. */

    /** 
     * 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.
    gnss2_cfg_setup( &gnss2_cfg );
    GNSS2_MAP_MIKROBUS( gnss2_cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    if ( UART_ERROR == gnss2_init( &gnss2, &gnss2_cfg ) ) 
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Communication init." );
        for ( ; ; );
    }
    log_info( &logger, " Application Task " );
}

void application_task ( void ) 
{
    if ( GNSS2_OK == gnss2_process( &gnss2 ) )
    {
        if ( PROCESS_BUFFER_SIZE == app_buf_len )
        {
            gnss2_parser_application( &gnss2, app_buf );
        }
    }
}

void main ( void ) 
{
    application_init( );

    for ( ; ; ) 
    {
        application_task( );
    }
}

static void gnss2_clear_app_buf ( void ) 
{
    memset( app_buf, 0, app_buf_len );
    app_buf_len = 0;
}

static err_t gnss2_process ( gnss2_t *ctx ) 
{
    char rx_buf[ PROCESS_BUFFER_SIZE ] = { 0 };
    int32_t rx_size = 0;
    rx_size = gnss2_generic_read( ctx, rx_buf, PROCESS_BUFFER_SIZE );
    if ( rx_size > 0 ) 
    {
        int32_t buf_cnt = app_buf_len;
        if ( ( ( app_buf_len + rx_size ) > PROCESS_BUFFER_SIZE ) && ( app_buf_len > 0 ) ) 
        {
            buf_cnt = PROCESS_BUFFER_SIZE - ( ( app_buf_len + rx_size ) - PROCESS_BUFFER_SIZE );
            memmove ( app_buf, &app_buf[ PROCESS_BUFFER_SIZE - buf_cnt ], buf_cnt );
        }
        for ( int32_t rx_cnt = 0; rx_cnt < rx_size; rx_cnt++ ) 
        {
            if ( rx_buf[ rx_cnt ] ) 
            {
                app_buf[ buf_cnt++ ] = rx_buf[ rx_cnt ];
                if ( app_buf_len < PROCESS_BUFFER_SIZE )
                {
                    app_buf_len++;
                }
            }
        }
        return GNSS2_OK;
    }
    return GNSS2_ERROR;
}

static void gnss2_parser_application ( gnss2_t *ctx, char *rsp )
{
    char element_buf[ 100 ] = { 0 };
    if ( GNSS2_OK == gnss2_parse_gpgga( rsp, GNSS2_GPGGA_LATITUDE, element_buf ) )
    {
        static uint8_t wait_for_fix_cnt = 0;
        if ( strlen( element_buf ) > 0 )
        {
            log_printf( &logger, "\r\n Latitude: %.2s degrees, %s minutes \r\n", element_buf, &element_buf[ 2 ] );
            gnss2_parse_gpgga( rsp, GNSS2_GPGGA_LONGITUDE, element_buf );
            log_printf( &logger, " Longitude: %.3s degrees, %s minutes \r\n", element_buf, &element_buf[ 3 ] );
            memset( element_buf, 0, sizeof( element_buf ) );
            gnss2_parse_gpgga( rsp, GNSS2_GPGGA_ALTITUDE, element_buf );
            log_printf( &logger, " Altitude: %s m \r\n", element_buf );
            wait_for_fix_cnt = 0;
        }
        else
        {
            if ( wait_for_fix_cnt % 5 == 0 )
            {
                log_printf( &logger, " Waiting for the position fix...\r\n\n" );
                wait_for_fix_cnt = 0;
            }
            wait_for_fix_cnt++;
        }
        gnss2_clear_ring_buffers( ctx );
        gnss2_clear_app_buf( );
    }
}

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

Additional Support

Resources

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