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AT02876: Atmel REB212BSMA Hardware User Manual [APPLICATION NOTE]
Atmel-42097B-WIRELESS-AT02876-REB212BSMA-Hardware-User-Manual_ApplicationNote_062014
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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)
, 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
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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.
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Overview
The radio extender board is assembled with an Atmel AT86RF212B radio transceiver
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 transceiver’s comprehensive hardware support of the IEEE 802.15.4-2011 standard
•
Test the radio transceiver’s enhanced feature set, which includes MAC hardware acceleration, AES
encryption and high data rate modes