dresden elektronik RaspBee Series User manual

User Manual
RaspBeeTM
Document Version V1.6
2017-12-10

User Manual
Version 1.6
2017-12-10
RaspBee –ZigBee addon board
www.dresden-elektronik.de
Page 2 of 27
Table of contents
1. Overview .........................................................................................................................6
2. Applications.....................................................................................................................6
3. Features..........................................................................................................................6
3.1. Short facts..............................................................................................................6
3.2. How does the RaspBee work? ...............................................................................7
4. Quick start.......................................................................................................................8
4.1. Content of delivery..................................................................................................8
4.2. Requirements.........................................................................................................9
4.2.1. Hardware....................................................................................................9
4.2.2. Software......................................................................................................9
4.3. Setup the components............................................................................................9
5. Preconfigured image .....................................................................................................10
5.1. Install and start the application without preconfigured image................................10
6. Software........................................................................................................................10
6.1. deCONZ on RPi ...................................................................................................11
6.1.1. Installation.................................................................................................11
6.1.2. Configure serial port..................................................................................11
6.1.3. Start and run the application .....................................................................11
6.1.4. Autostart deCONZ GUI on boot.................................................................11
6.1.5. Autostart deCONZ headless on boot.........................................................12
6.2. Notes on custom firmware....................................................................................12
6.3. GCFFlasher..........................................................................................................12
6.3.1. Installation.................................................................................................12
6.3.2. Commands ...............................................................................................12
6.3.3. Flash firmware file.....................................................................................13
6.4. EEPROM layout ...................................................................................................13
6.5. Fuse setting..........................................................................................................13
7. LED user interface.........................................................................................................14

User Manual
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RaspBee –ZigBee addon board
www.dresden-elektronik.de
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8. Technical data...............................................................................................................15
9. Mechanical size.............................................................................................................18
9.1. Dimensions ..........................................................................................................18
9.2. Housing................................................................................................................18
10. Pin assignment..............................................................................................................19
11. Hardware modifications.................................................................................................20
11.1.Assemble the service header ...............................................................................21
11.2.Using an external antenna....................................................................................21
12. Radio certification..........................................................................................................22
12.1.United States (FCC).............................................................................................22
12.2.European Union (ETSI)........................................................................................22
12.3.Approved antenna list...........................................................................................23
13. Ordering information......................................................................................................23
14. Packaging dimension ....................................................................................................24
15. Revision notes...............................................................................................................24
References...........................................................................................................................25

User Manual
Version 1.6
2017-12-10
RaspBee –ZigBee addon board
www.dresden-elektronik.de
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Document history
Date
Version
Description
2013-07-22
1.0
Initial version
2013-09-09
1.1
Update of radio certification section due to successful passed
certification
Availability of basic variant included
2016-04-04
1.2
Including support of RPi2 and RPi3
RaspBee basic is obsolete
2016-04-04
1.3
Update Raspbian Jessie UART configuration
2017-04-25
1.4
Adjust installation of the deCONZ software
2017-07-20
1.5
Add installation firmware by using GCFFlasher
2017-12-10
1.6
Update deCONZ installation for Raspbian Jessi and Stretch.
Update preconfigured SD-card image from Raspbian Jessi to
Stretch.
Document deCONZ GUI and headless autostart.
Add GCFFlasher description.
Introduce Phoscon App as WebApp update.

User Manual
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RaspBee –ZigBee addon board
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Abbreviations
Abbreviation
Description
IEEE 802.15.4
Communication standard, applicable to low-rate Wireless Personal Area
Networks (WPAN)
CE
Consumer Electronics
ETSI
European Telecommunications Standards Institute
FCC
Federal Communications Commission
GPIO
Generals Purpose Input Output
JTAG
Joint Test Action Group, digital interface for debugging of embedded
devices, also known as IEEE 1149.1 standard interface
MAC
Medium (Media) Access Control
MCU, µC
Microcontroller Unit
OS
Operating System
RF
Radio Frequency
RPi
Raspberry Pi, a famous inexpensive single board computer in credit card
size
R&TTE
Radio and Telecommunications Terminal Equipment
(Directive of the European Union)
U[S]ART
Universal [Synchronous/]Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter
ZHA
ZigBee Home-Automation profile
ZigBee
Low-cost, low-power wireless mesh network standard. The ZigBee Alliance
is a group of companies that maintain and publish the ZigBee standard.
ZHA
ZigBee Home Automation profile
ZLL
ZigBee Light Link profile

User Manual
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1. Overview
The RaspBee™is a ZigBee addon board for the Raspberry Pi (RPi). By using the RaspBee
the Raspberry Pi becomes a full functional wireless node which can be seamlessly integrated
into ZigBee networks. This will enhance the application range of RPi with monitoring and
controlling ZigBee networks. ZigBee compatible devices are available from a lot of
manufacturers.
The RaspBee addon board has been designed to interconnect with the RPi standard user
header. Due to its slim size the RPi still fits into most housings available on the market.
The addon board contains a powerful radio module with integrated power amplifier and low
noise amplifier. Together with the assembled onboard chip antenna which has been
optimally tuned this ensures a superior RF performance.
The RaspBee board “premium” is shipped with a pre-flashed ZigBee firmware. In delivery
condition it includes a bootloader for simple firmware updates.
The ZigBee firmware is interfaced by a program called deCONZ which runs on the RPi and is
responsible for ZigBee network control and monitoring.
Basically, the RaspBee is a reference design for the ZigBee radio module deRFmega256-
23M12 by dresden elektronik.
2. Applications
Mainly the RaspBee is designed to handle ZigBee 3.0, ZigBee Light Link (ZLL) and ZigBee
Home Automation (ZHA) applications in connection with the RaspBee ZigBee firmware and
RPi software deCONZ. A more detailed description of the ZLL standard, the features,
benefits and available certified products can be found on the official alliance website [1].
It is also possible to use a custom firmware for wireless applications. Follow the instructions
in Sections 6 and 11 for detailed instructions on software installation and customer
modifications.
Note: Regard that dependent on the modifications the radio certification and compliance
may become invalid. Please get in contact with us to advise you for a custom FCC
certified and/or compliant design.
3. Features
The RaspBee board contains the features listed below. Figure 1 illustrates the feature parts
in a detailed view.
3.1. Short facts
Slim size: 48.0 x 16.5 x 12.0 mm
Supply voltage: 5.0 V
Onboard 2.4 GHz ZigBee radio module ‘deRFmega256-23M12’

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Application interfaces:
o1x UART, 1x Reset, 1x GPIO
oUser interface: 2x LED (red and green)
Figure 1: RaspBee in detail
3.2. How does the RaspBee work?
The functional parts of the RaspBee are shown in a schematic overview in Figure 2.
The RaspBee will be supplied by the RPi 5.0 V domain. Therefore the AC/DC supply must be
sufficient to support the additional load. The most used AC/DC converters for RPi supply
enough power to compensate the slightly increased current consumption of the RaspBee. An
onboard low-drop-out voltage regulator generates a stable 3.3 V voltage to supply the radio
module and LEDs.
Note: All RaspBee signals (UART, RESET, GPIO, JTAG) work on a 3.3 V domain. A level
shifting of the signals to other voltage domains may be required if the RaspBee is
used on other base boards than the RPi.
The onboard placed radio module deRFmega256-23M12 by dresden elektronik contains an
8-bit AVR microcontroller with an integrated low-power 2.4 GHz transceiver for ZigBee and
IEEE 802.15.4 applications. The firmware is stored in the MCU internal flash and starts
automatically after the board gets powered on. Each RaspBee contains a world-wide unique
identifier, named MAC-ID. It consists of an 8 byte address, including the vendor ID and
product ID. The MAC-ID is stored in the MCU internal EEPROM.
Radio module
Service interface
(optional, n.a.)
LED2
LED1
LDO
RPi
socket
U.FL (n.a.)
Wire antenna (n.a.)
Chip antenna

User Manual
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Communication between RPi and RaspBee is established via UART interface by using a
proprietary protocol. The application protocol frames which are used by the deCONZ
application to communicate with the microcontroller are encapsulated in the Serial Line
Internet Protocol (SLIP).
The used signals are TXD and RXD without any handshake signals. It is important to enable
the access to RPi serial port (see Section 6.1.2) to ensure the proper function. Two user
LEDs (red, green) are available to show RaspBee status. The low-active reset signal can be
controlled by the RPi and will cause a hardware reset of the built-in microcontroller. An
onboard 10k pull-up resistor avoids an unintended reset trigger.
Via a service adapter footprint the JTAG signals of the built-in microcontroller are available.
In delivery state the adapter header is not assembled. See Section 11.1 for a custom
modification.
The 2.4 GHz radio module has two RF output traces. In default delivery state, only one RF
line is used which is routed to the assembled onboard chip antenna. Each firmware shall
ensure that the correct RF port gets selected. Although the chip antenna covers most of the
applications it is also possible to use an external antenna. This requires custom modifications
described in Section 11.2 as well as firmware changes.
deRFmega256-23M12
JTAG
UART
VCC
4.5V to 5.5V
Reset
RFout 1
RFout 2
LDO Vout
3.3V
LED1 LED2
Chip-Ant.
Coax-Conn.
GPIO
GPIO GPIO
Figure 2: Block Diagram
4. Quick start
This section describes in short steps a fast start-up of the RaspBee board to control and
monitor a ZigBee network. Detailed descriptions about the firmware, software and
functionality can be found in Section 6.
4.1. Content of delivery
One shipped RaspBee package contains the following:
1x RaspBee board

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1x Instruction leaflet
4.2. Requirements
The RaspBee is designed to work on a Raspberry Pi. In general all actual available types of
RPi will work with the RaspBee. However we recommend RPi type B, RPi2 and RPi3 with
assembled Ethernet components. For full functionality the following additional components
are required:
4.2.1. Hardware
Raspberry Pi (type B ), RPi2 or RPi3
Recommended Power supply for Raspberry Pi, RPi2 or RPi3
(AC/DC to Micro-USB, 5.0 V DC, min. 2 A)
SD card / MicroSD card for OS and software
4.2.2. Software
Linux operating system (Raspbian Jessie or Stretch
1
)
deCONZ for ARMv6 Linux
2
ZigBee firmware for RaspBee
3
(optionally)
4.3. Setup the components
1. Unpack the RaspBee unit.
2. Please make sure that the Pi is switched off.
3. Connect the RaspBee to the RPi user header. Pin 1 of RaspBee (square marker) must
be connected to Pin 2 of RPi header P1 at the board edge. Use the same header position
for RPi2 or RPi3.
1
Refer to http://www.raspbian.org/ for download and installation instructions
2
deCONZ is available in the download area on http://www.dresden-elektronik.de
3
ZigBee firmware is available in the download area on http://www.dresden-elektronik.de. (section
deCONZ, file extension .bin.GCF).

User Manual
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RaspBee –ZigBee addon board
www.dresden-elektronik.de
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Figure 3: RPi user header
Notes: Double check that the header is NOT shifted inadvertently since this may
damage the RaspBee board irreversible.
Do not connect the RaspBee if the RPi is powered since this will cause a
restart of the host device.
5. Preconfigured image
We recommend the use of the preconfigured MicroSD-card image with Raspbian Stretch,
deCONZ and VNC-Server which is available for download here:
https://www.dresden-elektronik.de/funktechnik/solutions/wireless-light-control/raspbee-gw-
sd-card-image/?L=1
Otherwise, please follow the installation instructions of the chapter 5.1.
1. Power-On the RPi and wait until the main screen is available
2. The deCONZ application starts automatically.
5.1. Install and start the application without preconfigured image
3. Power-On the RPi and wait until the login prompt is available.
4. Log in and acquire superuser rights.
5. Install the ZigBee control and monitoring software ‘deCONZ’ on RPi (see Section 6.1.1).
6. Start the deCONZ application (see Section 6.1.3).
6. Software
All following explanations assume the customer fulfils the software prerequisites as given in
Section 4.2.2 and the initial setup (see Section 4.3) has been performed.