Globalstar ST150M User manual

USER MANUAL
ST150M MODULE
9150-0125-01 R-1

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GLOBALSTAR CONFIDENTIAL AND PROPRIETARY INFORMATION – All data and information contained
in this document are confidential and proprietary to Globalstar, Inc. Information and instructions contained
in this publication anticipate the user possesses and applies the knowledge, training, and experience
commensurate with requirements to meet prerequisite certification.
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Published and printed in the U.S.A. by:
Globalstar Incorporated
1351 Holiday Square Blvd.
Covington, LA 70433
Copyright ©2022 Globalstar, Inc. All rights reserved.
Globalstar®is a registered trademark of Globalstar, Inc. All other brands, product name, trademarks
and registered trademarks are properties of their respective owners. This material may not be reprinted,
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Content is subject to change without notice.
Revision date: 04/28/2022

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................... VI
1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 1
1.1. PURPOSE ...................................................................................................................................................1
1.2. APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS ..........................................................................................................................1
1.2.1. Globalstar Documents ........................................................................................................................1
1.2.2. External References ...........................................................................................................................1
1.3. DESCRIPTION .............................................................................................................................................2
1.3.1 Feature List .......................................................................................................................................2
Hardware ....................................................................................................................................................2
1.4. CERTIFICATIONS .........................................................................................................................................4
2. APPLICATION ....................................................................................................................... 5
2.1. THEORY OF OPERATION FOR GLOBALSTAR COMMERCIAL IOT .....................................................................5
2.2 QUICK START/CONFIGURATION GUIDELINES ...............................................................................................6
2.3 BLOCK DIAGRAM ........................................................................................................................................6
2.4 CORE COMPONENTS ..................................................................................................................................7
2.4.1 Nordic SoC ........................................................................................................................................7
2.4.2 ASIC satellite transmitter ....................................................................................................................7
2.4.3 GNSS receiver ...................................................................................................................................7
2.4.4 Memory ............................................................................................................................................7
2.4.5 Accelerometer ...................................................................................................................................7
2.4.6 Program and debug ............................................................................................................................7
2.4.7 DC Supply .........................................................................................................................................7
3. POWER MANAGEMENT ......................................................................................................... 8
3.1 POWER MANAGEMENT HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW ............................................................................................8
4. PERIPHERALS.................................................................................................................... 10
4.1 NEAR-FIELD COMMUNICATION (NFC) .........................................................................................................10
4.2 GPIO PIN PERIPHERALS ...........................................................................................................................10
4.2.1 GPIO ..............................................................................................................................................10
4.2.2 Comparator .....................................................................................................................................11
4.2.3 PDM - Pulse Density modulation interface ..........................................................................................11
4.2.4 PPI - Programmable Peripheral Interconnect ......................................................................................12
4.2.5 PWM - Pulse Width Modulation .........................................................................................................12
4.2.6 QDEC - Quadrature Decoder ..............................................................................................................12
4.2.7 RTC - Real Time Counter ..................................................................................................................13
4.2.8 SPI - Serial Peripheral Interface ........................................................................................................13
4.2.9 UART - Universal asynchronous receiver / transmitter ..........................................................................14
4.3 USING AND ENABLING PERIPHERAL DEVICES ...........................................................................................15
5. HARDWARE LAYOUT/REFERENCE DESIGN .......................................................................... 18
5.1 PIN ASSIGNMENTS .................................................................................................................................18
5.2 REFERENCE CIRCUITRY ............................................................................................................................21
5.2.1 PCB Guidelines ...............................................................................................................................21
5.2.2 Module Dimensions ..........................................................................................................................21

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5.2.3 PCB Layout Example ........................................................................................................................22
5.3 REFERENCE DESIGN SCHEMATICS .............................................................................................................24
5.4 TRANSMIT/RECEIVE ANTENNA REQUIREMENTS ........................................................................................25
5.5 BLE ANTENNA REQUIREMENTS .................................................................................................................25
5.6 SINGLE MODULAR APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS .........................................................................................25
5.7 TRACE AND CABLE LOSSES ......................................................................................................................26
6. RECOMMENDED OPERATING CONDITIONS ......................................................................... 27
6.1 ABSOLUTE MAXIMUMS ..............................................................................................................................27
6.2 HANDLING OF ELECTROSTATIC SENSITIVE DEVICES ..................................................................................27
6.3 WIRING ....................................................................................................................................................27
6.4 NOISE SOURCES .......................................................................................................................................27
6.5 NORDIC PROCESSOR UNUSED PINS ..........................................................................................................27
6.6 OBSTRUCTIONS ........................................................................................................................................27
6.7 POWER PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS ...............................................................................................27
7. APPLICATION PROGRAMMING INTERFACE (API) ................................................................. 28
7.1 AT COMMANDS .......................................................................................................................................28
7.1.1 ST150 Device Configuration .............................................................................................................28
7.1.2 Configuration Security ......................................................................................................................28
7.1.3 General Configuration .......................................................................................................................29
7.2 URC NOTIFICATION SETTINGS ...................................................................................................................29
7.2.1 Transmitter Event Notification Settings ...............................................................................................30
7.2.2 Set Transmitter Notify Flags via NUS, UART. ......................................................................................30
7.2.3 Read Transmitter Notify Flags via NUS, UART. ....................................................................................30
7.2.4 Set Transmitter Notify Flags via Configuration Service ..........................................................................30
7.2.5 Read Transmitter Notify Flags via Configuration Service .......................................................................30
7.3 MESSAGE QUEUE EVENT NOTIFICATION SETTINGS ..................................................................................30
7.3.1 Set Message Queue Notify Flags via NUS, UART .................................................................................31
7.3.2 Read Message Queue Notify Flags via NUS, UART ..............................................................................31
7.3.3 Set Message Queue Notify Flags via Configuration Service ...................................................................31
7.3.4 Read Message Queue Notify Flags via Configuration Service .................................................................31
7.4 GPIO EVENT NOTIFICATION SETTINGS .......................................................................................................31
7.4.1 Set GPIO Notify Flags via NUS, UART ...............................................................................................31
7.4.2 Read GPIO Notify Flags via NUS, UART .............................................................................................31
7.4.3 Set GPIO Notify Flags via Configuration Service ..................................................................................31
7.4.4 Read GPIO Notify Flags via Configuration Service ................................................................................32
7.5 INPUTS/COUNT EVENT NOTIFICATION SETTINGS .......................................................................................32
7.5.1 Set Inputs/Count Notify Flags via NUS, UART .....................................................................................32
7.5.3 Set Inputs/Count Notify Flags via Configuration Service .......................................................................32
7.5.4 Read Inputs/Count Notify Flags via Configuration Service .....................................................................32
7.5 INPUTS/COUNT EVENT NOTIFICATION SETTINGS ......................................................................................33
7.5.1 Set Inputs/Count Notify Flags via NUS, UART .....................................................................................33
7.5.3 Set Inputs/Count Notify Flags via Configuration Service .......................................................................33
7.5.4 Read Inputs/Count Notify Flags via Configuration Service .....................................................................33
7.6 TRACK EVENTS NOTIFICATION SETTINGS ..................................................................................................33
7.6.1 Set Track Events Notify Flags via NUS, UART .....................................................................................34

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7.6.2 Read Track Events Notify Flags via NUS, UART ..................................................................................34
7.7 SYSTEM OTA EVENT NOTIFICATION SETTINGS ...........................................................................................34
7.7.1 Set OTA Events Notify Flags via NUS, UART. ......................................................................................34
7.7.2 Read OTA Events Notify Flags via NUS, UART. ...................................................................................34
7.7.3 Set OTA Events Notify Flags via Configuration Service .........................................................................35
7.7.4 Read OTA Events Notify Flags via Configuration Service .......................................................................35
7.8 GPS EVENT NOTIFICATION SETTINGS ........................................................................................................35
7.8.1 Set GPS Notify Flags via NUS, UART. ................................................................................................35
7.8.2 Read GPS Notify Flags via NUS, UART. ..............................................................................................35
7.8.3 Set GPS Notify Flags via Configuration Service ...................................................................................35
7.8.4 Read GPS Notify Flags via Configuration Service .................................................................................36
7.9 ACCELEROMETER EVENT NOTIFICATION SETTINGS ...................................................................................36
7.9.1 Set Accelerometer Event Notify Flags via NUS, UART. .........................................................................36
7.9.2 Read Accelerometer Event Notify Flags via NUS, UART. ......................................................................36
7.9.3 Set Accelerometer Event Notify Flags via Configuration Service ............................................................36
7.9.4 Read Accelerometer Event Notify Flags via Configuration Service ..........................................................36
7.10 POWER MANAGEMENT EVENT NOTIFICATION SETTINGS ..........................................................................37
7.10.1 Set Power Management Notify Flags via NUS, UART. ........................................................................37
7.10.2 Read Power Management Notify Flags via NUS, UART. ......................................................................37
7.10.3 Set Power Management Notify Flags via Configuration Service ............................................................37
7.10.4 Read Power Management Notify Flags via Configuration Service .........................................................37
7.11 EXTERNAL FLASH LOGGING EVENT NOTIFICATION SETTINGS .................................................................38
7.11.1 Set External Flash Logging Notify Flags via NUS, UART. ....................................................................38
7.11.3 Set External Flash Logging Notify Flags via Configuration Service .......................................................38
7.11.4 Read External Flash Logging Notify Flags via Configuration Service .....................................................38
7.12 GPIO/INPUTS CONFIGURATION ................................................................................................................38
7.12.1 Getting a list of all the GPIO. ..........................................................................................................38
7.12.2 Configuring inputs: .........................................................................................................................39
7.12.3 Mapping inputs: ............................................................................................................................40
7.12.4 Getting the input state of mapped inputs: ........................................................................................41
7.12.5 GPIO Notify settings: ......................................................................................................................41
7.13 ENABLING AND CONFIGURING THE UART: ..............................................................................................42
8. SOFTWARE HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW .................................................................................... 43
8.1 BLE CONFIGURATION SERVICE AND INTERFACES ......................................................................................43
8.1.1 Device Advertising and Discoverability ...............................................................................................43
8.1.2 External Interfaces ...........................................................................................................................43
8.1.3 External Interface Security ................................................................................................................43
8.1.3.1 Permanently Disabled .........................................................................................................43
8.1.3.2 Permanently Enabled ..........................................................................................................43
8.1.3.3 Temporarily Enabled ...........................................................................................................43
8.1.3.4 Temporarily Enabled with Timeout ........................................................................................44
9. UNIFIED API MODULES ..................................................................................................... 45
9.1 MESSAGES ...............................................................................................................................................46
9.1.1 Message Priority ..............................................................................................................................46

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9.1.2 Burst Count .....................................................................................................................................46
9.1.3 Min/Max Burst Interval Seconds ........................................................................................................47
9.1.4 Interval and Time-Of-Day Message List ...............................................................................................47
9.1.5 Transmitter ......................................................................................................................................47
9.1.5.1 End Date ...........................................................................................................................47
9.1.5.2 Channel Selection ...............................................................................................................47
9.1.5.3 Transmission Exceptions ......................................................................................................47
9.1.5.4 Transmitter Events ..............................................................................................................47
9.1.5.5 Transmit Queue ..................................................................................................................47
9.1.5.6 Interleaved Messages ..........................................................................................................47
9.1.6 Message Preemption and Aborted Transmissions .................................................................................47
9.1.6.1 Preemption Disabled ...........................................................................................................47
9.1.6.2 Preemption by Priority .........................................................................................................48
9.1.6.3 Preemption by Time and Priority ...........................................................................................48
9.1.6.4 OTA Message Logging .........................................................................................................48
9.1.6.5 Transmit Queue Events ........................................................................................................48
9.1.7 GPIO ..............................................................................................................................................48
9.1.7.1 Reserved vs Non-Reserved GPIO Entries ...............................................................................48
9.1.7.2 Inputs ...............................................................................................................................48
9.1.7.3 Event Interrupts ..................................................................................................................48
9.1.8 Special Function Inputs ...................................................................................................................48
9.1.8.1 Tamper Detection ...............................................................................................................48
9.1.8.2 Line Power Detection ..........................................................................................................48
9.1.8.3 Advertising Enable ..............................................................................................................49
9.1.8.4 Fixed and Non-Fixed Special Functions ................................................................................49
9.1.9 UART .............................................................................................................................................49
9.1.10 GPIO Events ........................................................................................................................49
9.1.11 Inputs ................................................................................................................................49
9.1.12 OTA Messages .....................................................................................................................49
9.1.13 Input Events .......................................................................................................................49
9.1.14 Track Functions ...................................................................................................................49
9.1.14.1 Normal Track Mode ...........................................................................................................49
9.1.14.2 Dock Mode .......................................................................................................................49
9.1.14.3 Theft-Alert Mode ..............................................................................................................50
9.1.14.5 Previous Track Point ..........................................................................................................50
9.1.14.6 OTA Messages ..................................................................................................................50
9.1.14.7 Track Events .....................................................................................................................50
9.1.14.8 Non Maskable Track Mode .................................................................................................50
9.1.15 GPS Module ..................................................................................................................................50
9.1.15.1 Stale Time .......................................................................................................................50
9.1.15.2 Fix Timeout ......................................................................................................................50
9.1.15.3 Fix Settle Time .................................................................................................................51
9.1.15.4 GPS Accuracy ..................................................................................................................51
9.1.15.5 Geofence Position .............................................................................................................51
9.1.15.6 Change of Location Detection ............................................................................................51

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9.1.15.7 Power Settings .................................................................................................................51
9.1.15.8 NMEA Pass Through .........................................................................................................51
9.1.15.9 Manual Mode ...................................................................................................................51
9.1.15.10 RTC Clock ......................................................................................................................51
9.1.15.11 RTC Module ...................................................................................................................51
9.1.15.12 RTC Stale Time ...............................................................................................................51
9.1.15.13 Set RTC Time .................................................................................................................51
9.1.16 Accelerometer Module ....................................................................................................................52
9.1.16.1 Motion/Vibration/In-Motion Events ......................................................................................52
9.1.16.2 External Accelerometer .....................................................................................................52
9.1.16.3 Accelerometer Sensitivity ..................................................................................................52
9.1.16.4 Orientation Detection ........................................................................................................52
9.1.16.5 Input and OTA Events .......................................................................................................52
9.1.17 Power Management ........................................................................................................................52
9.1.17.1 Normal Operation .............................................................................................................52
9.1.17.2 Partial Suspended ............................................................................................................52
9.1.17.3 Full Suspended ................................................................................................................53
9.1.17.4 Power Management State Changes .....................................................................................53
9.1.19 Data Logging .................................................................................................................................53
9.1.19.1 GPS Position Logging ........................................................................................................53
9.1.19.2 OTA Metadata Logging ......................................................................................................53
9.1.19.3 Diagnostic Logging ...........................................................................................................53
9.1.20 BLE Settings .................................................................................................................................53
9.1.20.1 Advertising Prefix ..............................................................................................................53
9.1.20.2 BLE Power .......................................................................................................................53
9.1.20.3 BLE Advertising Interval ....................................................................................................53
9.1.20.4 BLE Config Service Advertising Enabled ..............................................................................53
9.1.20.5 Nordic UART Service (NUS) Enabled ..................................................................................53
9.1.20.6 Smart One Sensor Service Settings .....................................................................................54
10. TEST MODES ................................................................................................................... 55
10.1 TRANSMITTER TEST MODES ...................................................................................................................55
11. ORDERING INFORMATION/DEVICE MARKINGS/ACTIVATION INFORMATION ........................ 56
11.1 DEVICE MARKING ...................................................................................................................................56
11.2 BOX LABELS ...........................................................................................................................................56
11.3 HOW TO ORDER ......................................................................................................................................57
11.4 GLOBALSTAR PRODUCT CERTIFICATION ..................................................................................................57
12. GENERAL WARNINGS ...................................................................................................... 58
13. REGULATORY ................................................................................................................... 59
14. ACRONYM LIST ................................................................................................................ 62

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LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE 1 - PHYSICAL DIMENSIONS .......................................................................................................................4
FIGURE 2 - LEO CONSTELLATION............................................................................................................................5
FIGURE 3 - SIMPLEX IOT MESSAGING Data Flow .....................................................................................................5
FIGURE 3 – OVERALL MODULE SYSTEM .................................................................................................................6
FIGURE 5 – PIN ASSIGNMENTS ...........................................................................................................................18
FIGURE 6 – MODULE DIMENSIONS ......................................................................................................................21
FIGURE 8 – STX LAYOUT ......................................................................................................................................22
FIGURE 9 – BLE LAYOUT .....................................................................................................................................22
FIGURE 7 – TOP AND BOTTOM LAYOUTS ..............................................................................................................22
FIGURE 11 – TOP AND BOTTOM PCB VIEWS .........................................................................................................22
FIGURE 10 – GPS LAYOUT ...................................................................................................................................22
FIGURE 12 – STX, BLE, AND GPS VIEWS (LEFT TO RIGHT) ....................................................................................23
FIGURE 13 - COPLANAR WAVEGUIDE ...................................................................................................................26
FIGURE 15 - UNIFIED API MODULES ...................................................................................................................45
FIGURE 16 – PCB LABEL .....................................................................................................................................56
FIGURE 17 – BOX LABEL AND PACKING SLIP .......................................................................................................56

1ST150M User Manual Confidential & Proprietary Information
9150-0125-01 R-1
1.1. PURPOSE
This document describes the physical, electrical, and functional characteristics of the ST150 Satellite Transmitter Module,
hereafter referred to as ST150M. The information contained in this document is intended to provide the VAR/Integrator with the
necessary technical information required to configure and use the module in a custom application.
This document is intended to be used by engineers and technical management and assumes a general knowledge of basic
engineering practices by the user. NOTE: Globalstar is only responsible for ensuring that the ST150M meets the published
manufacturing specifications described herein.
1.2. APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS
1.2.1 GLOBALSTAR DOCUMENTS
GS-07-1248 - REMOTE TELEMETRY SERVICE FREQUENCY PLAN FOR SIMPLEX TRANSMITTERS
GS-07-1247 - REMOTE TELEMETRY SERVICE SIMPLEX ANTENNA SPECIFICATION AND TEST PROCEDURE GS–02-0795 -
REMOTE SIMPLEX TELEMETRY SYSTEM DESCRIPTION AND APPLICATION NOTE
GS-09-1302 - GLOBALSTAR EQUIPMENT EVALUATION APPLICATION FOR REMOTE TRANSMITTER UNIT 9150-0126-01
ST150 INTEGRITY USER GUIDE
9150-0127-01- ST150M APP USER GUIDE
8545-0196-01 - GLOBALSTAR ST150M PRODUCT SUBMISSION GUIDE
8550-0002-01 - ST150M UNIFIED API REFERENCE
8550-0006-01 - ST150 SOFTWARE DESIGN GUIDE
8550-0003-01 - GLOBALSTAR ST150 BLUETOOTH SENSORS USER GUIDE
8550-0004-01 - GLOBALSTAR ST150 BLUETOOTH REFERENCE
8550-0010-01 - GLOBALSTAR IOT ASIC DFU SERVICE BLE SPECIFICATION
8550-0009-01 - GLOBALSTAR IOT CONFIGURATION SERVICE BLE SPECIFICATION
8550-0008-01 - GLOBALSTAR IOT SENSOR SERVICE BLE SPECIFICATION
1.2.2 EXTERNAL REFERENCES
Wikipedia article on Intel Hex format: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_HEX
NMEA-0183 rev. 3.0 Specification
FCC Guidance for Use of Radio Modules KDB 996369 D03 & D04
Nordic Programmer (Segger): https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/segger-microcontroller-systems/8-08-00-J-LINK-
BASE/899-1004-ND/2175882
ASIC Programmer (On Semi):
https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/on-semiconductor/AXDBG-2-GEVK/AXDBG-2-GEVK-ND/5820231
1. INTRODUCTION

2ST150M User Manual Confidential & Proprietary Information
9150-0125-01 R-1
1.3. DESCRIPTION
The ST150M is a transmit-only Satellite IoT module designed to send small packets of user defined data to a network of low
earth orbiting (LEO) satellites using the Globalstar commercial IoT network. The received data is then forwarded to a user
defined network interface that may be in the form of an FTP host, HTTPS host or HTTP host where the user will interpret the
data for further processing.
The ST150M is designed to be integrated into an integrator’s custom carrier board design. The ST150M can operate 100%
autonomously once configured or can be controlled via external interfaces/AT commands, or can be modified with custom
firmware leveraging the onboard Nordic 52840 as the applications processor.
The ST150M can be configured via the Globalstar Mobile App, through the BLE configuration service, or through a physical or
BLEbased UART.
The ST150M includes value-added software modules that can be configured for tracking applications based on GPS and/or
accelerometer movement detection, input-based count, accumulate, state, and transition events, interval or time-of-day events,
and even Smart One Sensor Service data.
The ST150M consists of the Nordic NRF52840, External Flash, GPS, accelerometer, ASIC, and internal power controls. It
does not have an onboard patch antenna. The Nordic and ASIC are shielded for modular certification. The ST150M has gold
“fingers” around the perimeter of the PCB so that it can be SMT-installed onto a carrier board or another custom PCB.
1.3.1 FEATURE LIST
Hardware
Attributes
• 54 pin SMT
• 2 x 1.1 inches
• 3.3V VCC
• Nordic 52840 MCU
• Onboard GPS and 3-axis accelerometer
• Onboard satellite ASIC transmitter
• Onboard/Offboard MCU programming
• Onboard/Offboard ASIC programming
• Integrated voltage regulation
• GPS RF signal
• ASIC RF signal
• BLE RF signal
• NFC RF signal
• 24 configurable I/O
• MCU USB Device
• I2C
Power
• Nominal: < 100uA
• Sat Burst: 1.6A
• GPS on: 50mA
• BLE connection: variable and customizable Temperature
• Operating -40 to 85C
GPS
• Active and passive antennas
• 72-channel GPS/QZSS L1 C/A, GLONASS L10F, BeiDou
B1l, Galileo E1B/C, SBAS L1 C/A, WAAS, EGNOS, MSAS,
GAGAN
• Tracking: -167 dBm
• Cold Starts: -148 dBm
• Hot Starts -157 dBm
• Accuracy: 2.0m CEP
Accelerometer
• 3-axis acceleration
• Selectable +/-2G, +/-4G, +/-16G scales
• 6D orientation detection
Software
• Security
• Interface-based security policies for configuration
commands
○Always disabled