Notes
The eRIC development board is provided with both a ‘spring pinned socket’ and an area/pads for the alternative and permanent
SMD mounting of eRIC. All eRIC pins (1–23) are brought out to Single In Line (SIL) turned pin sockets allowing easy
interconnection to external prototype/development circuitry via jumper wires.
The board can be powered either by the PC USB connection (5V) or for portable/remote range testing by the supplied 9V PP3
battery.
An onboard FT230 device provides a USB to serial connection to a host PC or other device and is used both for sending and
receiving serial data to eRIC, sending configuration commands and at a later stage for programming the ‘flash’ memory of the device
using the embedded bootloader software.
Status LEDs are used to indicate presence of board power and both transmitted and received serial data activity. Four of the I/O
pins are connected to pushbutton switches/LEDs to provide useful user input/outputs for test and demonstration during later
application development.
Users in the United States using eRIC9 modules should permanently connect eRIC pin 14 (Frequency Select Pin) to 0V (Gnd). This
action will change the default operating frequency from 869.75 MHz to 915.00 MHz and reduce the default transmit power output
from +7dBm to -3dBm.
Check and Set Up the Development Boards
Inspect the boards and familiarise yourself with the layout.
Insert the eRIC modules into the spring clips and carefully press down until the module ‘snaps’ in place. Note the
orientation of the eRIC module –Pin 1 is adjacent to the UFL RF connector. After multiple insertions and removals the
spring clips may need to be carefully re-tensioned by bending them gently inwards to maintain contact with the castellated
half pads.
Check that the Bootloader jumper (JP1) is not in place. (Pins not bridged)
Screw the supplied whip antennas into the SMA RF connectors.
Note that in operation the boards should be separated by a minimum distance of about 30cm (12 inches) to prevent RF
front end overload (swamping).
Demonstration Modes
To allow stand-alone (portable) operation for range testing etc. without the need for a host PC, the built in demos are accessed as
follows:
Power the eRIC Development boards by either connecting the supplied 9V PP3 batteries or connecting the boards to a
PC USB port via the supplied USB adapter leads.
Ensure that the miniature power slide switch is ‘On’ and check that the Red power LEDs light.
To enter demonstration mode(s) press and hold down Switch 1. Whilst holding down Switch 1, momentarily press and
release the red reset button, now release Switch1.The blue LEDs 3 & 4 will flash twice indicating demonstration mode is
now active.
Decide which board is to be the ‘receiver’, then press and release Switch 3 to select ‘Receive’ mode for this board.
To select ‘Manual Transmit’ mode on the other (transmitter) board repeat the initial procedure then press and release
Switch 2. Any button now pressed on this transmitter board will be remotely ‘echoed’ on the receiving board by a
corresponding LED indication.
To select ‘Automatic Transmit’ mode on the other (transmitter) board repeat the initial procedure then press and
release Switch 4. The transmitting board will then display an incrementing binary pattern on the local LEDs that will be
‘echoed’ on the receiving board by a corresponding LED indication. This mode is useful for performing battery powered
‘walkabout’ range tests.
To return the boards back to the default easyRadio mode, simply press and release the red reset button.
easyRadio Mode
The modules supplied with the eRIC development kit are embedded with a subset of the LPRS easyRadio Operating System
(eROS). This provides a serial connection to ‘easyRadio Companion’ software running on a Windows PC or any application
software running on any device that generates and processes serial data.
The PC software should be installed and configured as detailed below:
If running Windows XP on your PC download the FTDI Virtual Com Port Drivers from:
http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm and install as instructed. The drivers are already provided within Windows
Vista, Windows 7 & 8 Operating Systems.
