ST EVLKST8500GH868 User manual

Introduction
This user manual explains the EVLKST8500GH868 and EVLKST8500GH915 hardware and software installation, and it details
the evaluation and development possibilities offered by the kit. In particular it contains:
• General information on the EVLKST8500GH868 and EVLKST8500GH915 HW package
• Overview of the hardware configurations
• Short guide to the FW upgrade of the kit.
This user manual does not explain the functionalities of the various PLC protocols running on the ST8500. Detailed information
can be found in protocol specific documentation, available within the Software packages, separately delivered under Software
License Agreement by contacting your local ST sales office.
Figure 1. EVLKST8500GH868 picture
EVLKST8500GH868, EVLKST8500GH915: Getting started with the ST8500
Hybrid PLC&RF connectivity development kit
UM2838
User manual
UM2838 - Rev 1 - February 2021
For further information contact your local STMicroelectronics sales office.
www.st.com

1Safety precautions
The development kit must be used only by expert technicians.
The kit is intended for use on extra low voltage (ELV): <50 V AC, <75 V DC.
The kit is designed for evaluation only and not for resale.
Warning:
STMicroelectronics assumes no responsibility for any consequences that may result from the
improper use of this tool.
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Safety precautions
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2Getting started
2.1 Included with the EVLKST8500GH868
The EVLKST8500GH868 package contains:
• One EVLKST8500GH868 kit, based on 4 hardware boards :
– EVALMODST8500-1: full PLC modem based on ST8500 and STLD1
– X-NUCLEO-S2868A2: Sub-1 GHz 868 MHz RF expansion board based on S2-LP radio
– NUCLEO-G070RB: STM32 Nucleo-64 development board with STM32G070RB MCU
– ST8500GH-MB: connectivity base board including RS485, CAN, SD card and SPI FLASH options for
STM32 application development
• One Micro-USB cable to connect the evaluation kit to PC
• One AC/DC universal adapter to provide 12 V - 1 A DC supply
• One bag with 4.7 µH coil for best performance in case of usage for PLC CEN-B band.
Figure 2 depicts the block diagram of the EVLKST8500GH868.
Figure 2. EVLKST8500GH868 block diagram
2.2 Included with the EVLKST8500GH915
The EVLKST8500GH915 package contains:
• One EVLKST8500GH915 kit, based on 4 hardware boards :
– EVALMODST8500-1: full PLC modem based on ST8500 and STLD1
– EVALS2915A1 / EVALS2915A2: Sub-1 GHz 915 MHz RF expansion board based on S2-LP radio
– NUCLEO-G070RB: STM32 Nucleo-64 development board with STM32G070RB MCU
– ST8500GH-MB: connectivity base board including RS485, CAN, SD card and SPI FLASH options for
STM32 application development
• One Micro-USB cable to connect the evaluation kit to PC
• One AC/DC universal adapter to provide 12 V - 1 A DC supply
• One bag with 4.7 µH coil for best performance in case of usage for PLC CEN-B band.
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Getting started
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Figure 3 depicts the block diagram of the EVLKST8500GH915.
Figure 3. EVLKST8500GH915 block diagram
2.3 Software packages
The ST8500 Hybrid PLC&RF connectivity development kit is fully programmable, including both the ST8500
modem and the STM32G070RB microcontroller. Please visit the EVLKST8500GH868 / EVLKST8500GH915
page on www.st.com or contact an ST sales representative to obtain the latest available SW packages.
The kit is delivered with a pre-programmed STM32 firmware implementing a UART pass-through for direct
ST8500 host interface access from a PC and the G3-PLC hybrid PLC&RF library running on the ST8500 modem.
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Software packages
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3Hardware description and configuration
For up-to-date documentation including schematics, BOM and PCB layout please visit the dedicated page on
www.st.com.
All the documentation related to NUCLEO-G070RB and X-NUCLEO-S2868A2 is available in the dedicated web
pages on www.st.com.
3.1 External connectors and switches
The kit includes:
• A DC jack connector to supply the kit with a 12 V, 1 A DC adapter (provided with the kit)
• A two-line PLC connector for wiring the kit to an AC or DC bus, or even directly to another ST8500 board for
lab communication tests
• Two DIP switches to select STM32 FW mode and ST8500 BOOT mode
– S1 selects the STM32 FW mode:
◦ Down (default) = UART pass-through mode (for ST8500 host interface direct access from the PC)
◦ Up = STM32 normal mode
– S2 selects the ST8500 BOOT mode:
◦ Down (default) = ST8500 boots from SPI FLASH on the ST8500 module
◦ Up = ST8500 boots from host interface
• Connectivity to the PC via the ST-LINK integrated into the NUCLEO-G070RB, for FW development and
communication tests
• Several features that can be used for STM32 application development:
– RS485 and CAN connectors to develop industrial communication connectivity applications (NOTE:
CAN interface not available on NUCLEO-G070RB – if needed, it can be replaced by a different
NUCLEO board by the user)
– SD card and SPI FLASH to develop data storage solutions for any application
– A SYNC I/O connector providing access to an STM32 GPIO or, alternatively, to an ST8500 pin for test
purposes
Figure 4 shows the position of the EVLKST8500GH868 connectors and switches. The same holds valid for the
EVLKST8500GH915.
Figure 4. EVLKST8500GH868 connectors and switches
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Hardware description and configuration
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3.2 ST8500 module
Figure 5. EVALMODST8500-1 image
The EVALMODST8500-1 is connected to the base board through 2 connectors:
• J201 line connector to interface the PLC to the AC or DC line
• J200 digital and supply connector to interface the module to the STM32 microcontroller.
The basic interface between the STM32 host controller and the ST8500 includes the following lines:
• UART RX/TX as ST8500 host interface
• RESETn signal (active low)
• BOOT1 to control the ST8500 boot mode
• LPMODEn to control the ST8500 low power mode (active low)
• UART Trace TX to output firmware binary traces for debug.
Two DC voltages are provided to the ST8500 module:
• 12 V to supply the STLD1 line driver
• 3.3 V to supply the ST8500 section (including 1.1 V on-board DCDC input and 2.5 V integrated LDO input).
Figure 6 indicates the main sections on the ST8500 module.
Figure 6. EVALMODST8500-1 overview
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ST8500 module
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3.3 Interconnection details
3.3.1 NUCLEO-G070RB interconnections
Table 1. NUCLEO-G070RB – ST8500 interconnections
Function
NUCLEO-G070RB EVALMODST8500-1
Connector
name
Connector
pin
STM32
pin Signal Connector name
Connector
pin Signal
ST8500
interface
PLC_Host_TX CN10 21 PA9 USART1_TX JP200 14 GPIO00_4
PLC_Host_RX CN10 33 PA10 USART1_RX JP200 11 GPIO00_5
PLC_DBG_TX CN10 35 PC4 USART3_TX JP200 18 GPIO01_4
PLC_DBG_RX CN10 37 PC5 USART3_RX JP200 15 GPIO01_5
ST8500_RSTn CN7 38 PB12 GPIO JP200 10 RESETn
ST8500_LPMODEn CN7 36 PB11 GPIO JP200 8 LPMODEn
ST8500_Boot0 CN7 34 PB1 GPIO JP200 25 BOOT0
ST8500_Boot1 CN10 24 PB2 GPIO JP200 23 BOOT1
ST8500_Boot2 CN7 31 PF1 GPIO JP200 24 BOOT2
Reserved1 CN7 28 PA0 GPIO JP200 12 GPIO00_6
Reserved2 CN7 30 PA1 GPIO JP200 9 GPIO00_7
Table 2. NUCLEO-G070RB – other interconnections
Function
NUCLEO-G070RB
Connector name Connector pin STM32 pin Signal
SD Card connector (J11)
SDC_MOSI CN10 26 PB15 SPI2_MOSI
SDC_MISO CN10 25 PB14 SPI2_MISO
SDC_SCK CN10 30 PB13 SPI2_SCK
SDC_CSn CN10 16 PC1 GPIO
SDC_Detect CN10 18 PC0 GPIO
SPI Flash (IC1)
eFlash_MOSI CN10 15 PA7 SPI1_MOSI
eFlash_MISO CN10 13 PA6 SPI1_MISO
eFlash_SCK CN10 11 PA5 SPI1_SCK
eFlash_CSn CN7 32 PA4 GPIO
RS-485 connector (J12)
RS485_TX CN7 1 PC10 UART4_TX
RS485_RX CN7 2 PC11 UART4_RX
RS485_DE CN7 17 PA15 UART4_DE
CAN connector (J14)
CAN_TX CN10 12 PA12 GPIO
CAN_RX CN10 14 PA11 GPIO
LEDs
LED0 CN10 4 PC6 GPIO
LED1 CN10 2 PC8 GPIO
LED2 CN10 1 PC9 GPIO
LED3 CN10 23 PA8 GPIO
STM32 Mode switch (S1) STM32_FWMODE CN7 37 PC3 GPIO
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Interconnection details
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Function
NUCLEO-G070RB
Connector name Connector pin STM32 pin Signal
ST8500 Boot Mode switch (S2) ST8500_FWMode CN7 35 PC2 GPIO
SYNC connector (J15) STM32_SYNC CN10 19 PC7 TIM3_CH2
3.3.2 X-NUCLEO-S2868A2 interconnections
Table 3. X-NUCLEO-S2868A2 interconnections
X-NUCLEO-S2868A2 EVALMODST8500-1
Function
Connector name Connector pin Signal Connector name Connector pin Signal
S2-LP interface
J3 4 SCLK J205 5 GPIO00_0 SPI2_CLK
J3 8 SDN J205 3 GPIO00_7 S2-LP_SDN
J5 4 SDI J205 7 GPIO00_1 SPI2_MOSI
J5 5 SDO J205 10 GPIO00_3 SPI2_MISO
J6 1 GPIO0 J205 1 GPIO01_6 S2-LP_IRQ
J6 2 CSn J205 9 GPIO00_2 SPI2_CS
3.3.3 EVALS2915A1/A2 interconnections
Table 4. EVALS2915A1/A2 interconnections
EVALS2915A1/A2 EVALMODST8500-1
Function
Connector name Connector pin Signal Connector name Connector pin Signal
S2-LP interface
J3 4 SCLK J205 5 GPIO00_0 SPI2_CLK
J3 8 SDN J205-3 3 GPIO00_7 S2-LP_SDN
J5 4 SDI J205 7 GPIO00_1 SPI2_MOSI
J5 5 SDO J205 10 GPIO00_3 SPI2_MISO
J6 2 CSn J205 9 GPIO00_2 SPI2_CS
J6 6 GPIO3 J205 1 GPIO01_6 S2-LP_IRQ
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Interconnection details
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4Firmware upgrade
4.1 How to upgrade the STM32 Firmware
The kit supports STM32 FW upgrade through the ST-LINK USB by using the STM32CubeProgrammer software
available on www.st.com (STM32CubeProg).
The ST-LINK USB connection can be used for FW debug and development while at the same time acting as
Virtual COM port (VCP). The related driver is available on www.st.com (STSW-LINK009).
4.2 How to upgrade the ST8500 firmware
Please refer to the documentation and tools that come with the latest ST8500 software package available from
the EVLKST8500GH868 / EVLKST8500GH915 page on www.st.com or through an ST sales representative.
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5Formal notices required by the U.S. Federal Communications
Commission ("FCC")
FCC NOTICE: This kit is designed to allow:
1. Product developers to evaluate electronic components, circuitry, or software associated with the kit to
determine whether to incorporate such items in a finished product.
2. Software developers to write software applications for use with the end product. This kit is not a finished
product and when assembled may not be resold or otherwise marketed unless all required FCC equipment
authorizations are first obtained. Operation is subject to the condition that this product not cause harmful
interference to licensed radio stations and that this product accepts harmful interference. Unless the
assembled kit is designed to operate under part 15, part 18 or part 95 of this chapter, the operator of the
kit must operate under the authority of an FCC license holder or must secure an experimental authorization
under part 5 of the FCC Rules.
The kit is designed for evaluation only and not for resale.
5.1 Antenna requirements
Since the kit is destined for professional users, a standard connector has been used for the antenna.
The kit must be used with the antenna already provided in the package.
It can be replaced only by an identical one: LPRS ANT-900MS / ANT-900MR 868-915MHz Flexible ¼ Wave Whip
Antenna
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Formal notices required by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission ("FCC")
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