Texas Instruments SimpleLink Wi-Fi CC3 20 Series User manual

User’s Guide
SimpleLink™ Wi-Fi® CC3x20, CC3x3x Radio Tool
User Guide
ABSTRACT
The Radio Tool serves as a control panel for direct access to the radio, and can be used for both the radio
frequency (RF) evaluation and for certification purposes. This guide describes how to have the tool work
seamlessly on Texas Instruments™ evaluation platforms such as the BoosterPack™ plus FTDI emulation board
for CC31xx devices, and the LaunchPad™ for CC32xx devices.
Table of Contents
Trademarks.................................................................................................................................................................................1
1 Introduction.............................................................................................................................................................................2
2 Features...................................................................................................................................................................................2
3 Prerequisites........................................................................................................................................................................... 2
3.1 Software Downloads.......................................................................................................................................................... 2
3.2 Hardware............................................................................................................................................................................2
4 Radio Tool Installation Directory...........................................................................................................................................3
5 Hardware Connections...........................................................................................................................................................4
5.1 CC31xxBOOST Plus CC31XXEMUBOOST...................................................................................................................... 4
5.2 CC32xx-LAUNCHXL.......................................................................................................................................................... 5
6 Flashing the Board................................................................................................................................................................. 6
7 Running the RadioTool GUI................................................................................................................................................... 7
7.1 Set Up Tab and General Information..................................................................................................................................7
7.2 GUI TX Testing...................................................................................................................................................................8
7.3 GUI RX Testing.................................................................................................................................................................11
8 Current Measurement...........................................................................................................................................................15
9 CLI Version............................................................................................................................................................................ 16
10 Insertion Loss Calibration..................................................................................................................................................21
11 Hardware Connections on Non-TI EVMs.......................................................................................................................... 21
12 Source Code for Developers............................................................................................................................................. 22
12.1 RadioTool Application Sources...................................................................................................................................... 22
12.2 CC32xx Application Source........................................................................................................................................... 22
Revision History.......................................................................................................................................................................23
Trademarks
Texas Instruments™, BoosterPack™, SimpleLink™, and Code Composer Studio™ are trademarks of Texas
Instruments.
LaunchPad™ is a trademark of TI.
Wi-Fi® is a registered trademark of Wi-Fi Alliance.
Bluetooth® is a registered trademark of Bluetooth SIG, Inc.
Microsoft® and Windows® are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
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SimpleLink™ Wi-Fi® CC3x20, CC3x3x Radio Tool User Guide 1
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1 Introduction
The SimpleLink™ MCU portfolio offers a single development environment that delivers flexible hardware,
software, and tool options for customers developing wired and wireless applications. With an ultimate goal of 100
percent code reuse across host MCUs, Wi-Fi®, Bluetooth® low energy, Sub-1 GHz devices, and more, choose
the MCU or connectivity standard that fits your design. A one-time investment with the SimpleLink™ software
development kit (SDK) lets you reuse often, opening the door to create unlimited applications. For more
information, visit www.ti.com/simplelink.
The main use of the Radio Tool is to serve as a control panel for direct access to the radio. The tool can be used
for the radio frequency (RF) evaluation, and for certification purposes (such as FCC, ETSI, Telec, and so on).
The tool is expected to work seamlessly on TI evaluation platforms: BoosterPack plus FTDI emulation board for
CC31xx devices, and LaunchPad for CC32xx devices. If customers want to use the tool on their final platform,
see Section 11. The I/O levels of these lines should be kept at VBAT level (the same voltage that powers the
CC31xx and CC32xx devices).
For reference RF numbers, refer to the device datasheets.
2 Features
• Connection
– CC3120/CC3130/CC3135 through the SPI
– CC3120/CC3130/CC3135 through the UART
– CC3220/CC3230/CC3235x through the UART
• Acquires MAC address
• Acquires firmware information
• TX – Transmission testing
– Continuous
– Packetized
– Carrier Wave (CW)
• RX – Receiver testing
– Statistics
– Rate histogram
– RSSI histogram
3 Prerequisites
3.1 Software Downloads
•SimpleLink™ Wi-Fi® Radio Testing Tool
•Microsoft .NET Framework 4.6.1
• Microsoft® – Visual C++ Redistributable Package for Visual Studio 2015
3.2 Hardware
• One CC31xx BoosterPack™ plug-in module (CC31xxBOOST)
• One CC31xx Emulation BoosterPack™ module (CC31xxEMUBOOST)
• One CC32xx LaunchPad™ with CC3220R, CC32xxS, or CC32xxSF
• One Micro-USB cable
• One WLAN tester and RF equipment (for example, spectrum analyzer)
See the latest complete list of supported SimpleLink™ hardware at www.ti.com/simplelink.
Introduction www.ti.com
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4 Radio Tool Installation Directory
The installation process is made straightforward by following the steps. The default installation location is C:\TI
\CC3xxx_RadioTool_<version>, but users can change it to any location they want.
Table 4-1 lists the file directory structure after installation.
Table 4-1. File Directory Structure
Folder Name Contents
RadioToolApplication The Radio Tool GUI application (RadioToolGUI.exe), Radio Tool CLI application
(RadioToolCLI.exe), and three precompiled DLL files (CC31xxLibSPI.dll,
CC31xxLibUART.dll, CC32xxLib.dll)
RadioToolApplication_Source The Radio Tool application source for development. Use Visual Studio to open the file
CC3x20_RadioTool.sln.
CC32xxBoardApplication_Binary CC32xx MCU images. Use these images with Uniflash to flash an MCU image onto the
device. See Section 6.
CC32xxBoardApplication_Source CC32xx MCU image source for development. Place the radiotool folder under the CC32xx
SDK example directory, and use Code Composer Studio™ (CCS) to open the project in the
CCS folder inside.
www.ti.com Radio Tool Installation Directory
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5 Hardware Connections
5.1 CC31xxBOOST Plus CC31XXEMUBOOST
Figure 5-1 shows how to mount the CC31xxBOOST board on top of the CC31XXEMUBOOST board. Ensure
P1.1 of both boards is aligned with each other, as indicated by the white arrows on the boards.
Connect the RF connector (J2 or J3) to a WLAN tester/RF equipment for measurements. Ensure the RF
connection to the instrument is made before powering on the boards, so that the correct load impedance is
provided during power on.
Figure 5-1. CC31xxBOOST Board Mounted on Top of CC31XXEMUBOOST Board
To power the platforms, connect the J6 port of CC31XXEMUBOOST to the Windows® PC using a micro USB
cable, as shown in Figure 5-2. If the drivers are properly installed as mentioned during the SDK installation, the
PC should recognize and list the connected device in the Device Manager, shown in Figure 5-3. For details on
driver and SDK installation, see the SimpleLink™ Wi-Fi® and Internet of Things CC3120 Software Getting
Started Guide.
Figure 5-2. Powering the Platforms
Hardware Connections www.ti.com
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Figure 5-3. Device Manager Showing Ports
By default, the RF path is routed to J3 (Murata RF Switch). To use J2 (uFL) for RF measurements, swap the
position of the 0-Ω resistor to disconnect the path to the onboard antenna, and enable the path to the uFL
connector.
5.1.1 Using the UART Interface
The emulation board enumerates the UART ports on the PC, as shown in Figure 5-3. Keep a record of the third
port number, because it is needed later for connection.
5.1.2 Using the SPI Interface
The SPI does not require users to choose a specific COM port. Simply select the CC31xx SPI option in the tool
to start the connection. However, with SPI connection, only one CC31xx can be connected to a PC at a time.
This is because Radio Tool cannot determine which CC31xx device to connect to if multiple CC31xx devices are
present. For large volume testing, TI recommends using the CC31xx UART.
5.2 CC32xx-LAUNCHXL
Connect the RF connector to a WLAN tester/RF equipment for measurements, and the USB connector on the
CC32xx LaunchPad™ to the PC. Ensure the RF connection to the instrument is made before powering on the
board, so that the correct load impedance is provided during power on.
By default, the RF path is routed to J11 (Murata RF Switch). If users want to use J10 (uFL) for RF
measurements, swap the position of the 0-Ω resistor to disconnect the path to the onboard antenna, and enable
the path to the uFL connector.
The LaunchPad™ enumerates COM ports in the Device Manager on the PC, as shown in Figure 5-4. Keep a
record of the Application/User UART port number, because it is needed later for the connection.
While using TI's XDS LaunchPad™, the RadioTool GUI should automatically detect the correct UART number
and set it on the GUI on the "COM Port" combo box.
Figure 5-4. XDS Connection Ports for CC32xx LaunchPad™
www.ti.com Hardware Connections
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6 Flashing the Board
The devices must be flashed with the correct ServicePack to operate this tool correctly. The service pack can be
found in the tools folder of the SDK installed.
If using the CC32xx device, the Radio Tool application must be flashed in addition to the ServicePack. The
precompiled application binary is in the CC32xxBoardApplication Binary folder.
In case Uniflash is installed on the same windows machine as RadioTool, a predefined *.sli image can be
selected and programmed to the device as shown in Figure 6-1.
Figure 6-1. RadioTool Setup Page
For instructions on flashing the devices, see the SimpleLink™ Wi-Fi® CC3x20, CC3x3x UniFlash ImageCreator
for details.
Flashing the Board www.ti.com
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7 Running the RadioTool GUI
The GUI tool provides a user-friendly interface for using the Radio Tool.
7.1 Set Up Tab and General Information
Users have three types of devices for connection:
• CC31xx SPI
This is not recommended to use because it is limited to connecting to one CC31xx board with this protocol. If
more than one CC31xx is present, CC31xx UART is the recommended connection.
• CC31xx UART
• CC32xx UART
With the UART connection type selected, users can pick from a list of known COM port and baud rates. Click on
the blue spinning arrows on the right to refresh the list if the if the appropriate COM port does not appear.
Upon a successful connection, the Details box on the left provides detailed device information on the connected
device (see Figure 7-1). Before proceeding, ensure the board is flashed with the desired image version.
FW Ver. (or Firmware version), is arranged as follows: <NWPversion>.<FWversion>.<PHYversion>
The CC32xx App Ver. information is applies only to CC32xx, and indicates the radio tool application version
flashed onto the device.
The only supported baud rate now is 115200.
Figure 7-1. RadioTool Setup Page With Connected Device
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7.2 GUI TX Testing
Table 7-1 lists the three types of TX testing that are supported.
Table 7-1. TX Testing
Type Description
Packetized Each packet is sent one at a time from the application MCU to the network processor. A large delay
between packets exists in this mode. This mode is generally used for RF evaluation.
Continuous This is a test mode where the network processor sends packets back to back in an internal loop,
without the intervention of the host MCU. The delay between packets is typically very small, and
hence useful for FCC/ETSI certification purposes where high-duty cycle is required. This mode is
used only for emission certification.
Carrier Wave (CW) In this mode the device transmits an unmodulated RF tone. The frequencies can be selected in
312.5-kHz steps. The power output with tone 0 is very low. If higher RF power is desired, use tone
numbers other than 0.
Some fields are enabled/disabled depending on the type of test the user is running. For example, the Amount
parameter is disabled only when the Continuous testing type is selected.
Running the RadioTool GUI www.ti.com
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Table 7-2 lists parameter explanations.
Table 7-2. Parameter Explanation
Parameter Range (inclusive) Description
Channel [1, 13] 802.11 2.4-GHz band Wi-Fi channels. 14 is not supported.
[36..165] 5-Ghz channels are enabled only for devices: CC3235x, CC3135
Power level [0 to 15] 0 is the maximum power, and 15 is the minimum power.
For 5-Ghz channels this parameter has no affect and the actual output power will
be set to 0.
Tone [-25, 25] CW only. 0 is tone at center frequency. A value N between and within the range [–
25, 25] means tone at offset N*312.5 kHz.
Rate 802.11 PHY data rate. 5Ghz channels has no support for DSSS and CCK rates.
Supported:
• DSSS: 1 Mbps, 2 Mbps
• CCK: 5.5 Mbps, 11 Mbps
• OFDM: 6/9/12/18/24/36/48/54 Mbps
• MCS 0-7
Preamble [Long, Short] 802.11b preamble.
OFDM preamble is automatically configured by the device when OFDM rates are
selected.
Data pattern Data pattern in the data field. Supported:
• All 0: 0x00, 0x00, 0x00…
• All 1: 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF…
• Incremental
• Decremental
Size [24, 1400] Packet size in bytes
Delay [100 to 1,000,000] Delay of transmission in milliseconds (ms)
Amount [0 to 1,000,000] Number of packets to transmit. A value of 0 indicates infinite number of packets.
Override CCA Enable this field for CCA (Clear Channel Assessment) override if the Wi-Fi
environment is too congested to have a reliable periodic transmission.
CCA threshold The channel is considered occupied when the signal strength is above this setting.
Supported:
• –88 dBm (MIN)
• –78 dBm (LOW)
• –68 dBm (DEFAULT)
• –58 dBm (MED)
• –48 dBm (HIGH)
• –38 dBm (MAX)
Destination MAC address Destination MAC address in packets
Country Sets device country code. Supported: US, EU, JP. For devices CC3135 and
CC3235x there are additional country codes options. There is an option to select
"No Limits" to remove all channel limitations or "00" for minimal limits.
Figure 7-2 shows the RadioTool GUI in the TX Tab.
www.ti.com Running the RadioTool GUI
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Figure 7-2. RadioTool GUI in TX Tab
Running the RadioTool GUI www.ti.com
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