UNICORECOMM UM980 User manual

INSTALLATION AND OPERATION
USER MANUAL
WWW.UNICORECOMM.COM
Copyright© 2009-2022, Unicore Communications, Inc.
Data subject to change without notice.
UM980
BDS/GPS/GLONASS/Galileo/QZSS
All-constellation Multi-frequency
High Precision RTK Positioning Module

i
Revision History
Version
Revision History
Date
R1.0
First release
2022-08
R1.1
If hot start is not used, V_BCKP should be connected to
VCC;
Update the IO threshold in Table 2-5;
Add section 3.1: UM980 minimal design;
Update the recommended thickness of the stencil in
Chapter 4
2022-10-20
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and correctness of the information contained herein.

UM980 User Manual
ii
Information, such as product specifications, descriptions, features and user guide in this
manual, are subject to change by Unicore at any time without prior notice, which may
not be completely consistent with such information of the specific product you
purchase.
Should you purchase our product and encounter any inconsistency, please contact us or
our local authorized distributor for the most up-to-date version of this manual along
with any addenda or corrigenda.

iii
Foreword
This document describes the information of the hardware, package, specification and
the use of Unicore UM980 modules.
Target Readers
This document applies to technicians who possess the expertise on GNSS receivers.

UM980 User Manual
I
Contents
1Introduction...............................................................................................1
1.1 Key Features.....................................................................................................................2
1.2 Key Specifications ...........................................................................................................2
1.3 Block Diagram..................................................................................................................5
2Hardware ...................................................................................................6
2.1 Dimensions ......................................................................................................................6
2.2 Pin Definition....................................................................................................................8
2.3 Electrical Specifications............................................................................................... 12
2.3.1 Absolute Maximum Ratings......................................................................................12
2.3.2 Operating Conditions.................................................................................................12
2.3.3 IO Threshold ...............................................................................................................13
2.3.4 Antenna Feature.........................................................................................................13
3Hardware Design .....................................................................................14
3.1 UM980 Minimal Design ................................................................................................ 14
3.2 Antenna Feed Design ................................................................................................... 14
3.3 Grounding and Heat Dissipation ................................................................................. 16
3.4 Power-on and Power-off ............................................................................................. 16
4Production Requirement..........................................................................17
5Packaging................................................................................................18
5.1 Label Description.......................................................................................................... 18
5.2 Product Packaging ....................................................................................................... 18

UC-00-M32 EN R1.1 Introduction 1
1Introduction
UM980 is a new generation of GNSS high precision RTK positioning module from
Unicore. It supports all constellations and all frequencies, and can simultaneously track
BDS B1I/B2I/B3I/B1C/B2a/B2b*, GPS L1/L2/L5, GLONASS G1/G2/G3*, Galileo
E1/E5a/E5b/E6*, QZSS L1/L2/L5, and SBAS. The module is mainly used in surveying and
mapping, precise agriculture, UAVs, and autonomous robots.
UM980 is based on NebulasIVTM, a GNSS SoC which integrates the RF-baseband and
high precision algorithm. Besides, the SoC integrates a dual-core CPU, a high speed
floating point processor and an RTK co-processor with 22 nm low power design, and it
supports 1408 super channels. All these above enable stronger signal processing.
With the built-in JamShield adaptive anti-jamming technology, UM980 can fulfill a
strengthening RTK engine solution of multi-mode multi-frequency, which ensures a
good performance on RTK initialization speed, measurement accuracy and reliability
even in the most challenging environments such as urban canyons and tree shades.
Furthermore, UM980 supports abundant interfaces such as UART, I2C*, SPI*, as well as
1PPS, EVENT, CAN*, which meets the customers’ needs in different applications.
Figure 1-1 UM980 Module
* B2b, G3 and E6 are supported by specific firmware
I2C, SPI, CAN: reserved interfaces, not supported currently

UM980 User Manual
2 Introduction UC-00-M32 EN R1.1
1.1 Key Features
Based on the new generation GNSS SoC -NebulasⅣTM, with RF-baseband and high
precision algorithm integrated
17 mm ×22 mm ×2.6 mm, surface-mount device
Supports all-constellation multi-frequency on-chip RTK positioning solution
Supports BDS B1I/B2I/B3I/B1C/B2a/B2b*+ GPS L1/L2/L5 + GLONASS G1/G2/G3*+
Galileo E1/E5a/E5b/E6*+ QZSS L1/L2/L5 + SBAS
All-constellation multi-frequency RTK engine and advanced RTK processing
technology
Instantaneous RTK initialization technology
Independent tracking of different frequencies, and 60 dB narrowband anti-jamming
technology
1.2 Key Specifications
Table 1-1 Technical Specifications
Basic Information
Channels
1408 channels, based on NebulasIVTM
Constellations
BDS/GPS/GLONASS/Galileo/QZSS
Frequencies
BDS: B1I, B2I, B3I, B1C, B2a, B2b1
GPS: L1 C/A, L1C1, L2P (Y), L2C, L5
GLONASS: G1, G2, G31
Galileo: E1, E5a, E5b, E61
QZSS: L1, L2, L5
Power
Voltage
+3.0 V ~ +3.6 V DC
Power Consumption
480 mW (Typical)
1
B2b, L1C, G3 and E6 are supported by specific firmware

UC-00-M32 EN R1.1 Introduction 3
Performance
Positioning Accuracy
Single Point
Positioning2
(RMS)
Horizontal: 1.5 m
Vertical: 2.5 m
DGPS (RMS)2,3
Horizontal: 0.4 m
Vertical: 0.8 m
RTK (RMS)2,3
Horizontal: 0.8 cm + 1 ppm
Vertical: 1.5 cm + 1 ppm
Observation Accuracy (RMS)
BDS
GPS
GLONASS
Galileo
B1I/B1C/L1C1/L1 C/A/G1/E1
Pseudorange
10 cm
10 cm
10 cm
10 cm
B1I/B1C/L1C1/L1 C/A/G1/E1
Carrier Phase
1 mm
1 mm
1 mm
1 mm
B3I/L2P(Y)/L2C/G2 Pseudorange
10 cm
10 cm
10 cm
10 cm
B3I/L2P(Y)/L2C/G2 Carrier Phase
1 mm
1 mm
1 mm
1 mm
B2I/B2a/B2b1/L5/E5a/E5b
Pseudorange
10 cm
10 cm
10 cm
10 cm
B2I/B2a/B2b1/L5/E5a/E5b
Carrier Phase
1 mm
1 mm
1 mm
1 mm
Time Pulse Accuracy (RMS)
20 ns
Velocity Accuracy4(RMS)
0.03 m/s
Time to First Fix5(TTFF)
Cold Start < 30 s
2
Test results may be biased due to atmospheric conditions, baseline length, GNSS antenna type,
multipath, number of visible satellites, and satellite geometry
3
The measurement uses a 1 km baseline and a receiver with good antenna performance, regardless of
possible errors of antenna phase center offset
4
Open sky, unobstructed scene, 99% @ static
5
-130dBm @ more than 12 available satellites

UM980 User Manual
4 Introduction UC-00-M32 EN R1.1
Warm Start < 20 s
Hot Start < 5 s
Initialization Time2
< 5 s (Typical)
Initialization Reliability2
> 99.9%
Data Update Rate
50 Hz6Positioning
Differential Data
RTCM 3.X
Data Format
NMEA-0183, Unicore
Physical Characteristics
Package
54 pin LGA
Dimensions
22 mm × 17 mm × 2.6 mm
Weight
1.88 g ± 0.03 g
Environmental Specifications
Operating Temperature
-40 °C~ +85 °C
Storage Temperature
-55 °C~ +95 °C
Humidity
95% No condensation
Vibration
GJB150.16A-2009, MIL-STD-810F
Shock
GJB150.18A-2009, MIL-STD-810F
Functional Ports
UART × 3
I2C*× 1
SPI* × 1
Slave
CAN*× 1
Shared with UART3
* I2C, SPI, CAN: reserved interfaces, not supported currently
6
Supports 50 Hz after firmware upgrade

UC-00-M32 EN R1.1 Introduction 5
1.3 Block Diagram
RF in
SAW
Filter
RESET_N
NebulasIV
GNSS
RF
GNSS
BB
LNA
CLOCK
TCXO
Interface
PMU
UM980
Interface
UART1/2/3
I2C
SPIS
PVT/RTK/ERR
EVENT
PPS
Figure 1-2 UM980 Block Diagram
RF Part
The receiver gets filtered and enhanced GNSS signal from the antenna via a coaxial
cable. The RF part converts the RF input signals into the IF signals, and converts IF
analog signals into digital signals required for NebulasIVTM chip (UC9810).
NebulasIVTM SoC (UC9810)
NebulasIV (UC9810) is UNICORECOMM’s new generation high precision GNSS SoC with
22 nm low power design, supporting all constellations all frequencies and 1408 super
channels. It integrates a dual-core CPU, a high speed floating point processor and an
RTK co-processor, which can fulfill the high precision baseband processing and RTK
positioning independently.
External Interfaces
The external interfaces of UM980 include UART, I2C*, SPI*, CAN*, PPS, EVENT, RTK_STAT,
PVT_STAT, ERR_STAT, RESET_N, etc.
*I2C, SPI, CAN: reserved interfaces, not supported currently

UM980 User Manual
6 Hardware UC-00-M32 EN R1.1
2Hardware
2.1 Dimensions
Table 2-1 Dimensions
Parameter
Min. (mm)
Typ. (mm)
Max. (mm)
A
21.80
22.00
22.50
B
16.80
17.00
17.50
C
2.40
2.60
2.80
D
3.75
3.85
3.95
E
0.95
1.05
1.15
F
1.80
1.90
2.00
G
1.00
1.10
1.20
H
0.70
0.80
0.90
K
1.40
1.50
1.60
M
3.55
3.65
3.75
N
3.15
3.25
3.35
P
2.00
2.10
2.20
R
1.00
1.10
1.20
X
0.72
0.82
0.92

UC-00-M32 EN R1.1 Hardware 7
Figure 2-1 UM980 Mechanical Dimensions

UM980 User Manual
8 Hardware UC-00-M32 EN R1.1
2.2 Pin Definition
12345 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
27
26
25
24
23
22
21
20
19
18
17
16
15
41 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 31 30 29 28
GND
ANT_IN
GND
ANT_DETECT
ANT_OFF
ANT_SHORT_N
VCC_RF
SPIS_CSN
SPIS_MOSI
SPIS_CLK
SPIS_MISO
GND
GND
RSV
NC
NC
NC
NC
PVT_STAT
RTK_STAT
ERR_STAT
RSV
RSV
NC
NC
RXD2
TXD2
BIF
BIF
TXD3
RXD3
GND
VCC
VCC
RSV
V_BCKP
GND
NC
NC
NC
GND
TXD1
RXD1
SDA
SCL
NC
NC
GND
RESET_N
NC
EVENT
NC
PPS
NC
Top View
Figure 2-2 UM980 Pin Definition
Table 2-2 Pin Description
No.
Pin
I/O
Description
1
GND
—
Ground
2
ANT_IN
I
GNSS antenna signal input
3
GND
—
Ground
4
ANT_DETECT
I
Antenna signal detection
5
ANT_OFF
O
Disable external LNA
6
ANT_SHORT_N
I
Antenna short circuit detection;
active low

UC-00-M32 EN R1.1 Hardware 9
No.
Pin
I/O
Description
7
VCC_RF7
O
External LNA power supply
8
SPIS_CSN
I
Chip select pin for SPI slave
9
SPIS_MOSI
I
Master Out / Slave In. This pin is used to
receive data in slave mode.
10
SPIS_CLK
I
Clock input pin for SPI slave
11
SPIS_MISO
O
Master In / Slave Out. This pin is used to
transmit data in slave mode.
12
GND
—
Ground
13
RSV
—
Reserved
14
GND
—
Ground
15
NC
—
No connection inside
16
NC
—
No connection inside
17
NC
—
No connection inside
18
NC
—
No connection inside
19
PVT_STAT
O
PVT status: active high;
outputs high when positioning and low when
not positioning
20
RTK_STAT
O
RTK status: active high;
outputs high for RTK fixed solution and low
with other positioning status or no
positioning
21
ERR_STAT
O
Error status: active high;
outputs high when failing self-test, and low
when passing self-test
22
RSV
—
Reserved, recommended to be floating
7
Not recommended to take VCC_RF as ANT_BIAS to feed the antenna See section 3.2 for more details.

UM980 User Manual
10 Hardware UC-00-M32 EN R1.1
No.
Pin
I/O
Description
23
RSV
—
Reserved, recommended to be floating
24
NC
—
No connection inside
25
NC
—
No connection inside
26
RXD2
I
COM2 input, LVTTL level
27
TXD2
O
COM2 output, LVTTL level
28
BIF
—
Built-in function; recommended to add a
through-hole testing point and a 10 kΩ pull-
up resistor; cannot connect ground or power
supply, and cannot be peripheral I/O, but can
be floating
29
BIF
—
Built-in function; recommended to add a
through-hole testing point and a 10 kΩ pull-
up resistor; cannot connect ground or power
supply, and cannot be peripheral I/O, but can
be floating
30
TXD3
O
COM3 output, can be used as CAN TXD,
LVTTL level
31
RXD3
I
COM3 input, can be used as CAN RXD, LVTTL
level
32
GND
—
Ground
33
VCC
I
Power supply
34
VCC
I
Power supply
35
RSV
—
Reserved
36
V_BCKP
I
When the main power supply VCC is cut off,
V_BCKP supplies power to RTC and relevant
register. Level requirement: 2.0 V ~ 3.6 V, and
the working current should be less than 60
μA at 25 °C. If you do not use the hot start
function, connect V_BCKP to VCC. Do NOT

UC-00-M32 EN R1.1 Hardware 11
No.
Pin
I/O
Description
connect it to ground or leave it floating.
37
GND
—
Ground
38
NC
—
No connection inside
39
NC
—
No connection inside
40
NC
—
No connection inside
41
GND
—
Ground
42
TXD1
O
COM1 output, LVTTL level
43
RXD1
I
COM1 input, LVTTL level
44
SDA
I/O
I2C data
45
SCL
I/O
I2C clock
46
NC
—
No connection inside
47
NC
—
No connection inside
48
GND
—
Ground
49
RESET_N
I
System reset; active Low. The active time
should be no less than 5 ms.
50
NC
—
No connection inside
51
EVENT
I
Event mark input, with adjustable frequency
and polarity
52
NC
—
No connection inside
53
PPS
O
Pulse per second, with adjustable pulse
width and polarity
54
NC
—
No connection inside

UM980 User Manual
12 Hardware UC-00-M32 EN R1.1
2.3 Electrical Specifications
2.3.1 Absolute Maximum Ratings
Table 2-3 Absolute Maximum Ratings
Parameter
Symbol
Min.
Max.
Unit
Power Supply Voltage
VCC
-0.3
3.6
V
Input Voltage
Vin
-0.3
3.6
V
GNSS Antenna Signal Input
ANT_IN
-0.3
6
V
Antenna RF Input Power
ANT_IN input
power
+10
dBm
External LNA Power Supply
VCC_RF
-0.3
3.6
V
VCC_RF Output Current
ICC_RF
100
mA
Storage Temperature
Tstg
-55
95
°C
2.3.2 Operating Conditions
Table 2-4 Operating Conditions
Parameter
Symbol
Min.
Typ.
Max.
Unit
Condition
Power Supply Voltage8
VCC
3.0
3.3
3.6
V
Maximum VCC Ripple
Vrpp
0
50
mV
Working Current9
Iopr
145
180
mA
VCC=3.3 V
VCC_RF Output Voltage
VCC_RF
VCC-0.1
V
VCC_RF Output Current
ICC_RF
50
mA
Operating Temperature
Topr
-40
85
°C
Power Consumption
P
480
mW
8
The voltage range of VCC (3.0 V ~ 3.6 V) has already included the ripple voltage.
9
Since the product has capacitors inside, inrush current occurs during power-on. You should evaluate
in the actual environment in order to check the effect of the supply voltage drop caused by inrush
current in the system.

UC-00-M32 EN R1.1 Hardware 13
2.3.3 IO Threshold
Table 2-5 IO Threshold
Parameter
Symbol
Min.
Typ.
Max.
Unit
Condition
Low Level
Input Voltage
Vin_low
0
0.6
V
High Level
Input Voltage
Vin_high
VCC × 0.7
VCC + 0.2
V
Low Level
Output Voltage
Vout_low
0
0.45
V
Iout = 2 mA
High Level
Output Voltage
Vout_high
VCC -
0.45
VCC
V
Iout = 2 mA
2.3.4 Antenna Feature
Table 2-6 Antenna Feature
Parameter
Symbol
Min.
Typ.
Max.
Unit
Condition
Optimum Input
Gain
Gant
18
30
36
dB

UM980 User Manual
14 Hardware Design UC-00-M32 EN R1.1
3Hardware Design
3.1 UM980 Minimal Design
UM982
ANT
HOSTUM980
3.3V
VCCV_BCKP
ANT_BIAS
ANT_IN
TXD
RXD
RESET_N
GND GND
L1
C1
C2
C3
BIFBIF
3.3V
R1 R1
TXD (UART)
RXD (UART)
IO
Figure 3-1 UM980 Minimal Design
L1: 68 nH RF inductor in 0603 package is recommended
C1: 100 nF + 100 pF capacitors connected in parallel is recommended
C2: 100 pF capacitor is recommended
C3: N * 10 μF + 1 * 100 nF capacitors connected in parallel is recommended, and the
total inductance should be no less than 30 μF
R1: 10 kΩ resistor is recommended
3.2 Antenna Feed Design
UM980 just supports feeding the antenna from the external of the module rather than
from the internal. It is recommended to use devices with high power and that can
withstand high voltage. Gas discharge tube, varistor, TVS tube and other high-power
protective devices may also be used in the power supply circuit to further protect the
module from lightning strike and surge.

UC-00-M32 EN R1.1 Hardware Design 15
UM980
ANT_IN
ANT
VCC_RF
GND
C2
ANT_BIAS
L1
C1D1 D2
Figure 3-2 UM980 External Antenna Feed Reference Circuit
Notes:
L1: feed inductor, 68 nH RF inductor in 0603 package is recommended
C1: decoupling capacitor, recommended to connect two capacitors of
100 nF/100 pF in parallel
C2: DC blocking capacitor, recommended 100 pF capacitor
It is not recommended to take VCC_RF as ANT_BIAS to feed the antenna (VCC_RF is
not optimized for anti-lightning strike, anti-surge and over current protection due to
the compact size of the module)
D1: ESD diode, choose the ESD protection device that supports high frequency
signals (above 2000 MHz)
D2: TVS diode, choose the TVS diode with appropriate clamping specification
according to the requirement of feed voltage and antenna voltage