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AVR2070
8240B-AVR-06/09
2.3 Supported Hardware Platforms
The RUM software distributed with this application note can run on a variety of
platforms. The PLATFORM keyword defines several parameters about a board. An
example of these parameters is:
• Which microcontroller is present on the platform board?
• How the microcontroller is connected to the transceiver – which radio pins
connect to which port pins on the microcontroller.
• Any ADC connections to the microcontroller.
• Any LED and switch connections to the microcontroller.
• Which band the board uses – 2.4GHz, 928MHz, 868MHz or 783MHz.
See the documentation included with the source code for implementation details.
2.3.1 AT91SAM7X-EK
The Atmel A
T91SAM7X-EK evaluation kit can be purchased from a local Atmel
distributor. This evaluation kit embeds an AT91SAM7X256 microcontroller which
contains an Ethernet peripheral. By obtaining any of the AT86RF2xx transceivers, the
platform can be assembled to operate as a RUM coordinator and/or IPv6 edge router.
This platform is further discussed in section 4.
2.3.2 Raven
The ATAVRRZRAVE
N is the official development kit for the AT86RF230. The kit
contains two Raven boards (with LCD and joystick interface), and one Raven USB
stick.
The Raven platform has two microcontrollers – one for the radio and one for the
Raven user interface. The RUM software lives in the ATmega1284P microcontroller,
and the user interface software – supplied with RUM – lives in the ATmega3290P
microcontroller.
The user interface is not required – RUM can work as a coordinator, router, or end
node without a user interface on the Raven.
To debug RUM on Raven, two miniature 10-pin headers (supplied with RZRAVEN)
must be soldered to the board so that the programming tool can be plugged in. The
JTAGICE mkII and AVRISP programming tools can each program the Raven board.
The batteries on Raven are not sufficient to run continuously while debugging, so an
external 3V supply is recommended. Two AAA batteries make a suitable supply for
debugging if no bench supply is available.
The two processors communicate to each other using serial ports. There is an extra
serial port on the ATmega1284P microcontroller that is dedicated to the DEBUG
function. However, external wires must be added to access this port, and the signal
levels are at low logic levels, not the high voltage levels required to drive a computer's
serial port.
More information about the Raven board can be found in application note AVR2016.