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

UM2838 - Rev 1 page 2/15

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

UM2838 - Rev 1 page 3/15

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

UM2838 - Rev 1 page 5/15

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

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

UM2838 - Rev 1 page 7/15

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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Firmware upgrade

UM2838 - Rev 1 page 9/15

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

UM2838

Formal notices required by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission ("FCC")

UM2838 - Rev 1 page 10/15

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