XC09 - NanoBeacon

The X-NODE NanoBeacon (IN100) is based on the SoC IN100 from InPlay that enables Bluetooth 5.3 wireless communication.

IN100 SoC redefine IIoT applications by allowing firmware-less design and minimal power consumption, focus on your application needs and requirements by using InPlay’s IN100 Config Tool, a platform for testing and writing configurations based on a easy to use GUI (Graphical User Interface), allowing wireless communication for analog and digital sensors.

The X-NODE NanoBeacon (IN100) has a built-in 2.4GHz SMD Antenna by Johanson Technology, a small form factor ceramic chip antenna with great reliability and stability, that keeps the device size small without performance losses.

I. How does it work?

The X-NODE NanoBeacon (IN100) offers a 2.4 GHz wireless low-energy Bluetooth Beacon compatible with iBeacon and Eddystone advertising data formats, custom advertising, with support for data encryption for sensible information, can be easily configured using IN100 Config Tool to enable analog and digital sensors to transmit data wirelessly, its iOS & Android NanoBeacon BLE Scanner Mobile App make the developing process even easier, see their Github repository for a set of examples for multiple sensors.

It has Run in RAM option for testing, and the OTP memory (One-Time programmable), allows to store the configuration after testing is done.

The SoC IN100 has a wide operating voltage range (1.1V~3.6V) on Ultra-low power consumption (sub-uW) making it ideal for devices that can operate for multiple years on small batteries. It can communicate with digital sensors over I2C [1] on standard and full speed, with writing/reading operations, cold/warm boot command list and timing settings to extend compatibility with I2C devices.

[1] The use of I2C requires burning the OTP memory, be careful while using this function and make sure the configuration is right before proceeding.

Its GPIO interface allows for pulse train counting and pulse width detection, internal pull-up & pull-down configurable settings for reduced bill of materials.

The use of I2C requires burning the OTP memory, be careful while using this function and make sure the configuration is right before proceeding.

Its ADC has 11 physical bits and a conversion rate up to 64KSPS on 4 multiplexed channels. The ADC can be used to measure internal VCC and chip temperature and allows external voltage references.

The device also provides two load switch pins (SW0-SW1), for power supply control to maximize battery efficiency.

The device also comes with other built-in features like random number generator, sleep and wake-up settings, timers and programmable trigger conditions to extend battery life and low latency response to events.

To program this device, you can use any USB-UART bridge and the GUI utility, it can also be programed using a microcontroller over UART to change configurations on-the-fly.

II. Layout

2.4 GHz SMD Antenna by Johanson Technology
Antenna selector jumper
Male U.FL Connector for 2.4 GHz Antenna
NanoBeacon SoC IN100 by InPlay
4-pin JST Qwiic connect connector
Reset push button
Load switch output
UART <> I2C serial ports
X-NODE model
X-NODE type
Battery holder (CR1225)
mikroBUS™ connector
Hardware revision
Core component name of the X-NODE device

Jumpers settings

Selection between SMD Antenna & U.FL connector

By default X-NODE NanoBeacon (IN100) is configured to work with the built-in SMD antenna by Johanson Technology, in order to enable U.FL antennas the position of the resistor must be changed.

III. Specification

Type

BLE

Applications

Ideal for mobile devices, wearable electronics, wireless sensor logging, asset tracking, beacon for Real Time Location, active RFID, IoT & IIoT applications.

On-board module

SoC IN100 from InPlay

Compatibility

mikroBUS™ & Qwiic®

Key features

Bluetooth® 5.3. AES-128 based authentication, AES-128 based encryption. Anti-Cloning and privacy protection. 4Kb eFuse memory and 4Kb SRAM. Programmable TX output power, up to +4 dBm.

Interfaces

UART, I2C, GPIO, ADC

Dimensions

67 x 26 x 21 mm

Voltage

3.3 V

IV. Pinout

This table shows how the pinout on X-NODE NanoBeacon (IN100) corresponds to the pinout on the mikroBUS™ socket (the latter shown in the two middle columns).

V. Device Operation

The X-NODE NanoBeacon (IN100) uses UART interface for programming, any USB-UART bridge can be used to program the device using InPlay’s NanoBeacon Config Tool. The board has multiple configuration jumpers. Set them according to your needs, the following information provides insight in how to set up the device:

SW0<V-Q> VCC

Jumper that sets the voltage source for the Qwiic connect bus and I2C pull-ups (V-Q), SW0 is software configurable for wake-up and sleep settings, choose this source to enhance battery efficiency. VCC is always active, use this for ease-of-use testing conditions.

3V3<VCC> VBAT

Jumper that sets the voltage source for VCC, choose VBAT while using a coin cell battery, choose 3V3 while powering the device from an external source.

Jumper to enable the transmission line for programming and debugging, disable this only after eFuse programming and if the device is expected to work on an open-drain UART bus like Microside’s XIDE platform.

Jumper to enable the reception line for programming and debugging, disable this only after eFuse programming and if the device is expected to work on an open-drain UART bus like Microside’s XIDE platform.

OPT

Jumper that enables the hardware eFuse programming pin, enable this ONLY when performing a programming operation to non-volatile memory (One-Time Programmable memory).

CURRENT

Jumper that connects the 3V3 pin to the rest of the circuit, enable it during normal operation, or connect an ammeter to it to measure current consumption.

LED

Jumper that enables the Power-on LED, you can disable this jumper while running the device from a battery to save energy.

Once the appropriate configuration for your application is set using the on-board jumpers, connect any USB-UART bridge to the RX-TX terminals of the mikroBUS™ connector of the device, so long as the TTL logic remains the same as the XNODE NanoBeacon supplied voltaje, for example if the XNODE NanoBeacon is being supplied by the 3.3V of the MikroBUS, then your USB-UART bridge must work at the same voltage. You can even use Microside’s XC01 – MCU WIFI BLE to communicate with the device using the following Arduino code:

void setup() {
  Serial.begin(115200);
  Serial2.begin(115200);
}

void loop() {
  if (Serial.available()) {        // If anything comes in Serial (USB),
    Serial2.write(Serial.read());  // read it and send it out Serial2 (pins TX & RX)
  }

  if (Serial2.available()) {       // If anything comes in Serial2 (pins TX & RX)
    Serial.write(Serial2.read());  // read it and send it out Serial (USB)
  }
}

If using this option, make sure to follow the Software setup section of the XC01 – MCU WIFI BLE manual for the necessary drivers.

Check InPlay’s official NanoBeacon™ Config Tool website for it’s user manual and full video tutorials to learn all the possible configuration settings of this device.