DIGI ConnectCore 93 Development Board User Manual

ConnectCore 93
Development Board
Hardware Reference Manual

Revision history—90002550

Bluetooth version.

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© 2023 Digi International Inc. All rights reserved.

Disclaimers

Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Digi International. Digi provides this document “as is,” without warranty of any kind, expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of fitness or merchantability for a particular purpose. Digi may make improvements and/or changes in this manual or in the product(s) and/or the program(s) described in this manual at any time.

Warranty

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Customer support

Gather support information: Before contacting Digi technical support for help, gather the following information:
Product name and model
Product serial number (s)
Firmware version
Operating system/browser (if applicable)
Logs (from time of reported issue)
Trace (if possible)
Description of issue
Steps to reproduce
Contact Digi technical support: Digi offers multiple technical support plans and service packages.
Contact us at +1 952.912.3444 or visit us at www.digi.com/support.

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About the ConnectCore 93 DVK

The Digi ConnectCore® 93 Development Kit (DVK) and System-on-Module (SOM) platform is a highly integrated, cost-effective, connected, secure embedded solution, built on the i.MX 93 MPU family. It integrates memory, power management, pre-certified wireless connectivity, and advanced Digi TrustFence device security with a complete, open-source Linux software platform based on the Yocto Project.
Note While the ConnectCore 93 system-on-module is designed to be used in a production environment, the ConnectCore 93 Development Kit is designed only for development and testing in a pre-production environment.
Features and functionality

• ConnectCore 93 module
  • i.MX93 Single/Dual ARM Cortex-A55 operating at speeds up to 1.7 GHz
  • Up to 1 GB, 16-bit LPDDR4 memory
  • Up to 8 GB, 8-bit eMMC memory
  • IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax WLAN and Bluetooth 5.3

• Power
  • Power jack or industrial-dedicated 5V power connector
  • On-board RTC with coin-cell connector
  • Power and reset buttons

• Boot source configuration
  • On-module eMMC
  • microSD
  • USB

• Debug
  • 5-pin JTAG interface
  • Serial console at USB type-C connector and TTL level

• Multimedia
  • MIPI DSI display
  • HDMI display (through MIPI-to-HDMI transceiver)
  • LVDS interface with up to four differential data pairs
  • MIPI CSI camera
  • Audio CODEC with the following functionality

  • One 3.5 mm headphone jack
  • One 3.5 mmmicrophone jack
  • Two speaker outputs
  • One line-out output
  • Two line-in inputs

• Storage
  • On-module eMMC
  • microSD card slot

• Communication
  • Dual Gigabit Ethernet
  • RS-485
  • Dual CAN FD
  • Dual USB Host 2.0 interfaces through a stacked USB A type connector
  • USB type-C port controller supporting USB 2.0
  • PCI Express Mini Card slot supporting full and half-size cards through USB interface
  • XBee socket supporting XBee Cellular
  • MikroBus socket
  • SISO IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax + Bluetooth 5.3 with on-module U.FL or external SMA antenna connector

• User interface
  • Two user LED, shared with user buttons

• Dimensions:
  • 210 x 130 mm

Safety instructions

• The ConnectCore 93 DVK cannot be guaranteed operation due to the radio link and so should not be used for interlocks in safety critical devices such as machines or automotive applications.
• The ConnectCore 93 DVK has not been approved for use in (this list is not exhaustive):
  • nuclear applications
  • xplosive or flammable atmospheres
• There are no user serviceable components inside the ConnectCore 93 DVK. Do not modify the ConnectCore 93 in any way. Modifications may exclude the DVK from any warranty and can cause the ConnectCore 93 to operate outside of regulatory compliance for a given country, leading to the possible illegal operation of the radio.
• Use industry standard ESD protection when handling the ConnectCore 93 DVK.
• Take care while handling to avoid electrical damage to the PCB and components.
• Do not expose ConnectCore 93 DVK to water or moisture.
• Use this product with the antennas specified in the ConnectCore 93 DVK user guides.
• The end user must be told how to remove power from the ConnectCore 93 DVK or to locate the antennas 20 cm from humans or animals.

Block diagram

Placement

Connectors
The following table lists all connectors on the ConnectCore 93:

Interfaces

The following interfaces are available on the ConnectCore 93 DVK:
Power
This section describes the ConnectCore 93 DVK power interfaces.
DC-in connector
The input voltage of the ConnectCore 93 Development Board is 5V. This input power supply can be provided from two different connectors:

• DC-in power jack.
• J7, a 2-pin, 2.54 mm pitch connector:

Note Digi recommends not powering both connectors at the same time.
An overvoltage circuit protects the board from overvoltage and overcurrent events. Downstream from these input power protections, there are two regulators/switches for powering the carrier board circuitry:

• 5V Load switch (U5): A 5V load switch that controls the power delivery to different interfaces on the carrier board.
• 3.3V On-board regulator (U6): A regulator that provides 3.3V to different peripherals of the development board.

RTC
The ConnectCore 93 Development Board supports an external RTC which is powered from an external source (typically a coin-cell or a supercap) at connector J4.
Power and reset buttons
One power button (SW1) and one reset button (SW2) are included on the development board.
System boot
The ConnectCore 93 module supports different boot modes (see the ConnectCore 93 System-onModule Hardware Reference Manual for detailed information). The development board supports these boot modes, although some of them require changes to the populated components.
A quadruple switch (SW3) allows swapping between eight different boot modes:

Debug interfaces
JTAG
The ConnectCore 93 Development Board provides a standard 10-pin, 1.27mm pitch connector (J20) for accessing the i.MX 93 JTAG debug port:

Console
A dedicated USB type-C port (J13) provides access to the console port of the ConnectCore 93 systemon-module.
This USB port is routed directly to the CY7C65211 bridge, which converts the USB bus into TTL level. UART6 is used as the console debug port of the i.MX 93 CPU. This UART can also be accessed directly at TTL level through J18 connector:

Default console port settings:

• Baud rate: 115200
• Data: 8 bit
• Parity: none
• Stop: 1 bit
• Flow control: none

Multimedia
MIPI/HDMI display
The ConnectCore 93 supports only one MIPI-DSI display interface. On the development board, this MIPI-DSI display is managed so that two different display interfaces are supported, although only one of them can work at a time:

• HDMI: The Lontium LT8912B bridge is populated on the development board to adapt the MIPIDSI interface to HDMI. This HDMI interface is available over a standard HDMI connector.
• MIPI-DSI: the native MIPI-DSI interface of the SOM is available over a 40-pin connector (J29):

LVDS
The ConnectCore 93 module has one native LVDS display interface, which is available through a 20pin, 1.25 mm pitch connector (J31):

MIPI CSI
The ConnectCore 93 Development Board provides a MPI camera serial interface (MIPI-CSI) over a 15pin connector (J30):

Audio
The Maxim MAX98089 audio codec manages the audio interface on the development board. The board provides the following audio functionality:

• 3.5 mm headphone jack
• 3.5 mmmicrophone jack
• x2 speaker outputs (left and right)
• x1 line-out output
• x2 line-in inputs

The speakers, line-out signals and line-in signals are available over a 10-pin connector (J46):

Storage
MicroSD
A microSD socket connected to the USDHC2 port of the i.MX 93 CPU is available on the ConnectCore 93 DVK.
Communication
Gigabit Ethernet
The ConnectCore 93 Development Board supports up to two 10Base-T/100Base- Tx/1000Base-T Ethernet interfaces fully integrated in the board through the Marvell 88E1512 Ethernet PHY. These Ethernet interfaces are accessible through RJ-45 connectors with integrated link/activity LEDs.
Note Secondary Ethernet port is multiplexed with other functionality, such as XBee UART or USB Type-C. You can select between these interfaces via a group of jumpers (J43, J45, J51-J60).
RS-485
RS-485 standard is supported on the ConnectCore 93 DVK and it is available in connector J50:

You can connect a 120Ω terminator resistor to RS485 bus by closing J49.
Note The UART connected to RS-485 transceiver is shared with MikroBus socket. Select between these interfaces via jumpers J61 and J62.
CAN FD
Two CAN FD buses are available on the development board through connectors J15 (CAN1) and J17 (CAN2). The pinout of these connectors is as follows, where x refers to the CAN interface on each connector:

You can connect 120Ω terminator resistors to each port by closing J14 (CAN1) and J16 (CAN2).
USB
The ConnectCore 93 Development Board offers support for four USB Host interfaces. Two of them are available over a stackable dual USB A-type connector. The third USB Host is connected to the PCI Express Mini card connector. The fourth is connected to the XBee socket. All USB Hosts can operate at full, high, and low speed.
USB type-C port controller
One USB type-C port controller is available on the development board, supporting USB 2.0. Power delivery can provide up to 3A.
Note The I2C bus connected to the USB type-C controller has data and clock lines swapped. This conflict is manually patched on the development board.
PCIe
The ConnectCore 93 Development Board provides a Mini PCI Express socket supporting USB and I2C connection to the ConnectCore 93 module. A micro SIM socket is also connected to the Mini PCI Express slot.
MikroBus
The ConnectCore 93 Development Board provides a socket compatible with MikroElektronika MikroBus click boards, supporting I2C, UART, SPI, ADC and PWM connectivity.
CAUTION! The distance between the connectors of the MikroBus socket is smaller than the specification. You can still attach MikroE click boards by applying extra pressure. This will be resolved in the next version of the ConnectCore 93 Development Board.
XBee
One XBee socket is populated on the development board, supporting XBee Cellular modules. The UART bus connected to the XBee socket is shared with RS485.
Note The UART connected to XBee socket (UART4) works at 1.8V on the CPU side, while XBee works at 3.3V. Digi recommends you include a series resistor on receiver lines of the CPU, XBEE_UART_RX and XBEE_UART_CTS.
User interfaces
Two LEDs are available on the development board, both of them connected to CPU GPIOs. These lines are also connected to user buttons.
Wireless
There is a u.FL connector (J10), which is routed directly to a SMA connector (J11). The purpose is to adapt the u.FL form factor to the SMA form factor to extend the number of antennas that can be used on the development board for either the on-module antenna path or any other RF path that could be used on a PCIe or XBee board.

Specifications

Electrical specification
The ConnectCore 93 Development Board has three supply inputs. Two of them power the whole system (ConnectCore 93 Development Board plus the ConnectCore 93 system-on-module) and the other one powers the RTC of the module when the main supply is not present. The following table shows the voltage range of the input supplies of the ConnectCore 93 Development Board:

Mechanical specification
The ConnectCore 93 Development Board dimensions are 210 x 130 mm. Four 3.2 mm drills are located on the four corners of the PCB for assembling the board into an enclosure. These drills have a 5.5 mm round metalized area for the screws and nuts. The board has four 2.6 mm drills to assemble a half size or a full size PCI Express mini card module, with 5.8 mm x 5.8 mm square metalized area for the screws and nuts.
Environmental specification

WLAN specification
For a complete WLAN specification, refer to the ConnectCore 93 System-on- Module Hardware Reference Manual.

ConnectCore 93 Development Board Hardware
Reference Manual

References

• Technical Support | Digi International
• Page Error | Digi International

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