OLIMEX BB-STM23WL LoRa Module User Manual

: June 6, 2024
: OLIMEX

Table of Contents

Overview
General information
Order codes
Software
Power supply
Pinout
Revision History
Contact information
References
Read User Manual Online (PDF format)
Download This Manual (PDF format)

OLIMEX BB STM23WL LoRa Module

BB-STM23WL
User Manual
Rev.1.0 November 2021
olimex.com

Overview

Lora (short for long range) is a spread spectrum modulation technique derived from chirp spread spectrum (CSS) technology. LoRa devices and wireless radio frequency technology is a long-range, low-power wireless platform that has become very popular for Internet of Things (IoT) networks worldwide. LoRa devices and the open LoRaWAN® protocol enable smart IoT applications that solve some of the biggest challenges facing our planet: energy management, natural resource reduction, pollution control, infrastructure efficiency, disaster prevention, and more.

Lora’s advantages are:

Easy to install – wireless technology, no need to install wires, dig channels, etc.
Uses license-free frequency – no need to pay licensee fees like GSM frequencies.
Low power – LoRa devices can work for up to 10 years from a small lithium battery (depending on how many messages per day the device will send).
Long Range – LoRa devices can communicate up to 15 km in rural and up to 1-2km in urban areas.
Secure communication – all messages are AES128 encrypted
Low Cost – LoRa devices are under EUR 10
No taxes for traffic like other technologies which require operators like GSM, LTE, NB-IoT, SigFox, etc.

Lora is not a solution for any problem, some limitations are:

small messages 51 up to 222 bytes
slow speed of transmission 292 up to 550 bps

The long-range is good but also bad as when one device starts to transmit all other devices in its range can’t transmit. This creates some issues when for instance thousands of devices are installed in their transmission range reach. When we add to this that there is no moderation/operator who to set rules, if one participant does not follow the rules and starts to transmit without pause this participant will jam/silence all others within his transmission ranges.

General information

BB-STM32WL is based on ST Microelectronics Inc STM32WLE5CCU6 SOC.
STM32WLE5CCU6 is long-range wireless and ultra-low-power device and embeds a powerful and ultralow-power LPWAN-compliant radio solution, enabling LoRa ® modulation.

STM32WLE5CCU6 features:

32-bit Arm® Cortex® -M4 CPU
256-Kbyte Flash memory
64-Kbyte RAM
RF Frequency range: 150 MHz to 960 MHz
Modulation: LoRa®
RX sensitivity: –148 dBm (at 10.4 kHz, spreading factor 12)
Transmitter high output power, programmable up to +22 dBm
Transmitter low output power, programmable up to +15 dBm
Compliant with the following radio frequency regulations such as ETSI EN 300 220, EN 300 113, EN 301 166, FCC CFR 47 Part 15, 24, 90, 101 and the Japanese ARIB STD-T30, T-67, T108
Compatible with LoRaWAN®
1.8 V to 3.6 V power supply
-40 °C to +105 °C temperature range
Shutdown mode: 31 nA (VDD= 3 V)
Standby (+ RTC) mode:360 nA (VDD= 3 V)
Stop2 (+ RTC) mode: 1.07 µA (VDD= 3 V)
Active-mode MCU: < 72 µA/MHz (CoreMark)
Active-mode RX: 4.82 mA
Active-mode TX: 15 mA at 10 dBm and 87 mA at 20 dBm (LoRa® 125 kHz)
Hardware encryption AES 256-bit
True random number generator (RNG)
Sector protection against reading/write operations (PCROP, RDP, WRP)
CRC calculation unit
Unique device identifier (64-bit UID compliant with IEEE 802-2001 standard)
96-bit unique die identifier
Hardware public key accelerator (PKA)
High-efficiency embedded SMPS step-down converter
SMPS to LDO smart switch
Ultra-safe, low-power BOR (brownout reset) with 5 selectable thresholds
Ultra-low-power POR/PDR
Programmable voltage detector (PVD)
VBAT mode with RTC and 20×32-byte backup registers
32 MHz crystal oscillator
TCXO support: programmable supply voltage®
32 kHz oscillator for RTC with calibration
High-speed internal 16 MHz factory trimmed RC (± 1 %)
Internal low-power 32 kHz RC
Internal multi-speed low-power 100 kHz to 48 MHz RC
PLL for CPU, ADC, and audio clocks
20×32-bit backup register
Bootloader supporting USART and SPI interfaces
OTA (over-the-air) firmware update capable
Sector protection against reading/write operations
12-bit ADC 2.5 Msps, up to 16 bits with hardware oversampling, conversion range up to 3.6 V
12-bit DAC, low-power sample-and-hold
2x ultra-low-power comparators
2x DMA controller (7 channels each) supporting ADC, DAC, SPI, I2C, LPUART, USART, AES
and timers
2x USART (ISO 7816, IrDA, SPI)
1x LPUART (low-power)
2x SPI 16 Mbit/s (1 over 2 supporting I2S)
3x I2C (SMBus/PMBus™)
2x 16-bit 1-channel timer
1x 16-bit 4-channel timer (supporting motor control)
1x 32-bit 4-channel timer
3x 16-bit ultra-low-power timer
1x RTC with 32-bit sub-second wakeup counter
1x independent SysTick
1x independent watchdog
1x window watchdog
43 I/Os, most 5 V-tolerant
Serial-wire debug (SWD), JTAG

BB-STM32WL module has no antenna but just a U.FL connector for the external antenna.
We offer BB-STM32WL-ANT with PCB antenna with +2dBi gain :

Order codes

Lora in Europe operates at 868Mz and North America operates at 915Mhz.
BB-STM32WL is produced by default for 868Mhz. Note that the 915Mhz version can be produced on request.
BB-STM32WL industrial-grade -40+85°C, European frequency, no antenna, u.FL IPEX connector
BB-STM32WL-ANT industrial-grade -40+85°C, European frequency, includes cable and PCB antenna

Software

STM32WL has extensive software support from ST Microelectronics. Lora and LoRaWAN projects are available.

Power supply

BB-STM32WL supply voltage is 3.3V but operates from 1.8 up to 3.6VDC, this allows full utilization of LiPo 3.7V battery (discharged 2.0V, charged 3.7V)
Make sure your power source can provide a peak current of at least 120mA.
Power consumption is:

Supply current in Sleep mode 0.2mA
Supply current in Standby mode 1.6-1.8mA
Supply current in Receive mode 10-12mA
Supply current in Transmit mode +13 dBm 29 mA
Supply current in Transmit mode +20 dBm 120 mA

Pinout

All available STM32WL signals are available on two 0.1 inches (2.54 mm) step rows of 12 pads where headers can be soldered.
The distance between the rows is 1.0 inches (25.4mm)
Total board dimensions are 1.1 inch (28 mm) x 1.22 inch (31 mm)

OLIMEX BB STM23WL LoRa Module - fig1