• 1
    Introduction

    Hey, what's up, Guys! Akarsh here from CETech.

    Today we have with us, a new module that can be the next big thing in the world of LoRa technology. We are talking about the ASR6601 SoC chip from ASR Microelectronics which is a package on its own. Why we are calling it a package is because it is a combination of a LoRa chip and a microcontroller on a single chip.

    Previously, whenever we wanted to create a LoRa Project, we had to take a LoRa module and connect that to any microcontroller like Arduino, etc., and then we used to program that according to our use. This process was a bit cumbersome and it was not possible to create a small and compact project from this combination. In that kind of case, this module will be a perfect fit.

    So today, we are going to have a look at this module and after that, we will be testing it with the help of an example code. So let's get straight into it.

  • 2
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  • 3
    About ASR6601 Module
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    ASR6601 is a general LPWAN Wireless Communication SoC, with an integrated RF Transceiver, Modem, and a 32-bit RISC MCU. The MCU uses ARM Cortex M4, with a 48 MHz operating frequency. The RF Transceiver has continuous frequency coverage from 150 MHz to 960 MHz. The Modem supports LoRa modulation for LPWAN use cases and (G)FSK modulation for legacy use cases. The Modem also supports BPSK modulation in TX and (G)MSK modulation in TX and RX. The LPWAN Wireless Communication Module designed with ASR6601 provides ultra-long range and ultra-low-power communication for LPWAN applications. ASR6601 can achieve a high sensitivity to -148 dBm and the maximum transmit power is up to +22 dBm. This makes the chip suitable to be used in long-range LPWAN and has high efficiency. The total chip package is of very small size, QFN 6 mm x 6 mm/QFN 8 mm x 8 mm.

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    Key Features:

    • Small footprint: QFN48, 6 mm x 6 mm or QFN68, 8 mm x 8 mm
    • Frequency Range: 150 MHz ~ 960 MHz
    • Maximum Power +22 dBm constant RF output
    • High sensitivity: -148 dBm
    • Programmable bit rate up to 62.5 Kbps in LoRa modulation mode
    • Programmable bit rate up to 300 Kbps in (G)FSK modulation mode
    • Preamble detection
    • Embedded memories (up to 256 KB of Flash memory and 64 KB of SRAM).
    • Up to 42 configurable GPIOs: 3 x I2C, 1 x I2S, 4 x UART, 1 x LPUART, 1 x SWD, 3 x SPI, 1 x QSPI and 2 x WDG
    • 4 x GPtimer, 2 x Basic Timer, 2 x LP timer, and 1 x Sys Ticker
    • 48 MHz ARM Cortex-M4 CPU
    • 4-channel DMA engine x 2
    • Embedded 12-bit 1 Msps SAR ADC
    • Embedded 12-bit DAC
    • 32.768 kHz External Watch Crystal Oscillator
    • 32 MHz External Crystal Oscillator for RF Transceiver