Atmel AVR10003: ATmega256RFR2 Evaluation Kit – Quick Start Guide [APPLICATION NOTE]
42033A−AVR−11/2012
2
1. Simple range measurement
The pre-flashed performance test application on the RCB256RFR2 radio controller boards features a simple range
measurement. Each board operates in a standalone manner, and is able to transmit or receive data frames. A
successful transmit or receive operation is indicated by a blinking LED.
1.1 Board assembling
1. Connect the antennas to both RCBs.
2. Insert two batteries in each of the RCBs.
1.2 Power up the boards
Apply power to both RCBs by switching on the power switch located on the
top side of the board. The RCBs run a power-on check and indicate the
successful completion by switching on the second of the three LEDs.
1.3 Run simple range measurement application
Choose one of the RCB256RFR2 RCBs, and press button T1 to start the simple range
measurement application. First, the RCB initiates a connection and configuration procedure by
sending broadcast frames, and waiting for a response from the second RCB. After a successful
configuration, the RCBs turn on LED-D2 to indicate that status. Afterwards the initiator starts to
transmit data frames immediately. Each data frame transmission is indicated by blinking the TX
status LED-D3. A successful data frame reception on the second node is indicated by blinking the
RX status LED-D4.
The RX status LED stops blinking if no data frames are received, such as when, for example, the node has left the
communication range. Data frame transmission can be stopped by pressing T1 once more on the node transmitting
frames. Moreover the RCBs can transmit and receive frames simultaneously. Pressing button T1 on both nodes
initiates each node to transmit frames. The three LEDs indicate their respective functions: LED-D2 a successful
configuration, LED-D3 transmission and LED-D4 reception.
Note: The node connection and configuration gets lost when the RCBs’ power supply is switched off. To restart the simple
range measurement, power cycles both RCBs before pressing T1 on one RCB to restart the application.
2. Packet error rate measurement
The pre-flashed performance test application is also configured with packet error rate (PER) measurement functionality
(as defined in IEEE
®
802.15.4), enabling the user to explore various radio transceiver features, radio transceiver
registers, and performance by tuning with customized configurations. For this application, one RCB256RFR2 RCB
needs to be connected to a PC.
config TX RX
status
D2 D3 D4 T1
