ArgonDatasheet(v002)

Functionaldescription

TheArgonisapowerfulWi-FienableddevelopmentboardforWi-Finetworks.Itisbasedonthe

NordicnRF52840andhasbuilt-inbatterychargingcircuitrysoit’seasytoconnectaLi-Poand

deployyourlocalnetworkinminutes.

TheArgonisgreatforconnectingexistingprojectstotheParticleDeviceCloudoveraWi-Fi

network.

EspressifESP32-D0WD2.4GHzWi-Ficoprocessor

On-board4MBflashforESP32

802.11b/g/nsupport

802.11n(2.4GHz),upto150Mbps

NordicSemiconductornRF52840SoC

ARMCortex-M4F32-bitprocessor@64MHz

1MBflash,256KBRAM

Bluetooth5:2Mbps,1Mbps,500Kbps,125Kbps

SupportsDSPinstructions,HWacceleratedFloatingPointUnit(FPU)calculations

ARMTrustZoneCryptoCell-310Cryptographicandsecuritymodule

Upto+8dBmTXpower(downto-20dBmin4dBsteps)

NFC-Atag

On-boardadditional4MBSPIflash

20mixedsignalGPIO(6xAnalog,8xPWM),UART,I2C,SPI

MicroUSB2.0fullspeed(12Mbps)

IntegratedLi-Pochargingandbatteryconnector

JTAG(SWD)Connector

RGBstatusLED

ResetandModebuttons

On-boardPCBantenna

U.FLconnectorforexternalantenna

MeetstheAdafruitFeatherspecificationindimensionsandpinout

FCC,CEandICcertified

RoHScompliant(lead-free)

OVERVIEW

FEATURES

Interfaces

USBPORT

TheUSBportistheeasiestwaytopoweruptheArgon.PleasemakesurethattheUSBportisable

toprovideatleast500mA.PowerfromtheUSBisregulateddownto3.3VbytheonboardTorex

XC9258Astep-downregulator.

VUSBPIN

ThepinisinternallyconnectedtotheVBUSoftheUSBport.Thenominaloutputshouldbearound

4.5to5VDCwhenthedeviceispluggedintotheUSBportand0whennotconnectedtoaUSB

source.Youcanusethispintopowerperipheralsthatoperateatsuchvoltages.Donotexceedthe

currentratingoftheUSBport,whichisnominallyratedto500mA.Thispinisalsoprotectedwith

aninternalfuseratedat1000mA.

LiPo

Ifyouwanttomakeyourprojectstrulywireless,youcanpowerthedevicewithasinglecellLiPo

(3.7V).TheArgonhasanonboardLiPochargerthatwillchargeandpowerthedevicewhenUSB

sourceispluggedin,orpowerthedevicefromtheLiPoaloneintheabsenceoftheUSB.

{{boxop="start"cssClass="boxedwarningBox"}}NOTE:Pleasepayattentiontothepolarityofthe

LiPoconnector.NotallLiPobatteriesfollowthesamepolarityconvention!{{boxop="end"}}

BLOCKDIAGRAM

POWER

Li+PIN

ThispinisinternallyconnectedtothepositiveterminaloftheLiPoconnector.Youcanconnecta

singlecellLiPo/LithiumIonoraDCsupplysourcetothispinforpoweringtheArgon.Remember

thattheinputvoltagerangeonthispinis3.6to4.2VDC.

3V3PIN

Thispinistheoutputoftheonboard3.3Vstep-downswitchingregulator(TorexXC9258A).The

regulatorisratedat1000mAmax.Whenusingthispintopowerotherdevicesorperipherals

remembertobudgetinthecurrentrequirementoftheArgonfirst.Thispincanalsobeusedto

powertheArgoninabsenceoftheUSBorLiPopower.Whenpoweringoverthispin,please

connecttheENABLEpintoGNDsothattheonboardregulatorisdisabled.

TherearetworadiosontheArgon.ABLEradio(nRF52840)andaWiFiradio(ESP32).FortheWiFi

radio,wehaveprovideau.FLconnectortoplugintheWiFiantenna.Thisisrequiredifyouwishto

usetheWiFiconnectivity.

TherearetwooptionsfortheBLEantennaontheArgon.Itcomeswithanon-boardPCBantenna

whichisselectedbydefaultinthedeviceOSandau.FLconnectorifyouwishtoconnectan

externalantenna.Ifyouwishtousetheexternalantenna,you'llneedtoissueanappropriate

commandinthefirmware.

BLEandWiFi

TheArgonincludesoneoftheseantennas,butasecondforusewithBLEcanbepurchasedinthe

Particleonlinestore.

ParticleDevice Frequency AntennaType Manufacturer MFG.Part# Gain

Argon 2400-2500MHz PCBAntenna Particle ANT-FLXV2 2.0dBipeak

ItisalsopossibletousemostantennasdesignedforWi-Fi(2.4GHz)asaBLEantenna.Insome

cases,au.FLtoRP-SMAadapterwillberequired.Ifyouarebuildingaproductusingalternative

antennas,additionalcertificationmayberequired.

PeripheralType Qty Input(I)/Output(O)

Digital 20 I/O

Analog(ADC) 6 I

UART 1 I/O

SPI 1 I/O

I2C 2 I/O

USB 1 I/O

PWM 8 O

Note:AllGPIOsareonlyratedat3.3VDCmax.

TheArgonhasadedicated10pindebugconnectorthatexposestheSWDinterfaceofthe

nRF5280.ThisinterfacecanbeusedtodebugyourcodeorreprogramyourArgonbootloader,

deviceOS,ortheuserfirmwareusinganystandardSWDtoolsincludingourGen3Debugger.

ANTENNA

FCCAPPROVEDANTENNAS

PERIPHERALSANDGPIO

SWD

Memorymap

Bootloader(48KB,@0xF4000)

UserApplication(128KB,@0xD4000)

System(656KB,@0x30000)

SoftDevice(192KB)

OTA(1500KB,@0x00289000)

Reserved(420KB,@0x00220000)

FAC(128KB,@0x00200000)

LittleFS(2M,@0x00000000)

NRF52840FLASHLAYOUTOVERVIEW

EXTERNALSPIFLASHLAYOUTOVERVIEW(DFUOFFSET:0X80000000)

Pinsandbuttondefinitions

PINMARKINGS

PINOUTDIAGRAM

YoucandownloadahighresolutionPDFversionofthepinouthere.

Pin Description

Li+ ThispinisinternallyconnectedtothepositiveterminaloftheLiPobatteryconnector.

VUSB ThispinisinternallyconnectedtotheUSB(+ve)supply.

3V3 Thispinistheoutputoftheon-board3.3Vregulator.

GND Systemgroundpin.

EN Deviceenablepinisinternallypulled-up.Todisablethedevice,connectthispintoGND.

RST Active-lowsystemresetinput.Thispinisinternallypulled-up.

MD ThispinisinternallyconnectedtotheMODEbutton.TheMODEfunctionisactive-low.

RX PrimarilyusedasUARTRX,butcanalsobeusedasadigitalGPIO.

TX PrimarilyusedasUARTTX,butcanalsobeusedasadigitalGPIO.

SDA PrimarilyusedasdatapinforI2C,butcanalsobeusedasadigitalGPIO.

SCL PrimarilyusedasclockpinforI2C,butcanalsobeusedasadigitalGPIO.

MO,MI,SCK ThesearetheSPIinterfacepins,butcanalsobeusedasadigitalGPIO.

D2-D8 ThesearegenericGPIOpins.D2-D8arePWM-able.

A0-A5 TheseareanaloginputpinsthatcanalsoactasstandarddigitalGPIO.A0-A5arePWM-able.

PINDESCRIPTION

SystemRGBLED

ForadetailedexplanationofdifferentcolorcodesoftheRGBsystemLED,pleasetakealookhere.

ChargestatusLED

State Description

ON Charginginprogress

OFF Chargingcomplete

LEDSTATUS

Technicalspecifications

Parameter Symbol Min Typ Max Unit

SupplyInputVoltage VIN-MAX +6.2 V

BatteryInputVoltage VLiPo +6.5 V

SupplyOutputCurrent I3V3-MAX-L 1000 mA

StorageTemperature Tstg -30 +75 °C

ESDSusceptibilityHBM(HumanBodyMode) VESD 2 kV

[1]Stressesbeyondthoselistedunderabsolutemaximumratingsmaycausepermanentdamage

tothedevice.Thesearestressratingsonly,andfunctionaloperationofthedeviceattheseorany

otherconditionsbeyondthoseindicatedunderrecommendedoperatingconditionsisnotimplied.

Exposuretoabsolute-maximum-ratedconditionsforextendedperiodsmayaffectdevicereliability.

Parameter Symbol Min Typ Max Unit

LiPoBatteryVoltage VLiPo +3.3 +4.4 V

SupplyInputVoltage V3V3 +3.0 +3.3 +3.6 V

SupplyOutputVoltage V3V3 +3.3 V

OperatingCurrent(uCon,RadioON) ILi+avg 8 240 mA

OperatingCurrent(ENpin=LOW) Idisable 20 30 uA

OperatingCurrent(uCon,RadioOFF) ILi+avg TBD TBD mA

SleepCurrent(4.2VLiPo,RadioOFF) IQs TBD TBD mA

DeepSleepCurrent(4.2VLiPo,RadioOFF) IQds TBD TBD uA

OperatingTemperature Top -20 +60 °C

HumidityRangeNoncondensing,relativehumidity 95 %

Argonhastworadiomodules.

NordicSemiconductornRF52840SoCforBLEandNFC.

Feature Description

OperatingFrequencies 2360to2500MHz

OutputPower Programmable-20dBmto+8dBm

PLLchannelspacing 1MHz

Ontheairdatarate 125to2000kbps

EspressifSystemsESP32forWiFi

Feature Description

WLANStandards IEEE80211b/g/n

AntennaPort SingleAntenna

FrequencyBand 2412to2484MHz

Note:BluetoothfeaturesoftheESP32arenotexposed.

ABSOLUTEMAXIMUMRATINGS[1]

RECOMMENDEDOPERATINGCONDITIONS

RADIOSPECIFICATIONS

ThesespecificationsarebasedonthenRF52840datasheet.

Parameter Symbol Conditions Min Typ Max Unit

Inputhighvoltage VIH 0.7*3.3 -- 3.3 V

Inputlowvoltage VIL 0 0.3*3.3 V

CurrentatGND+0.4V,outputsetlow,highdrive IOL,HDL V3V3>=2.7V 6 10 15 mA

CurrentatV3V3-0.4V,outputsethigh,highdrive IOH,HDH V3V3>=2.7V 6 9 14 mA

Pull-upresistance RPU 11 13 16 kΩ

Pull-downresistance RPD 11 13 16 kΩ

I/OCHARACTERISTICS

Mechanicalspecifications

Weight=10grams

TheArgonusestwosinglerow0.1"pitchmaleheaderpins.Oneofthemis16pinwhiletheotheris

12pin.Itcanbemountedwithmatching0.1"pitchfemaleheaderswithatypicalheightof0.335"

(8.5mm).Whenyousearchforpartsliketheseitcanbedifficulttonavigatethethousandsofparts

availableonlinesohereareafewgoodchoicesfortheArgon:

Description MFG MFGPartNumber

16-pin0.1"(2.54mm)FemaleHeader Sullins PPTC161LFBN-RC

16-pin0.1"(2.54mm)FemaleHeader TE 6-535541-4

12-pin0.1"(2.54mm)FemaleHeader Sullins PPTC121LFBN-RC

12-pin0.1"(2.54mm)FemaleHeader TE 6-534237-0

DIMENSIONSANDWEIGHT

MATINGCONNECTORS

RecommendedPCBlandpattern

TheArgoncanbedirectlysolderedontothePCBorbemountedwiththeabovementionedfemale

headers.

Schematic

ThecompleteschematicandboardfilesareopensourceandavailableonParticle'sGitHub

repositoryhere.

POWER

NRF52840

ESP32

Orderinginformation

Argonareavailablefromstore.particle.ioinsinglequantities.

Qualificationandapprovals

ModelNumber:ARGN

RoHS

CE

FCCID:2AEMI-ARGN

IC:20127-ARGN

ProductHandling

TheArgoncontainshighlysensitiveelectroniccircuitryandisanElectrostaticSensitiveDevice

(ESD).HandlingArgonwithoutproperESDprotectionmaydestroyordamageitpermanently.

ProperESDhandlingandpackagingproceduresmustbeappliedthroughouttheprocessing,

handlingandoperationofanyapplicationthatincorporatesArgon.ESDprecautionsshouldbe

implementedontheapplicationboardwheretheArgonismounted.Failuretoobservethese

precautionscanresultinseveredamagetotheArgon!

TherearefourconnectorsontheArgonthatwillgetdamagedwithimproperusage.TheJST

connectoronthecircuitboard,whereyouplugintheLiPobattery,isverydurablebutthe

connectoronthebatteryitselfisnot.Whenunpluggingthebattery,takeextraprecautiontoNOT

pulltheconnectorusingthewires,butinsteadholdtheplugatitsbasetoavoidputtingstresson

thewires.Thiscanbetrickywithbarehands-nosepliersareyourfriendhere.

ThemicroBUSBconnectorontheArgonissolderedonthePCBwithlargesurfacepadsaswellas

coupleofthroughholeanchorpoints.Despitethisreinforcement,itisveryeasytoripoutthe

connectoriftoomuchstressisputonintheverticaldirection.

TheU.FLantennaconnectorisnotdesignedtobeconstantlypluggedandunplugged.The

antennapinisstaticsensitiveandyoucandestroytheradiowithimproperhandling.Atinydabof

ESDPRECAUTIONS

CONNECTORS

glue(epoxy,rubbercement,liquidtapeorhotglue)ontheconnectorcanbeusedsecurelyhold

thepluginplace.

The10pinSWDconnectorprovidesaneasyin-systemdebuggingaccesstothedevice.Thepinson

theconnectorcaneasilybedamagedifthematingconnectorcableisinsertedimproperly.Ifyou

aretryingtodebugthedevice,youprobablyarenotinagoodmoodtobeginwith.Thelastthing

youwantistorendertheconnectoruseless.Benice,andbegentleontheconnector.Goodluck

withthedebugging!

ThebreadboardprovidedwiththeArgonisspecificallydesignedtorequirelowinsertionforce.This

makesiteasytoplugtheArgoninandoutofthebreadboard.Ifyouendupusingadifferent

breadboard,rememberthatitmayrequiremoreforce.Inthiscase,alwaysremembertopinch-

holdyourpreciousArgonbythesides(alongtheheaderpins)whenplugging-unpluggingandnot

bytheUSBconnector(don'tbethisperson).

BREADBOARDING

Defaultsettings

TheArgoncomespreprogrammedwithabootloaderandauserapplicationcalledTinker.This

applicationworkswithaniOSandAndroidappalsonamedTinkerthatallowsyoutoveryeasily

toggledigitalpins,takeanaloganddigitalreadingsanddrivevariablePWMoutputs.

Thebootloaderallowsyoutoeasilyupdatetheuserapplicationviaseveraldifferentmethods,USB,

OTA,SerialY-Modem,andalsointernallyviatheFactoryResetprocedure.Allofthesemethods

havemultipletoolsassociatedwiththemaswell.

FCCICCEWarningsandEndProductLabelingRequirements

FederalCommunicationCommissionInterferenceStatementThisequipmenthasbeentested

andfoundtocomplywiththelimitsforaClassBdigitaldevice,pursuanttoPart15oftheFCC

Rules.Theselimitsaredesignedtoprovidereasonableprotectionagainstharmfulinterferenceina

residentialinstallation.Thisequipmentgenerates,usesandcanradiateradiofrequencyenergy

and,ifnotinstalledandusedinaccordancewiththeinstructions,maycauseharmfulinterference

toradiocommunications.However,thereisnoguaranteethatinterferencewillnotoccurina

particularinstallation.Ifthisequipmentdoescauseharmfulinterferencetoradioortelevision

reception,whichcanbedeterminedbyturningtheequipmentoffandon,theuserisencouraged

totrytocorrecttheinterferencebyoneofthefollowingmeasures:

Reorientorrelocatethereceivingantenna.

Increasetheseparationbetweentheequipmentandreceiver.

Connecttheequipmentintoanoutletonacircuitdifferentfromthattowhichthereceiveris

connected.

Consultthedealeroranexperiencedradio/TVtechnicianforhelp.

FCCCaution:Anychangesormodificationsnotexpresslyapprovedbythepartyresponsiblefor

compliancecouldvoidtheuser'sauthoritytooperatethisequipment.Thisdevicecomplieswith

Part15oftheFCCRules.Operationissubjecttothefollowingtwoconditions:

1. Thisdevicemaynotcauseharmfulinterference,and

2. Thisdevicemustacceptanyinterferencereceived,includinginterferencethatmaycause

undesiredoperation.

FCCRadiationExposureStatement:ThisequipmentcomplieswithFCCradiationexposurelimits

setforthforanuncontrolledenvironment.Thistransmittermodulemustnotbeco-locatedor

operatinginconjunctionwithanyotherantennaortransmitter.ThisEndequipmentshouldbe

installedandoperatedwithaminimumdistanceof20centimetersbetweentheradiatorandyour

body.

IMPORTANTNOTE:Intheeventthattheseconditionscannotbemet(forexamplecertainlaptop

configurationsorco-locationwithanothertransmitter),thentheFCCauthorizationisnolonger

consideredvalidandtheFCCIDcannotbeusedonthefinalproduct.Inthesecircumstances,the

OEMintegratorwillberesponsibleforre-evaluatingtheendproduct(includingthetransmitter)

andobtainingaseparateFCCauthorization.

EndProductLabelingThefinalendproductmustbelabeledinavisibleareawiththefollowing:

ContainsFCCID:2AEMI-ARGN

ManualInformationtotheEndUserTheOEMintegratorhastobeawarenottoprovide

informationtotheenduserregardinghowtoinstallorremovethisRFmoduleintheuser’s

manualoftheendproductwhichintegratesthismodule.

CanadaStatementThisdevicecomplieswithIndustryCanada’slicence-exemptRSSs.Operationis

subjecttothefollowingtwoconditions:

1. Thisdevicemaynotcauseinterference;and

2. Thisdevicemustacceptanyinterference,includinginterferencethatmaycauseundesired

operationofthedevice.

LeprésentappareilestconformeauxCNRd’IndustrieCanadaapplicablesauxappareilsradio

exemptsdelicence.

L’exploitationestautoriséeauxdeuxconditionssuivantes:

1. l’appareilnedoitpasproduiredebrouillage;

2. l’utilisateurdel’appareildoitacceptertoutbrouillageradioélectriquesubi,mêmesilebrouillage

estsusceptibled’encompromettrelefonctionnement.

CautionExposure:Thisdevicemeetstheexemptionfromtheroutineevaluationlimitsinsection

2.5ofRSS102anduserscanobtainCanadianinformationonRFexposureandcompliance.Le

dispositifrépondàl'exemptiondeslimitesd'évaluationderoutinedanslasection2.5deRSS102et

lesutilisateurspeuventobtenirdesrenseignementscanadienssurl'expositionauxRFetlerespect.

Thefinalendproductmustbelabelledinavisibleareawiththefollowing:TheIndustryCanada

certificationlabelofamoduleshallbeclearlyvisibleatalltimeswheninstalledinthehostdevice,

otherwisethehostdevicemustbelabelledtodisplaytheIndustryCanadacertificationnumberof

themodule,precededbythewords“Containstransmittermodule”,ortheword“Contains”,or

similarwordingexpressingthesamemeaning,asfollows:

ContainstransmittermoduleIC:20127-ARGN

ThisEndequipmentshouldbeinstalledandoperatedwithaminimumdistanceof20centimeters

betweentheradiatorandyourbody.Cetéquipementdevraitêtreinstalléetactionnéavecune

distanceminimumde20centimètresentreleradiateuretvotrecorps.

Theendusermanualshallincludeallrequiredregulatoryinformation/warningasshowninthis

manual.

Revisionhistory

Revision Date Author Comments

v001 26Oct2018 MB Initialrelease

v002 21Jan2020 RK Removemesh

KnownErrata

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