RN4870/71
Bluetooth
®
4.2 Low Energy Module
Features
•
•
•
•
•
•
Fully Qualified Bluetooth
®
Low Energy Module
Certified to FCC, IC, CE, KCC, NCC and SRRC
On-Board Bluetooth 4.2 Low Energy Stack
ASCII Command Interface API over UART
Scripting Engine for Hostless Operation
Compact Form Factor – The RN4870/71 family
comes in four different sizes from 6 mm x 8 mm to
12 mm x 22 mm:
- RN4870: 12 mm x 22 mm
- RN4871: 9 mm x 11.5 mm
- RN4870U: 12 mm x 15 mm
- RN4871U: 6 mm x 8 mm
• Beacon Private Service for Beacon Services
• UART Transparent Service for Serial Data
Applications
• Remote Configuration Over The Air
Operational
• Operating Voltage: 1.9V to 3.6V (3.3V typical)
• Temperature Range:
- -20°C to +70°C (Normal)
- -40°C to +85°C (Industrial)
• Supports UART
• Up to Three Pulse Width Modulation (PWM)
Outputs
RF/Analog Features
•
•
•
•
•
ISM Band 2.402 to 2.480 GHz Operation
Channels: 0-39
RX Sensitivity: -90 dBm
TX Power: 0 dBm
RSSI Monitor
Antenna Options
• Integrated Chip Antenna (RN487x) - refer to
Section 8.0, Antenna Characteristics,
Figure 8-1
and
Figure 8-2
for antenna
performance specifications
• External Antenna Connection via RF Pad
(RN4870U/RN4871U)
MAC/Baseband/Higher Layer Features
• Secure AES128 Encryption
• GAP, GATT, SM, L2CAP and Integrated Public
Profiles
• Customer Can Create up to Five Public and Four
Private Services
• Keyboard I/O Authentication
• Software Configurable Role as Peripheral or
Central and Client or Server
Applications
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Health/Medical Devices
Sports Activity/Fitness Meters
Beacon Applications
Internet of Things (IoT) Sensor Tag
Remote Control
Wearable Smart Devices and Accessories
Smart Energy/Smart Home
Industrial Control
2016-2017 Microchip Technology Inc.
DS50002489C-page 1
RN4870/71
Table of Contents
1.0 Device Overview .......................................................................................................................................................................... 3
2.0 Specifications ............................................................................................................................................................................... 9
3.0 Interface PINs..............................................................................................................................................................................11
4.0 Physical Dimensions And Attributes ........................................................................................................................................... 13
5.0 Application Reference Circuits ................................................................................................................................................... 23
6.0 ASCII Command API.................................................................................................................................................................. 29
7.0 Supported Services .................................................................................................................................................................... 31
8.0 Antenna Characteristics ............................................................................................................................................................. 33
9.0 Timing Characteristics ................................................................................................................................................................ 35
10.0 Regulatory Approval ................................................................................................................................................................... 37
11.0 Ordering Information .................................................................................................................................................................. 43
The Microchip Web Site ....................................................................................................................................................................... 45
Customer Change Notification Service ................................................................................................................................................ 45
Customer Support ................................................................................................................................................................................ 45
Product Identification System............................................................................................................................................................... 46
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You can determine the version of a data sheet by examining its literature number found on the bottom outside corner of any page.
The last character of the literature number is the version number, (e.g., DS30000000A is version A of document DS30000000).
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To determine if an errata sheet exists for a particular device, please check with one of the following:
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DS50002489C-page 2
2016-2017 Microchip Technology Inc.
RN4870/71
1.0
1.1
DEVICE OVERVIEW
Overview
The RN4870/71 Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) modules
integrate Bluetooth 4.2 baseband controller, on-board
Bluetooth stack, digital and analog I/O, and RF power
amplifier into one solution.
Table 1-1
shows the various options for packaging and
features available in the RN4870/71 family.
Table 1-2
provides the description of the pin functions for all the
modules in the RN4870/71 family.
Figure 1-1
through
Figure 1-4
show the pinout for the different modules.
TABLE 1-1:
RN4870/71 FAMILY
Antenna
On-Board
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Shielding
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Number of
Pins
33
30
16
17
33
16
Dimensions
12 mm x 22 mm
12 mm x 15 mm
9 mm x 11.5 mm
6 mm x 8 mm
12 mm x 22 mm
9 mm x 11.5 mm
Operating
Temperature Range
-20°C to +70°C
-20°C to +70°C
-20°C to +70°C
-20°C to +70°C
-40°C to +85°C
-40°C to +85°C
Part Number
(1)
RN4870-V/RMXXX
RN4870U-V/RMXXX
RN4871-V/RMXXX
RN4871U-V/RMXXX
RN4870-I/RMXXX
RN4871-I/RMXXX
Note 1:
The last three digits in P/N indicate the firmware version. At the time of publication, the latest firmware
version is 1.28. Ensure to check product webpage for latest part number and firmware version.
TABLE 1-2:
—
—
1
2
—
1
2
3
4
—
PIN DESCRIPTION
Name
GND
GND
GND
VBAT
BK_IN
Type
Power Ground reference
Power Ground reference
Power Ground reference
Power Positive supply input. Range: 1.9V~3.6V
Power Buck power supply input
Can be connected to the VBAT pin
Connect to 10 µF low ESR ceramic capacitor
Voltage range: 1.9V to 3.6V
D I/O GPIO
PWM1
Default: Input; pulled-high
Power V
DD
; power input
Same input pin as VBAT
Can be connected to the VBAT pin
Power V
DD
; power input
Same input pin as VBAT
Can be connected to the VBAT pin
Power 1.2V ULPC LDO output
Used for diagnostic purposes
Do not connect
to any pin or device
For measurement, connect a bypass 1 µF
capacitor to ground
D I/O GPIO
PWM2
Default: Input; pulled-high
Power 1.55V Buck power supply output for diagnostic
purpose
Do not connect
D
Configurable pin. Refer to
Section 1.2 “Module
Configuration”
for details.
Description
—
—
12
11
10
—
—
13
14
—
RN4870U RN4870 RN4871U RN4871
3
5
—
—
P2_2
4
6
—
—
VDD_IO
5
7
—
—
VDD_IO
6
8
—
—
ULPC_O
7
9
—
—
P2_3
8
10
—
—
BK_O
—
—
13
6
P1_6
2016-2017 Microchip Technology Inc.
DS50002489C-page 3
RN4870/71
TABLE 1-2:
—
9
—
11
PIN DESCRIPTION (CONTINUED)
Name
P1_7
P2_7
Type
D
Description
Configurable pin. Refer to
Section 1.2 “Module
Configuration”
for details.
14
15
5
15
RN4870U RN4870 RN4871U RN4871
D O/p UART_TX_IND output pin. Provides indication if
RN4870 is transmitting to host MCU over UART.
Pulled low before UART TX begins and pulled high
after UART TX is over.
D I/O GPIO; default: Input; pulled-high
A I/p AD9
Configured as the BLEDK_STATUS1_IND pin by
default
D I/O GPIO; default: Input; pulled-high
A I/p AD10; I
2
C SCL pin
D I/O GPIO; default: Input; pulled-high
AD11; I
2
C SDA pin
D I/O GPIO; default: Input; pulled-high
AD0
Configured as the UART_CTS pin by default
D I/O GPIO; default: Input; pulled-high
AD8
Configured as the BLEDK_STATUS2_IND pin by
default
D I/O GPIO; default: Input; pulled-high
PWM0
Configured as the UART_RTS pin by default
D I/p
System configuration input;
1: Application mode
0: Test mode/Flash update/EEPROM configuration
Default: Input; pulled-high
No Connection
Module Reset; active-low; Internally pulled-high
UART Data input
10
12
—
—
P1_1
11
12
13
13
14
15
2
3
8
3
4
11
P1_2
P1_3
P0_0
14
16
—
—
P1_0
15
17
6
9
P3_6
16
18
16
16
P2_0
17
18
19
20
21
22
19
20
21
22
23
24
—
—
7
5
4
—
—
—
10
7
8
—
P2_4
NC
RST_N
UART_RX
P3_1
D I/O GPIO; default: Input; pulled-high
—
D I/p
D I/p
UART_TX D O/p UART Data output
D I/O GPIO; default: Input; pulled-high
Configured as RSSI_IND pin by default; SPI NCS
Bus
D I/p
GPIO; default: Input; pulled-high
Configured as the LINK_DROP pin by default; SPI
MISO pin
GPIO; default: Input; pulled-high
Configured as the UART RX Indication pin by default;
SPI MOSI pin
GPIO; default: Input; pulled-high
Configured as the PAIRING_KEY pin by default; SPI
SCLK pin
23
25
—
—
P3_2
24
26
—
—
P3_3
D I/p
25
27
—
—
P3_4
D I/p
26
28
—
—
P3_5
D I/O GPIO; default: Input; pulled-high
A I/p LED1; provides indication whether the module is ON/
OFF
D I/O GPIO; default: Input; pulled-high
Configured to the LOW_BATTERY_INDICATOR pin
by default
27
29
—
—
P0_7
DS50002489C-page 4
2016-2017 Microchip Technology Inc.
RN4870/71
TABLE 1-2:
28
30
PIN DESCRIPTION (CONTINUED)
Name
P0_2
Type
Description
9
12
D I/O AD2
LED0: Provides indication whether the module is in
ON/OFF mode
Power Ground Reference
Power Ground Reference
A I/O
External Antenna connection (50 ohms). Only for
RN4870U and RN4871U. No connection for RN4871.
I/O = Input/Output
I/p = Input
O/p = Output
RN4870U RN4870 RN4871U RN4871
29
—
30
—
31
32
—
33
17
—
1
—
2
—
—
—
GND
GND
BT_RF
GND
Power Ground Reference
D = Digital
Legend:
Pin Type Abbreviations:
A = Analog
FIGURE 1-1:
PIN DIAGRAM - RN4870U
Top View
Bottom View
30 BT_RF
29
28
27
26
25
24
23
22
21
20
GND
P0_2/LED
P0_7
P3_5
P3_4
P3_3
P3_2
P3_1
UART_TX
UART_RX
30
1
GND
1
VBAT
2
P2_2 3
VDD_IO 4
VDD_IO 5
ULPC_O
6
P2_3
7
BK_O 8
P2_7/TX_IND
9
P1_1
10
P1_2 11
P1_3 12
TP-3
TP-1
TP-3 VCC_RF
TP-1 VCC_PA
TP-2
TP-2 CLDO_O
FIGURE 1-2:
PIN DIAGRAM - RN4870
Top View
GND
GND
P0_0/CTS
P1_0
P3_6/RTS
P2_0/MODE
P2_4
NC
RST_N
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
Bottom View
33
GND
32 GND
33
1
1
2
GND
VBAT
P2_2
VDD_IO
VDD_IO
ULPC_O
P2_3
BK_O
P2_7/TX_IND
P1_1
P1_2
P1_3
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
31
30
29
28
27
26
25
24
23
22
GND
P0_2/LED
P0_7
P3_5
P3_4
P3_3
P3_2
P3_1
UART_TX
UART_RX
TP-3
TP-1
TP-3 VCC_RF
TP-1 VCC_PA
TP-2
TP-2 CLDO_O
2016-2017 Microchip Technology Inc.
P0_0/CTS
P1_0
P3_6/RTS
P2_0/MODE
P2_4
NC
RST_N
DS50002489C-page 5