Boron Datasheet (v008)
Functional description OVERVIEW The Boron is a powerful LTE Cat M1 or 2G/3G enabled development kit that supports cellular networks and Bluetooth LE (BLE). It is based on the Nordic nRF52840 and has built-in battery charging circuitry so it’s easy to connect a Li-Po and deploy your local network in minutes. The Boron is great for connecting existing projects to the Particle Device Cloud where Wi-Fi is missing or unreliable.
Interfaces BLOCK DIAGRAM POWER USB PORT The USB port is the easiest way to power up the Boron. Please make sure that the USB port is able to provide at least 500mA. Power from the USB is regulated down to 3.3V by the on board Torex XC9258A step-down regulator. For powering the Boron 2G/3G version, you'll either need a USB port that is able support 2A current, or have the LiPo battery plugged in when powering over USB. This is because the on-board u-blox modem can consumes up to 1.
Li+ PIN This pin is internally connected to the positive terminal of the LiPo connector. You can connect a single cell LiPo/Lithium Ion or a DC supply source to this pin for powering the Boron. Remember that the input voltage range on this pin is 3.6 to 4.2 VDC. For the Boron 2G/3G version, make sure that the external DC supply is able to support 2A peak current requirements. 3V3 PIN This pin is the output of the on board 3.3V step-down switching regulator (Torex XC9258A).
ANTENNA There are two radios on the Boron. A BLE radio (nRF52840) and a cellular radio (u-blox). For the cellular radio, we have provided a u.FL connector to plug in the cellular antenna. This is required if you wish to use the cellular connectivity. There are two options for the BLE antenna on the Boron. It comes with an on-board PCB antenna which is selected by default in the device OS and a u.FL connector if you wish to connect an external antenna.
Memory map NRF52840 FLASH LAYOUT OVERVIEW Bootloader (48KB, @0xF4000) User Application 256KB @ 0xB4000 (Device OS 3.1 and later) 128KB @ 0xD4000 (Device OS 3.
Pins and button definitions PIN MARKINGS PINOUT DIAGRAM
You can download a high resolution PDF version of the pin out here. PIN DESCRIPTION Pin Description Li+ This pin is internally connected to the positive terminal of the LiPo battery connector. VUSB This pin is internally connected to the USB (+ve) supply. 3V3 This pin is the output of the on-board 3.3V regulator. GND System ground pin. EN Device enable pin is internally pulled-up. To disable the device, connect this pin to GND. RST Active-low system reset input.
LED STATUS System RGB LED For a detailed explanation of different color codes of the RGB system LED, please take a look here. Charge status LED State Description ON Charging in progress OFF Charging complete Blink at 1Hz Fault condition[1] Rapid blinking Battery disconnected[2] Notes: [1] A fault condition can occur due to several reasons, for example, battery over/under voltage, temperature fault or safety timer fault.
Technical specifications ABSOLUTE MAXIMUM RATINGS [1] Parameter Symbol Min Typ Max Unit Supply Input Voltage VIN-MAX +6.2 V Battery Input Voltage VLiPo +6.5 V Supply Output Current I3V3-MAX-L 1000 mA Storage Temperature Tstg +75 °C 1 kV -30 ESD Susceptibility HBM (Human Body Mode) VESD [1] Stresses beyond those listed under absolute maximum ratings may cause permanent damage to the device.
POWER CONSUMPTION (BORON 2G/3G) Parameter Symbol Peak Current, 3G ILi+ pk 800 mA Peak Current, 2G ILi+ pk 1800 mA Operating Current (uC on, peripherals and radio disabled) Iidle 3.76 3.77 3.79 mA Operating Current (uC on, cellular on but not connected) Icell_idle 3.84 25.2 901 mA Operating Current (uC on, cellular connecting to tower) Icell_conn_twr 11.6 56.9 579 mA Operating Current (uC on, cellular connecting to cloud) Icell_conn_cloud 22.4 97.
POWER CONSUMPTION (BORON LTE) Parameter Symbol Min Typ Max Unit Peak Current ILi+ pk 120 490 mA Operating Current (uC on, peripherals and radio disabled) Iidle 3.89 3.90 3.92 mA Operating Current (uC on, cellular on but not connected) Icell_idle 5.78 16.9 mA Operating Current (uC on, cellular connecting to tower) Icell_conn_twr 14.7 58.9 178 mA Operating Current (uC on, cellular connecting to cloud) Icell_conn_cloud 14.6 53.
RADIO SPECIFICATIONS Boron has two radio modules. Nordic Semiconductor nRF52840 for BLE. Feature Description Operating Frequencies 2360 to 2500 MHz Output Power Programmable -20dBm to +8dBm PLL channel spacing 1 MHz On the air data rate 125 to 2000 kbps u-blox SARA U201 (2G/3G) and R410 (LTE Cat M1) for cellular. BORON Compatible Countries 2G/3G Worldwide LTE USA, Canada, and Mexico (LTE Cat M1) I/O CHARACTERISTICS These specifications are based on the nRF52840 datasheet.
Mechanical specifications DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT Weight = 10 grams MATING CONNECTORS The Boron uses two single row 0.1" pitch male header pins. One of them is 16 pin while the other is 12 pin. It can be mounted with matching 0.1" pitch female headers with a typical height of 0.335" (8.5mm). When you search for parts like these it can be difficult to navigate the thousands of parts available online so here are a few good choices for the Boron: Description MFG MFG Part Number 16-pin 0.1" (2.
Recommended PCB land pattern The Boron can be directly soldered onto the PCB or be mounted with the above mentioned female headers.
Schematic The complete schematic and board files are open source and available on Particle's GitHub repository here.
SPI FLASH FUEL GAUGE INTERFACES
Country compatibility Country Model Technologies Carriers Afghanistan BRN314 2G, 3G MTN Albania BRN314 2G, 3G ALBtelecom, Telekom, Vodafone Algeria BRN314 2G, 3G Mobilis, Ooredoo Anguilla BRN314 2G, 3G Flow Antigua and Barbuda BRN314 2G, 3G Flow Argentina BRN314 2G, 3G Claro, Movistar, Personal Armenia BRN314 2G, 3G Beeline, Ucom Australia BRN314 3G Optus, Telstra, Vodafone Austria BRN314 2G, 3G 3 (Drei), A1, T-Mobile Azerbaijan BRN314 2G, 3G Azercell, Bakcell, NAR
Ethiopia BRN314 2G, 3G Ethio Telecom Faroe Islands BRN314 2G, 3G Faroese Telecom, Vodafone Finland BRN314 2G, 3G DNA, Elisa, Telia France BRN314 2G, 3G Bouygues, Free Mobile, Orange, SFR French Guiana BRN314 2G, 3G Digicel Gabon BRN314 2G, 3G Airtel Georgia BRN314 2G, 3G Beeline, Geocell Germany BRN314 2G, 3G O2, Telekom, Vodafone Ghana BRN314 2G, 3G AirtelTigo, MTN, Vodafone Gibraltar BRN314 2G, 3G Gibtel Greece BRN314 2G, 3G Cosmote, Vodafone, Wind Grenada BRN3
Mozambique BRN314 2G, 3G Vodacom Myanmar BRN314 2G, 3G MPT, Telenor Namibia BRN314 2G, 3G Telecom Namibia Netherlands BRN314 2G, 3G KPN, T-Mobile, Vodafone New Zealand BRN314 2G, 3G 2degrees, Spark, Vodafone Nicaragua BRN314 2G, 3G Movistar Nigeria BRN314 2G, 3G 9mobile, Airtel, Glo, MTN Norway BRN314 2G, 3G TDC, Telenor, Telia Oman BRN314 2G, 3G Ooredoo Pakistan BRN314 2G, 3G Mobilink, Telenor, Ufone, Warid Palestine BRN314 2G, 3G Jawwal Panama BRN314 2G, 3G D
Tunisia BRN314 2G, 3G Orange Tunisie, Tunisie Telecom Turkey BRN314 2G, 3G Türk Telekom, Turkcell, Vodafone Turks and Caicos Islands BRN314 2G, 3G Flow Uganda BRN314 2G, 3G Africell, Airtel, MTN Ukraine BRN314 2G, 3G Kyivstar, Life, MTS United Arab Emirates BRN314 2G, 3G du, Etisalat United Kingdom BRN314 2G, 3G 3, EE, Manx, O2, Sure, Vodafone United States BRN404 M1 AT&T Uruguay BRN314 2G, 3G Antel, Claro, Movistar Uzbekistan BRN314 2G, 3G Beeline Venezuela BRN314 2
Ordering information Borons are available from store.particle.io in single quantities in 2G/3G and LTE Cat M1 versions.
Qualification and approvals **BORON LTE (Cat M1) ** Model Number: BRN404, BRM402 RoHS CE PTCRB FCC ID: 2AEMI-BRN402 IC: 20127-BRN402 BORON 2G/3G Model Number: BRN314, BRN310 RoHS CE FCC ID: 2AEMI-BRN310 IC: 20127-BRN310
Product Handling ESD PRECAUTIONS The Boron contains highly sensitive electronic circuitry and is an Electrostatic Sensitive Device (ESD). Handling Boron without proper ESD protection may destroy or damage it permanently. Proper ESD handling and packaging procedures must be applied throughout the processing, handling and operation of any application that incorporates Boron. ESD precautions should be implemented on the application board where the Boron is mounted.
glue (epoxy, rubber cement, liquid tape or hot glue) on the connector can be used securely hold the plug in place. The 10 pin SWD connector provides an easy in-system debugging access to the device. The pins on the connector can easily be damaged if the mating connector cable is inserted improperly. If you are trying to debug the device, you probably are not in a good mood to begin with. The last thing you want is to render the connector useless. Be nice, and be gentle on the connector.
Default settings The Boron comes preprogrammed with a bootloader and a user application called Tinker. This application works with an iOS and Android app also named Tinker that allows you to very easily toggle digital pins, take analog and digital readings and drive variable PWM outputs. The bootloader allows you to easily update the user application via several different methods, USB, OTA, Serial Y-Modem, and also internally via the Factory Reset procedure.
FCC IC CE Warnings and End Product Labeling Requirements Federal Communication Commission Interference Statement This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation.
Canada Statement This device complies with Industry Canada’s licence-exempt RSSs. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: 1. This device may not cause interference; and 2. This device must accept any interference, including interference that may cause undesired operation of the device. Le présent appareil est conforme aux CNR d’Industrie Canada applicables aux appareils radio exempts de licence. L’exploitation est autorisée aux deux conditions suivantes: 1.
Revision history Revision Date Author Comments v001 2018 Oct 26 MB Initial release v002 2020 Jan 21 RK Remove mesh v003 2020 Sep 01 RK Add EN pin information v004 16-Sep-2020 RK Added power consumption information v005 15-Mar-2021 RK Updated model, carrier, ordering information v005 26-Apr-2021 RK Added BRN314 and BRN404 model numbers v006 28-Jun-2021 RK Added Device OS 3.
Known Errata
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