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9150-0125-01 R-1
2.4 CORE COMPONENTS
2.4.1 NORDIC SOC
The ST150M contains a Nordic nRF52840, which utilizes an ARM Cortex-M4 processor with integrated communication
protocols including Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, I2C, SPI, UART and Client USB.
Details on the nRF52840 SOC can be found in documentation from Nordic Semiconductor:
https://infocenter.nordicsemi.com/index.jsp?topic=%2Fug_nrf52840_dk%2FUG%2Fdk%2Fintro.html
2.4.2 ASIC SATELLITE TRANSMITTER
The ST150M contains a Globalstar proprietary ASIC used for all satellite transmission and related operations including signal
modulation, channelization, and amplification.
Communication is handled over UART interface bus connecting to the MPU.
2.4.3 GNSS RECEIVER
The ST150M contains a UBLOX ZOE-M8Q GNSS SiP (System in Package) module with integrated SAW filter and front-end
LNA, plus additional external LNA control line. Both the GNSS RF input and the external LNA control output is available on
ST150M's edge connector interface.
With a dual-frequency RF front-end the ZOE-M8Q can receive concurrently from three GNSS systems (GPS / Galileo together
with BeiDou or GLONASS).
Communication is handled over GPS_SPI interface bus connecting to the MPU.
2.4.4 MEMORY
The ST150M contains 64Mb (8MB) of ultra-low power flash memory accessed over QSPI bus. In addition, the nRF52840 has
1024 kB of flash and 256 kB of RAM located on the SoC.
2.4.5 ACCELEROMETER
The ST150M contains a 3-axis accelerometer capable of 4098 LSB/g (// 16g), with scaling options of 2g, 4g, 8g and 16g, and
high shock survivability of up to 10,000g.
The accelerometer can be communicated with over I2C using 16-bit data output and 32-level FIFO buffer. An interrupt pin
connects to P0.17 of the nRF52840 for configurable motion detect signaling.
2.4.6 PROGRAM AND DEBUG
The ST150M has dedicated programming and debug ports for both the Nordic SoC and the ASIC.
Nordic programming and debug occurs over signals SWDCLK, RESET, SWDIO which are fed to gold finger pads 46, 47, 48 and
to 0.5 MIL (1.27mm) header J1 (depopulated).
ASIC programming occurs over signals SAT_DBG_CLK, SAT_DBG_EN, SAT_RST_N, SAT_DBG_DATA which are fed to gold
finger pads 50, 51, 52, 53 and to 1 MIL (2.54mm) header J2 (depopulated).
2.4.7 DC SUPPLY
Using separate DC sources can help to reduce noise on the system, maintain efficiency, and improve signal integrity for transmissions.
ST150M divides power input between VRF_IN and V33_IN.
VRF_IN powers the ASIC RF circuitry.
V33_IN powers everything else on the ST150M including ASIC digital circuitry and GNSS receive.
VRF_EN is an active-high 0-3V control output to indicate if currently transmitting. Connect VRF_EN to the enable pin of VRF_IN supply.
VRF_IN and V33_IN can be tied together using a single source if desired. VRF_EN should remain floating if a single source is used.
ST150M User Manual
Confidential & Proprietary Information
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