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CC1310 Launchpad Design

Stephen Vick
Intellectual 380 points
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: CC1310, CC3200

I just received two CC1310 Launchpad development boards.  I want to use the on-board option for external antenna.  Looking at the schematic I see that the RF connector chosen is a Murata MM5829-2700.  I have spent the last 2 days trying to find a mating cable for this part, one with a mating JSC connector on one end and an SMA connector on the other so that I can connect an external dipole antenna.  So far, no luck.

Questions:

1)  Why was this particular connector chosen when there is so little support for it?  Standard U.FL connectors are readily available and roughly the same price.  They are supported by many mfg and mating cables are easy to find.

2) Do you have a particular mating cable in mind for this interface?   If so, please share the details regarding part numbers and suppliers.

3) Can this connector be replaced by U.FL connector with a reasonable chance of success?

  • 0
    Guru 12956 points
    IIRC that connector is used to tap in for RF analysis (VSWR et al), not for an antenna per se. Probably for TI's own compliance testing. I think I saw something similar on the CC3200 LP too (that one also has a U.FL but it has a JSC inline with its onboard antenna presumably to test antenna performance, matching & compliance)
  • 0 in reply to Eric Brundick
    Intellectual 380 points

    Thanks Eric.  The documentation seems to indicate that the antenna connector is intended for user external connection.

  • 0 in reply to Stephen Vick
    TI__Expert 6995 points

    Hi, 

    It's intended for connection to antenna, and the upcoming antenna kit 2 will feature a cable that connects the antennas to this connector. Meanwhile, I've been using this converter with success for regulatory testing:

    Peder

  • 0 in reply to Peder
    Intellectual 380 points

    Thanks Peder for your response and suggestion.  I would need 2 of these adapters (at a cost of $134) and that's just too expensive for my budget.  

    FYI, I also found this adapter in the interim....also from Murata.....MXFT01JA1000.  This is a new product which can be sampled from AEM Group.

    Meanwhile, I would still like to have a response from someone at TI regarding this connector selection.

    Murata MXFT01JA1000 Datasheet - steve@teamxiq.com - XiQ Mail.htm

  • 0 in reply to Peder
    Intellectual 380 points
    I'm still waiting for someone at TI to answer my original questions. Specifically:

    1) Why was this particular connector chosen when there is so little support for it? Standard U.FL connectors are readily available and roughly the same price. They are supported by many mfg and mating cables are easy to find.

    It's now been 2 weeks since I received this kit and I still have no way to connect an external antenna. I'm waiting for Murata in Japan to respond to my request for a mating cable. There are apparently no other suppliers of mating cables to this particular connector. This does not make sense!

    This development kit seems to be well made and supported, but without an external antenna the RF range is limited to a few hundred yards. I need a range of 1-2 miles which I'm sure I could achieve with an external antenna. Why limit the success of your development kit in supplying an unusable interface?
  • 0 in reply to Stephen Vick
    TI__Mastermind 27145 points

    Hi,

    You can use the following cable from Digikey and join with SMA pigtail Cable on the other end. This will be cheapest way and it will serve the purpose.

    Thanks,

    PM

  • 0 in reply to PM
    Intellectual 380 points
    Thanks JM. I see the JSC to JSC cable on Digikey.

    What SMA pigtail cable are you referring to??? Can you provide a p/n?
  • 0 in reply to Stephen Vick
    TI__Mastermind 27145 points
    Hi,

    Any general purpose SMA-SMA cable can be used and cut the cable to the desired length then you will have a SMA Pigtail cable.

    The following is the link to the SMA cable.

    www.digikey.com/.../457275


    Thanks,
    PM
  • 0 in reply to PM
    Intellectual 380 points

    Thanks PM,


    This solution is not ideal as it will likely generate an RF connection with poor impedance matching.  So now I'm back to my original question:

    Is there any TI employee that can provide a good answer to this question?

    1) Why was this particular connector chosen when there is so little support for it? Standard U.FL connectors are readily available and roughly the same price. They are supported by many mfg and mating cables are easy to find.

  • 0 in reply to Stephen Vick
    TI__Guru**** 317180 points
    When I have looked at connectors I have gotten the impression that the different manufactures make their own type and that it doesn't exist a standard as such.

    Did you have some specific U. FL connectors and cables in mind? Since we have received a fair bit of negative feedback on the chosen connector it could be that we will look into other solutions and therefore it would be useful to get customer input.
  • 0 in reply to TER
    Intellectual 380 points
    Thanks TER,

    U.FL is a standard used by many mfg. and one which is routinely chosen for other TI development boards.

    Just one example: Molex p/n 0734120110 which is available on Digikey

    Here's a U.FL to SMA mating cable: Molex p/n 0897613412

    These 2 parts would provide a low cost interface from your development board to a compatible antenna, assuming a U.FL connector had been chosen.

    The chosen Murata connector has cost me many hours trying to acquire a mating cable. I'm still waiting on 3 samples to be delivered from Japan after requesting them nearly 3 weeks ago.

    Alternatively, you could have placed an SMA connector directly on the board although this would require more board area.
  • 0 in reply to Stephen Vick
    Expert 1555 points

    I join Stephen's suggestion that a U.FL connector would be a lot better in future revisions of the Laubchpad. Also, since the 433 version is not out yet, it would be good if TI used U.FL there rather than JSC.

  • 0 in reply to sivan_toledo
    TI__Intellectual 1740 points

    It is good to see the engagement about the component selection on our development kits! We have used Hirose in several kits, like the SensorTag. Hirose is discontinuing this connector and that was part of the reason for changing design. We unsuccessfully tried to get support from Hirose to include cables in our kits. Due to the lack of response we decided to use JCS connectors.

    Next month we will release a low cost kit that includes the cables needed for testing RF performance. I am sure you will enjoy this kit, it will include everything you need to optimize the RF performance of all our CC26xx and CC13xx parts!

    Regards


  • 0 in reply to Jarle Boe
    Intellectual 380 points

    Thanks Jarle,


    TE Connectivity makes an inexpensive U.FL connector (1909763-1)and mating cable (2032440-1), both available on Digikey.  I'm not sure why you would choose JSC when they still don't provide any mating cables on Digikey or anywhere else.  I waited for 3 weeks to get a mating cable from JSC and they sent the wrong part.  I finally had to pay a technician to replace the JSC part with a U.FL part on my Launchpad boards.

  • 0 in reply to Stephen Vick
    TI__Mastermind 29570 points

    The JSC to JSC cables (MXJA01JA2000, MXJA01JA1000 & MXJA01JA0200) are available from Digikey and Mouser.

    The JSC to SMA cable (MXFR01JA1000) is also available from Digikey and Mouser.

    Regards,

       Richard

  • 0 in reply to RGW
    Intellectual 380 points

    Thanks Richard.  The price is a bit high, but good to know that there is a source.

    Best,

    Steve

  • 0 in reply to Jarle Boe
    Guru 12956 points
    So is U.FL on its way out in terms of general use? Other manufacturers have copied the design but I'm curious now.
  • 0 in reply to TER
    Mastermind 9701 points

    Hello,

       TER asked a question that never got an answer, so I thought I would address it. The standard U.FL connector is made by Hirose. AFAIK "U.FL" is a trademark of Hirose, so compatible connectors are called something else, like "Ultra-Miniature Coaxial". There are quite a few companies who make compatible connectors, see this Digikey search.

    In the RF module world, we use U.FLs (or equivalent) everywhere - they're small, low cost, and good quality. However, they are not for repeated connections, I think they're only rated for 30 matings or so.

    I see that the new CC1310-CC1190 uses an SMA. That's larger and more expensive, but very compatible.