SX1238 Datasheet

SX1238
WIRELESS, SENSING & TIMING
DATASHEET
SX1238 - Fully Integrated Transceiver with +27dBm TX Power
RFI
VBAT1&2
VR_ANA
VR_DIG
RC
Oscillator
Power Distribution System
Single to
Differential
ANT
Decimation &
Filtering
Mixers
PREAMP
Demodulator & Bit
Synchronizer
LNA
RSSI
AFC
IND
Loop
Filter
Frac-N PLL
Synthesizer
Ramp &
Control
VDD1
PAout PDET
TXEN
XTAL
Primary Analog
Receive Blocks
Control Blocks
Primary Digital
Wireless Sensor Networks
Home and Building Automation
DIO1
DIO2
DIO3
DIO4
KEY PRODUCT FEATURES
The Low-IF architecture of the SX1238 sees fast transceiver
start times and demodulation predicated towards low
modulation index and Gaussian filtered spectrally efficient
modulation formats.
Automated Meter Reading
DIO0
GND
Transmitter Blocks
The SX1238 is a fully integrated ISM band transceiver
optimized for use in the (FCC Part 15) 915 MHz band in the
US and 868 MHz band in Europe with a minimum of
external components. It offers a combination of high link
budget and low current consumption in all operating modes.
The 150 dB link budget is achieved by a low noise CMOS
receiver front end and up to +27 dBm of transmit output
power. This is made possible by a fully integrated front end
consisting of a TR Switch, LNA and efficient PA. This makes
SX1238 ideal for applications requiring extended range,
high link budget, or operation in the presence of high
interference.





SPI
RXTX
DIO5
Frequency Synthesis
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
APPLICATIONS
RESET
XO
32 MHz
TX RFO VR_PA
Preamp/PA
Modulator
Tank
Inductor
Interpolation &
Filltering
Division by
2,4, or 6
PA0
PA
Packet Engine & 66 byte FIFO
RXEN MODE RX
Control Registers - Shift Registers - SPI Interface
VDD2
















+27 dBm - 500 mW RF output power
+27 dBm high efficiency PA
Programmable bit rate up to 300kbps
High sensitivity: -124 dBm at 1.2 kbps
863 - 870 MHz and 902 - 928 MHz
80 dB blocking Immunity
Low current, 100nA register retention
Fully integrated synthesizer with a resolution of 61 Hz
FSK, GFSK, MSK, GMSK and OOK modulations
Built-in bit synchronizer performing clock recovery
Sync word recognition
Preamble detection
115 dB+ dynamic range RSSI
Automatic RF sense with ultra-fast AFC
Packet engine up to 64 bytes with CRC
Built-in temperature sensor and low battery indicator
ORDERING INFORMATION
Wireless Alarm and Security Systems
Part Number
Delivery
MOQ / Multiple
SX1238IMLTRT
Tape & Reel
3000 pieces
Industrial Monitoring and Control


SX1238 Rev.2, June 2014
©2014 Semtech Corp.
Page 1
MLPQ 40 Package - Operating Range [-40;+85°C]
Pb-free, Halogen free, RoHS/WEEE compliant product
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High Power Transceiver IC
WIRELESS, SENSING & TIMING
DATASHEET
Table of contents
Section
Page
1.
General Description ................................................................................................................................................ 6
1.1.
Simplified Block Diagram ................................................................................................................................ 6
1.2. Pin and Marking Diagram .................................................................................................................................7
1.3. Pin Description .................................................................................................................................................8
2.
Electrical Characteristics....................................................................................................................................... 10
2.1.
ESD Notice.................................................................................................................................................... 10
2.2.
Absolute Maximum Ratings .......................................................................................................................... 10
2.3.
Operating Range........................................................................................................................................... 10
2.4. Chip Specification ...........................................................................................................................................11
2.4.1. Power Consumption............................................................................................................................... 11
2.4.2. Frequency Synthesis.............................................................................................................................. 11
2.4.3. Receiver ................................................................................................................................................. 12
2.4.4. Transmitter ............................................................................................................................................. 13
2.4.5. Front End Control.................................................................................................................................. 14
2.4.6. Digital Specification................................................................................................................................ 15
3.
Chip Description.................................................................................................................................................... 16
3.1.
Power Supply Strategy.................................................................................................................................. 17
3.2.
Low Battery Detector..................................................................................................................................... 17
3.3.
Frequency Synthesis..................................................................................................................................... 17
3.3.1. Reference Oscillator............................................................................................................................... 17
3.3.2. CLKOUT Output ......................................................................................................................................18
3.3.3. PLL Architecture..................................................................................................................................... 18
3.3.4. RC Oscillator .......................................................................................................................................... 20
3.4. Transmitter Description .....................................................................................................................................21
3.4.1. Architecture Description ......................................................................................................................... 21
3.4.2. Bit Rate Setting ...................................................................................................................................... 21
3.4.3. FSK Modulation...................................................................................................................................... 22
3.4.4. OOK Modulation..................................................................................................................................... 23
3.4.5. Modulation Shaping ............................................................................................................................... 23
3.4.6. RF Power Amplifiers .............................................................................................................................. 23
3.5. Receiver Description .........................................................................................................................................24
3.5.1. Overview ................................................................................................................................................ 24
3.5.2. LNA1, LNA2 ........................................................................................................................................... 24
3.5.3. Automatic Gain Control - AGC ............................................................................................................... 24
3.5.4. RSSI ........................................................................................................................................................26
3.5.5. Channel Filter......................................................................................................................................... 26
3.5.6. FSK Demodulator................................................................................................................................... 27
3.5.7. OOK Demodulator.................................................................................................................................. 27
3.5.8. Bit Synchronizer ......................................................................................................................................30
3.5.9. Frequency Error Indicator ...................................................................................................................... 30
3.5.10. AFC ........................................................................................................................................................ 31
3.5.11. Preamble Detector ................................................................................................................................. 32
SX1238 Rev.2, June 2014
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SX1238
High Power Transceiver IC
WIRELESS, SENSING & TIMING
DATASHEET
Table of contents
Section
Page
3.5.12. Image Rejection Mixer ........................................................................................................................... 32
3.5.13. Image and RSSI Calibration................................................................................................................... 32
3.6.
Temperature Measurement........................................................................................................................... 33
3.7. Timeout Function ............................................................................................................................................34
4.
Operating Modes .................................................................................................................................................. 35
4.1.
General Overview ......................................................................................................................................... 35
4.2.
Startup Times................................................................................................................................................ 35
4.2.1. Transmitter Startup Time ....................................................................................................................... 36
4.2.2. Receiver Startup Time ........................................................................................................................... 36
4.2.3. Time to RSSI Evaluation ........................................................................................................................ 37
4.2.4. Tx to Rx Turnaround Time ..................................................................................................................... 37
4.2.5. Rx to Tx.................................................................................................................................................. 37
4.2.6. Receiver Hopping, Rx to Rx ....................................................................................................................38
4.2.7. Tx to Tx .................................................................................................................................................. 38
4.3. Receiver Startup Options ..................................................................................................................................39
4.4.
Receiver Restarting Methods........................................................................................................................ 39
4.4.1. Restart Upon User Request ................................................................................................................... 39
4.4.2. Automatic Restart after valid Packet Reception ......................................................................................40
4.4.3. Automatic Restart when Packet Collision is Detected ........................................................................... 40
4.5.
Top Level Sequencer .................................................................................................................................... 40
4.5.1. Sequencer States................................................................................................................................... 40
4.5.2. Sequencer Transitions ........................................................................................................................... 41
4.5.3. Timers .................................................................................................................................................... 42
4.5.4. Sequencer State Machine .......................................................................................................................44
5.
Data Processing.................................................................................................................................................... 45
5.1.
Overview ....................................................................................................................................................... 45
5.1.1. Block Diagram........................................................................................................................................ 45
5.1.2. Data Operation Modes ........................................................................................................................... 45
5.2.
Control Block Description.............................................................................................................................. 46
5.2.1. SPI Interface .......................................................................................................................................... 46
5.2.2. FIFO ....................................................................................................................................................... 47
5.2.3. Sync Word Recognition.......................................................................................................................... 49
5.2.4. Packet Handler....................................................................................................................................... 49
5.2.5. Control .....................................................................................................................................................50
5.3.
Digital IO Pins Mapping................................................................................................................................. 50
5.4. Continuous Mode ...........................................................................................................................................52
5.4.1. General Description ............................................................................................................................... 52
5.4.2. Tx Processing ........................................................................................................................................ 52
5.4.3. Rx Processing ........................................................................................................................................ 53
5.5.
Packet Mode ................................................................................................................................................. 53
5.5.1. General Description ............................................................................................................................... 53
5.5.2. Packet Format........................................................................................................................................ 54
SX1238 Rev.2, June 2014
©2014 Semtech Corp.
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SX1238
High Power Transceiver IC
WIRELESS, SENSING & TIMING
DATASHEET
Table of contents
Section
6.
7.
8.
9.
Page
5.5.3. Tx Processing ........................................................................................................................................ 57
5.5.4. Rx Processing ........................................................................................................................................ 57
5.5.5. Handling Large Packets ......................................................................................................................... 58
5.5.6. Packet Filtering ...................................................................................................................................... 58
5.5.7. DC-Free Data Mechanisms.................................................................................................................... 60
5.5.8. Beacon Tx Mode .................................................................................................................................... 61
Description of the Registers.................................................................................................................................. 62
6.1.
Register Table Summary .............................................................................................................................. 62
6.2. Register Map ..................................................................................................................................................65
Application Information ......................................................................................................................................... 80
7.1.
Crystal Resonator Specification .................................................................................................................... 80
7.2.
Reset of the Chip .......................................................................................................................................... 80
7.2.1. POR ....................................................................................................................................................... 80
7.2.2. Manual Reset ..........................................................................................................................................81
7.3.
Reference Design ......................................................................................................................................... 81
7.4. Example CRC Calculation ..............................................................................................................................85
7.5. Example Temperature Reading ......................................................................................................................86
Packaging Information .......................................................................................................................................... 87
8.1.
Package Outline Drawing.............................................................................................................................. 87
8.2.
Recommended Land Pattern ........................................................................................................................ 88
8.3. Thermal Impedance ........................................................................................................................................89
8.4.
Tape & Reel Specification............................................................................................................................. 89
Revision History .................................................................................................................................................... 90
SX1238 Rev.2, June 2014
©2014 Semtech Corp.
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SX1238
High Power Transceiver IC
WIRELESS, SENSING & TIMING
DATASHEET
Acronyms
BOM
BR
BW
CCITT
CRC
DAC
ETSI
FCC
Fdev
FIFO
FIR
FS
FSK
GUI
IC
ID
IF
IRQ
ITU
LFSR
LNA
LO
Bill Of Materials
Bit Rate
Bandwidth
Comité Consultatif International
Téléphonique et Télégraphique - ITU
Cyclic Redundancy Check
Digital to Analog Converter
European Telecommunications Standards
Institute
Federal Communications Commission
Frequency Deviation
First In First Out
Finite Impulse Response
Frequency Synthesizer
Frequency Shift Keying
Graphical User Interface
Integrated Circuit
IDentificator
Intermediate Frequency
Interrupt ReQuest
International Telecommunication Union
Linear Feedback Shift Register
Low Noise Amplifier
Local Oscillator
SX1238 Rev.2, June 2014
©2014 Semtech Corp.
Page 5
LSB
MSB
NRZ
OOK
Least Significant Bit
Most Significant Bit
Non Return to Zero
On Off Keying
PA
PCB
PLL
Power Amplifier
Printed Circuit Board
Phase-Locked Loop
POR
RBW
RF
RSSI
Rx
SAW
SPI
SR
Stby
Tx
uC
VCO
XO
XOR
Power On Reset
Resolution BandWidth
Radio Frequency
Received Signal Strength Indicator
Receiver
Surface Acoustic Wave
Serial Peripheral Interface
Shift Register
Standby
Transmitter
Microcontroller
Voltage Controlled Oscillator
Crystal Oscillator
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SX1238
High Power Transceiver IC
WIRELESS, SENSING & TIMING
DATASHEET
This product datasheet contains a detailed description of the SX1238 performance and functionality. Please consult the
Semtech website for the latest updates or errata.
1. General Description
The SX1238 is a multi-chip integrated circuit ideally suited for today's high performance ISM band RF applications. The
SX1238's advanced feature set includes a state-of-the-art packet engine and top level sequencer. In conjunction with a 64
byte FIFO, these automate the entire process of packet transmission, reception and acknowledgment without incurring the
consumption penalty common to many transceivers that feature an on-chip MCU. Being easily configurable, it greatly
simplifies system design and reduces external MCU workload to an absolute minimum. The high level of integration
reduces the external BoM to passive decoupling and impedance matching components. It is intended for use as a highperformance, low-cost FSK and OOK RF transceiver for robust, frequency agile, half-duplex, bi-directional RF links.
The SX1238 is intended for applications requiring high sensitivity and low receive current. Coupling the digital state
machine with an RF front end capable of delivering a link budget of 150dB (-124dBm sensitivity in conjunction with
+27dBm Pout). The SX1238 complies with FCC and ETSI regulatory requirements and is available in a 5 x 7 mm MLPQ 40
lead package. The low-IF architecture of the SX1238 is well suited for low modulation index and narrow band operation.
1.1. Simplified Block Diagram
RFI
VBAT1&2
VR_ANA
VR_DIG
RC
Oscillator
Power Distribution System
Mixers
LNA1
ANT
Demodulator & Bit
Synchronizer
Single to
Differential
Decimation &
Filtering
LNA2
RSSI
AFC
IND
Tank
Inductor
Loop
Filter
Ramp &
Control
VDD1
PAout PDET
TXEN
RESET
SPI
RXTX
DIO0
DIO1
DIO2
DIO3
DIO4
DIO5
XO
32 MHz
XTAL
TX RFO VR_PA
LNA1/PA2
Frac-N PLL
Synthesizer
Modulator
PA2
Interpolation &
Filltering
Division by
2,4, or 6
PA0
Control Registers - Shift Registers - SPI Interface
RXEN MODE RX
Packet Engine & 66 byte FIFO
VDD2
GND
Frequency Synthesis
Transmitter Blocks
Primary Analog
Receive Blocks
Control Blocks
Primary Digital
Figure 1. SX1238 Block Diagram
SX1238 Rev.2, June 2014
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SX1238
High Power Transceiver IC
WIRELESS, SENSING & TIMING
DATASHEET
1.2. Pin and Marking Diagram
33 PDET
35 NC
34 PAout
36 GND
38 IND
37 ANT
40 NC
39 GND
The following diagram shows the pin arrangement of the MLPQ package, top view.
1 VDD2
2 RX
32 N SS
31 M OSI
3
4
5
6
7
VD D1
M OD E
R XEN
TXEN
TX
30 M ISO
8
RXTX
25
24
23
22
21
29 SCK
28 GND
27 VB A T2
26 D IO5
9 R FO
10 RFI
11 GN D
20 NC
19 RESET
18 XTB
17 XTA
16 VR_DIG
15 VR_ANA
14 GND
13 VBAT1
12 VR_PA
D IO4
D IO3
D IO2
DIO1
D IO0
Figure 2. SX1238 Pin Diagram
1238
yyww
xxxxxx
zzzzzz
Figure 3. Marking Diagram
Notes: All package marking to be aligned about the vertical center line
Marking is for the 5 x 7 mm MLPQ 40 Lead package
nnnn
Indicates Part Number (Example 1238)
yyww
indicates the date code (Example 0252)
xxxxxx
Semtech Lot No. for TL356 (Example 090101)
zzzzzz
Semtech Lot No. (Example 01-100)
SX1238 Rev.2, June 2014
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SX1238
High Power Transceiver IC
WIRELESS, SENSING & TIMING
DATASHEET
1.3. Pin Description
Table 1
SX1238 Pinouts
Number
Name
Type
0
GROUND
-
Exposed ground pad
1
VDD2
-
LNA Voltage Supply
2
RX
O
LNA output (DC short to GND, use DC block)
3
VDD1
-
Driver stage Voltage Supply
4
MODE
I
Selects High or Low LNA Gain
5
RXEN
I
Enables Receive Mode
6
TXEN
I
Enables Transmit Mode
7
TX
I
PA Input (DC short to GND, use DC block)
8
RXTX
O
Rx/Tx switch control: high in Tx
9
RFO
O
RF output (connects to TX)
10
RFI
I
RF input (connects to RX LNA output)
11
GND
-
Ground
12
VR_PA
-
Regulated supply for the PA
13
VBAT1
-
Supply voltage
14
GND
-
Ground
15
VR_ANA
-
Regulated supply voltage for analogue circuitry
16
VR_DIG
-
Regulated supply voltage for digital blocks
17
XTA
I/O
XTAL connection or TCXO input
18
XTB
I/O
XTAL connection
19
RESET
I/O
Reset trigger input
20
NC
-
21
DIO0
I/O
Digital I/O, software configured
22
DIO1/DCLK
I/O
Digital I/O, software configured
23
DIO2/DATA
I/O
Digital I/O, software configured
24
DIO3
I/O
Digital I/O, software configured
25
DIO4
I/O
Digital I/O, software configured
26
DIO5
I/O
Digital I/O, software configured
27
VBAT2
-
Supply voltage
28
GND
-
Ground
29
SCK
I
SPI Clock input
30
MISO
O
SPI Data output
SX1238 Rev.2, June 2014
©2014 Semtech Corp.
Description
No Connection
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SX1238
High Power Transceiver IC
WIRELESS, SENSING & TIMING
DATASHEET
Number
Name
Type
31
MOSI
I
SPI Data input
32
NSS
I
SPI Chip select input
33
PDET
O
Analog voltage proportional to PA output power
34
PAout
-
Power Stage Output (connect inductor to Supply)
35
NC
-
No Connection
36
GND
-
Ground
37
ANT
I/O
38
IND
-
Antenna matching (connect inductor to GND)
39
GND
-
Ground
40
NC
-
No Connection
SX1238 Rev.2, June 2014
©2014 Semtech Corp.
Description
Antenna Port (DC short to GND, use DC block)
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SX1238
High Power Transceiver IC
WIRELESS, SENSING & TIMING
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2. Electrical Characteristics
2.1. ESD Notice
The SX1238 is a high performance radio frequency device. It satisfies:


Class 2 of the JEDEC standard JESD22-A114-B (Human Body Model) on all pins.
Class III of the JEDEC standard JESD22-C101C (Charged Device Model) on all pins
This part embeds a high performance RF Power Amplifier and as such might be permanently damaged by un-proper
handling. Industry-standard precautions should be taken to avoid ESD-related failures.
2.2. Absolute Maximum Ratings
Sustained operation at or above the Absolute Maximum Ratings for any one or combination of the below parameters may
result in permanent damage to the device and is not recommended. All maximum RF Input Power Ratings assume 50
Ohm Terminal Impedance.
Table 2
Absolute Maximum Ratings
Symbol
Description
Min
Max
Unit
VDDmr
Supply Voltage
-0.5
3.9
V
Tmr
Ambient Temperature*
-50
+95
°C
Tj
Junction temperature
-
+125
°C
Tst
Storage Ambient Temperature**
-50
+125
°C
Pant
ANT RF Input Level
-
+5
dBm
Ptx
TX, RF Input Level
-
+7
dBm
VCmr
RXEN, TXEN, MODE DC control voltage
-
3.9
V
*For part mounted on 4 layer board per JEDEC specification.
**No RF and DC Voltages Applied. Appropriate care required according to JEDEC Standards
2.3. Operating Range
Operating Range.1
Table 3
Symbol
1.
Description
Min
Max
Unit
VDDop
Supply voltage
2.7
3.6
V
Top
Operating Ambient Temperature*
-40
+85
°C
Clop
Load capacitance on digital ports (related only to outputs)
-
25
pF
For part mounted on 4 layer board per JEDEC specification.
SX1238 Rev.2, June 2014
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High Power Transceiver IC
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2.4. Chip Specification
The tables below give the electrical specifications of the transceiver under the following conditions: Supply voltage VBAT1=
VBAT2=VDDx=3.3 V, temperature = 25 °C, FXOSC = 32 MHz, FRF = 915 MHz, Pout = as indicated, 2-level FSK
modulation without pre-filtering, FDA = 5 kHz, Bit Rate = 4.8 kb/s and terminated in a matched 50 Ohm impedance, unless
otherwise specified. This specification is at room temperature.
2.4.1. Power Consumption
Table 4 Power Consumption Specification
Symbol
Description
Conditions
Min
Typ
Max
IDDSL
Supply current in Sleep mode
IDDIDLE
Unit
RXEN, TXEN = 0
-
1.1
2
uA
Supply current in Idle mode
RC oscillator enabled, RXEN, TXEN = 0
-
2
-
uA
IDDST
Supply current in Standby mode
Crystal oscillator enabled, RXEN, TXEN = 0
-
1.3
1.5
mA
IDDFS
Supply current in Synthesizer
mode
FSRx Modes; RXEN, TXEN = 0
-
4.5
-
mA
IDDR
Supply current in Receive mode
RXEN = 1, TXEN = 0, MODE = 0 (low gain)
RXEN = 1, TXEN = 0, MODE = 1 (high gain)
-
19.3
25.3
-
mA
mA
IDDT
Supply current in Transmit mode
Measured at Antenna Port
TXEN = 1
ANT = +27 dBm, (Saturation)
ANT = +26 dBm
ANT = +17 dBm
-
408
389
158
-
mA
mA
mA
2.4.2. Frequency Synthesis
Table 5 Frequency Synthesizer Specification
Symbol
Description
Conditions
Min
Typ
Max
FR
Synthesizer frequency range
Programmable
863
-
928
MHz
FXOSC
Crystal oscillator frequency
See section [7.1]
-
32
-
MHz
TS_OSC
Crystal oscillator wake-up time
-
250
500
us
TS_FS
Frequency synthesizer wake-up
time to PllLock signal
-
60
-
us
TS_HOP
Frequency synthesizer hop time at
most 10 kHz away from the target
frequency
-
20
20
50
50
50
50
50
-
us
us
us
us
us
us
us
FSTEP
Frequency synthesizer step
FSTEP = FXOSC/219
-
61.0
-
Hz
FRC
RC Oscillator frequency
After calibration
-
62.5
-
kHz
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©2014 Semtech Corp.
From Standby mode
200 kHz step
1 MHz step
5 MHz step
7 MHz step
12 MHz step
20 MHz step
25 MHz step
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High Power Transceiver IC
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BRF
Bit rate, FSK
Programmable (1)
1.2
-
300
kbps
BRO
Bit rate, OOK
Programmable
1.2
-
32.768
kbps
BRA
Bit Rate Accuracy
ABS (wanted BR - available BR)
-
-
250
ppm
FDA
Frequency deviation, FSK (1)
Programmable
FDA + BRF/2 =< 250 kHz
0.6
-
200
kHz
Note:
For Maximum Bit rate the maximum modulation index is 1.
2.4.3. Receiver
All receiver tests are performed with RxBw = 10 kHz (Single Side Bandwidth) as programmed in RegRxBw, receiving a
PN15 sequence. Sensitivities are reported for a 0.1% BER (with Bit Synchronizer enabled), unless otherwise specified.
Blocking tests are performed with an unmodulated interferer. The wanted signal power for the Blocking Immunity, ACR,
IIP2, IIP3 and AMR tests is set 3 dB above the receiver sensitivity level.
Table 6
Receiver Specification
Symbol
Description
Conditions
Min
Typ
Max
RFS_F
FSK sensitivity, highest LNA gain
RFS_O
OOK sensitivity, highest LNA
gain****
CCR
Co-Channel Rejection
ACR
Adjacent Channel Rejection
BI
FDA = 5 kHz, BR = 1.2 kb/s
FDA = 5 kHz, BR = 4.8 kb/s
FDA = 40 kHz, BR = 38.4 kb/s*
FDA = 20 kHz, BR = 38.4 kb/s**
FDA = 62.5 kHz, BR = 250 kb/s***
-
-124
-119
-109
-110
-96
-
dBm
dBm
dBm
dBm
dBm
BR = 4.8 kb/s
BR = 32 kb/s
-
-121
-112
-
dBm
dBm
-
-8
-
dB
Offset = +/- 25 kHz
Offset = +/- 50 kHz
-
50
50
-
dB
dB
Blocking Immunity
Offset = +/- 1 MHz
Offset = +/- 2 MHz
Offset = +/- 10 MHz
-
73
78
87
-
dB
dB
dB
AMR
AM Rejection , AM modulated
interferer with 100% modulation
depth, fm = 1 kHz, square
Offset = +/- 1 MHz
Offset = +/- 2 MHz
Offset = +/- 10 MHz
-
73
78
87
-
dB
dB
dB
IIP2
2nd order Input Intercept Point
Unwanted tones are 20 MHz
above the LO
Highest LNA gain****
-
+44
-
dBm
IIP3
3rd order Input Intercept point
Unwanted tones are 1MHz and
1.995 MHz above the LO
Highest LNA gain****
-
-25
-
dBm
BW_SSB
Single Side channel filter BW
2.7
-
250
kHz
IMR
Image rejection
35
48
-
dB
SX1238 Rev.2, June 2014
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Programmable
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TS_RE
Receiver wake-up time, from PLL
locked state to RxReady
RXBw = 10 kHz, BR = 4.8 kb/s
RXBw = 250 kHz, BR = 100 kb/s
-
9
9
-
Tbit
Tbit
TS_RE_AGC
Receiver wake-up time, from PLL
locked state, AGC enabled
RxBw = 10 kHz, BR = 4.8 kb/s
RxBw = 250 kHz, BR = 100 kb/s
-
14
19
-
Tbit
Tbit
TS_RE_AGC
&AFC
Receiver wake-up time, from PLL
lock state, AGC and AFC enabled
RxBw = 10 kHz, BR = 4.8 kb/s
RxBw = 250 kHz, BR = 100 kb/s
-
23
29
-
Tbit
Tbit
TS_FEI
FEI sampling time
Receiver is ready
-
4
-
Tbit
TS_AFC
AFC Response Time
Receiver is ready
-
4
-
Tbit
TS_RSSI
RSSI Response Time
Receiver is ready (fs = 4*RxBw)
2
-
256
1/fs
DR_RSSI
RSSI Dynamic Range
AGC enabled
MODE = 1
-
-140
-13
-
dBm
dBm
*
RxBw = 80 kHz (Single Side Bandwidth)
**
RxBw = 50 kHz (Single Side Bandwidth)
***
RxBw = 250 kHz (Single Side Bandwidth)
****
Highest LNA gain: MODE = 1, RX Gain Setting G1 (001)
Min
Max
2.4.4. Transmitter
Table 7
Transmitter Specification
Symbol
Description
Conditions
Min
Typ
Max
RF_OP*
RF output power in 50 ohms
on ANT pin (High Power PA).
Maximum power output achieved
when PAO set to 10 dBm or greater
+26
+27
-
dBm
-
3
-
dB
-
+/-1
-
dB
ΔRF_
OP_V
RF output power stability on
ANT pin versus voltage supply
(into 50 Ohm load)
VDD = 2.7 V to 3.6 V
ΔRF_T
RF output power stability versus
temperature on both RF pins.
(into 50 Ohm load)
From T = -40 °C to +85 °C
VSWRstb
VSWR for stability
VSWR mismatch applied to ant port
6:1
VSWRdm
VSWR for damage
VSWR mismatch applied to ant port
10:1
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PHN
Transmitter Phase Noise
DATASHEET
Low Consumption PLL
50kHz Offset
400kHz Offset
1MHz Offset
-
-102
-114
-120
-
dBc/
Hz
50kHz Offset
400kHz Offset
1MHz Offset
-
-106
-117
-122
-
dBc/
Hz
-
120
-
us
Low Phase Noise PLL
TS_TR
Transmitter wake up time, to the
first rising edge of DCLK
Frequency Synthesizer enabled,
PaRamp = 10us, BR = 4.8 kb/s
*
Maximum input power at TX port (pin 7)must not exceed +7dBm. This can be accomplished by incorporating an
attenuator in the interstage network. See reference design, Figure 39.
2.4.5. Front End Control
RXEN
MODE
TXEN
Shutdown
Receive
Low Gain
Receive
High Gain
Transmit
Figure 4. Front End Control Signal Timing Diagram*
*For safe operation, please allow at least 1us between any mode change.
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Table 8
DATASHEET
Front End Control Signal Table
TXEN
RXEN
MODE
Operating Conditions
0
0
X
Shut Down
0
1
0
RX Active, Low Gain
Mode
0
1
1
RX Active, High
1
X
X
TX Active
2.4.6. Digital Specification
Conditions: Temp = 25°C, VDD = 3.3V, FXOSC = 32 MHz, unless otherwise specified.
Note: VDD must be applied before any voltage applied to Digital Input
Table 9
Digital Specification
Symbol
Description
VIH
Min
Typ
Max
Unit
Digital input level high
0.8
-
-
VDD
VIL
Digital input level low
-
-
0.3
V
VOH
Digital output level high
Imax = 1 mA
0.9
-
-
VDD
VOL
Digital output level low
Imax = -1 mA
-
-
0.1
VDD
FSCK
SCK frequency
-
-
10
MHz
tch
SCK high time
50
-
-
ns
tcl
SCK low time
50
-
-
ns
trise
SCK rise time
-
5
-
ns
tfall
SCK fall time
-
5
-
ns
tsetup
MOSI setup time
from MOSI change to SCK rising
edge
30
-
-
ns
thold
MOSI hold time
from SCK rising edge to MOSI
change
20
-
-
ns
tnsetup
NSS setup time
from NSS falling edge to SCK rising
edge
30
-
-
ns
tnhold
NSS hold time
from SCK falling edge to NSS rising
edge, normal mode
100
-
-
ns
tnhigh
NSS high time between SPI
accesses
20
-
-
ns
T_DATA
DATA hold and setup time
250
-
-
ns
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3. Chip Description
This section describes in depth the architecture of the SX1238 low-power, highly integrated transceiver. The following
figure shows a simplified block diagram of the SX1238.
RX EN
VDD2
M ODE
RX
VBAT1
RFI
VBAT2 VR_ANA VR_DIG
POW ER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM
LNA2
ADCI
(sigma-delta)
ADCQ
(sigma-delta)
Decimation
ANT
mixing
filtering
RX Chain
RSSI
AFC
IND
control
PA2
PA0
Registers SPI Interface
ADC_TOP
Packet Handling/FIFO
M IXER
Single to diff
demod/sync
LNA1
RXTX
NSS
M ISO
M OSI
SCK
IRQ (5:0)
PLL
PA_REG
TX EN
PAout VDD1
TX
RFO VR_PA
XTAL OSC
Tx DAC
RX OSC
filtering
TX Chain
XTA XTB
GND RESET
GND
Figure 5. Simplified SX1238 Block Schematic Diagram
SX1238 is a half-duplex, low-IF transceiver. Here the received RF signal at the ANT port is amplified by LNA1 when RXEN
is enabled. The MODE selects high or low LNA1 gain. LNA1 output passes through an external filter/matching network,
then enters LNA2. Both LNA1 and LNA2 inputs are single ended to minimize the external BoM and for ease of design.
Following LNA2 output, the conversion to differential is made internally to improve the second order linearity and harmonic
rejection. The signal is then down-converted to in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) components at the intermediate frequency
(IF) by the mixer stage. A pair of sigma delta ADCs then perform data conversion, with all subsequent signal processing
and demodulation performed in the digital domain. The digital state machine also controls the automatic frequency
correction (AFC), received signal strength indicator (RSSI) and automatic gain control (AGC). It also features the higherlevel packet and protocol level functionality of the top level sequencer.
In the receiver operating mode two states of functionality are defined. Upon initial transition to receiver operating mode the
receiver is in the ‘receiver-enabled’ state. In this state the receiver awaits for either the user defined valid preamble or RSSI
detection criterion to be fulfilled. Once met the receiver enters ‘receiver-active’ state. In this second state the received
signal is processed by the packet engine and top level sequencer.
The frequency synthesizer generates the local oscillator (LO) frequency for both receiver and transmitter. The PLL is
optimized for user-transparent low lock time and fast auto-calibrating operation. In transmission, frequency modulation is
performed digitally within the PLL bandwidth. It also features optional pre-filtering of the bit stream to improve spectral
purity.
The SX1238 features a pair of RF power amplifiers. The first, PA0, connected to RFO, passes through a filter/bias network
then enters PA2 input connected to TX. PA2 output is connected to the T/R switch and can deliver up to +27 dBm to the
ANT port directly into a 50 Ohm load when the TXEN is enabled. The PDET provides an analog DC voltage proportional to
PA2 output power.
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The SX1238 also includes two timing references: an internal RC oscillator and a 32 MHz crystal oscillator.
All major parameters of the RF front end and digital state machine are fully configurable via an SPI interface which gives
access to internal registers. This includes a mode auto sequencer that oversees the transition and calibration of the
SX1238 between intermediate modes of operation in the fastest time possible.
3.1. Power Supply Strategy
The SX1238 employs an advanced power supply scheme, which provides stable operating characteristics over the full
temperature and voltage range of operation. The SX1238 can be powered from any low-noise voltage source via pins
VBAT, VBAT2, VDD1, and VDD2. It is mandatory that PAout be connected to the voltage source through an inductor.
Decoupling capacitors should be connected, as suggested in the reference design, including VR_PA, VR_DIG and
VR_ANA pins to ensure a correct operation of the built-in voltage regulators. A 2.2uF (min) capacitor should be used to
bypass the main supply.
3.2. Low Battery Detector
A low battery detector is also included allowing the generation of an interrupt signal in response to passing a
programmable threshold adjustable through the register RegLowBat. The interrupt signal can be mapped to any of the DIO
pins, by programming RegDioMapping.
3.3. Frequency Synthesis
3.3.1. Reference Oscillator
The crystal oscillator is the main timing reference of the SX1238. It is used as a reference for the frequency synthesizer
and as a clock for the digital processing.
The XO startup time, TS_OSC, depends on the actual XTAL being connected on pins XTA and XTB. The SX1238
optimizes the startup time and automatically triggers the PLL when the XO signal is stable.
An external clock can be used to replace the crystal oscillator, for instance a tight tolerance TCXO. To do so, TcxoInputOn
in RegTcxo should be set to 1, and the external clock has to be provided on XTA (pin 4). XTB (pin 5) should be left open.
The peak-peak amplitude of the input signal must never exceed 1.8 V. Please consult your TCXO supplier for an
appropriate value of decoupling capacitor, CD.
XTA
XTB
NC
TCXO
32 MHz
OP
Vcc
GND
Vcc
CD
Figure 6. TCXO Connection
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3.3.2. CLKOUT Output
The reference frequency, or a fraction of it, can be provided on DIO5 (pin 12) by modifying bits ClkOut in RegDioMapping2.
Two typical applications of the CLKOUT output include:

To provide a clock output for a companion processor, thus saving the cost of an additional oscillator. CLKOUT can be
made available in any operation mode except Sleep mode and is automatically enabled at power on reset.

To provide an oscillator reference output. Measurement of the CLKOUT signal enables simple software trimming of the
initial crystal tolerance.
Note:
To minimize the current consumption of the SX1238, please ensure that the CLKOUT signal is disabled when not
required.
3.3.3. PLL Architecture
The local oscillator of the SX1238 is derived from a fractional-N PLL that is referenced to the crystal oscillator circuit. Two
PLLs are available for transmit mode operation - either low phase noise or low current consumption to maximize either
transmit power consumption or transmit spectral purity. Both PLLs feature a programmable bandwidth setting where one of
four discrete preset bandwidths may be accessed. For reference the relative performance of both low consumption and low
phase noise PLL, for each programmable bandwidth setting, is shown in the following figure.
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Figure 7. Typical Phase Noise Performances of the Low Consumption and Low Phase Noise PLLs.
Note:
In receive mode, only the low consumption PLL is available.
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The SX1238 PLL embeds a 19-bit sigma-delta modulator and its frequency resolution, constant over the whole frequency
range, and is given by:
F XOSC
F STEP = --------------19
2
The carrier frequency is programmed through RegFrf, split across addresses 0x06 to 0x08:
F RF = F STEP × Frf (23,0)
Note:
The Frf setting is split across 3 bytes. A change in the center frequency will only be taken into account when the
least significant byte FrfLsb in RegFrfLsb is written. This allows for more complex modulation schemes such as
m-ary FSK, where frequency modulation is achieved by changing the programmed RF frequency.
3.3.4. RC Oscillator
All timings in the low-power state of the Top Level Sequencer rely on the accuracy of the internal low-power RC oscillator.
This oscillator is automatically calibrated at the device power-up, and it is a user-transparent process.
For applications enduring large temperature variations, and for which the power supply is never removed, RC calibration
can be performed upon user request. RcCalStart in RegOsc triggers this calibration, and the flag RcCalDone will be set
automatically when the calibration is over.
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3.4. Transmitter Description
The transmitter of SX1238 comprises the frequency synthesizer, modulator and power amplifier blocks, together with the
DC biasing and ramping functionality that is provided through the VR_PA block.
3.4.1. Architecture Description
The architecture of the RF front end is shown in the following diagram. Here we see that the PA0 output on the RFO pin
features a single low power amplifier device. It connects to a high power amplifier that permits continuous operation up to
+27 dBm.
EXT FILTER
NETWORK
LNA
LNA
RX
RFI
RECEIVER CHAIN
ANT
PA
TX
PDET
RFO
LOCAL
OSCILLATOR
EXT FILTER/BIAS
NETWORK
Figure 8. RF Front-end Architecture Shows the Internal PA Configuration.
3.4.2. Bit Rate Setting
The bitrate setting is referenced to the crystal oscillator and provides a precise means of setting the bit (or equivalently
chip) rate of the radio. In continuous transmit mode (Section 3.2.2) the data stream to be transmitted can be input directly
to the modulator via pin 9 (DIO2/DATA) in an asynchronous manner, unless Gaussian filtering is used, in which case the
DCLK signal on pin 10 (DIO1/DCLK) is used to synchronize the data stream. See section [3.4.5] for details on the
Gaussian filter.
In Packet mode or in Continuous mode with Gaussian filtering enabled, the Bit Rate (BR) is controlled by bits Bitrate in
RegBitrateMsb and RegBitrateLsb.
FXOSC
BitRate = ------------------------------------------------------------------------BitrateFrac
BitRate (15,0) + ------------------------------16
Note:
BitrateFrac bits have no effect (i.e may be considered equal to 0) in OOK modulation mode.
The quantity BitrateFrac is hence designed to allow very high precision (max. 250 ppm calculation error) for any bitrate in
the programmable range. Table 10 below shows a range of standard bitrates and the accuracy to within which they may be
reached.
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Table 10 Bit Rate Examples
BitRate
(15:8)
BitRate
(7:0)
(G)FSK
(G)MSK
OOK
Actual Bit Rate
0x68
0x2B
1.2 kbps
1.2 kbps
1200.015
0x34
0x15
2.4 kbps
2.4 kbps
2400.060
0x1A
0x0B
4.8 kbps
4.8 kbps
4799.760
0x0D
0x05
9.6 kbps
9.6 kbps
9600.960
0x06
0x83
19.2 kbps
19.2 kbps
19196.16
0x03
0x41
38.4 kbps
38415.36
0x01
0xA1
76.8 kbps
76738.60
0x00
0xD0
153.6 kbps
153846.1
Classical modem baud rates
(multiples of 0.9 kbps)
0x02
0x2C
57.6 kbps
57553.95
0x01
0x16
115.2 kbps
115107.9
Round bit rates
(multiples of 12.5, 25 and
50 kbps)
0x0A
0x00
12.5 kbps
12.5 kbps
12500.00
0x05
0x00
25 kbps
25 kbps
25000.00
0x80
0x00
50 kbps
50000.00
0x01
0x40
100 kbps
100000.0
0x00
0xD5
150 kbps
150234.7
0x00
0xA0
200 kbps
200000.0
0x00
0x80
250 kbps
250000.0
0x00
0x6B
300 kbps
299065.4
0x03
0xD1
32.768 kbps
Type
Classical modem baud rates
(multiples of 1.2 kbps)
Watch Xtal frequency
32.768 kbps
32753.32
3.4.3. FSK Modulation
FSK modulation is performed inside the PLL bandwidth, by changing the fractional divider ratio in the feedback loop of the
PLL. The large resolution of the sigma-delta modulator, allows for very narrow frequency deviation. The frequency
deviation FDEV is given by:
F DEV = F STEP × Fdev (13,0)
To ensure a proper modulation, the following limit applies:
BR
F DEV + ------- ≤ ( 250 )kHz
2
Note
No constraint applies to the modulation index of the transmitter, but the frequency deviation must be set between
600 Hz and 200 kHz.
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3.4.4. OOK Modulation
OOK modulation is applied by switching on and off the Power Amplifier. Digital control and smoothing are available to
improve the transient power response of the OOK transmitter.
3.4.5. Modulation Shaping
Modulation shaping can be applied in both OOK and FSK modulation modes, to improve the narrowband response of the
transmitter. Both shaping features are controlled with PaRamp bits in RegPaRamp.

In FSK mode, a Gaussian filter with BT = 0.5 or 1 is used to filter the modulation stream, at the input of the sigma-delta
modulator. If the Gaussian filter is enabled when the SX1238 is in Continuous mode, DCLK signal on pin 10 (DIO1/
DCLK) will trigger an interrupt on the uC each time a new bit has to be transmitted. Please refer to section [5.4.2] for
details.

When OOK modulation is used, the PA0 bias voltages are ramped up and down smoothly when the PA is turned on and
off, to reduce spectral splatter.
Note
The transmitter must be restarted if the ModulationShaping setting is changed, in order to recalibrate the built-in
filter.
3.4.6. RF Power Amplifiers
Two power amplifier blocks are embedded in the SX1238. The first one, herein referred to as PA0, is output through the
RFO port (pin 9). The PA0 RF power is programmable between -1dBm and +13dBm. The RFO port is connected to the
high power PA2 input port, TX (pin 7), through an impedance matching network with an embedded resistive attenuator. The
nominal power setting for the PA0 port to achieve maximum power out of PA0 is +10 dBm. This provides an input power of
+3 dBm to the TX port. It is important to use the recommended 7dB attenuator in the matching network between the RFO
and TX ports to prevent damage to the TX input from excessive power. An application circuit showing a recommended
interstage network with this embedded attenuator is shown in Fig 39 Reference Design.
The high power PA2 output is connected through the T/R switch to the ANT pin and is active when TXEN is high. It can
deliver up to +27 dBm in programmable steps to the antenna, directly into a 50 Ohm load. Harmonic filtering is required to
ensure regulatory compliance. The RF power is programmable between a nominal +17 dBm and +27 dBm.
Table 11 Power Amplifier Mode Selection Truth Table
PaSelect
Mode
0*
PA0 output on pin RFO to drive PA2
1
Not defined
Power Range
+17 to +27 dBm
-
* TXEN must be high to enable PA2
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3.5. Receiver Description
3.5.1. Overview
The SX1238 features a digital receiver with the analog to digital conversion process being performed directly following the
LNA-Mixers block. The Low-IF receiver is able to handle ASK, OOK, (G)FSK and (G)MSK modulation. All the filtering,
demodulation, gain control, synchronization and packet handling is performed digitally, which allows a very wide range of
bit rates and frequency deviations to be selected. The receiver is also capable of automatic gain calibration to improve
precision on RSSI measurement and enhanced image rejection.
LNA2
ΣΔ
Single to Mixers Modulators
Differential
Channel
Filter
DC
Cancellation
RX RFI
Phase
Output
Module
Output
MODE
Local
Oscillator
CORDIC
FSK
Demodulator
RSSI
OOK
Demodulator
Processing
ANT T/R
SW
Rx reference
calibration
Decimator
LNA1
AFC
AGC
Figure 9. Receiver Block Diagram
3.5.2. LNA1, LNA2
The LNA1 precedes LNA2 and provides selection of two fixed gain settings. When MODE = 0, the low gain setting is 10 dB
and when MODE = 1, the high gain setting is 13 dB. The LNA1 output is connected to the LNA2 input through an external
matching network. LNA2 provides variable gain for AGC control.
3.5.3. Automatic Gain Control - AGC
The AGC feature allows receiver to handle a wide Rx input dynamic range from the sensitivity level up to maximum input
level of 0dBm or more, whilst optimizing the system linearity.
The automatic LNA gain control is effective by setting the bit AgcAutoOn to '1'. The automatic adjustment of the LNA2 gain
can be performed on the Rx input level (Pin) at receiver start up and/or during the Preamble reception. The automatic
adjustment of the LNA2 during the Preamble is effective by setting the bit AgcOnPreamble to '1' otherwise it will be
performed only at the receiver start up.
The LNA2 gain can also be manually selected using LnaGain bits and by disabling the automatic LNA2 gain control by
setting the AgcAutoOn bit to '0'.
Table 12, below, shows typical NF and IIP3 performance for the different LNA1 and LNA2 gains.
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Table 12 LNA1, LNA2 Gain Control and Receiver Performance
AgcStep1
G1
AgcStep2
G2
hr
es
Ag
cT
Ag
cT

AgcStep3
G3
IIP3
[dBm]
-25
-22
-23
-20
-18
-15
-18
-15
-3
0
-3
0
h4
h3
hr
es

h2


Ag
Ag
cT
h
cT
h
re
s
re
s
h1
Re
fe
re
C
AG

Towards
-125 dBm
NF
[dB]
3.3
4
3.9
5
5.5
7.2
12.5
15.3
20.1
23
30
33
Th
re
sh
5
001
001
010
010
011
011
100
100
110
110
111
111
Relative LNA1,2
Gain [dB]
0
-3
-3.9
-9
-12
-15
-24
-27
-26
-29
-48
-51
Ag
c
LnaGain
nc
e
Pin <= AgcThresh1
Pin <= AgcThresh1
AgcThresh1 < Pin <= AgcThresh2
AgcThresh1 < Pin <= AgcThresh2
AgcThresh2 < Pin <= AgcThresh3
AgcThresh2 < Pin <= AgcThresh3
AgcThresh3 < Pin <= AgcThresh4
AgcThresh3 < Pin <= AgcThresh4
AgcThresh4 < Pin <= AgcThresh5
AgcThresh4 < Pin <= AgcThresh5
AgcThresh5 < Pin
AgcThresh5 < Pin
LNA1
Gain
High
Low
High
Low
High
Low
High
Low
High
Low
High
Low

Gain
Setting
G1
G1
G2
G2
G3
G3
G4
G4
G5
G5
G6
G6
RF input level (Pin)
AgcStep4
AgcStep5
G4
G5
Higher Sensitivity
Lower Linearity
Lower Noise Figure
Pin [dBm]
G6
Lower Sensitivity
Higher Linearity
Higher Noise Figure
Figure 10. AGC Steps Definition
The global AGC reference, reference all AGC thresholds, is determined as follows:
AGC Reference[dBm]=-174dBm+10*log(2*RxBw)+SNR+AgcReferenceLevel
with SNR = 8dB, fixed value.
A detailed description of the receiver setup to enable the AGC is provided in section [3.3].
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3.5.4. RSSI
The RSSI value reflects the incoming signal power provided at antenna port within the receiver bandwidth. The signal
power is available in RssiValue. This value is absolute and its unit is in dBm with a resolution of 0.5dB. The formula
hereafter gives the relationship between the register value and the absolute input signal level in dBm at antenna port:
RssiValue = −2 ⋅ RF level [dBm ] + RssiOffset [dB ] + LNA _ 1
LNA_1 Gain selectable to be either 10 dB or 13 dB
The RSSI value can be compensated for to take into account the loss in the matching network or the gain of an additional
LNA, by using RssiOffset. The offset can be chosen in 1dB steps from -16 to +15dB. When compensation is applied, the
effective signal strength is read as follows:
RSSI [dBm] = −
RssiValue
2
The RSSI value is smoothed on a given number of measured RSSI samples. The precision of the RSSI value is related to
the number of RSSI samples used. RssiSmoothing selects the number of RSSI samples from a minimum of 2 samples up
to 256 samples in increments of power of 2. Table 13 hereafter gives the estimation of the RSSI accuracy for a 10dB SNR
and the response time versus the number of RSSI samples selected in RssiSmoothing.
Table 13 RssiSmoothing Options
RssiSmoothing
‘000’
‘001’
‘010’
‘011’
‘100’
‘101’
‘110’
‘111’
Number of Samples
2
4
8
16
32
64
128
256
Estimated Accuracy
± 6dB
± 5dB
± 4dB
± 3dB
± 2dB
± 1.5dB
± 1.2dB
± 1.1dB
Response Time
2 (RssiSmoothing +1)
[ms]
4 ⋅ RxBw[kHz ]
The RSSI is calibrated, up the RFI pin, when Image and Rssi calibration is launched; please see section [3.5.13] for details.
3.5.5. Channel Filter
The role of the channel filter is to filter out the noise and interferers outside of the channel. Channel filtering on the SX1238
is implemented with a 16-tap Finite Impulse Response (FIR) filter, providing an outstanding Adjacent Channel Rejection
performance, even for narrowband applications.
Note:
to respect oversampling rules in the decimation chain of the receiver, the Bit Rate cannot be set at a higher value
than 2 times the single-side receiver bandwidth (BitRate < 2 x RxBw).
The single-side channel filter bandwidth RxBw is controlled by the parameters RxBwMant and RxBwExp in RegRxBw:
FXOSC
RxBw = ----------------------------------------------------------------RxBwExp + 2
RxBwMant × 2
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The following channel filter bandwidths are accessible (oscillator is mandated at 32 MHz):
Table 14 Available RxBw Settings
RxBwMant
(binary/value)
RxBwExp
(decimal)
10b / 24
01b / 20
00b / 16
10b / 24
01b / 20
00b / 16
10b / 24
01b / 20
00b / 16
10b / 24
01b / 20
00b / 16
10b / 24
01b / 20
00b / 16
10b / 24
01b / 20
00b / 16
10b / 24
01b / 20
00b / 16
Other settings
7
7
7
6
6
6
5
5
5
4
4
4
3
3
3
2
2
2
1
1
1
RxBw (kHz)
FSK / OOK
2.6
3.1
3.9
5.2
6.3
7.8
10.4
12.5
15.6
20.8
25.0
31.3
41.7
50.0
62.5
83.3
100.0
125.0
166.7
200.0
250.0
reserved
3.5.6. FSK Demodulator
The FSK demodulator of the SX1238 is designed to demodulate FSK, GFSK, MSK and GMSK modulated signals. It is
most efficient when the modulation index of the signal is greater than 0.5 and below 10:
2 × F DEV
0.5 ≤ β = ---------------------- ≤ 10
BR
The output of the FSK demodulator can be fed to the Bit Synchronizer to provide the companion processor with a
synchronous data stream in Continuous mode.
3.5.7. OOK Demodulator
The OOK demodulator performs a comparison of the RSSI output and a threshold value. Three different threshold modes
are available, configured through bits OokThreshType in RegOokPeak.
The recommended mode of operation is the "Peak" threshold mode, illustrated in Figure 11:
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RSSI
[dBm]
‘’Peak -6dB’’ Threshold
‘’Floor’’ threshold defined by
OokFixedThresh
Noise floor of
receiver
Time
Zoom
Zoom
Decay in dB as defined in
OokPeakThreshStep
Fixed 6dB difference
Period as defined in
OokPeakThreshDec
Figure 11. OOK Peak Demodulator Description
In peak threshold mode, the comparison threshold level is the peak value of the RSSI, reduced by 6dB. In the absence of
an input signal, or during the reception of a logical "0", the acquired peak value is decremented by one
OokPeakThreshStep every OokPeakThreshDec period.
When the RSSI output is null for a long time (for instance after a long string of "0" received, or if no transmitter is present),
the peak threshold level will continue falling until it reaches the "Floor Threshold", programmed in OokFixedThresh.
The default settings of the OOK demodulator lead to the performance stated in the electrical specification. However, in
applications in which sudden signal drops are awaited during a reception, the three parameters should be optimized
accordingly.
3.5.7.1. Optimizing the Floor Threshold
OokFixedThresh determines the sensitivity of the OOK receiver, as it sets the comparison threshold for weak input signals
(i.e. those close to the noise floor). Significant sensitivity improvements can be generated if configured correctly.
Note that the noise floor of the receiver at the demodulator input depends on:




The noise figure of the receiver.
The gain of the receive chain from antenna to base band.
The matching - including SAW filter if any.
The bandwidth of the channel filters.
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It is therefore important to note that the setting of OokFixedThresh will be application dependent. The following procedure
is recommended to optimize OokFixedThresh.
Set SX1238 in OOK Rx mode
Adjust Bit Rate, Channel filter BW
Default OokFixedThresh setting
No input signal
Continuous Mode
Monitor DIO2/DATA pin
Increment
OokFixedThresh
Glitch activity
on DATA ?
Optimization complete
Figure 12. Floor Threshold Optimization
The new floor threshold value found during this test should be used for OOK reception with those receiver settings.
3.5.7.2. Optimizing OOK Demodulator for Fast Fading Signals
A sudden drop in signal strength can cause the bit error rate to increase. For applications where the expected signal drop
can be estimated, the following OOK demodulator parameters OokPeakThreshStep and OokPeakThreshDec can be
optimized as described below for a given number of threshold decrements per bit. Refer to RegOokPeak to access those
settings.
3.5.7.3. Alternative OOK Demodulator Threshold Modes
In addition to the Peak OOK threshold mode, the user can alternatively select two other types of threshold detectors:


Fixed Threshold: The value is selected through OokFixedThresh
Average Threshold: Data supplied by the RSSI block is averaged, and this operation mode should only be used with
DC-free encoded data.
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3.5.8. Bit Synchronizer
The Bit Synchronizer is a block that provides a clean and synchronized digital output, free of glitches. Its output is made
available on pin DIO1/DCLK in Continuous mode and can be disabled through register settings. However, for optimum
receiver performance, its use when running Continuous mode is strongly advised.
The Bit Synchronizer is automatically activated in Packet mode. Its bit rate is controlled by BitRateMsb and BitRateLsb in
RegBitrate.
Raw demodulator
output
(FSK or OOK)
DATA
BitSync Output
To pin DATA and
DCLK in continuous
mode
DCLK
Figure 13. Bit Synchronizer Description
To ensure correct operation of the Bit Synchronizer, the following conditions have to be satisfied:

A preamble (0x55 or 0xAA) of at least 12 bits is required for synchronization, the longer the synchronization the better
the packet error rate

The subsequent payload bit stream must have at least one transition form '0' to '1' or '1' to '0 every 16 bits during data
transmission

The bit rate matching between the transmitter and the receiver must be better than 6.5%.
3.5.9. Frequency Error Indicator
This function provides information about the frequency error of the local oscillator (LO) compared with the carrier frequency
of a modulated signal at the input of the receiver. When the FEI block is launched, the frequency error is measured and the
signed result is loaded in FeiValue in RegFei, in 2’s complement format. The time required for an FEI evaluation is 4 times
the bit period.
To ensure a proper behavior of the FEI:


The operation must be done during the reception of preamble
The sum of the frequency offset and the 20 dB signal bandwidth must be lower than the base band filter bandwidth.
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The 20 dB bandwidth of the signal can be evaluated as follows (double-side bandwidth):
BR
BW 20 dB = 2 ×  F DEV + -------

2
The frequency error, in Hz, can be calculated with the following formula:
FEI = F STEP × FeiValue
SX1238 in Rx mode
Preamble-modulated input signal
Signal level > Sensitivity
Set FeiStart
=1
FeiDone
=1
No
Yes
Read
FeiValue
Figure 14. FEI Process
3.5.10. AFC
The AFC is based on the FEI block, and therefore the same input signal and receiver setting conditions apply. When the
AFC procedure is done, AfcValue is directly subtracted to the register that defines the frequency of operation of the chip,
FRF. The AFC is executed each time the receiver is enabled, if AfcAutoOn = 1.
When the AFC is enabled (AfcAutoOn = 1), the user has the option to:


Clear the former AFC correction value, if AfcAutoClearOn = 1
Start the AFC evaluation from the previously corrected frequency. This may be useful in systems in which the LO keeps
on drifting in the “same direction”. Ageing compensation is a good example.
The SX1238 offers an alternate receiver bandwidth setting during the AFC phase, to accommodate large LO drifts. If the
user considers that the received signal may be out of the receiver bandwidth, a higher channel filter bandwidth can be
programmed in RegAfcBw, at the expense of the receiver noise floor, which will impact upon sensitivity.
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The FEI is valid only during preamble, and therefore the PreambleDetect flag can be used to validate the current FEI result
and add it to the AFC register. The link between PreambleDetect interrupt and the AFC is controlled by
StartDemodOnPreamble in RegRxConfig.
3.5.11. Preamble Detector
The Preamble Detector indicates the reception of a carrier modulated with a 0101...sequence. It is insensitive to the
frequency offset, as long as the receiver bandwidth is large enough. The size of detection can be programmed from 1 to 3
bytes with PreambleDetectorSize in RegPreambleDetect as defined in the next table.
Table 15 Preamble Detector Settings
PreambleDetectorSize
# of Bytes
00
1
01
2 (recommended)
10
3
11
reserved
For proper operation, PreambleDetectTol should be set to 10 (0x0A), with a qualifying preamble size of 2 bytes.
PreambleDetect interrupt (either in RegIrqFlags1 or mapped to a specific DIO) goes high every time a valid preamble is
detected, assuming PreambleDetectorOn=1.
The preamble detector can also be used to ensure that AFC and AGC are performed on valid preamble. See Figure 10 for
details.
3.5.12. Image Rejection Mixer
The SX1238 embeds a state of the art Image Rejection Mixer (IRM). Its default rejection, with no calibration, is 35dB typ.
The IQ signals can be calibrated by an embedded source, pushing the image rejection to typically 48dB. This process is
fully automated and self-contained.
3.5.13. Image and RSSI Calibration
Calibration of the I and Q signal is required to improve the RSSI precision, as well as good Image Rejection performance.
On the SX1238, IQ calibration is seamless and user-transparent. Calibration is launched:

Automatically at Power On Reset or after a Manual Reset of the chip (refer to section [7.2]). For applications where the
temperature remains stable, or if the Image Rejection is not a major concern, this one-shot calibration will suffice


Automatically when a pre-defined temperature change is observed
Upon User request, by setting bit ImageCalStart in RegImageCal
A selectable temperature change, set with TempThreshold (5, 10, 15 or 20°C), is detected and reported in TempChange, if
the temperature monitoring is turned On with TempMonitorOff=0.
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This interrupt flag can be used by the application to launch a new Image Calibration at a convenient time if
AutoImageCalOn=0, or immediately when this temperature variation is detected, if AutoImageCalOn=1.
The calibration process takes approximately 10ms.
3.6. Temperature Measurement
A stand alone temperature measurement block is used in order to measure the temperature in any mode except Sleep and
Standby. It is enabled by default, and can be stopped by setting TempMonitorOff to 1. The result of the measurement is
stored in TempValue in RegTemp.
Due to process variations, the absolute accuracy of the result is +/- 10 °C. A more precise result needs initial calibration to
be done externally.
Figure 15. Temperature Sensor Response
An example code for the conversion to be applied to TempValue to obtain the reading in °C is shown in Section [7].
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3.7. Timeout Function
The SX1238 includes a Timeout function, which allows it to automatically shut-down the receiver after a receive sequence
and therefore save energy.

Timeout interrupt is generated TimeoutRxRssi x 16 x Tbit after switching to Rx mode if the Rssi flag does not raise
within this time frame (RssiValue > RssiThreshold)

Timeout interrupt is generated TimeoutRxPreamble x 16 x Tbit after switching to Rx mode if the PreambleDetect flag
does not raise within this time frame

Timeout interrupt is generated TimeoutSignalSync x 16 x Tbit after switching to Rx mode if the SyncAddress flag does
not raise within this time frame
This timeout interrupt can be used to warn the companion processor to shut down the receiver and return to a lower power
mode. To become active, these timeouts must also be enabled by setting the correct RxTrigger parameters in
RegRxConfig:
Table 16 RxTrigger Settings to Enable Timeout Interrupts
Receiver
Triggering Event
None
Rssi Interrupt
PreambleDetect
Rssi Interrupt & PreambleDetect
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RxTrigger
(2:0)
000
001
110
111
Timeout on
Rssi
Off
Active
Off
Active
Page 34
Timeout on
Preamble
Off
Off
Active
Active
Timeout on
SyncAddress
Active
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4. Operating Modes
4.1. General Overview
The SX1238 has several working modes, manually programmed in RegOpMode. Fully automated mode selection, packet
transmission and reception is also possible using the Top Level Sequencer described in Section [4.5]. For proper
operation, it is important that the Front End is configured as described in Section [2.4.5]. Specifically, insure that in Transmit
mode, TXON = 1 and in Receive Mode, TXON = 0, RXON = 1, MODE = 0 or 1.
Table 17 Basic Transceiver Modes
Mode
Selected mode
Enabled blocks
000
Sleep mode
None
001
Standby mode
Top regulator and crystal oscillator
010
FSTx: Frequency synthesiser to Tx frequency
Frequency synthesizer at Tx frequency (Frf)
011
Transmit mode (Tx)
Frequency synthesizer and transmitter
100
FSRx: Frequency synthesiser to Rx frequency
Frequency synthesizer at frequency for reception (Frf-IF)
101
Receive mode (Rx)
Frequency synthesizer and receiver
When switching from a mode to another one, the sub-blocks are woken up according to a pre-defined and optimized
sequence.
4.2. Startup Times
The startup time of the transmitter or the receiver is dependant upon which mode the transceiver was in at the beginning.
For a complete description, Figure 16 below shows a complete startup process, from the lower power mode “Sleep”.
Current
Drain
IDDR (Rx) or IDDT (Tx)
IDDFS
IDDST
IDDSL
0
Timeline
TS_OSC
TS_OSC
+TS_FS
FSTx
Sleep
mode
TS_OSC
+TS_FS
+TS_TR
TS_OSC
+TS_FS
+TS_RE
Transmit
Stdby
mode
FSRx
Receive
Figure 16. Startup Process
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TS_OSC is the startup time of the crystal oscillator, and mainly depends on the characteristics of the crystal itself. TS_FS is
the startup time of the PLL, and it includes a systematic calibration of the VCO.
4.2.1. Transmitter Startup Time
The transmitter startup time, TS_TR, is calculated as follows, in when FSK modulation is selected:
1
TS _ TR = 5μs + 1.25 × PaRamp + × Tbit
2
,
where PaRamp is the ramp-up time programmed in RegPaRamp and Tbit is the bit time.
In OOK mode, this equation can be simplified to the following:
1
TS _ TR = 5μs + × Tbit
2
4.2.2. Receiver Startup Time
The receiver startup time, TS_RE, only depends upon the receiver bandwidth effective at the time of startup. When AFC is
enabled (AfcAutoOn=1), AfcBw should be used instead of RxBw to extract the receiver startup time:
Table 18 Receiver Startup Time Summary
RxBw if AfcAutoOn=0
RxBwAfc if AfcAutoOn=1
2.6 kHz
3.1 kHz
3.9 kHz
5.2 kHz
6.3 kHz
7.8 kHz
10.4 kHz
12.5 kHz
15.6 kHz
20.8 kHz
25.0 kHz
31.3 kHz
41.7 kHz
50.0 kHz
62.5 kHz
83.3 kHz
100.0 kHz
125.0 kHz
166.7 kHz
200.0 kHz
250.0 kHz
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TS_RE
(+/-5%)
2.33ms
1.94ms
1.56ms
1.18ms
984us
791us
601us
504us
407us
313us
264us
215us
169us
144us
119us
97us
84us
71us
85us
74us
63us
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TS_RE or later after setting the device in Receive mode, any incoming packet will be detected and demodulated by the
transceiver.
4.2.3. Time to RSSI Evaluation
The first RSSI sample will be available TS_RSSI after the receiver is ready, in other words TS_RE + TS_RSSI after the
receiver was requested to turn on.
Timeline
0
TS_RE
FSRx
TS_RE
+TS_RSSI
Rssi IRQ
Rssi sample
ready
Rx
Figure 17. Time to Rssi Sample
TS_RSSI depends on the receiver bandwidth, as well as the RssiSmoothing option that was selected. The formula used to
calculate TS_RSSI is provided in section [3.5.4].
4.2.4. Tx to Rx Turnaround Time
Timeline
0
TS_HOP
+TS_RE
Tx Mode
1. set new Frf (*)
2. set Rx mode
Rx Mode
(*) Optional
Figure 18. Tx to Rx Turnaround
Note
the SPI instruction times are omitted, as they can generally be very small as compared to other timings (up to
10MHz SPI clock)
4.2.5. Rx to Tx
Timeline
0
TS_HOP
+TS_TR
Rx Mode
1. set new Frf (*)
2. set Tx mode
Tx Mode
(*) Optional
Figure 19. Rx to Tx Turnaround
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4.2.6. Receiver Hopping, Rx to Rx
Two methods are possible:
First method
Timeline
0
TS_HOP
+TS_RE
Rx Mode,
Channel A
Rx Mode,
Channel B
1. set new Frf
2. set RestartRxWithPllLock
Second method
Timeline
0
~TS_HOP
Rx Mode,
Channel A
1. set FastHopOn=1
2. set new Frf (*)
3. wait for TS_HOP
Rx Mode,
Channel B
(*) RegFrfLsb must be written to
trigger a frequency change
Figure 20. Receiver Hopping
The second method is quicker, and should be used if a very quick RF sniffing mechanism is implemented.
4.2.7. Tx to Tx
Timeline
~PaRamp
+TS_HOP
0
Tx Mode,
Channel A
1. set new Frf (*)
2. set FSTx mode
~PaRamp
+TS_HOP
+TS_TR
FSTx
Set Tx mode
Tx Mode,
Channel B
Figure 21. Transmitter Hopping
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4.3. Receiver Startup Options
The SX1238 receiver can automatically control the gain of its receiver chain (AGC) and adjust its receiver LO frequency
(AFC). Those processes are carried out on a packet-by-packet basis, and they occur:


when the receiver is turned On

when the receiver is automatically restarted after the reception of a valid packet, or after a packet collision.
when the Receiver is restarted upon user request, through the use of trigger bits RestartRxWithoutPllLock or
RestartRxWithPllLock, in RegRxConfig.
Automatic restart capabilities are detailed in section [4.4].
Several receiver startup options are offered in the state machine of the SX1238, and they are described in Table 19:
Table 19 Receiver Startup Options
AgcAutoOn
AfcAutoOn
None
AGC
AGC & AFC
AGC
AGC & AFC
AGC
0
1
1
1
1
1
0
0
1
0
1
0
RxTrigger
(2:0)
000
001
001
110
110
111
AGC & AFC
1
1
111
Triggering Event Realized Function
None
Rssi Interrupt
PreambleDetect
Rssi Interrupt
&
PreambleDetect
When AgcAutoOn=0, the LNA gain is manually selected by choosing LnaGain bits in RegLna.
4.4. Receiver Restarting Methods
It may be useful to restart the receiver, for example to prepare for the reception of a new signal whose strength may widely
differ from the previous packet receiver, or whose carrier frequency may be different, required a new AFC. A few options
are proposed:
4.4.1. Restart Upon User Request
At any point in time, when the device is in Receive mode, the user can restart the receiver; this is particularly useful in
conjunction with the use of a Timeout, whereby the receiver would need restarting if it had not detected any incoming
packet after a few milliseconds of channel scanning. Two options are available:

No change in the Local Oscillator upon restart: the AFC is disabled, and the Frf register has not been changed through
SPI before the restart instruction: set bit RestartRxWithoutPllLock in RegRxConfig to 1.

Local Oscillator change upon restart: if AFC is enabled (AfcAutoOn=1), and/or the Frf register had been changed during
the last Rx period: set bit RestartRxWithPllLock in RegRxConfig to 1.
Note
ModeReady must be at logic level 1 for a new RestartRx command to be taken into account.
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4.4.2. Automatic Restart after valid Packet Reception
The bits AutoRestartRxMode in RegSyncConfig control the automatic restart feature of the SX1238 receiver, when a valid
packet has been received:

If AutoRestartRxMode = 00, the function is off, and the user should manually restart the receiver upon valid packet
reception (see section [4.4.1]).

If AutoRestartRxMode = 01, after the user has emptied the FIFO following a PayloadReady interrupt, the receiver will
automatically restart itself after a delay of InterPacketRxDelay, allowing for the distant transmitter to ramp down, hence
avoiding a false RSSI detection on the “tail” of the previous packet.

If AutoRestartRxMode = 10 should be used if the next reception is expected on a new frequency, i.e. Frf is changed
after the reception of the previous packet. An additional delay is systematically added, in order for the PLL to lock at a
new frequency.
4.4.3. Automatic Restart when Packet Collision is Detected
At any stage during reception, the receiver is able to spontaneously detect a packet collision, and restart itself. Collisions
are detected by a sudden rise in received signal strength, detected by the RSSI blocks. This function can be useful in star
network configurations, where a master node may be transmitted packet at random times, from different end-points located
at various distances.
The collision detector is enabled by setting bit RestartRxOnCollision to 1.
The decision to restart the receiver is based on the detection of RSSI change. The sensitivity of the system can be adjusted
in 1dB steps, with RssiCollisionThreshold in RegRxConfig.
4.5. Top Level Sequencer
Depending on the application, it is desirable to be able to change the mode of the circuit according to a predefined
sequence without access to the serial interface. Listen mode and Auto Modes as defined in SX1238 are example of such
predefined sequences. In order to define different sequences or scenarios a user-programmable state machine, called Top
Level Sequencer (Sequencer in short), can automatically control the chip modes.
The Sequencer is activated by setting SequencerStart in RegSeqConfig1 to 1 in Sleep or Standby mode.
It is also possible to force the Idle state of the Sequencer by setting SequencerStop to 1 at any time.
4.5.1. Sequencer States
The Sequencer takes control of the chip operation over 7 possible states:
Table 20 Sequencer States
Sequencer
State
Description
SequencerIdle State
The Sequencer is not activated. Sending a SequencerStart command will launch it.
Note: the Idle state of the Sequencer is independant of the actual chip Mode. For example, the
Sequencer can be Idle, whilst the chip is in Rx mode.
When coming from a LowPower request, the Sequencer will be Idle in Sleep mode.
WaitFifo State
The Sequencer waits for FifoThreshold interrupt before entering the Transmit state.
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Sequencer
State
Description
LowPower State
The chip is in low-power mode, either Standby or Sleep, as defined in SequencerLowPowerState. The
Sequencer waits only for the Timer1 interrupt.
Transmit State
The transmitter in on.
Receive State
The receiver in on.
PacketReceived State
The receiver is on and a packet has been received. It is stored in the FIFO.
ReceiveRestart State
The receiver is re-started, for example to start a new AGC and/or AFC after a valid packet reception.
4.5.2. Sequencer Transitions
The transitions between states are listed in the following table.
Table 21 Sequencer Transition Options
Variable
Transition
IdleMode
Selects the chip mode during Idle state:
0: Standby mode
1: Sleep mode
FromStart
Controls the Sequencer transition when the SequencerStart bit is set to 1 in Sleep or Standby mode:
00: to LowPowerSelection
01: to Receive state
10: to Transmit state
11: to Transmit state on a FifoThreshold interrupt
LowPowerSelection
Selects Sequencer LowPower state after a to LowPowerSelection transition
0: SequencerOff state with chip on Initial mode
1: Idle state with chip on Standby or Sleep mode depending on IdleMode
Note: Initial mode is the chip LowPower mode at Sequencer start.
FromIdle
Controls the Sequencer transition from the Idle state on a T1 interrupt:
0: to Transmit state
1: to Receive state
FromTransmit
Controls the Sequencer transition from the Transmit state:
0: to LowPowerSelection on a PacketSent interrupt
1: to Receive state on a PacketSent interrupt
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FromReceive
Controls the Sequencer transition from the Receive state:
000 and 111: unused
001: to PacketReceived state on a PayloadReady interrupt
010: to LowPowerSelection on a PayloadReady interrupt
011: to PacketReceived state on a CrcOk interrupt. If CRC is wrong (corrupted packet, with CRC on but
CrcAutoClearOn is off), the PayloadReady interrupt will drive the sequencer to RxTimeout state.
100: to SequencerOff state on a Rssi interrupt
101: to SequencerOff state on a SyncAddress interrupt
110: to SequencerOff state on a PreambleDetect interrupt
Irrespective of this setting, transition to LowPowerSelection on a T2 interrupt
FromRxTimeout
Controls the state-machine transition from the Receive state on a RxTimeout interrupt (and on
PayloadReady if FromReceive = 011):
00: to Receive state via ReceiveRestart
01: to Transmit state
10: to LowPowerSelection
11: to SequencerOff state
Note: RxTimeout interrupt is a TimeoutRxRssi, TimeoutRxPreamble or TimeoutSignalSync interrupt.
FromPacketReceived
Controls the state-machine transition from the PacketReceived state:
000: to SequencerOff state
001: to Transmit on a FifoEmpty interrupt
010: to LowPowerSelection
011: to Receive via FS mode, if frequency was changed
100: to Receive state (no frequency change)
4.5.3. Timers
Two timers (Timer1 and Timer2) are also available in order to define periodic sequences. These timers are used to
generate interrupts, which can trigger transitions of the Sequencer.
T1 interrupt is generated (Timer1Resolution * Timer1Coefficient) after T2 interrupt or SequencerStart. command.
T2 interrupt is generated (Timer2Resolution * Timer2Coefficient) after T1 interrupt.
The timers’ mechanism is summarized on the following diagram.
Sequencer Start
T2
interrupt
Timer1
Timer2
T1
interrupt
Figure 22. Timer1 and Timer2 Mechanism
Note
The timer sequence is completed independently of the actual Sequencer state. Thus, both timers need to be on to
achieve a periodic cycling.
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Table 22 Sequencer Timer Settings
Variable
Description
Timer1Resolution
Resolution of Timer1
00: disabled
01: 64 us
10: 4.1 ms
11: 262 ms
Timer2Resolution
Resolution of Timer2
00: disabled
01: 64 us
10: 4.1 ms
11: 262 ms
Timer1Coefficient
Multiplying coefficient for Timer1
Timer2Coefficient
Multiplying coefficient for Timer2
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4.5.4. Sequencer State Machine
The following graphs summarize every possible transition between each Sequencer state. The Sequencer states are
highlighted in grey. The transitions are represented by arrows. The condition activating them is described over the
transition arrow. For better readability, the start transitions are separated from the rest of the graph.
Transitory states are highlighted in light grey, and exit states are represented in red. It is also possible to force the
Sequencer off by setting the Stop bit in RegSeqConfig1 to 1 at any time.
Sequencer: Start transitions
Sequencer Off
&
Initial mode = Sleep or Standby
On SequencerStart bit rising edge
Start
On FifoThreshold
if FromStart = 11
If FromStart = 00
If FromStart = 01 If FromStart = 10
LowPower
Selection
Receive
Transmit
Sequencer: State machine
Standby if IdleMode = 0
Sleep if IdleMode = 1
If LowPowerSelection = 1
LowPower
Selection
If LowPowerSelection = 0
( Mode   Initial mode )
Sequencer Off
Idle
On T1 if FromIdle = 0
If FromPacketReceived = 000
On T1 if FromIdle = 1
If FromPacketReceived = 010
Packet
Received
On PayloadReady
if FromReceive = 010
On T2
On PayloadReady if FromReceive = 011
(CRC failed and CrcAutoClearOn=0)
On RxTimeout
If FromRxTimeout = 10
If FromPacketReceived = 100
Via FS mode if FromPacketReceived = 011
On PayloadReady if FromReceive = 001
On CrcOk if FromReceive = 011
Receive
On Rssi if FromReceive = 100
On SyncAdress if FromReceive = 101
On Preamble if FromReceive = 110
On PacketSent
if FromTransmit = 1
Via ReceiveRestart
if FromRxTimeout = 00
RxTimeout
If FromRxTimeout = 11
Transmit
On PacketSent
if FromTransmit = 0
Sequencer Off
If FromRxTimeout = 01
Figure 23. Sequencer State Machine
Use cases of the Top Sequencer are detailed in Section [7].
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5. Data Processing
5.1. Overview
5.1.1. Block Diagram
Figure 22 below illustrates the SX1238 data processing circuit. Its role is to interface the data to/from the modulator/
demodulator and the uC access points (SPI and DIO pins). It also controls all the configuration registers.
The circuit contains several control blocks which are described in the following paragraphs.
DIO0
DIO1
DIO2
DIO3
DIO4
DIO5
Tx/Rx
CONTROL
Data
Rx
SYNC
RECOG.
PACKET
HANDLER
FIFO
(+SR)
SPI
NSS
SCK
MOSI
MISO
Tx
Potential datapaths (data operation mode dependant)
Figure 24. SX1238 Data Processing Conceptual View
The SX1238 implements several data operation modes, each with their own data path through the data processing section.
Depending on the data operation mode selected, some control blocks are active whilst others remain disabled.
5.1.2. Data Operation Modes
The SX1238 has two different data operation modes selectable by the user:

Continuous mode: each bit transmitted or received is accessed in real time at the DIO2/DATA pin. This mode may be
used if adequate external signal processing is available.

Packet mode (recommended): user only provides/retrieves payload bytes to/from the FIFO. The packet is automatically
built with preamble, Sync word, and optional CRC and DC-free encoding schemes The reverse operation is performed
in reception. The uC processing overhead is hence significantly reduced compared to Continuous mode. Depending on
the optional features activated (CRC, etc) the maximum payload length is limited to 255, 2047 bytes or unlimited.
Each of these data operation modes is fully described in the following sections.
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5.2. Control Block Description
5.2.1. SPI Interface
The SPI interface gives access to the configuration register via a synchronous full-duplex protocol corresponding to CPOL
= 0 and CPHA = 0 in Motorola/Freescale nomenclature. Only the slave side is implemented.
Three access modes to the registers are provided:

SINGLE access: an address byte followed by a data byte is sent for a write access whereas an address byte is sent and
a read byte is received for the read access. The NSS pin goes low at the beginning of the frame and goes high after the
data byte.

BURST access: the address byte is followed by several data bytes. The address is automatically incremented internally
between each data byte. This mode is available for both read and write accesses. The NSS pin goes low at the
beginning of the frame and stay low between each byte. It goes high only after the last byte transfer.

FIFO access: if the address byte corresponds to the address of the FIFO, then succeeding data byte will address the
FIFO. The address is not automatically incremented but is memorized and does not need to be sent between each data
byte. The NSS pin goes low at the beginning of the frame and stay low between each byte. It goes high only after the
last byte transfer.
Figure 23 below shows a typical SPI single access to a register.
Figure 25. SPI Timing Diagram (single access)
MOSI is generated by the master on the falling edge of SCK and is sampled by the slave (i.e. this SPI interface) on the
rising edge of SCK. MISO is generated by the slave on the falling edge of SCK.
A transfer always starts by the NSS pin going low. MISO is high impedance when NSS is high.
The first byte is the address byte. It is made of:


wnr bit, which is 1 for write access and 0 for read access
7 bits of address, MSB first
The second byte is a data byte, either sent on MOSI by the master in case of a write access, or received by the master on
MISO in case of read access. The data byte is transmitted MSB first.
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Proceeding bytes may be sent on MOSI (for write access) or received on MISO (for read access) without rising NSS and
re-sending the address. In FIFO mode, if the address was the FIFO address then the bytes will be written / read at the
FIFO address. In Burst mode, if the address was not the FIFO address, then it is automatically incremented at each new
byte received.
The frame ends when NSS goes high. The next frame must start with an address byte. The SINGLE access mode is
actually a special case of FIFO / BURST mode with only 1 data byte transferred.
During the write access, the byte transferred from the slave to the master on the MISO line is the value of the written
register before the write operation.
5.2.2. FIFO
5.2.2.1. Overview and Shift Register (SR)
In packet mode of operation, both data to be transmitted and that has been received are stored in a configurable FIFO
(First In First Out) device. It is accessed via the SPI interface and provides several interrupts for transfer management.
The FIFO is 1 byte wide hence it only performs byte (parallel) operations, whereas the demodulator functions serially. A
shift register is therefore employed to interface the two devices. In transmit mode it takes bytes from the FIFO and outputs
them serially (MSB first) at the programmed bit rate to the modulator. Similarly, in Rx, the shift register gets bit by bit data
from the demodulator and writes them byte by byte to the FIFO. This is illustrated in Figure 26 below.
FIFO
byte1
byte0
8
Data Tx/Rx
SR (8bits)
1
MSB
LSB
Figure 26. FIFO and Shift Register (SR)
Note:
When switching to Sleep mode, the FIFO can only be used once the ModeReady flag is set (quasi immediate from
all modes except from Tx).
5.2.2.2. Size
The FIFO size is fixed to 64 bytes.
5.2.2.3. Interrupt Sources and Flags

FifoEmpty: FifoEmpty interrupt source is high when byte 0, i.e. whole FIFO, is empty. Otherwise it is low. Note that when
retrieving data from the FIFO, FifoEmpty is updated on NSS falling edge, i.e. when FifoEmpty is updated to low state
the currently started read operation must be completed. In other words, FifoEmpty state must be checked after each
read operation for a decision on the next one (FifoEmpty = 0: more byte(s) to read; FifoEmpty = 1: no more byte to
read).
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

FifoFull: FifoFull interrupt source is high when the last FIFO byte, i.e. the whole FIFO, is full. Otherwise it is low.


PacketSent: PacketSent interrupt source goes high when the SR's last bit has been sent.
FifoOverrunFlag: FifoOverrunFlag is set when a new byte is written by the user (in Tx or Standby modes) or the SR (in
Rx mode) while the FIFO is already full. Data is lost and the flag should be cleared by writing a 1, note that the FIFO will
also be cleared.
FifoLevel: Threshold can be programmed by FifoThreshold in RegFifoThresh. Its behavior is illustrated in figure 25
below.
FifoLevel
1
0
B
B+1
# of bytes in FIFO
Figure 27. FifoLevel IRQ Source Behavior
Notes: - FifoLevel interrupt is updated only after a read or write operation on the FIFO. Thus the interrupt cannot be
dynamically updated by only changing the FifoThreshold parameter.
- FifoLevel interrupt is valid as long as FifoFull does not occur. An empty FIFO will restore its normal operation.
5.2.2.4. FIFO Clearing
Table 23 below summarizes the status of the FIFO when switching between different modes.
Table 23 Status of FIFO when Switching Between Different Modes of the Chip
From
Stdby
Sleep
Stdby/Sleep
Stdby/Sleep
Rx
Rx
Tx
To
Sleep
Stdby
Tx
Rx
Tx
Stdby/Sleep
Any
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FIFO status
Not cleared
Not cleared
Not cleared
Cleared
Cleared
Not cleared
Cleared
Comments
To allow the user to write the FIFO in Stdby/Sleep before Tx
To allow the user to read FIFO in Stdby/Sleep mode after Rx
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5.2.3. Sync Word Recognition
5.2.3.1. Overview
Sync word recognition (also called Pattern recognition) is activated by setting SyncOn in RegSyncConfig. The bit
synchronizer must also be activated in Continuous mode (automatically done in Packet mode).
The block behaves like a shift register; it continuously compares the incoming data with its internally programmed Sync
word and sets SyncAddressMatch when a match is detected. This is illustrated in Figure 28 below.
Rx DATA
Bit N-x =
(NRZ)
Sync_value[x]
Bit N-1 =
Bit N =
Sync_value[1] Sync_value[0]
DCLK
SyncAddressMatch
Figure 28. Sync Word Recognition
During the comparison of the demodulated data, the first bit received is compared with bit 7 (MSB) of RegSyncValue1 and
the last bit received is compared with bit 0 (LSB) of the last byte whose address is determined by the length of the Sync
word.
When the programmed Sync word is detected the user can assume that this incoming packet is for the node and can be
processed accordingly.
SyncAddressMatch is cleared when leaving Rx or FIFO is emptied.
5.2.3.2. Configuration

Size: Sync word size can be set from 1 to 8 bytes (i.e. 8 to 64 bits) via SyncSize in RegSyncConfig. In Packet mode this
field is also used for Sync word generation in Tx mode.

Value: The Sync word value is configured in SyncValue(63:0). In Packet mode this field is also used for Sync word
generation in Tx mode.
Note:
SyncValue choices containing 0x00 bytes are not allowed.
5.2.4. Packet Handler
The packet handler is the block used in Packet mode. Its functionality is fully described in section [5.5].
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5.2.5. Control
The control block configures and controls the full chip's behavior according to the settings programmed in the configuration
registers.
5.3. Digital IO Pins Mapping
Six general purpose IO pins are available on the SX1238, and their configuration in Continuous or Packet mode is
controlled through RegDioMapping1 and RegDioMapping2.
Table 24 DIO Mapping, Continuous Mode
Mode
Diox
Mapping
00
01
10
11
00
DIO5
DIO4
DIO3
DIO2
DIO1
DIO0
ClkOut
-
-
-
-
01
10
11
ModeReady
TempChange/
LowBat
ModeReady
-
-
-
FSRx
or
FSTx
00
ClkOut
TempChange/
LowBat
-
-
-
-
01
10
11
PllLock
ModeReady
-
-
-
Rx
00
ClkOut
AutoMode
TempChange/
LowBat
Timeout
Data
Dclk
SyncAddress
01
PllLock
10
Rssi/
PreambleDetect
TimeOut
11
ModeReady
ModeReady
00
ClkOut
01
10
11
PllLock
ModeReady
TempChange/
LowBat
PllLock
ModeReady
Sleep
Stdby
Tx
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TempChange/
LowBat
PllLock
ModeReady
TempChange/
LowBat
PllLock
Rssi/
PreambleDetect
-
Data
Data
Rssi/
Rssi/
PreambleDetect PreambleDetect
RxReady
TempChange/
LowBat
-
Data
-
-
Data
Dclk
TxReady
TempChange/
LowBat
Data
Data
Data
0
0
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Table 25 DIO Mapping, Packet Mode
Mode
Diox
Mapping
00
01
10
11
DIO5
DIO4
DIO3
DIO2
DIO1
DIO0
-
-
FifoEmpty
FifoEmpty
FifoEmpty
FifoFull
FifoFull
FifoFull
FifoLevel
FifoEmpty
FifoFull
-
00
ClkOut
FifoEmpty
FifoFull
FifoLevel
01
10
11
ModeReady
TempChange/
LowBat
-
TempChange/
LowBat
-
FifoEmpty
FifoEmpty
FifoFull
FifoFull
FifoEmpty
FifoFull
-
FSRx
or
FSTx
00
ClkOut
FifoEmpty
FifoFull
FifoLevel
01
10
11
PllLock
ModeReady
FifoEmpty
FifoEmpty
FifoFull
FifoFull
FifoEmpty
FifoFull
-
Rx
00
ClkOut
FifoEmpty
FifoFull
FifoLevel
01
10
11
PllLock
Data
ModeReady
FifoEmpty
FifoEmpty
RxReady
Timeout
SyncAddress
FifoEmpty
FifoFull
-
00
ClkOut
FifoEmpty
FifoFull
FifoLevel
01
10
11
PllLock
Data
ModeReady
TxReady
FifoEmpty
FifoEmpty
FifoFull
FifoFull
FifoEmpty
FifoFull
-
Sleep
Stdby
Tx
Note:
TempChange/
LowBat
PllLock
TempChange/
LowBat
PllLock
Timeout
Rssi/
PreambleDetect
TempChange/
LowBat
PllLock
-
TempChange/
LowBat
TempChange/
LowBat
PayloadReady
CrcOk
TempChange/
LowBat
PacketSent
TempChange/
LowBat
Received Data is shown on the Data signal when RxReady arises.
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5.4. Continuous Mode
5.4.1. General Description
As illustrated in Figure 29, in Continuous mode the NRZ data to (from) the (de)modulator is directly accessed by the uC on
the bidirectional DIO2/DATA pin. The FIFO and packet handler are thus inactive.
DIO0
DIO1/DCLK
DIO2/DATA
DIO3
DIO4
DIO5
Tx/Rx
CONTROL
Data
Rx
SYNC
RECOG.
SPI
NSS
SCK
MOSI
MISO
Figure 29. Continuous Mode Conceptual View
5.4.2. Tx Processing
In Tx mode, a synchronous data clock for an external uC is provided on DIO1/DCLK pin. Clock timing with respect to the
data is illustrated in Figure 30. DATA is internally sampled on the rising edge of DCLK so the uC can change logic state
anytime outside the grayed out setup/hold zone.
T_DATA
T_DATA
DATA
(NRZ)
DCLK
Figure 30. Tx Processing in Continuous Mode
Note:
The use of DCLK is required when the modulation shaping is enabled (see section [3.4.5]).
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5.4.3. Rx Processing
If the bit synchronizer is disabled, the raw demodulator output is made directly available on DATA pin and no DCLK signal
is provided.
Conversely, if the bit synchronizer is enabled, synchronous cleaned data and clock are made available respectively on
DIO2/DATA and DIO1/DCLK pins. DATA is sampled on the rising edge of DCLK and updated on the falling edge as
illustrated below.
DATA (NRZ)
DCLK
Figure 31. Rx Processing in Continuous Mode
Note:
In Continuous mode, it is always recommended to enable the bit synchronizer to clean the DATA signal even if the
DCLK signal is not used by the uC (bit synchronizer is automatically enabled in Packet mode).
5.5. Packet Mode
5.5.1. General Description
In Packet mode the NRZ data to (from) the (de)modulator is not directly accessed by the uC but stored in the FIFO and
accessed via the SPI interface.
In addition, the SX1238 packet handler performs several packet oriented tasks such as Preamble and Sync word
generation, CRC calculation/check, whitening/dewhitening of data, Manchester encoding/decoding, address filtering, etc.
This simplifies software and reduces uC overhead by performing these repetitive tasks within the RF chip itself.
Another important feature is ability to fill and empty the FIFO in Sleep/Stdby mode, ensuring optimum power consumption
and adding more flexibility for the software.
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DIO0
DIO1
DIO2
DIO3
DIO4
DIO5
CONTROL
Data
Rx
SYNC
RECOG.
PACKET
HANDLER
FIFO
(+SR)
SPI
NSS
SCK
MOSI
MISO
Tx
Figure 32. Packet Mode Conceptual View
Note:
The Bit Synchronizer is automatically enabled in Packet mode.
5.5.2. Packet Format
5.5.2.1. Fixed Length Packet Format
Fixed length packet format is selected when bit PacketFormat is set to 0 and PayloadLength is set to any value greater
than 0.
In applications where the packet length is fixed in advance, this mode of operation may be of interest to minimize RF
overhead (no length byte field is required). All nodes, whether Tx only, Rx only, or Tx/Rx should be programmed with the
same packet length value.
The length of the payload is limited to 2047 bytes.
The length programmed in PayloadLength relates only to the payload which includes the message and the optional
address byte. In this mode, the payload must contain at least one byte, i.e. address or message byte.
An illustration of a fixed length packet is shown below. It contains the following fields:





Preamble (1010...)
Sync word (Network ID)
Optional Address byte (Node ID)
Message data
Optional 2-bytes CRC checksum
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Optional DC free data coding
CRC checksum calculation
Preamble
Sync Word
0 to 65536 bytes 0 to 8 bytes
Address
byte
Message
Up to 2047 bytes
CRC
2-bytes
Payload
(min 1 byte)
Fields added by the packet handler in Tx and processed and removed in Rx
Optional User provided fields which are part of the payload
Message part of the payload
Figure 33. Fixed Length Packet Format
5.5.2.2. Variable Length Packet Format
Variable length packet format is selected when bit PacketFormat is set to 1.
This mode is useful in applications where the length of the packet is not known in advance and can vary over time. It is then
necessary for the transmitter to send the length information together with each packet in order for the receiver to operate
properly.
In this mode the length of the payload, indicated by the length byte, is given by the first byte of the FIFO and is limited to
255 bytes. Note that the length byte itself is not included in its calculation. In this mode, the payload must contain at least 2
bytes, i.e. length + address or message byte.
An illustration of a variable length packet is shown below. It contains the following fields:






Preamble (1010...)
Sync word (Network ID)
Length byte
Optional Address byte (Node ID)
Message data
Optional 2-BytesCRC checksum
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Optional DC free data coding
CRC checksum calculation
Preamble
Sync Word
0 to 65536 bytes 0 to 8 bytes
Length
byte
Address
byte
Message
Up to 255 bytes
CRC
2-bytes
Payload
(min 2 bytes)
Fields added by the packet handler in Tx and processed and removed in Rx
Optional User provided fields which are part of the payload
Message part of the payload
Figure 34. Variable Length Packet Format
5.5.2.3. Unlimited Length Packet Format
Unlimited length packet format is selected when bit PacketFormat is set to 0 and PayloadLength is set to 0.
The user can then transmit and receive packet of arbitrary length and PayloadLength register is not used in Tx/Rx modes
for counting the length of the bytes transmitted/received.
In Tx the data is transmitted depending on the TxStartCondition bit. On the Rx side the data processing features like
Address filtering, Manchester encoding and data whitening are not available if the sync pattern length is set to zero
(SyncOn = 0). The filling of the FIFO in this case can be controlled by the bit FifoFillCondition. The CRC detection in Rx is
also not supported in this mode of the packet handler, however CRC generation in Tx is operational. The interrupts like
CrcOk & PayloadReady are not available either.
An unlimited length packet shown in Figure 33 is made up of the following fields:





Preamble (1010...).
Sync word (Network ID).
Optional Address byte (Node ID).
Message data
Optional 2-bytes CRC checksum (Tx only)
DC free Data encoding
Preamble
0 to 65535
bytes
Sync Word
0 to 8 bytes
Address
byte
Message
unlimited length
Payload
Fields added by the packet handler in Tx and processed and removed in Rx
Message part of the payload
Optional User provided fields which are part of the payload
Figure 35. Unlimited Length Packet Format
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5.5.3. Tx Processing
In Tx mode the packet handler dynamically builds the packet by performing the following operations on the payload
available in the FIFO:



Add a programmable number of preamble bytes

Optional DC-free encoding of the data (Manchester or whitening)
Add a programmable Sync word
Optionally calculating CRC over complete payload field (optional length byte + optional address byte + message) and
appending the 2 bytes checksum
Only the payload (including optional address and length fields) is required to be provided by the user in the FIFO.
The transmission of packet data is initiated by the Packet Handler only if the chip is in Tx mode and the transmission
condition defined by TxStartCondition is fulfilled. If transmission condition is not fulfilled then the packet handler transmits a
preamble sequence until the condition is met. This happens only if the preamble length /= 0, otherwise it transmits a zero or
one until the condition is met to transmit the packet data.
The transmission condition itself is defined as:

if TxStartCondition = 1, the packet handler waits until the first byte is written into the FIFO, then it starts sending the
preamble followed by the sync word and user payload

If TxStartCondition = 0, the packet handler waits until the number of bytes written in the FIFO is equal to the number
defined in RegFifoThresh + 1

If the condition for transmission was already fulfilled i.e. the FIFO was filled in Sleep/Stdby then the transmission of
packet starts immediately on enabling Tx
5.5.4. Rx Processing
In Rx mode the packet handler extracts the user payload to the FIFO by performing the following operations:





Receiving the preamble and stripping it off
Detecting the Sync word and stripping it off
Optional DC-free decoding of data
Optionally checking the address byte
Optionally checking CRC and reflecting the result on CrcOk.
Only the payload (including optional address and length fields) is made available in the FIFO.
When the Rx mode is enabled the demodulator receives the preamble followed by the detection of sync word. If fixed
length packet format is enabled then the number of bytes received as the payload is given by the PayloadLength
parameter.
In variable length mode the first byte received after the sync word is interpreted as the length of the received packet. The
internal length counter is initialized to this received length. The PayloadLength register is set to a value which is greater
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than the maximum expected length of the received packet. If the received length is greater than the maximum length stored
in PayloadLength register the packet is discarded otherwise the complete packet is received.
If the address check is enabled then the second byte received in case of variable length and first byte in case of fixed
length is the address byte. If the address matches with the one in the NodeAddress field, reception of the data continues
otherwise it is stopped. The CRC check is performed if CrcOn = 1 and the result is available in CrcOk indicating that the
CRC was successful. An interrupt (PayloadReady) is also generated on DIO0 as soon as the payload is available in the
FIFO. The payload available in the FIFO can also be read in Sleep/Standby mode.
If the CRC fails the PayloadReady interrupt is not generated and the FIFO is cleared. This function can be overridden by
setting CrcAutoClearOff = 1, forcing the availability of PayloadReady interrupt and the payload in the FIFO even if the CRC
fails.
5.5.5. Handling Large Packets
When PayloadLength exceeds FIFO size (64 bytes) whether in fixed, variable or unlimited length packet format, in addition
to PacketSent in Tx and PayloadReady or CrcOk in Rx, the FIFO interrupts/flags can be used as described below:

For Tx:
FIFO can be prefilled in Sleep/Standby but must be refilled "on-the-fly" during Tx with the rest of the payload.
1) Prefill FIFO (in Sleep/Standby first or directly in Tx mode) until FifoThreshold or FifoFull is set
2) In Tx, wait for FifoThreshold or FifoEmpty to be set (i.e. FIFO is nearly empty)
3) Write bytes into the FIFO until FifoThreshold or FifoFull is set.
4) Continue to step 2 until the entire message has been written to the FIFO (PacketSent will fire when the last bit of the
packet has been sent).

For Rx:
FIFO must be unfilled "on-the-fly" during Rx to prevent FIFO overrun.
1) Start reading bytes from the FIFO when FifoEmpty is cleared or FifoThreshold becomes set.
2) Suspend reading from the FIFO if FifoEmpty fires before all bytes of the message have been read
3) Continue to step 1 until PayloadReady or CrcOk fires
4) Read all remaining bytes from the FIFO either in Rx or Sleep/Standby mode
5.5.6. Packet Filtering
The SX1238 packet handler offers several mechanisms for packet filtering, ensuring that only useful packets are made
available to the uC, reducing significantly system power consumption and software complexity.
5.5.6.1. Sync Word Based
Sync word filtering/recognition is used for identifying the start of the payload and also for network identification. As
previously described, the Sync word recognition block is configured (size, value) in RegSyncConfig and RegSyncValue(i)
registers. This information is used, both for appending Sync word in Tx, and filtering packets in Rx.
Every received packet which does not start with this locally configured Sync word is automatically discarded and no
interrupt is generated.
When the Sync word is detected, payload reception automatically starts and SyncAddressMatch is asserted.
Note:
Sync Word values containing 0x00 byte(s) are forbidden.
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5.5.6.2. Address Based
Address filtering can be enabled via the AddressFiltering bits. It adds another level of filtering, above Sync word (i.e. Sync
must match first), typically useful in a multi-node networks where a network ID is shared between all nodes (Sync word)
and each node has its own ID (address).
Two address based filtering options are available:

AddressFiltering = 01: Received address field is compared with internal register NodeAddress. If they match then the
packet is accepted and processed, otherwise it is discarded.

AddressFiltering = 10: Received address field is compared with internal registers NodeAddress and BroadcastAddress.
If either is a match, the received packet is accepted and processed, otherwise it is discarded. This additional check with
a constant is useful for implementing broadcast in a multi-node networks.
Please note that the received address byte, as part of the payload, is not stripped off the packet and is made available in
the FIFO. In addition, NodeAddress and AddressFiltering only apply to Rx. On Tx side, if address filtering is expected, the
address byte should simply be put into the FIFO like any other byte of the payload.
As address filtering requires a Sync word match, both features share the same interrupt flag SyncAddressMatch.
5.5.6.3. Length Based
In variable length Packet mode, PayloadLength must be programmed with the maximum payload length permitted. If
received length byte is smaller than this maximum, then the packet is accepted and processed, otherwise it is discarded.
Please note that the received length byte, as part of the payload, is not stripped off the packet and is made available in the
FIFO.
To disable this function the user should set the value of the PayloadLength to 2047.
5.5.6.4. CRC Based
The CRC check is enabled by setting bit CrcOn in RegPacketConfig1. It is used for checking the integrity of the message.

On Tx side a two byte CRC checksum is calculated on the payload part of the packet and appended to the end of the
message

On Rx side the checksum is calculated on the received payload and compared with the two checksum bytes received.
The result of the comparison is stored in bit CrcOk.
By default, if the CRC check fails then the FIFO is automatically cleared and no interrupt is generated. This filtering function
can be disabled via CrcAutoClearOff bit and in this case, even if CRC fails, the FIFO is not cleared and only PayloadReady
interrupt goes high. Please note that in both cases, the two CRC checksum bytes are stripped off by the packet handler
and only the payload is made available in the FIFO.
Two CRC implementations are selected with bit CrcWhiteningType.
Table 26 CRC Description
Crc Type
CrcWhiteningType
CCITT
0 (default)
IBM
1
Polynomial
Seed Value
Complemented
+1
0x1D0F
Yes
X16 + X15 + X2 + 1
0xFFFF
No
X16
+
X12
+
X5
A C code implementation of each CRC type is proposed in Application Section [7].
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5.5.7. DC-Free Data Mechanisms
The payload to be transmitted may contain long sequences of 1's and 0's, which introduces a DC bias in the transmitted
signal. The radio signal thus produced has a non uniform power distribution over the occupied channel bandwidth. It also
introduces data dependencies in the normal operation of the demodulator. Thus it is useful if the transmitted data is random
and DC free.
For such purposes, two techniques are made available in the packet handler: Manchester encoding and data whitening.
Note:
Only one of the two methods can be enabled at a time.
5.5.7.1. Manchester Encoding
Manchester encoding/decoding is enabled if DcFree = 01 and can only be used in Packet mode.
The NRZ data is converted to Manchester code by coding '1' as "10" and '0' as "01".
In this case, the maximum chip rate is the maximum bit rate given in the specifications section and the actual bit rate is half
the chip rate.
Manchester encoding and decoding is only applied to the payload and CRC checksum while preamble and Sync word are
kept NRZ. However, the chip rate from preamble to CRC is the same and defined by BitRate in RegBitRate (Chip Rate =
Bit Rate NRZ = 2 x Bit Rate Manchester).
Manchester encoding/decoding is thus made transparent for the user, who still provides/retrieves NRZ data to/from the
FIFO.
1/BR ...Sync
RF chips @ BR
User/NRZ bits
Manchester OFF
User/NRZ bits
Manchester ON
1/BR
...
1
1
1
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
1
Payload...
0
1
1
0
1
0
...
...
1
1
1
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
1
0
...
...
1
1
1
0
1
0
0
1
0
1
0
1
1
1
t
...
Figure 36. Manchester Encoding/Decoding
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5.5.7.2. Data Whitening
Another technique called whitening or scrambling is widely used for randomizing the user data before radio transmission.
The data is whitened using a random sequence on the Tx side and de-whitened on the Rx side using the same sequence.
Comparing to Manchester technique it has the advantage of keeping NRZ data rate i.e. actual bit rate is not halved.
The whitening/de-whitening process is enabled if DcFree = 10. A 9-bit LFSR is used to generate a random sequence. The
payload and 2-byte CRC checksum is then XORed with this random sequence as shown below. The data is de-whitened
on the receiver side by XORing with the same random sequence.
Payload whitening/de-whitening is thus made transparent for the user, who still provides/retrieves NRZ data to/from the
FIFO.
L F S R P o ly n o m ia l = X 9 + X 5 + 1
X8
X7
X6
X5
X4
X3
T ran sm it d ata
X2
X1
X0
W hite ne d d ata
Figure 37. Data Whitening Polynomial
5.5.8. Beacon Tx Mode
In some short range wireless network topologies a repetitive message, also known as beacon, is transmitted periodically
by a transmitter. The Beacon Tx mode allows for the re-transmission of the same packet without having to fill the FIFO
multiple times with the same data.
When BeaconOn in RegPacketConfig2 is set to 1, the FIFO can be filled only once in Sleep or Stdby mode with the
required payload.
After a first transmission, FifoEmpty will go high as usual, but the FIFO content will be restored when the chip exits
Transmit mode. FifoEmpty, FifoFull and FifoLevel flags are also restored.
This feature is only available in Fixed packet format, with the Payload Length smaller than the FIFO size.
The Beacon Tx mode is exited by setting BeaconOn to 0, and clearing the FIFO by setting FifoOverrun to 1.
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6. Description of the Registers
6.1. Register Table Summary
Table 27 Registers Summary
Default
(recom
mended)
Reset
(built-in)
Address
Register Name
0x00
RegFifo
0x00
FIFO read/write access
0x01
RegOpMode
0x01
Operating modes of the transceiver
0x02
RegBitrateMsb
0x1A
Bit Rate setting, Most Significant Bits
0x03
RegBitrateLsb
0x0B
Bit Rate setting, Least Significant Bits
0x04
RegFdevMsb
0x00
Frequency Deviation setting, Most Significant Bits
0x05
RegFdevLsb
0x52
Frequency Deviation setting, Least Significant Bits
0x06
RegFrfMsb
0xE4
RF Carrier Frequency, Most Significant Bits
0x07
RegFrfMid
0xC0
RF Carrier Frequency, Intermediate Bits
0x08
RegFrfLsb
0x00
RF Carrier Frequency, Least Significant Bits
0x09
RegPaConfig
0x0F
PA selection and Output Power control
0x0A
RegPaRamp
0x19
Control of the PA ramp time in FSK, low phase noise PLL
0x0B
RegOcp
0x2B
Over Current Protection control
0x0C
RegLna
0x20
LNA settings
0x0D
RegRxConfig
0x08
Control of the AFC, AGC, Collision detector
0x0E
RegRssiConfig
0x02
RSSI-related settings
0x0F
RegRssiCollision
0x0A
RSSI setting of the Collision detector
0x10
RegRssiThresh
0xFF
RSSI Threshold control
0x11
RegRssiValue
-
0x12
RegRxBw
0x15
Channel Filter BW Control
0x13
RegAfcBw
0x0B
Channel Filter BW control during the AFC
0x14
RegOokPeak
0x28
OOK demodulator selection and control in peak mode
0x15
RegOokFix
0x0C
Fixed threshold control of the OOK demodulator
0x16
RegOokAvg
0x12
Average threshold control of the OOK demodulator
0x17
Reserved17
0x47
-
0x18
Reserved18
0x32
-
0x19
Reserved19
0x3E
-
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Description
RSSI value in dBm
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Default
(recom
mended)
Reset
(built-in)
Address
Register Name
0x1A
RegAfcFei
0x00
AFC and FEI control
0x1B
RegAfcMsb
0x00
MSB of the frequency correction of the AFC
0x1C
RegAfcLsb
0x00
LSB of the frequency correction of the AFC
0x1D
RegFeiMsb
0x00
MSB of the calculated frequency error
0x1E
RegFeiLsb
0x00
LSB of the calculated frequency error
0x1F
RegPreambleDetect
0x40
Settings of the Preamble Detector
0x20
RegRxTimeout1
0x00
Timeout duration between Rx request and RSSI detection
0x21
RegRxTimeout2
0x00
Timeout duration between RSSI detection and PayloadReady
0x22
RegRxTimeout3
0x00
Timeout duration between RSSI and SyncAddress
0x23
RegRxDelay
0x00
Delay between Rx cycles
0x24
RegOsc
0x05
RC Oscillators Settings, CLKOUT frequency
0x25
RegPreambleMsb
0x00
Preamble length, MSB
0x26
RegPreambleLsb
0x03
Preamble length, LSB
0x27
RegSyncConfig
0x93
Sync Word Recognition control
0x28-0x2F
RegSyncValue1-8
0x55
Sync Word bytes, 1 through 8
0x30
RegPacketConfig1
0x90
Packet mode settings
0x31
RegPacketConfig2
0x40
Packet mode settings
0x32
RegPayloadLength
0x40
Payload length setting
0x33
RegNodeAdrs
0x00
Node address
0x34
RegBroadcastAdrs
0x00
Broadcast address
0x35
RegFifoThresh
0x0F
Fifo threshold, Tx start condition
0x36
RegSeqConfig1
0x00
Top level Sequencer settings
0x37
RegSeqConfig2
0x00
Top level Sequencer settings
0x38
RegTimerResol
0x00
Timer 1 and 2 resolution control
0x39
RegTimer1Coef
0xF5
Timer 1 setting
0x3A
RegTimer2Coef
0x20
Timer 2 setting
0x3B
RegImageCal
0x82
Image calibration engine control
0x3C
RegTemp
-
0x3D
RegLowBat
0x02
Low Battery Indicator Settings
0x3E
RegIrqFlags1
0x80
Status register: PLL Lock state, Timeout, RSSI > Threshold...
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Temperature Sensor value
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Default
(recom
mended)
Reset
(built-in)
Address
Register Name
Description
0x3F
RegIrqFlags2
0x40
Status register: FIFO handling flags, Low Battery detection...
0x40
RegDioMapping1
0x00
Mapping of pins DIO0 to DIO3
0x41
RegDioMapping2
0x00
Mapping of pins DIO4 and DIO5, ClkOut frequency
0x42
RegVersion
0x21
Semtech ID relating the silicon revision
0x43
RegAgcRef
0x13
0x44
RegAgcThresh1
0x0E
0x45
RegAgcThresh2
0x5B
0x46
RegAgcThresh3
0xDB
0x58
RegTcxo
0x09
TCXO or XTAL input setting
0x5A
RegPaDac
0x84
Higher power settings of the PA
0x5C
RegPll
0xD0
Control of the PLL bandwidth
0x5E
RegPllLowPn
0xD0
Control of the Low Phase Noise PLL bandwidth
0x6C
RegFormerTemp
-
0x70
RegBitRateFrac
0x00
0x42 +
RegTest
-
Adjustment of the AGC thresholds
Stored temperature during the former IQ Calibration
Fractional part in the Bit Rate division ratio
Internal test registers. Do not overwrite
Notes: - Reset values are automatically refreshed in the chip at Power On Reset.
- Default values are the Semtech recommended register values, optimizing the device operation.
- Registers for which the Default value differs from the Reset value are denoted by a * in the tables of section 6.2.
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6.2. Register Map
Convention: r: read, w: write, p:pulse, x:trigger
Table 28 Register Map
Name
(Address)
RegFifo
(0x00)
Bits
Variable Name
Mode
Default
Value
7-0
Fifo
rwx
0x00
Description
FIFO data input/output
Registers for Common settings
RegOpMode
(0x01)
7
unused
r
0x00
unused
6-5
ModulationType
rw
0x00
Modulation scheme:
00  FSK
01  OOK
10 -11  reserved
4-3
ModulationShaping
rw
0x00
Data shaping:
In FSK:
00  no shaping
01  gaussian filter BT = 1.0
10  gaussian filter BT = 0.5
11  gaussian filter BT = 0.3
In OOK:
00  no shaping
01  filtering with fcutoff = bit_rate
10  filtering with fcutoff = 2*bit_rate (for bit_rate < 125 kb/s)
11  reserved
2-0
Mode
rwx
0x01
Transceiver modes
000  Sleep mode
001  Stdby mode
010  FS mode TX (FSTx)
011  Transmitter mode (Tx)
100  FS mode RX (FSRx)
101  Receiver mode (Rx)
110  reserved
111  reserved
RegBitrateMsb
(0x02)
7-0
BitRate(15:8)
rw
0x1a
MSB of Bit Rate (chip rate if Manchester encoding is enabled)
RegBitrateLsb
(0x03)
7-0
BitRate(7:0)
rw
0x0b
LSB of bit rate (chip rate if Manchester encoding is enabled)
FXOSC
BitRate = ------------------------------------------------------------------------BitrateFrac
BitRate (15,0) + ------------------------------16
Default value: 4.8 kb/s
RegFdevMsb
(0x04)
7-6
unused
r
0x00
unused
5-0
Fdev(13:8)
rw
0x00
MSB of the frequency deviation
RegFdevLsb
(0x05)
7-0
Fdev(7:0)
rw
0x52
LSB of the frequency deviation
Fdev = Fstep × Fdev (15,0)
Default value: 5 kHz
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Name
(Address)
DATASHEET
Bits
Variable Name
Mode
Default
Value
RegFrfMsb
(0x06)
7-0
Frf(23:16)
rw
0xe4
MSB of the RF carrier frequency
RegFrfMid
(0x07)
7-0
Frf(15:8)
rw
0xc0
MSB of the RF carrier frequency
RegFrfLsb
(0x08)
7-0
Frf(7:0)
rwx
0x00
LSB of RF carrier frequency
Description
Frf = Fstep × Frf ( 23 ;0 )
Default value: 915.000 MHz
The RF frequency is taken into account internally only when:
- entering FSRX/FSTX modes
- re-starting the receiver
Registers for the Transmitter
RegPaConfig
(0x09)
RegPaRamp
(0x0A)
7
PaSelect
rw
0x00
Selects PA output pin
0  RFO pin. Maximum power of +13 dBm
1  Not Defined
6-4
unused
r
0x00
unused
3-0
OutputPower
rw
0x0f
Output power setting, with 1dB steps
Pout = -1 + OutputPower [dBm] , on RFO pin
Pout = 20 + OutputPower [dBm] , on ANT pin*
* Note: compression occurs at 27 dBm
7-5
unused
r
-
4
LowPnTxPllOff
rw
0x01
Select a higher power, lower phase noise PLL only when the
transmitter is used:
0  Standard PLL used in Rx mode, Lower PN PLL in Tx
1  Standard PLL used in both Tx and Rx modes
3-0
PaRamp
rw
0x09
Rise/Fall time of ramp up/down in FSK
0000  3.4 ms
0001  2 ms
0010  1 ms
0011  500 us
0100  250 us
0101  125 us
0110  100 us
0111  62 us
1000  50 us
1001  40 us (d)
1010  31 us
1011  25 us
1100  20 us
1101  15 us
1110  12 us
1111  10 us
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High Power Transceiver IC
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Name
(Address)
RegOcp
(0x0B)
DATASHEET
Bits
Variable Name
Mode
Default
Value
7-6
unused
r
0x00
unused
5
OcpOn
rw
0x01
Enables overload current protection (OCP) for the PA:
0  OCP disabled
1  OCP enabled
4-0
OcpTrim
rw
0x0b
Trimming of OCP current:
Imax = 45+5*OcpTrim [mA] if OcpTrim <= 15 (120 mA) /
Imax = -30+10*OcpTrim [mA] if 15 < OcpTrim <= 27 (130 to
240 mA)
Imax = 240mA for higher settings
Default Imax = 100mA
Description
Registers for the Receiver
RegLna
(0x0C)
7-5
LnaGain
rwx
0x01
LNA gain setting:
000  reserved
001  G1 = highest gain
010  G2 = highest gain – 6 dB
011  G3 = highest gain – 12 dB
100  G4 = highest gain – 24 dB
101  G5 = highest gain – 36 dB
110  G6 = highest gain – 48 dB
111  reserved
Note:
Reading this address always returns the current LNA gain
(which may be different from what had been previously
selected if AGC is enabled.
4-2
-
r
0x00
unused
1-0
LnaBoost
rw
0x00
Improves the system Noise Figure at the expense of Rx
current consumption:
00  Default setting, meeting the specification
11  Improved sensitivity
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WIRELESS, SENSING & TIMING
Name
(Address)
DATASHEET
Bits
Variable Name
Mode
Default
Value
7
RestartRxOnCollision
rw
0x00
Turns on the mechanism restarting the receiver automatically
if it gets saturated or a packet collision is detected
0  No automatic Restart
1  Automatic restart On
6
RestartRxWithoutPllLock
wp
0x00
Triggers a manual Restart of the Receiver chain when set to 1.
Use this bit when there is no frequency change,
RestartRxWithPllLock otherwise.
5
RestartRxWithPllLock
wp
0x00
Triggers a manual Restart of the Receiver chain when set to 1.
Use this bit when there is a frequency change, requiring some
time for the PLL to re-lock.
4
AfcAutoOn
rw
0x00
0  No AFC performed at receiver startup
1  AFC is performed at each receiver startup
3
AgcAutoOn
rw
0x01
0  LNA gain forced by the LnaGain Setting
1  LNA gain is controlled by the AGC
2
AgcOnPreamble
rw
0x00
When set to 1, the AGC will adjust the LNA gain until the
preamble is detected, and fix LNA gain only when a Preamble
is detected. The size of the qualifying preamble is set in
PreambleDetectSize.
When set to 0, the AGC will adjust the LNA gain based on
RSSI information
1
StartDemodOnPreamble
rw
0x00
Condition required for the circuit to provide valid data to the
baseband
0
StartDemodOnRssi
rw
0x00
Condition required for the circuit to provide valid data to the
baseband
7-3
RssiOffset
rw
0x00
Signed RSSI offset, to compensate for the possible losses/
gains in the front-end (LNA, SAW filter...)
1dB / LSB, 2’s complement format
2-0
RssiSmoothing
rw
0x02
Defines the number of samples taken to average the RSSI
result:
000  2 samples used
001  4 samples used
010  8 samples used
011  16 samples used
100  32 samples used
101  64 samples used
110  128 samples used
111  256 samples used
RegRssiCollision
(0x0f)
7-0
RssiCollisionThreshold
rw
0x0a
Sets the threshold used to consider that an interferer is
detected, witnessing a packet collision. 1dB/LSB (only RSSI
increase)
Default: 10dB
RegRssiThresh
(0x10)
7-0
RssiThreshold
rw
0xff
RSSI trigger level for the Rssi interrupt :
- RssiThreshold / 2 [dBm]
RegRssiValue
(0x11)
7-0
RssiValue
rwx
-
RegRxConfig
(0x0d)
RegRssiConfig
(0x0e)
SX1238 Rev.2, June 2014
©2014 Semtech Corp.
Page 68
Description
Absolute value of the RSSI in dBm, 0.5dB steps.
RSSI = - RssiValue/2 [dBm]
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SX1238
High Power Transceiver IC
WIRELESS, SENSING & TIMING
Name
(Address)
DATASHEET
Bits
Variable Name
Mode
Default
Value
7
unused
r
-
6-5
reserved
rw
0x00
reserved
4-3
RxBwMant
rw
0x02
Channel filter bandwidth control:
00  RxBwMant = 16
10  RxBwMant = 24
01  RxBwMant = 20
11  reserved
2-0
RxBwExp
rw
0x05
Channel filter bandwidth control:
FSK Mode:
FXOSC
RxBw = ----------------------------------------------------------------RxBwExp + 2
RxBwMant × 2
7-5
reserved
rw
0x00
reserved
4-3
RxBwMantAfc
rw
0x01
RxBwMant parameter used during the AFC
2-0
RxBwExpAfc
rw
0x03
RxBwExp parameter used during the AFC
7-6
reserved
rw
0x00
reserved
5
BitSyncOn
rw
0x01
Enables the Bit Synchronizer.
0  Bit Sync disabled (not possible in Packet mode)
1  Bit Sync enabled
4-3
OokThreshType
rw
0x01
Selects the type of threshold in the OOK data slicer:
00  fixed threshold
10  average mode
11  reserved
01  peak mode (default)
2-0
OokPeakTheshStep
rw
0x00
Size of each decrement of the RSSI threshold in the OOK
demodulator:
000  0.5 dB
001  1.0 dB
010  1.5 dB
011  2.0 dB
100  3.0 dB
101  4.0 dB
110  5.0 dB
111  6.0 dB
RegOokFix
(0x15)
7-0
OokFixedThreshold
rw
0x0C Fixed threshold for the Data Slicer in OOK mode
Floor threshold for the Data Slicer in OOK when Peak mode is
used
RegOokAvg
(0x16)
7-5
OokPeakThreshDec
rw
0x00
Period of decrement of the RSSI threshold in the OOK
demodulator:
000  once per chip
001  once every 2 chips
010  once every 4 chips
011  once every 8 chips
100  twice in each chip
101  4 times in each chip
110  8 times in each chip 111  16 times in each chip
4
reserved
rw
0x01
reserved
3-2
OokAverageOffset
rw
0x00
Static offset added to the threshold in average mode in order
to reduce glitching activity (OOK only):
00  0.0 dB
10  4.0 dB
01  2.0 dB
11  6.0 dB
1-0
OokAverageThreshFilt
rw
0x02
Filter coefficients in average mode of the OOK demodulator:
00  fC ≈ chip rate / 32.π
01  fC ≈ chip rate / 8.π
10  fC ≈ chip rate / 4.π
11 fC ≈ chip rate / 2.π
RegRxBw
(0x12)
RegAfcBw
(0x13)
RegOokPeak
(0x14)
SX1238 Rev.2, June 2014
©2014 Semtech Corp.
Page 69
Description
unused
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SX1238
High Power Transceiver IC
WIRELESS, SENSING & TIMING
Name
(Address)
DATASHEET
Default
Value
Bits
Variable Name
Mode
RegRes17
to
RegRes19
7-0
reserved
rw
RegAfcFei
(0x1a)
7-5
unused
r
-
4
AgcStart
wp
0x00
Triggers an AGC sequence when set to 1.
3
reserved
rw
0x00
reserved
2
unused
-
-
1
AfcClear
wp
0x00
Clear AFC register set in Rx mode. Always reads 0.
0
AfcAutoClearOn
rw
0x00
Only valid if AfcAutoOn is set
0  AFC register is not cleared at the beginning of the
automatic AFC phase
1  AFC register is cleared at the beginning of the automatic
AFC phase
RegAfcMsb
(0x1b)
7-0
AfcValue(15:8)
rwx
0x00
MSB of the AfcValue, 2’s complement format. Can be used to
overwrite the current AFC value
RegAfcLsb
(0x1c)
7-0
AfcValue(7:0)
rwx
0x00
LSB of the AfcValue, 2’s complement format. Can be used to
overwrite the current AFC value
RegFeiMsb
(0x1d)
7-0
FeiValue(15:8)
rwx
-
MSB of the measured frequency offset, 2’s complement
RegFeiLsb
(0x1e)
7-0
FeiValue(7:0)
rwx
-
LSB of the measured frequency offset, 2’s complement
Frequency error = FeiValue x Fstep
RegPreambleDete
ct
(0x1f)
7
PreambleDetectorOn
rw
0x00
Enables Preamble detector when set to 1. The AGC settings
supersede this bit during the startup / AGC phase.
0  Turned off
1  Turned on
6-5
PreambleDetectorSize
rw
0x02
Number of Preamble bytes to detect to trigger an interrupt
00  1 byte
10  3 bytes
01  2 bytes
11  Reserved
4-0
PreambleDetectorTol
rw
0x00
Number or chip errors tolerated over PreambleDetectorSize.
4 chips per bit.
RegRxTimeout1
(0x20)
7-0
TimeoutRxRssi
rw
0x00
Timeout interrupt is generated TimeoutRxRssi*16*Tbit after
switching to Rx mode if Rssi interrupt doesn’t occur (i.e.
RssiValue > RssiThreshold)
0x00: TimeoutRxRssi is disabled
RegRxTimeout2
(0x21)
7-0
TimeoutRxPreamble
rw
0x00
Timeout interrupt is generated TimeoutRxPreamble*16*Tbit
after switching to Rx mode if Preamble interrupt doesn’t occur
0x00: TimeoutRxPreamble is disabled
RegRxTimeout3
(0x22)
7-0
TimeoutSignalSync
rw
0x00
Timeout interrupt is generated TimeoutSignalSync*16*Tbit
after the Rx mode is programmed, if SyncAddress doesn’t
occur
0x00: TimeoutSignalSync is disabled
SX1238 Rev.2, June 2014
©2014 Semtech Corp.
Description
0x47 reserved. Keep the Reset values.
0x32
0x3E
Page 70
unused
unused
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SX1238
High Power Transceiver IC
WIRELESS, SENSING & TIMING
Name
(Address)
RegRxDelay
(0x23)
DATASHEET
Bits
Variable Name
Mode
Default
Value
7-0
InterPacketRxDelay
rw
0x00
Description
Additional delay befopre an automatic receiver restart is
launched:
Delay = InterPacketRxDelay*4*Tbit
RC Oscillator Registers
RegOsc
(0x24)
7-4
unused
r
-
unused
3
RcCalStart
rwp
0x00
Triggers the calibration of the RC oscillator when set. Always
reads 0. RC calibration must be triggered in Standby mode.
2-0
ClkOut
rw
0x05
Selects CLKOUT frequency:
000  FXOSC
001  FXOSC / 2
010  FXOSC / 4
011  FXOSC / 8
100  FXOSC / 16
101  FXOSC / 32
110  RC (automatically enabled)
111  OFF
Packet Handling Registers
RegPreambleMsb
(0x25)
7-0
PreambleSize(15:8)
rw
0x00
Size of the preamble to be sent (from TxStartCondition
fulfilled). (MSB byte)
RegPreambleLsb
(0x26)
7-0
PreambleSize(7:0)
rw
0x03
Size of the preamble to be sent (from TxStartCondition
fulfilled). (LSB byte)
RegSyncConfig
(0x27)
7-6
AutoRestartRxMode
rw
0x02
Controls the automatic restart of the receiver after the
reception of a valid packet (PayloadReady or CrcOk):
00  Off
01  On, without waiting for the PLL to re-lock
10  On, wait for the PLL to lock (frequency changed)
11  reserved
5
PreamblePolarity
rw
0x00 Sets the polarity of the Preamble
0  0xAA (default)
1  0x55
4
SyncOn
rw
0x01
Enables the Sync word generation and detection:
0  Off
1  On
3
FifoFillCondition
rw
0x00
FIFO filling condition:
0  if SyncAddress interrupt occurs
1  as long as FifoFillCondition is set
2-0
SyncSize
rw
0x03
Size of the Sync word:
(SyncSize + 1) bytes, (SyncSize) bytes if ioHomeOn=1
RegSyncValue1
(0x28)
7-0
SyncValue(63:56)
rw
0x55
1st byte of Sync word. (MSB byte)
Used if SyncOn is set.
RegSyncValue2
(0x29)
7-0
SyncValue(55:48)
rw
0x55
2nd byte of Sync word
Used if SyncOn is set and (SyncSize +1) >= 2.
RegSyncValue3
(0x2a)
7-0
SyncValue(47:40)
rw
0x55
3rd byte of Sync word.
Used if SyncOn is set and (SyncSize +1) >= 3.
SX1238 Rev.2, June 2014
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Page 71
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SX1238
High Power Transceiver IC
WIRELESS, SENSING & TIMING
Name
(Address)
DATASHEET
Bits
Variable Name
Mode
Default
Value
RegSyncValue4
(0x2b)
7-0
SyncValue(39:32)
rw
0x55
4th byte of Sync word.
Used if SyncOn is set and (SyncSize +1) >= 4.
RegSyncValue5
(0x2c)
7-0
SyncValue(31:24)
rw
0x55
5th byte of Sync word.
Used if SyncOn is set and (SyncSize +1) >= 5.
RegSyncValue6
(0x2d)
7-0
SyncValue(23:16)
rw
0x55
6th byte of Sync word.
Used if SyncOn is set and (SyncSize +1) >= 6.
RegSyncValue7
(0x2e)
7-0
SyncValue(15:8)
rw
0x55
7th byte of Sync word.
Used if SyncOn is set and (SyncSize +1) >= 7.
RegSyncValue8
(0x2f)
7-0
SyncValue(7:0)
rw
0x55
8th byte of Sync word.
Used if SyncOn is set and (SyncSize +1) = 8.
RegPacketConfig1
(0x30)
7
PacketFormat
rw
0x01
Defines the packet format used:
0  Fixed length
1  Variable length
6-5
DcFree
rw
0x00
Defines DC-free encoding/decoding performed:
00  None (Off)
01  Manchester
10  Whitening
11  reserved
4
CrcOn
rw
0x01
Enables CRC calculation/check (Tx/Rx):
0  Off
1  On
3
CrcAutoClearOff
rw
0x00
Defines the behavior of the packet handler when CRC check
fails:
0  Clear FIFO and restart new packet reception. No
PayloadReady interrupt issued.
1  Do not clear FIFO. PayloadReady interrupt issued.
2-1
AddressFiltering
rw
0x00
Defines address based filtering in Rx:
00  None (Off)
01  Address field must match NodeAddress
10  Address field must match NodeAddress or
BroadcastAddress
11  reserved
0
CrcWhiteningType
rw
0x00
Selects the CRC and whitening algorithms:
0  CCITT CRC implementation with standard whitening
1  IBM CRC implementation with alternate whitening
SX1238 Rev.2, June 2014
©2014 Semtech Corp.
Page 72
Description
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SX1238
High Power Transceiver IC
WIRELESS, SENSING & TIMING
DATASHEET
Name
(Address)
Bits
Variable Name
Mode
Default
Value
RegPacketConfig2
7
unused
r
-
(0x31)
6
DataMode
rw
0x01
Data processing mode:
0  Continuous mode
1  Packet mode
5
IoHomeOn
rw
0x00
Enables the ioHomeControl compatibility mode
0  Disabled
1  ioHome enabled
4
IoHomePowerFrame
rw
0x00
reserved - Linked to ioHomeControl compatibility mode
3
BeaconOn
rw
0x00
Enables the Beacon mode in Fixed packet format
2-0
PayloadLength(10:8)
rw
0x00
Packet Length Most significant bits
RegPayloadLength 7-0
(0x32)
PayloadLength(7:0)
rw
0x40
If PacketFormat = 0 (fixed), payload length.
If PacketFormat = 1 (variable), max length in Rx, not used in
Tx.
Description
unused
RegNodeAdrs
(0x33)
7-0
NodeAddress
rw
0x00
Node address used in address filtering.
RegBroadcastAdrs
(0x34)
7-0
BroadcastAddress
rw
0x00
Broadcast address used in address filtering.
RegFifoThresh
(0x35)
7
TxStartCondition
rw
0x00
Defines the condition to start packet transmission :
0  FifoLevel (i.e. the number of bytes in the FIFO exceeds
FifoThreshold)
1  FifoEmpty goes low(i.e. at least one byte in the FIFO)
6
unused
r
-
5-0
FifoThreshold
rw
0x0f
unused
Used to trigger FifoLevel interrupt, when:
nbr of bytes in FIFO >= FifoThreshold + 1
Sequencer Registers
SX1238 Rev.2, June 2014
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Page 73
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SX1238
High Power Transceiver IC
WIRELESS, SENSING & TIMING
Name
(Address)
RegSeqConfig1
(0x36)
Bits
Variable Name
DATASHEET
Mode
Default
Value
Description
7
SequencerStart
t
0x00
Controls the top level Sequencer
When set to ‘1’, executes the “Start” transition.
The sequencer can only be enabled when the chip is in Sleep
or Standby mode.
6
SequencerStop
t
0x00
Forces the Sequencer to go to Idle state
Always reads ‘0’
5
SequencerLowPowerMode
rw
0x00
Selects chip mode in LowPower state:
0: Stdby mode
1: Sleep mode
4-3 SequencerTransitionFromI
dle
rw
0x00
Controls state-machine transition from the Idle state:
00: to LowPower or Idle state on a SequencerStart command,
depending on SequencerLowPowerState
01: to Receive state on a SequencerStart command
10: to Transmit state on a SequencerStart command
11: to WaitForFifo on a SequencerStart command
2
SequencerLowPowerState
rw
0x00
Defines the low power state of the Sequencer, reached at the
end of any action (transmission, reception, etc...)
0: to LowPower state
1: to Idle state
1
SequencerTransitionFromL rw
owPower
0x00
Controls the Sequencer transition from the LowPower state:
0: to Receive state on a Timer 1 interrupt
1: to Transmit state on a Timer 1 interrupt
0
SequencerTransitionFromT rw
ransmit
0x00
Controls the Sequencer transition from the Transmit state:
0: to Receive state on a PacketSent interrupt
1: to LowPower or Idle state on a PacketSent interrupt,
depending on SequencerLowPowerState
SX1238 Rev.2, June 2014
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Page 74
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SX1238
High Power Transceiver IC
WIRELESS, SENSING & TIMING
Name
(Address)
DATASHEET
Mode
Default
Value
Description
7-5 SequencerTransitionFrom
Receive
rw
0x00
Controls the Sequencer transition from the Receive state
000 and 111: unused
001: to PacketReceived state on a PayloadReady interrupt
010: to LowPower or Idle state on a PayloadReady interrupt,
depending on SequencerLowPowerState
011: to PacketReceived state on a CrcOk interrupt. If the CRC
is disabled the PayloadReady interrupt, firing when enough
bytes are received, will drive the Sequencer to the
PacketReceived state, too.
100: to Idle state on a Rssi interrupt
101: to Idle state on a SyncAddress interrupt
110: to Idle state on a PreambleDetect interrupt
Irrespective of this setting, transition to LowPower or Idle state
on a Timer2 interrupt, depending on
SequencerLowPowerState
4-3 SequencerTransitionFrom
RxTimeout
rw
0x00
Controls the state-machine transition from the Receive state
on a RxTimeout interrupt (and on PayloadReady if
SequencerTransitionFromReceive = 011):
00: to ReceiveRestart
01: to Transmit
10: to LowPower or Idle state, depending on
SequencerLowPowerState
11: to Idle state
2-0 SequencerTransitionFrom
PacketReceived
rw
0x00
Controls the state-machine transition from the
PacketReceived state:
000: to Idle state
001: to Transmit on a FifoEmpty interrupt
010: to LowPower or Idle state on FifoEmpty, depending on
SequencerLowPowerState
011: to Receive via FS mode, if frequency was changed
100: to Receive state (no frequency change)
7-4 unused
r
-
unused
3-2 Timer1Resolution
rw
0x00
Resolution of Timer 1
00: Timer1 disabled
01: 64 us
10: 4.1 ms
11: 262 ms
1-0 Timer2Resolution
rw
0x00
Resolution of Timer 2
00: Timer2 disabled
01: 64 us
10: 4.1 ms
11: 262 ms
RegTimer1Coef
(0x39)
7-0 Timer1Coefficient
rw
0xf5
Multiplying coefficient for Timer 1
RegTimer2Coef
(0x3a)
7-0 Timer2Coefficient
rw
0x20
Multiplying coefficient for Timer 2
RegSeqConfig2
(0x37)
RegTimerResol
(0x38)
Bits
Variable Name
Services Registers
SX1238 Rev.2, June 2014
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Page 75
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SX1238
High Power Transceiver IC
WIRELESS, SENSING & TIMING
Name
(Address)
DATASHEET
Bits
Variable Name
Mode
Default
Value
Description
7
AutoImageCalOn
rw
0x01
Controls the Image calibration mechanism
0  Calibration of the receiver depending on the temperature
is disabled
1  Calibration of the receiver depending on the temperature
enabled.
6
ImageCalStart
wp
-
5
ImageCalRunning
r
0x00
4
unused
r
-
3
TempChange
r
2-1
TempThreshold
rw
0x01 Temperature change threshold to trigger a new I/Q calibration
00  5 °C
01  10 °C
10  15 °C
11  20 °C
0
TempMonitorOff
rw
0x00
RegTemp
(0x3c)
7-0
TempValue
r
-
Measured temperature
-1°C per Lsb
Needs calibration for absolute accuracy
RegLowBat
(0x3d)
7-4
unused
r
-
unused
3
LowBatOn
rw
0x00
Low Battery detector enable signal
0  LowBat detector disabled
1  LowBat detector enabled
2-0
LowBatTrim
rw
0x02
Trimming of the LowBat threshold:
000  1.695 V
001  1.764 V
010  1.835 V (d)
011  1.905 V
100  1.976 V
101  2.045 V
110  2.116 V
111  2.185 V
RegImageCal
(0x3b)
Triggers the IQ and RSSI calibration when set.
Set to 1 while the Image and RSSI calibration are running.
Toggles back to 0 when the process is completed
unused
0x00 IRQ flag witnessing a temperature change exceeding
TempThreshold since the last Image and RSSI calibration:
0  Temperature change lower than TempThreshold
1  Temperature change greater than TempThreshold
Controls the temperature monitor operation:
0  Temperature monitoring done in all modes except Sleep
and Standby
1  Temperature monitoring stopped.
Status Registers
SX1238 Rev.2, June 2014
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SX1238
High Power Transceiver IC
WIRELESS, SENSING & TIMING
Name
(Address)
RegIrqFlags1
(0x3e)
RegIrqFlags2
(0x3f)
DATASHEET
Bits
Variable Name
Mode
Default
Value
7
ModeReady
r
-
Set when the operation mode requested in Mode, is ready
- Sleep: Entering Sleep mode
- Standby: XO is running
- FS: PLL is locked
- Rx: RSSI sampling starts
- Tx: PA ramp-up completed
Cleared when changing the operating mode.
6
RxReady
r
-
Set in Rx mode, after RSSI, AGC and AFC.
Cleared when leaving Rx.
5
TxReady
r
-
Set in Tx mode, after PA ramp-up.
Cleared when leaving Tx.
4
PllLock
r
-
Set (in FS, Rx or Tx) when the PLL is locked.
Cleared when it is not.
3
Rssi
rwp
-
Set in Rx when the RssiValue exceeds RssiThreshold.
Cleared when leaving Rx or setting this bit to 1.
2
Timeout
r
-
Set when a timeout occurs
Cleared when leaving Rx or FIFO is emptied.
1
PreambleDetect
rwp
-
Set when the Preamble Detector has found valid Preamble.
bit clear when set to 1
0
SyncAddressMatch
rwp
-
Set when Sync and Address (if enabled) are detected.
Cleared when leaving Rx or FIFO is emptied.
This bit is read only in Packet mode, rwc in Continuous mode
7
FifoFull
r
-
Set when FIFO is full (i.e. contains 66 bytes), else cleared.
6
FifoEmpty
r
-
Set when FIFO is empty, and cleared when there is at least 1
byte in the FIFO.
5
FifoLevel
r
-
Set when the number of bytes in the FIFO strictly exceeds
FifoThreshold, else cleared.
4
FifoOverrun
rwp
-
Set when FIFO overrun occurs. (except in Sleep mode)
Flag(s) and FIFO are cleared when this bit is set. The FIFO
then becomes immediately available for the next transmission
/ reception.
3
PacketSent
r
-
Set in Tx when the complete packet has been sent.
Cleared when exiting Tx
2
PayloadReady
r
-
Set in Rx when the payload is ready (i.e. last byte received
and CRC, if enabled and CrcAutoClearOff is cleared, is Ok).
Cleared when FIFO is empty.
1
CrcOk
r
-
Set in Rx when the CRC of the payload is Ok. Cleared when
FIFO is empty.
0
LowBat
rwp
-
Set when the battery voltage drops below the Low Battery
threshold. Cleared only when set to 1 by the user.
Description
IO Control Registers
SX1238 Rev.2, June 2014
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SX1238
High Power Transceiver IC
WIRELESS, SENSING & TIMING
Name
(Address)
RegDioMapping1
(0x40)
RegDioMapping2
(0x41)
DATASHEET
Bits
Variable Name
Mode
Default
Value
7-6
Dio0Mapping
rw
0x00
5-4
Dio1Mapping
rw
0x00
3-2
Dio2Mapping
rw
0x00
1-0
Dio3Mapping
rw
0x00
7-6
Dio4Mapping
rw
0x00
5-4
Dio5Mapping
rw
0x00
3-1
reserved
rw
0x00
reserved. Retain default value
0
MapPreambleDetect
rw
0x00
Allows the mapping of either Rssi Or PreambleDetect to the
DIO pins, as summarized on Table 24 and Table 25
0  Rssi interrupt
1  PreambleDetect interrupt
Description
Mapping of pins DIO0 to DIO5
See Table 24 for mapping in Continuous mode
See Table 25 for mapping in Packet mode
Version Register
RegVersion
(0x42)
7-0
Version
r
0x21
Version code of the chip. Bits 7-4 give the full revision number;
bits 3-0 give the metal mask revision number.
Additional Registers
RegAgcRef
(0x43)
7-6
unused
r
-
5-0
AgcReferenceLevel
rw
0x13
RegAgcThresh1
(0x44)
7-5
unused
r
-
4-0
AgcStep1
rw
0x0e
Defines the 1st AGC Threshold
RegAgcThresh2
(0x45)
7-4
AgcStep2
rw
0x05
Defines the 2nd AGC Threshold:
3-0
AgcStep3
rw
0x0b
Defines the 3rd AGC Threshold:
RegAgcThresh3
(0x46)
7-4
AgcStep4
rw
0x0d
Defines the 4th AGC Threshold:
3-0
AgcStep5
rw
0x0b
Defines the 5th AGC Threshold:
RegTcxo
(0x58)
7-5
reserved
rw
0x00
Reserved. Retain default value
4
TcxoInputOn
rw
0x00
Controls the crystal oscillator
0  Crystal Oscillator with external Crystal
1  External clipped sine TCXO AC-connected to XTA pin
3-0
reserved
rw
0x09
Reserved. Retain default value.
RegPaDac
(0x5a)
7-3
reserved
rw
0x10
Reserved. Retain default value
2-0
PaDac
rw
0x04
0x04  Default value
RegPll
(0x5c)
7-6
PllBandwidth
rw
0x03
Controls the PLL bandwidth:
00  75 kHz
10  225 kHz
01  150 kHz
11  300 kHz
5-0
reserved
rw
0x10
Reserved. Retain default value
7-6
PllBandwidth
rw
0x03
Controls the Low Phase Noise PLL bandwidth:
00  75 kHz
10  225 kHz
01  150 kHz
11  300 kHz
5-0
reserved
rw
0x10
Reserved. Retain default value
RegPllLowPn
(0x5e)
SX1238 Rev.2, June 2014
©2014 Semtech Corp.
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unused
Sets the floor reference for all AGC thresholds
unused
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SX1238
High Power Transceiver IC
WIRELESS, SENSING & TIMING
Name
(Address)
DATASHEET
Bits
Variable Name
Mode
Default
Value
RegFormerTemp
(0x6c)
7-0
FormerTemp
rwx
-
RegBitrateFrac
(0x70)
7-4
unused
r
0x00
unused
3-0
BitRateFrac
rw
0x00
Fractional part of the bit rate divider (Only valid for FSK)
If BitRateFrac> 0 then:
Description
Temprature saved during the latest IQ (RSSI and Image)
calibrated. Same format as TempValue in RegTemp.
FXOSC
BitRate = ------------------------------------------------------------------------BitrateFrac
BitRate (15,0) + ------------------------------16
SX1238 Rev.2, June 2014
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7. Application Information
7.1. Crystal Resonator Specification
Table 29 shows the crystal resonator specification for the crystal reference oscillator circuit of the SX1238. This
specification covers the full range of operation of the SX1238 and is employed in the reference design.
Table 29 Crystal Specification
Symbol
Description
FXOSC
Conditions
Min
Typ
Max
XTAL Frequency
-
32
-
MHz
RS
XTAL Serial Resistance
-
30
140
ohms
C0
XTAL Shunt Capacitance
-
2.8
7
pF
CFOOT
External Foot Capacitance
8
15
22
pF
CLOAD
Crystal Load Capacitance
6
-
12
pF
On each pin XTA and XTB
Unit
Notes: - the initial frequency tolerance, temperature stability and ageing performance should be chosen in accordance
with the target operating temperature range and the receiver bandwidth selected.
- the loading capacitance should be applied externally, and adapted to the actual Cload specification of the XTAL.
7.2. Reset of the Chip
A power-on reset of the SX1238 is triggered at power up. Additionally, a manual reset can be issued by controlling pin 19.
7.2.1. POR
If the application requires the disconnection of VDD from the SX1238, despite of the extremely low Sleep Mode current, the
user should wait for 10 ms from of the end of the POR cycle before commencing communications over the SPI bus. Pin
19(Reset) should be left floating during the POR sequence.
VDD
Pin 19
(output)
Undefined
Wait for
10 ms
Chip is ready from
this point on
Figure 38. POR Timing Diagram
Please note that any CLKOUT activity can also be used to detect that the chip is ready.
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7.2.2. Manual Reset
A manual reset of the SX1238 is possible even for applications in which VDD cannot be physically disconnected. Pin 19
should be pulled high for a hundred microseconds, and then released. The user should then wait for 5 ms before using the
chip.
VDD
Pin 19
(input)
High-Z
> 100 us
Wait for
5 ms
’’1’’
High-Z
Chip is ready from
this point on
Figure 39. Manual Reset Timing Diagram
Note:
Whilst pin 6 is driven high, an over current consumption of up to ten milliamps can be seen on VDD.
7.3. Reference Design
Please contact your Semtech representative for evaluation tools, reference designs and design assistance. Note that all
schematics shown in this section are full schematics, listing ALL required components, including decoupling capacitors.
For detailed Bills of Materials, please consult the Reference Design section on the SX1238 web page, or contact your local
Semtech representative.
SX1238 Rev.2, June 2014
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Figure 40. SX1238 Reference Design Schematic
Note: This reference design/BOM is intended for 902 - 928 MHz FCC region operation. Contact Semtech for usage in EU
region.
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SX1238
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DATASHEET
BOM SX1238 App Circuit
27.8.2012 Efo
RefDes
MPN
Geom
Value
PCB#
Version 1.0.0
Qty
Description
Tolerance
Rating Manufacturer
IC
U1
SX1232HA
R8
R9
CRCW040247R0JNED
CRCW040282R0JNED
402
402
47
82
1
1
C2
C3
C4
C5
C6
C7
C8
C9
C10
C11
C12
C13
C14
C15
C16
C18
C24
C25
C26
C27
C28
C17
C19
C29
GRM1555C1H3R0CA01D
GRM1555C1H5R6DA01D
GRM1555C1H1R0CA01D
GRM1555C1H1R8CA01D
GRM1555C1H3R3CA01D
GRM1555C1H330JZ01D
GRM155R71C104KA88D
GRM155R71C104KA88D
GRM155R71C104KA88D
GRM1555C1H100JZ01D
GRM155R71C104KA88D
GRM1555C1H150JA01D
GRM1555C1H180JA01D
GRM155R71E103KA01D
GRM1555C1H9R1DZ01D
GRM1555C1H330JZ01D
GRM188R60J106ME47D
GRM155R71E103KA01D
GRM155R71E103KA01D
GRM188R60J106ME47D
GRM155R71E103KA01D
DNP
DNP
DNP
402
402
402
402
402
402
402
402
402
402
402
402
402
402
402
402
603
402
402
603
402
402
402
402
3.0pF
5.6pF
1.0pF
1.8pF
3.3pF
33pF
100nF
100nF
100nF
10pF
100nF
15pF
18pF
10nF
9.1pF
33pF
10μF
10nF
10nF
10μF
10nF
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
L1
L3
L4
L6
L7
L8
L2
LQW15AN6N8G00D
LQW15AN3N3D10D
LQW15AN6N8G00D
LQW15AN33NJ00D
LQW15AN5N6C10D
LQW15AN10NJ00D
DNP
402
402
402
402
402
402
402
6.8nH
3.3nH
6.8nH
33nH
5.6nH
10nH
1
1
1
1
1
1
Q1
J1
MLPQ40 SX1232HA 1
High Power UHF Xcvr
Resistors
Thick Film Resistor
Thick Film Resistor
Capacitors
Multilayer ceramic capacitors
Multilayer ceramic capacitors
Multilayer ceramic capacitors
Multilayer ceramic capacitors
Multilayer ceramic capacitors
Multilayer ceramic capacitors
Multilayer ceramic capacitors
Multilayer ceramic capacitors
Multilayer ceramic capacitors
Multilayer ceramic capacitors
Multilayer ceramic capacitors
Multilayer ceramic capacitors
Multilayer ceramic capacitors
Multilayer ceramic capacitors
Multilayer ceramic capacitors
Multilayer ceramic capacitors
Multilayer ceramic capacitors
Multilayer ceramic capacitors
Multilayer ceramic capacitors
Multilayer ceramic capacitors
Multilayer ceramic capacitors
Inductors
Wirewound Inductor
Wirewound Inductor
Wirewound Inductor
Wirewound Inductor
Wirewound Inductor
Wirewound Inductor
Semtech
±5%,
±5%,
1/16W
1/16W
C0G ±0.5pF, 50V
C0G ±0.25pF, 50V
C0G ±0.5pF, 50V
C0G ±0.5pF, 50V
C0G ±0.5pF, 50V
C0G
±5%,
50V
X7R ±10%,
16V
X7R ±10%,
16V
X7R ±10%,
16V
C0G
±5%,
50V
X7R ±10%,
16V
C0G
±5%,
50V
C0G
±5%,
50V
X7R ±10%,
25V
C0G
±5%,
50V
C0G
±5%,
50V
X5R ±20%, 6.3V
X7R ±10%,
25V
X7R ±10%,
25V
X5R ±20%, 6.3V
X7R ±10%,
25V
±5%
±0.2nH
±5%
±5%
±5%
±5%
Crystal
±10ppm,
Surface mount type crystal units
NX2520SA-32.000000MHZ nx2520sa 32.MHz 1
Connectors (or P/N equivalent)
SMA
50 Ohms 1
SMA End Launch jack receptacle for PCB mount
142-0701-801
Vishay/Dale
Vishay/Dale
Murata
Murata
Murata
Murata
Murata
Murata
Murata
Murata
Murata
Murata
Murata
Murata
Murata
Murata
Murata
Murata
Murata
Murata
Murata
Murata
Murata
Murata
Murata
Murata
Murata
Murata
Murata
NDK
Emerson
Figure 41. SX1238 Reference Design BOM
SX1238 Rev.2, June 2014
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Figure 42. SX1238 PCB Layout Example
SX1238 Rev.2, June 2014
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7.4. Example CRC Calculation
The following routine(s) may be implemented to mimic the CRC calculation of the SX1238:
Figure 43. Example CRC Code
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7.5. Example Temperature Reading
The following routine(s) may be implemented to read the temperature and calibrate the sensor:
Figure 44. Example Temperature Reading
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8. Packaging Information
8.1. Package Outline Drawing
The SX1238 is available in a 40-lead MLPQ package as shown in Figure 45.
A
D
B
PIN 1
INDICATOR
(LASER MARK)
DIMENSIONS
INCHES
MILLIMETERS
DIM
MIN NOM MAX MIN NOM MAX
E
A
aaa C
A1
SEATING
PLANE
C
A
A1
A2
b
D
D1
E
E1
e
L
N
aaa
bbb
.031
.039
.000
.002
(.008)
.007 .010 .012
.193 .197 .201
.130 .136 .140
.272 .276 .280
.209 .215 .219
.020 BSC
.012 .016 .020
40
.003
.004
1.00
0.80
0.05
0.00
(0.20)
0.18 0.25 0.30
4.90 5.00 5.10
3.30 3.45 3.55
6.90 7.00 7.10
5.30 5.45 5.55
0.50 BSC
0.30 0.40 0.50
40
0.08
0.10
A2
D1
LxN
E/2
E1
2
1
N
bxN
e
bbb
C A B
D/2
NOTES:
1.
CONTROLLING DIMENSIONS ARE IN MILLIMETERS (ANGLES IN DEGREES).
2.
COPLANARITY APPLIES TO THE EXPOSED PAD AS WELL AS THE TERMINALS.
Figure 45. Package Outline Drawing
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8.2. Recommended Land Pattern
Z1
K
(C)
DIMENSIONS
H
G
Z
Y
X
P
DIM
C
C1
G
G1
H
K
P
R
X
Y
Z
Z1
INCHES
(.272)
(.193)
.240
.161
.222
.144
.020
.006
.012
.031
.303
.224
MILLIMETERS
(6.90)
(4.90)
6.10
4.10
5.65
3.65
0.50
0.15
0.30
0.80
7.70
5.70
G1
(C1)
NOTES:
1. CONTROLLING DIMENSIONS ARE IN MILLIMETERS (ANGLES IN DEGREES).
2. THIS LAND PATTERN IS FOR REFERENCE PURPOSES ONLY.
CONSULT YOUR MANUFACTURING GROUP TO ENSURE YOUR
COMPANY'S MANUFACTURING GUIDELINES ARE MET.
3. THERMAL VIAS IN THE LAND PATTERN OF THE EXPOSED PAD
SHALL BE CONNECTED TO A SYSTEM GROUND PLANE.
FAILURE TO DO SO MAY COMPROMISE THE THERMAL AND/OR
FUNCTIONAL PERFORMANCE OF THE DEVICE.
Figure 46. Recommended Land Pattern
SX1238 Rev.2, June 2014
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8.3. Thermal Impedance
The thermal impedance of this package is: Theta ja = 25° C/W typ., calculated from a package in still air, on a 4-layer FR4
PCB, as per the Jedec standard.
8.4. Tape & Reel Specification
C arrier T ap e
T ap e
W id th
(W )
12
+ /-0 .3 0
P o ck et
P itch
(P )
8
+ /-0 .1 0
R eel
Ao
Bo
Ko
R eel
S iz e
R eel
W id th
M in .
T railer
L en g th
M in .
L e ad e r
L en g th
QTY
p er
U n it
5 .2 5
+ /-0 .2 0
7 .2 5
+ /-0 .2 0
1 .1 0
+ /-0 .1 0
3 3 0 .2
1 2 .4
400
400
3000
mm
Figure 47. Tape & Reel Specification
Note:
Single sprocket holes.
SX1238 Rev.2, June 2014
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SX1238
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9. Revision History
Revision
Rev 1
Rev 2
Date
April 2014
June 2014
Comments
First Final Release
868 MHz band extension
Table 30 Revision History
SX1238 Rev.2, June 2014
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© Semtech 2014
All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited without the prior written consent of the copyright owner. The
information presented in this document does not form part of any quotation or contract, is believed to be accurate and reliable
and may be changed without notice. No liability will be accepted by the publisher for any consequence of its use. Publication
thereof does not convey nor imply any license under patent or other industrial or intellectual property rights. Semtech assumes
no responsibility or liability whatsoever for any failure or unexpected operation resulting from misuse, neglect improper
installation, repair or improper handling or unusual physical or electrical stress including, but not limited to, exposure to
parameters beyond the specified maximum ratings or operation outside the specified range.
SEMTECH PRODUCTS ARE NOT DESIGNED, INTENDED, AUTHORIZED OR WARRANTED TO BE SUITABLE FOR USE IN
LIFE-SUPPORT APPLICATIONS, DEVICES OR SYSTEMS OR OTHER CRITICAL APPLICATIONS. INCLUSION OF
SEMTECH PRODUCTS IN SUCH APPLICATIONS IS UNDERSTOOD TO BE UNDERTAKEN SOLELY AT THE CUSTOMER’S
OWN RISK. Should a customer purchase or use Semtech products for any such unauthorized application, the customer shall
indemnify and hold Semtech and its officers, employees, subsidiaries, affiliates, and distributors harmless against all claims,
costs damages and attorney fees which could arise.
Contact information
Semtech Corporation Wireless, Sensing & Timing Products
Semtech Corporation
Wireless, Sensing & Timing Products Division
200 Flynn Road, Camarillo, CA 93012
Phone: (805) 498-2111 Fax: (805) 498-3804
E-mail: [email protected]
[email protected]
Internet: http://www.semtech.com
ISO9001
CERTIFIED
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