Hartcran House, 231 Kenton Lane, Harrow, Middlesex, HA3 8RP, England
Tel: +44 (0) 20 8909 9595, Fax: +44 (0) 20 8909 2233, www.radiometrix.com
BL118 App. boards
Issue 1, 05 November 2012
Bi-directional low power RF Remote Control boards
These simple application boards use
firmware based on the BD118 remote
control systems to implement a bidirectional control link. A system consists
of a master board (which initiates
communication burst cycles) and a slave
(which responds to them). In hardware
terms these boards are the same, but have
different firmware loaded.
Figure 1: BL118 application boards
A single relay output is provided on each board, controlled by a logic (or switch) input on the "opposite"
board. This product only operates in one mode: the radio link operates continuously, and the output simply
reflects the state of the input ("momentary" operation).
The radio link uses a 4% duty cycle, 2 second burst cycle. The data format employed has an 8 bit address,
which is set up on a DIP switch (master and slave addresses must be the same)
LED indicators are provided for power, relay output state and "valid communication link established".
Features
8 bit address select switch
A relay to control mains powered devices rated up to 8A, 240VAC
Visual LED indication of communication status and relay state
Useful for RF module range testing
Logic or Switch input for momentary control of relay
Very low (1mA) average current. 2 years operating life from D cells
Simple “plug-and-play” setup. No complex programming needed
Applications
Security and Alarm systems
Emergency assistance call system
Status reporting and monitoring systems
RF Remote control systems
Industrial controls
HVAC controls
Simple On/Off switching
Long range telecontrol with Narrow Band FM radios
Kit Contents
The BL118 Application kit is supplied with the following contents:
1
1
2
2
BL118 Encoder/Decoder Master board
BL118 Encoder/Decoder Slave board
Radiometrix Transceiver module (ordered separately)
1/4-wavelength monopole or helical antennas
Additional requirement
External power supply (12V and 5V version available)
Radiometrix Ltd
BL118 App boards
page 1
BL118 and it's variants
The term "BL118" actually refers to two different things: a 28 pin PIC programmed with bidirectional control
code, and an applications board (equipped with a BIM radio, and a relay) that the BL118 chip can be used
on. (There is actually nothing to prevent completely different firmware that complies with the pin allocations
being used on the BL118 board)
Common features and characteristics of the BL118 boards
Interfaces
Output
Input
Power
RF
8A 240v rated SPDT "change over" relay (5v or 12v coils to order)
(or an open collector switch in it's place)
3.81mm pitch 3 way 2 part "Phoenix" type terminal
4 pin ancillary connector (+5v, aux1, aux2, gnd)
Active low logic input (3.81mm pitch 2 way 2 part "Phoenix" type
terminal): Pull-up to 5V, and protection diodes provided, Compatible with
N/O volt-free closing contact
SETUP jumpers (two)
Address DIP switch (8 way)
12V and 5V versions available (3.81mm pitch 2 way 2 part "Phoenix"
type terminal)
40mA peak (plus relay coil current if activated)
1mA average current (relay off, using 10mW BiM1-173 radio)
SMA or MCX (or optional terminal block)
Indicators
Comms status LEDs
Relay state LED
BL118 control chip
28 pin PIC (16F883 or
equivalent)
Extreme current saving
measures
Clock
(2 off, red)
(red)
10MHz (ceramic resonator)
Timer 1 .
32.768MHz crystal
Data rate
3.6kbps Biphase coded burst
Addressing
User programmable 8bit address (DIP switch)
Response time 2s
Switchable pullups on DIP switch
Very low lq 5V LDO regulator (HT7550)
Size
76 x 63 x 16mm (excluding connectors)
(four 3.3mm diameter mounting holes are provided)
Operating temperature
-20 to +70 degrees centigrade (some radios may be limited to -10/+55)
(Storage
-30 to +70 degrees)
Radio modules
BiM pinout transceiver (NiM2, BiM1)
Not compatible with RDL2 or high power BiM3H or BiM1H
( BiM2 and BiM3 compatibility TBA )
Radiometrix Ltd
BL118 App boards
page 2
LED Indications
The "blinking lights" on a BL118 look similar to a BD118, but the functions are actually very different (we
cannot leave an LED constantly "on", or it's 2mA current drain will dominate the unit power consumption)
Master LEDs
D1
D2
D3
Relay Activated
Regular Blink – In Lock
Short Blink – In Lock
Slave LEDs
D1
D2
D3
A slave which has never achieved lock idles with all LEDs OFF
Relay Activated
OFF – In Lock
ON – Loss of communication link
Regular Blink – In Lock
OFF - Loss of communication link
Regular Blink – Loss of communication link
OFF - Loss of communication link
The BL118 CPU
All current BL118 systems (so far) share the same data burst structure and coding scheme. The bit coding is
simple biphase, at approx 3600 bits per second. The burst is a 36mS long frame, incorporating 10mS of
preamble, a framing /sync sequence, an 8 bit address, an 8 bit data word and a checksum. To date no
BL118 uses any more than 1 bit of the data word, although in principle the whole word can be used, and it
would not be difficult to add extra words to the burst (at the cost of a longer burst)
In the basic master/slave BL118 these bursts are used within a 2 second frame. Each frame begins with the
master sending a burst, to which the slave replies. The timing permits 40mS for each transmission, and up to
50mS "listen" time on receive (these timings allow a good deal of timing slack). Throughout the rest of the
frame the hardware goes into sleep mode and draws no more than 10uA. With a 10mW BiM1 VHF module
this results in an average current consumption (relays off) of just under 1mA (a battery of 6 D cells will drive
such a unit for over two years).
The developed BL118 "multi-master" is a code version whereby a single master polls (up to) 16 slaves, by
cycling through the lower 4 bits of the address word (each slave has a unique 4 bit "ID" set on the lower 4
bits of the address DIP switch. The upper 4 bits still constitute a "global" address). Each poll operation
consists of a master transmission followed by a slave reply (as in the standard BL118) and all 16 such
operations occupy 1.44s of the 2 second frame. Slave unit current consumption is unchanged, but the multimaster is understandably more hungry (around 16mA average for a unit fitted with a BiM1 VHF radio)
All slave outputs are commoned to the master input, while the master relay output is the "or" function of all
the slave inputs. In addition, the master will re-transmit an "activate" command in the frame following one
where any slave input was seen to be active (in this way it functions as a sort of system repeater)
In addition, once every frame the master outputs (via the JP7 auxiliary I/O pins) a stream of RS232 bytes (at
9600 baud) that report the input states of all the slaves (as received) and the presence or absence in system
of each slave.
Radiometrix Ltd
BL118 App boards
page 3
Figure 2: BL118 Board Component Layout
Radiometrix Ltd
BL118 App boards
page 4
Figure 3: BL118 Schematics
Radiometrix Ltd
BL118 App boards
page 5
Ordering Information
Part No.
BL118-173.225-BiM1-M
BL118-173.225-BiM1-MM
BL118-173.225-BiM1-S
Version
Master control board
Multi-Master control board
Slave control board
Frequency (MHz)
173.225
173.225
173.225
Other frequency variants can be supplied if required.
BL118-434.650-NiM2-M
BL118-434.650-NiM2-MM
BL118-434.650-NIM2-S
Master control board
Multi-Master control board
Slave control board
434.650
434.650
434.650
Other frequency variants can be supplied if required.
Note: For details relating to the radio module fitted on board, see relevant data sheet
http://www.radiometrix.com/files/additional/nim2.pdf
http://www.radiometrix.com/files/additional/bim1h.pdf
Radiometrix Ltd
BL118 App boards
page 6
Radiometrix Ltd
Hartcran House
231 Kenton Lane
Harrow, Middlesex
HA3 8RP
ENGLAND
Tel: +44 (0) 20 8909 9595
Fax: +44 (0) 20 8909 2233
[email protected]
www.radiometrix.com
Copyright notice
This product data sheet is the original work and copyrighted property of Radiometrix Ltd.
Reproduction in whole or in part must give clear acknowledgement to the copyright owner.
Limitation of liability
The information furnished by Radiometrix Ltd is believed to be accurate and reliable. Radiometrix Ltd
reserves the right to make changes or improvements in the design, specification or manufacture of
its subassembly products without notice. Radiometrix Ltd does not assume any liability arising from
the application or use of any product or circuit described herein, nor for any infringements of patents
or other rights of third parties which may result from the use of its products. This data sheet neither
states nor implies warranty of any kind, including fitness for any particular application. These radio
devices may be subject to radio interference and may not function as intended if interference is
present. We do NOT recommend their use for life critical applications.
The Intrastat commodity code for all our modules is: 8542 6000
R&TTE Directive
After 7 April 2001 the manufacturer can only place finished product on the market under the
provisions of the R&TTE Directive. Equipment within the scope of the R&TTE Directive may
demonstrate compliance to the essential requirements specified in Article 3 of the Directive, as
appropriate to the particular equipment.
Further details are available on The Office of Communications (Ofcom) web site:
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radiocomms/ifi/
Information Requests
Ofcom
Riverside House
2a Southwark Bridge Road
London SE1 9HA
Tel: +44 (0)20 7981 3000
Fax: +44 (0)20 7981 3333
[email protected]
European Radiocommunications Office (ERO)
Peblingehus
Nansensgade 19
DK 1366 Copenhagen
Tel. +45 33896300
Fax +45 33896330
[email protected]
www.ero.dk