Hardware

Specifications

The WiFi PRO module is managed by UART and it can be connected to SOCKET0 or SOCKET1. The main features of the modules are listed below:

• TX power:

  • 802.11b: 17 dBm

  • 802.11g: 14 dBm

  • 802.11n: 12 dBm

• RX sensitivity:

  • 802.11b @11Mbps PER<8%: -87 dBm

  • 802.11b @1Mbps PER<8%: -94 dBm IMAGEN

  • 802.11g @54Mbps PER<10%: -73 dBm

  • 802.11g @6Mbps PER<10%: -86 dBm

  • 802.11n MCS0 PER<10%: -86 dBm

  • 802.11n MCS0 PER<10%: -70 dBm

• Chipset consumption:

  • TX mode: 350 mA

  • RX mode: 130 mA

• Internet protocols: ARP, ICMP, IP, UDP, TCP, DHCP, DNS, NTP, HTTP, FTP

• Security protocols: SSL3/TLS1, HTTPS, RSA, AES-128/256, 3DES, RC-4, SHA-1, MD-5, WEP, WPA and WPA2 Accelerated in HW: AES, 3DEC and SHA

• Wireless Specifications:

  • Standards: IEEE 802.11b/g/n

  • Frequency:

    • Europe: 2.412 – 2.472 GHz

    • USA: 2.412 – 2.462 GHz

    • Japan: 2.412 – 2.484 GHz

  • Channels: 1 to 11

• Antenna: Plug and Sense! and Waspmote OEM: UFL connector (the on-chip antenna WiFi radio was discontinued on October 2018)

Figure: WiFi PRO module

Power consumption

The WiFi PRO module is powered at 3.3 V. The next table shows the module’s average current consumption in different states.

State	Power consumption
TX data	350 mA
RX data	130 mA

Time consumption

The following table describes the mean elapsed time for some actions in a single test for several attempts:

Action	Time consumption
Power ON	~ 1.8 s
Power ON + join AP	~ 7 s
Perform HTTP GET (already joined AP)	~ 0.5 s
Perform HTTP POST (already joined AP)	~ 0.4 s
Open FTP session (already joined AP)	~ 0.8 s
Perform FTP upload 10KB file (already joined AP)	~ 2.5 s
Perform FTP download 10KB file (already joined AP)	~ 17.6 s

Some of these actions approximately have a fixed elapsed time like powering on the module or performing HTTP/FTP operations. However, the actions related to join AP or open the FTP session are dependent on third parts and have more variability from the mean value. For instance, the joining process can take from few seconds to more than twenty seconds.

How to connect the module

This module can be connected to both SOCKET0 and SOCKET1 placed in the Waspmote board.

Figure: Module connected to Waspmote in SOCKET0

In order to connect the module to the SOCKET1, the user must use the Expansion Radio Board.

Expansion Radio Board

The Expansion Board allows to connect 2 communication modules at the same time in the Waspmote sensor platform. This means a lot of different combinations are possible using any of the wireless radios available for Waspmote: 802.15.4, ZigBee 3, DigiMesh, 868 MHz, 900 MHz, LoRa, WiFi, NB-IoT / Cat-M, 4G, Sigfox, LoRaWAN, Bluetooth Pro, Bluetooth Low Energy and RFID/NFC. Besides, the following Industrial Protocols modules are available: RS-485/Modbus and CAN Bus.

Some of the possible combinations are:

• LoRaWAN - 4G

• 802.15.4 - Sigfox

• 868 MHz - RS-485

• NB-IoT / Cat-M - WiFi

• DigiMesh - 4G

• NB-IoT / Cat-M - RFID/NFC

• WiFi - 4G

• CAN Bus - Bluetooth

• etc

NB-IoT / Cat-M and 4G modules do not need the Expansion Board to be connected to Waspmote. They can be plugged directly in the socket1.

In the next photo you can see the sockets available along with the UART assigned. On one hand, SOCKET0 allows to plug any kind of radio module through the UART0. On the other hand, SOCKET1 permits to connect a radio module through the UART1.

Figure: Use of the Expansion Board

The API provides a function called ON() in order to switch the module on. This function supports a parameter which permits to select the socket. It is possible to choose between SOCKET0 and SOCKET1.

Selecting SOCKET0: WIFI_PRO.ON(SOCKET0);

Selecting SOCKET1: WIFI_PRO.ON(SOCKET1);

The rest of the functions are used the same way as they are used with older API versions. In order to understand them we recommend to read this guide.

Warnings:

• Avoid to use DIGITAL7 pin when working with the Expansion Board. This pin is used for setting the XBee into sleep mode.

• Avoid to use DIGITAL6 pin when working with the Expansion Board. This pin is used as power supply for the Expansion Board.

• Incompatibility with Sensor Boards:

  • Agriculture PRO v30: Incompatible with Watermark and solar radiation sensors

  • Events v30: Incompatible with interruption shift register

  • Smart Water v30: DIGITAL7 incompatible with conductivity sensor

  • Smart Water Ions v30: Incompatible with ADC conversion (sensors cannot be read if the Expansion Board is in use)

  • Gases PRO v30: Incompatible with SOCKET_2 and SOCKET_3

  • Cities PRO v30: Incompatible with SOCKET_3. I2C bus can be used. No gas sensor can be used.