MicroMod GNSS Function Board - ZED-F9P Hookup Guide

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Contributors: El Duderino
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Hardware Overview

Let's take a closer look at the ZED-F9P module and other hardware on this Function Board.

ZED-F9P GNSS Module

The ZED-F9P is a high-precision GNSS module from u-blox capable of up to millimeter X, Y & Z positional accuracy.

Image highlighting the ZED-F9P module.

The ZED-F9P with a full RTK lock along with RTCM data streaming to the module can achieve 10mm 3D positional accuracy. Depending on the constellation the module achieves a lock in ~25 seconds from a cold start and 2 seconds from both a hot start and aided start. For a complete overview of the module, refer to the ZED-F9P datasheet.

One of the key differentiators between the ZED-F9P and almost all other low-cost RTK solutions is the ZED-F9P is capable of receiving both L1 and L2 bands.

L1 and L2 GNSS reception on the ZED-F9P

The module can act as either a rover to receive GNNS location data and RTCM correction data or a base station to send RTCM correction data to another device. For complete information on how to configure the ZED-F9P as a base station or rover, refer to the u-blox Integration Manual or check out this tutorial.

Communication Interfaces

This Function Board routes the ZED-F9P's USB interface to a USB-C connector on the top of the board. The SPI, I2C and primary serial interfaces are routed to the MicroMod M.2 connector through an isolation circuit.

Image highlighting the USB-C and MicroMod connections.

The board configures the ZED-F9P to communicate via I2C and Serial by default. Adjusting the DSEL solder jumper switches the communication interface to SPI.

The USB-C connector allows direct communication to the ZED-F9P UART interface but does not provide power to the module or other parts of the MicroMod assembly by default. To use this connector for power, adjust the USB PWR EN jumper. Read on to the Solder Jumpers section for more information.

Antenna

The board routes the ZED-F9P antenna connection to a u.Fl connector for an external antenna connection. Most of the recommended antennas use a SMA-type connector so an adapter like this is most likely needed.

Image highlighting the u.FL connector

The Function Board also includes a RF/antenna supervision circuit to monitor and control the active antenna connection. The supervision circuit protects the ZED-F9P from a short circuit on the antenna connection and monitors the antenna connection to detect a connected antenna or open circuit. By default the Function Board disables this circuit through the SUP solder jumper. Read on to the Solder Jumpers section for more information on using this jumper and refer to section 4.3.4 of the ZED-F9P Integration Manual for more information on this circuit and how to poll the status using UBX messages.

Backup Battery

The backup battery on the board has a 1.5mAh capacity to maintain settings and other low-power functionality to the ZED-F9P when the module is not fully powered.

Image highlighting the backup battery circuit.

PTH Connections

Along with the secondary serial bus, the Function Board routes several other ZED-F9P pins to plated through-hole (PTH) connecitons.

Image highlighting the PTH connections.

The list below outlines the labels and functionality of the PTH connections on the Function Board:

  • PPS - The board translates the Pulse-Per-Second (PPS) output to a differential output routed to a pair of PTHs along with matching ground PTHs.
  • RX2/TX2 - The ZED-F9P's secondary UART (RX2/TX2) along with a ground PTH.
  • Reset - ZED-F9P reset pin.
  • EXTINT - ZED-F9P external interrupt pin.
  • SB - ZED-F9P SafeBoot pin.
  • GND - Several Ground PTHs if needed.

LEDs

The GNSS Function Board - ZED-F9P has three LEDs labeled: PWR, PPS and RTK.

Image highlighting the LEDs.

  • PWR - Indicates when the ZED-F9P is powered.
  • PPS - Tied to the Pulse Per Second pin and acts as a visual indicator to the ZED-F9P pulse per second signal.
  • RTK - Indicates the status of the RTK lock.

Solder Jumpers

If you have never worked with solder jumpers and PCB traces before or would like a quick refresher, check out our How to Work with Solder Jumpers and PCB Traces tutorial for detailed instructions and tips.

This board has nine solder jumpers. The table below outlines each jumper's label, default state, function and notes regarding their use:

Image highlighting the solder jumpers.
Having trouble seeing the details in the photo? Click on it for a larger view.

Label Default State Function Notes
USBPWREN OPEN Enables USB power to ZED-F9P. Close to use the USB-C connector on the Function Board to power the ZED-F9P.
SHLD CLOSED USB-C shield control. Open to disconnect the USB-C shield pin to the ground plane.
SUP Disable Antenna supervisor circuit control. Disables the antenna supervisor circuit by default. Switch to EN side to enable the circuit.
DSEL ZED-F9P interface selection. I2C/Serial Three pad jumper controls which communication interface the ZED-F9P uses. Can be set to I2C/Serial (Default) or SPI.
I2C CLOSED I2C pull up resistors Three-way jumper pulling the SDA and SCL lines to 3.3V through a pair of 2.2kΩ resistors. Sever both traces to disable the pull up resistors.
WP EEPROM Write Protection OPEN Close to clarification needed write protection on the EEPROM IC.
PWR Power LED control. CLOSED Enables the ZED-F9P power indicator LED. Open to disable the LED.
PPS PPS LED control. CLOSED Enables the ZED-F9P pulse per second LED. Open to disable the LED.
RTK RTK LED control. CLOSED Enables the ZED-F9P RTK lock indicator LED. Open to disable the LED.

MicroMod Pinout

This Function Board uses the following pins on a connected Processor Board:

  • 3.3V & VCC
  • Power enable
  • SPI - ZED-F9P SPI
  • I2C - ZED-F9P I2C and EEPROM
  • UART RX1/TX1 (Slot 0) / UART RX2/TX2 (Slot 1) - ZED-F9P UART1
  • CS0 (Slot 0) / CS1 (Slot 1) - ZED-F9P Chip Select
  • D0 (Slot 0) / D1 (Slot 1) - ZED-F9P TX Ready
  • PWM0 (Slot 0) / PWM1 (Slot 1) - ZED-F9P Pulse-Per-Second
  • G0 (Slot 0) / G5 (Slot 1) - ZED-F9P Reset
  • G1 (Slot 0) / G6 (Slot 1) - External Interrupt
  • G2 (Slot 0) / G7 (Slot 1) - RTK Status
  • G3 (Slot 0) / G8 (Slot 1) - Geofence Status
Note: As covered previously, the ZED-F9P uses the same pins for UART/I2C (Default) and SPI depending on the state of the interface select (D_SEL) pin. The Function Board routes these interfaces to the labeled pins on the MicroMod M.2 connector through separate quad bilateral switches that are enabled/disabled depending on the state of the D_SEL pin controlled by the D_SEL solder jumper.

For the complete MicroMod Pinout and pins used by this function board, take a look at the tables below:

AUDIO UART GPIO/BUS I2C SDIO SPI0 Dedicated
Function Bottom
Pin
   Top   
Pin
Function
(Not Connected) 75 GND
3.3V 74 73 G5 / BUS5
RTC_3V_BATT 72 71 G6 / BUS6
SPI_CS1# SDIO_DATA3 (I/O) 70 69 G7 / BUS7
SDIO_DATA2 (I/O) 68 67 G8
SDIO_DATA1 (I/O) 66 65 G9 ADC_D- CAM_HSYNC
SPI_CIPO1 SDIO_DATA0 (I/O) 64 63 G10 ADC_D+ CAM_VSYNC
SPI COPI1 SDIO_CMD (I/O) 62 61 SPI_CIPO (I)
SPI SCK1 SDIO_SCK (O) 60 59 SPI_COPI (O) LED_DAT
AUD_MCLK (O) 58 57 SPI_SCK (O) LED_CLK
CAM_MCLK PCM_OUT I2S_OUT AUD_OUT 56 55 SPI_CS#
CAM_PCLK PCM_IN I2S_IN AUD_IN 54 53 I2C_SCL1 (I/O)
PDM_DATA PCM_SYNC I2S_WS AUD_LRCLK 52 51 I2C_SDA1 (I/O)
PDM_CLK PCM_CLK I2S_SCK AUD_BCLK 50 49 BATT_VIN / 3 (I - ADC) (0 to 3.3V)
G4 / BUS4 48 47 PWM1
G3 / BUS3 46 45 GND
G2 / BUS2 44 43 CAN_TX
G1 / BUS1 42 41 CAN_RX
G0 / BUS0 40 39 GND
A1 38 37 USBHOST_D-
GND 36 35 USBHOST_D+
A0 34 33 GND
PWM0 32 31 Module Key
Module Key 30 29 Module Key
Module Key 28 27 Module Key
Module Key 26 25 Module Key
Module Key 24 23 SWDIO
UART_TX2 (O) 22 21 SWDCK
UART_RX2 (I) 20 19 UART_RX1 (I)
CAM_TRIG D1 18 17 UART_TX1 (0)
I2C_INT# 16 15 UART_CTS1 (I)
I2C_SCL (I/0) 14 13 UART_RTS1 (O)
I2C_SDA (I/0) 12 11 BOOT (I - Open Drain)
D0 10 9 USB_VIN
SWO G11 8 7 GND
RESET# (I - Open Drain) 6 5 USB_D-
3.3V_EN 4 3 USB_D+
3.3V 2 1 GND
Description Function Bottom
Pin
   Top   
Pin
Function Description
(Not Connected) 75 GND
- 74 73 3.3V Power Supply: 3.3-6V
- 72 71 Power EN Power Enable
- 70 69 -
- 66 65 -
- 64 63 -
- 62 61 -
- 60 59 GEO_STAT ZED-F9P Geofence Status Signal
- 58 57 RTK_STAT ZED-F9P RTK Lock Status Signal
- 56 55 EXTINT ZED-F9P External Interrupt
- 54 53 RESET ZED-F9P Reset
- 52 51 PPS ZED-F9P Pulse-Per-Second Signal
- 50 49 CS ZED-F9P Chip Select
- 48 47 TX_READY ZED-F9P UART TX Ready Signal
- 46 45 GND
- 44 43 -
- 42 41 -
Write protection pin for the EEPROM. Pull low to enable. EEPROM_WP 40 39 GND
- 38 37 -
EEPROM I2C address configuration. EEPROM_A0 36 35 -
EEPROM I2C address configuration. EEPROM_A1 34 33 GND
EEPROM I2C address configuration. EEPROM_A2 32 31 Module Key
Module Key 30 29 Module Key
Module Key 28 27 Module Key
Module Key 26 25 Module Key
Module Key 24 23 -
- 22 21 I2C_SCL I2C - Clock Signal
- 20 19 I2C_SDA I2C - Data Signal
- 18 17 -
- 16 15 RX ZED RX
- 14 13 TX ZED TX
- 12 11 -
- 10 9 -
- 8 7 POCI SPI Peripheral Output/Controller Input.
- 6 5 PICO SPI Peripheral Input/Controller Output.
- 4 3 SCK SPI Clock Signal
- 2 1 GND
Signal Group Signal I/O Description Voltage
Power 3.3V I 3.3V Source 3.3V
GND Return current path 0V
USB_VIN I USB VIN compliant to USB 2.0 specification. Connect to pins on processor board that require 5V for USB functionality 4.8-5.2V
RTC_3V_BATT I 3V provided by external coin cell or mini battery. Max draw=100μA. Connect to pins maintaining an RTC during power loss. Can be left NC. 3V
3.3V_EN O Controls the carrier board's main voltage regulator. Voltage above 1V will enable 3.3V power path. 3.3V
BATT_VIN/3 I Carrier board raw voltage over 3. 1/3 resistor divider is implemented on carrier board. Amplify the analog signal as needed for full 0-3.3V range 3.3V
Reset Reset I Input to processor. Open drain with pullup on processor board. Pulling low resets processor. 3.3V
Boot I Input to processor. Open drain with pullup on processor board. Pulling low puts processor into special boot mode. Can be left NC. 3.3V
USB USB_D± I/O USB Data ±. Differential serial data interface compliant to USB 2.0 specification. If UART is required for programming, USB± must be routed to a USB-to-serial conversion IC on the processor board.
USB Host USBHOST_D± I/O For processors that support USB Host Mode. USB Data±. Differential serial data interface compliant to USB 2.0 specification. Can be left NC.
CAN CAN_RX I CAN Bus receive data. 3.3V
CAN_TX O CAN Bus transmit data. 3.3V
UART UART_RX1 I UART receive data. 3.3V
UART_TX1 O UART transmit data. 3.3V
UART_RTS1 O UART ready to send. 3.3V
UART_CTS1 I UART clear to send. 3.3V
UART_RX2 I 2nd UART receive data. 3.3V
UART_TX2 O 2nd UART transmit data. 3.3V
I2C I2C_SCL I/O I2C clock. Open drain with pullup on carrier board. 3.3V
I2C_SDA I/O I2C data. Open drain with pullup on carrier board 3.3V
I2C_INT# I Interrupt notification from carrier board to processor. Open drain with pullup on carrier board. Active LOW 3.3V
I2C_SCL1 I/O 2nd I2C clock. Open drain with pullup on carrier board. 3.3V
I2C_SDA1 I/O 2nd I2C data. Open drain with pullup on carrier board. 3.3V
SPI SPI_PICO O SPI Peripheral Input/Controller Output. 3.3V
SPI_POCI I SPI Peripheral Output/Controller Input. 3.3V
SPI_SCK O SPI Clock. 3.3V
SPI_CS# O SPI Chip Select. Active LOW. Can be routed to GPIO if hardware CS is unused. 3.3V
SPI/SDIO SPI_SCK1/SDIO_CLK O 2nd SPI Clock. Secondary use is SDIO Clock. 3.3V
SPI_PICO1/SDIO_CMD I/O 2nd SPI Peripheral Input/Controller Output. Secondary use is SDIO command interface. 3.3V
SPI_POCI1/SDIO_DATA0 I/O 2nd SPI Controller Output/Peripheral Input. Secondary use is SDIO data exchange bit 0. 3.3V
SDIO_DATA1 I/O SDIO data exchange bit 1. 3.3V
SDIO_DATA2 I/O SDIO data exchange bit 2. 3.3V
SPI_CS1/SDIO_DATA3 I/O 2nd SPI Chip Select. Secondary use is SDIO data exchange bit 3. 3.3V
Audio AUD_MCLK O Audio master clock. 3.3V
AUD_OUT/PCM_OUT/I2S_OUT/CAM_MCLK O Audio data output. PCM synchronous data output. I2S serial data out. Camera master clock. 3.3V
AUD_IN/PCM_IN/I2S_IN/CAM_PCLK I Audio data input. PCM syncrhonous data input. I2S serial data in. Camera periphperal clock. 3.3V
AUD_LRCLK/PCM_SYNC/I2S_WS/PDM_DATA I/O Audio left/right clock. PCM syncrhonous data SYNC. I2S word select. PDM data. 3.3V
AUD_BCLK/PCM_CLK/I2S_CLK/PDM_CLK O Audio bit clock. PCM clock. I2S continuous serial clock. PDM clock. 3.3V
SWD SWDIO I/O Serial Wire Debug I/O. Connect if processor board supports SWD. Can be left NC. 3.3V
SWDCK I Serial Wire Debug clock. Connect if processor board supports SWD. Can be left NC. 3.3V
ADC A0 I Analog to digital converter 0. Amplify the analog signal as needed to enable full 0-3.3V range. 3.3V
A1 I Analog to digital converter 1. Amplify the analog signal as needed to enable full 0-3.3V range. 3.3V
PWM PWM0 O Pulse width modulated output 0. 3.3V
PWM1 O Pulse width modulated output 1. 3.3V
Digital D0 I/O General digital input/output pin. 3.3V
D1/CAM_TRIG I/O General digital input/output pin. Camera trigger. 3.3V
General/Bus G0/BUS0 I/O General purpose pins. Any unused processor pins should be assigned to Gx with ADC + PWM capable pins given priority (0, 1, 2, etc.) positions. The intent is to guarantee PWM, ADC and Digital Pin functionality on respective ADC/PWM/Digital pins. Gx pins do not guarantee ADC/PWM function. Alternative use is pins can support a fast read/write 8-bit or 4-bit wide bus. 3.3V
G1/BUS1 I/O 3.3V
G2/BUS2 I/O 3.3V
G3/BUS3 I/O 3.3V
G4/BUS4 I/O 3.3V
G5/BUS5 I/O 3.3V
G6/BUS6 I/O 3.3V
G7/BUS7 I/O 3.3V
G8 I/O General purpose pin 3.3V
G9/ADC_D-/CAM_HSYNC I/O Differential ADC input if available. Camera horizontal sync. 3.3V
G10/ADC_D+/CAM_VSYNC I/O Differential ADC input if available. Camera vertical sync. 3.3V
G11/SWO I/O General purpose pin. Serial Wire Output 3.3V

Board Dimensions

The board matches the MicroMod Function Board design specifications and measures 2.56" x 1.48" (65.02mm x 37.69mm) and the USB-C connector protrudes roughly 0.067" (1.70mm) from the edge of the board.

Image of board dimensions