iLabs Challenger+ RP2350 NB-IoT Development Board Combines LTE Cat NB2 and GNSS

Challenger+ RP2350 NB-IoT development board

ILABS has announced the Challenger+ RP2350 NB-IoT, a small form-factor development board combining the RP2350 microcontroller from Raspberry Pi with the cellular ST87M01-1301 from STMicroelectronics. The board is targeting low-power IoT applications where LTE Cat NB2 connectivity, GNSS positioning, and long battery life are required. Challenger+ RP2350 combines the powerful Raspberry Pi RP2350 dual-core microcontroller with the certified ST87M01-1301 NB-IoT module from STMicroelectronics.

The RP2350 includes dual Arm Cortex-M33 cores and dual Hazard3 RISC-V cores, with two cores running simultaneously at up to 150MHz. It comes with 520KB SRAM and paired with 8MB of external QSPI flash. Peripheral support is for UART, SPI, I2C, ADC, PWM, PIO and USB. GNSS capabilities include simultaneous GPS L1 and Galileo reception and Assisted GNSS with ephemeris data downloaded over the NB-IoT connection.

Previously, we covered several RP2350 development boards, including the Adafruit Feather RP2350, Waveshare RP2350-One USB Development Board, Waveshare RP2350B-Plus-W, and more. Feel free to check them out if you’re interested in these products.

ST87M01-1301 NB-IoT module

iLabs Challenger+ RP2350 NB-IoT Specifications:

• Microcontroller: Raspberry Pi RP2350A
  • CPU: Dual-core Arm Cortex-M33 @ 150 MHz
  • RISC-V: Dual-core 32-bit RISC-V @ 150 MHz
  • Up to two CPU cores can operate simultaneously
  • Internal RAM: 520 KB
  • OTP Memory: 8 KB
  • Package: QFN-60, 7 × 7 mm
• External Memory:
  • PSRAM: 8 MB
  • SPI Flash: 8 MB
• Cellular and GNSS Connectivity:
  • Modem: STMicroelectronics ST87M01-1301
  • Cellular Technology: LTE Cat NB2 (NB-IoT), 3GPP Release 15
  • Supported Bands: B1, B3, B5, B8, B20, and B28
  • Supports single-tone, multi-tone, Extended TBS, and 2 HARQ
  • Data Rate: Up to 127 kbps downlink and 159 kbps uplink
  • Transmit Power: Up to +23 dBm
  • Power-Saving Features: eDRX and PSM
  • PSM Sleep Current: 1.2 µA
  • Power-Off Current: As low as 0.5 µA
  • GNSS: GPS L1 and Galileo
  • Assisted GNSS: Supported over the NB-IoT connection for faster positioning
  • Indoor Positioning: Wi-Fi positioning using 802.11b access-point scanning
  • Module Package: LGA-51, 12.8 × 10.6 mm
• SIM Interface:
  • Nano-SIM card slot
  • Optional 1NCE IoT SIM with 500 MB data and 250 SMS
• Antenna Interfaces:
  • 2 × IPEX connectors
  • Dedicated interfaces for cellular and GNSS antennas
• USB Connectivity:
  • USB 1.1 Type-C
  • Up to 12 Mbps
  • Supports power delivery, data transfer, and programming
• Expansion Interfaces:
  • 16-pin + 12-pin expansion headers
  • Up to 20 × GPIO
  • 1 × SPI
  • 1 × I²C
  • 1 × UART
  • 4 × analog inputs
  • PWM functionality available on all pins
  • Reset and enable signals
  • VUSB 5V, 3.3V, VBAT, and GND pins
  • 2 × BConnect interfaces:
    • 1 × I²C
    • 1 × SWD + UART
• User Controls and Indicators:
  • Reset button
  • Boot button
  • Charging LED
  • User LED
• Power:
  • 5V input through USB-C or VUSB pin
  • 3.7V LiPo battery support through a 1.25 mm-pitch JST connector
  • Integrated LiPo battery charger
  • Charging Current: 500 mA standard
• Mechanical:
  • Form Factor: Adafruit Feather-compatible
  • Dimensions: 50.8 × 22.9 mm
  • Weight: 9 g
• Certifications and Compliance:
  • GCF
  • RED (EU)
  • RED-DA
  • RoHS

iLabs Challenger+ RP2350 bottom side

The Challenger+ RP2350 NB-IoT supports software development with Raspberry Pi Pico SDK, MicroPython and CircuitPython. ILABS also provides an Arduino/PlatformIO networking library implementing the standard Arduino network API, such that existing Wi-Fi or Ethernet-oriented sketches can be adapted to NB-IoT, without having to deal with most low-level modem commands directly. The module ST87M01-1301 has the following cybersecurity certifications GCF, RED and RED-DA. ILABS points out that these certifications may simplify the regulatory work for products employing the module, however final products will still be subject to compliance requirements specific to the application.  

The Challenger+ RP2350 NB-IoT is available on the iLabs store for SEK549 (roughly $58).

Images used courtesy of iLabs