This topic describes how to connect a microcontroller (MCU) to a demo board that includes a communication module. It also describes how to build a development environment, create a project, import a device SDK, and configure the project.

Background information

The following figure shows the demo boards.

  • NUCLEO-F103RB NUCLEO-F103RB

    The following figure shows pins for the demo board.

    pins
  • SIM800C mini v2.0SIM800C

    The following figure shows pins for the demo board.

    pins
    Pin Description
    PWR Power switch. Automatic power-on is enabled by default.
    STA Status.
    GND Ground.
    RXD Receive data.
    TXD Transmit data.
    EN Enable.
    VIN 5 V to 18 V input.

Connect demo boards

Connect the RXD pin of a demo board to the TXD pin of the other demo board. This allows you to establish a connection and run AT commands. The following figure shows how to connect the demo boards.

connect

Build a development environment

This section uses the STM32CubeMX tool as an example. For more information, visit STM32Cube Ecosystem.

  1. Open the STM32CubeMX tool and click New Project.
    New Project
  2. On the Board Selector tab, search for NUCLEO-F103RB and click STM32F103RBTx.
    Board Seletor
  3. In the upper-right corner, click Start Project.
  4. In the left-side navigation pane, click Connectivity, select USART1 as the port for communication between the MCU and the communication module. Set the following parameters:
    • Set Mode to Asynchronous.
    • In the Configuration section, set the following parameters:
      • On the GPIO Settings tab, select PA9 and PA10 in the Pin field.
      • On the NVIC Settings tab, set USART1 global interrupt to Enabled.
    Configuration
  5. On the Project Manager tab, specify the required parameters in the Project section.
    • Set Toolchain/IDE to EWARM V8.
    • Set Heap/Stack size based on your business requirements.
    Project Manager
  6. In the upper-right corner, click GENERATE CODE to generate code for the project.