PL3120 Datasheet, PDF (2/13 Pages) List of Unclassifed Manufacturers – Line Smart Transceivers

®
Line Smart Transceivers can operate in ei-
ther the CENELEC utility (A-band) or gen-
eral signaling (C-band) bands, eliminating
the need to stock multiple parts for
different applications.
Unmatched Performance
Intermittent noise sources, impedance
changes, and attenuation make the power
line a hostile signaling environment. The PL
3120 and PL 3150 Power Line Smart Trans-
ceivers incorporate a variety of technical
innovations to insure reliable operation:
• Unique dual carrier frequency
feature automatically selects an al-
ternate secondary communication
frequency should the primary
frequency be blocked by noise;
• Highly efficient, patented, low-over-
head forward error correction
(FEC) algorithm to overcome
errors induced by noise;
• Sophisticated digital signal process-
ing, noise cancellation, and distor-
tion correction algorithms. These
features correct for a wide variety
of signaling impediments, including
impulsive noise, continuous tone
noise, and phase distortion;
• High output, low distortion external
amplifier design that can deliver
1Ap-p into low impedance loads,
eliminating the need for expensive
phase couplers in typical residential
applications.
The combination of these special features
enable the Power Line Smart Transceivers
to operate reliably in the presence of con-
sumer electronics, power line intercoms,
motor noise, electronic ballasts, dimmers,
and other typical sources of interference.
The Power Line Smart Transceivers can
communicate over virtually any AC or
DC power mains, as well as unpowered
twisted pair, by way of a low-cost,
external coupling circuit.
The PL 3120 Power Line Smart Transceiver
is targeted at very low cost designs that
require up to 4K Bytes of application code,
and an ultra-compact 38 TSSOP package.
The chip includes 4K Bytes of EEPROM and
2K Bytes of RAM. The Neuron system
firmware and software application libraries
are contained in on-chip ROM.
The PL 3150 Power Line Smart Transceiver
is intended for applications that need to
address up to 58K Bytes of external mem-
ory (16K Bytes is dedicated to the Neuron
system firmware) using a 64 LQFP pack-
age. The chip includes 0.5K Bytes of
EEPROM and 2K Bytes of RAM.
The PL 3120 and PL 3150 Power Line Smart
Transceivers operate at either 6.5536MHz
or 10.0MHz. The 6.5536MHz clock fre-
quency enables the Power Line Smart
Transceiver to communicate in the CEN-
ELEC A-band, which is used for metering
and utility applications. The 10MHz clock
frequency supports the CENELEC C-band,
which is used for general purpose signaling
and all non-utility related applications.
Application programs stored in the embed-
ded EEPROM (PL 3120 Power Line Smart
Transceiver) or in the external non-volatile
memory (PL 3150 Power Line Smart Trans-
ceiver) may be updated over the power
line network. This valuable feature enables
products to be updated without physically
accessing them, i.e., from a local PC with a
power line interface or from a remote
service center through an i.LON® Internet
Server. The embedded EEPROM may be
written up to 10,000 times with no data
loss. Data stored in the EEPROM will be
retained for at least ten years.
Inexpensive Power Supply
The PL 3120 and PL3150 Power Line Smart
Transceivers use +8.5 to +18VDC and
+5VDC power supplies and support very
low receive mode current consumption.
The wide power supply range and very
low receive power requirements allow
the use of inexpensive power supplies.
Additionally, the Power Line Smart Trans-
ceivers incorporate a power management
feature that constantly monitors the status
of the device’s power supply. If during
transmission the power supply voltage
falls to a level that is insufficient to ensure
reliable signaling, the transceiver stops
transmitting until the power supply voltage
rises to an acceptable level. This unique
feature allows the use of a power supply
with one-third the current capacity other-
wise required. The net result is a reduction
in the size, cost, and thermal dissipation
of the power supply. Power management is
especially useful for high volume, low-cost
consumer products such as electrical
switches, motion detectors, outlets, light
sensors, and dim
Flexible I/O, Simple
Configuration
The PL 3120 and PL 3150 Power Line Smart
Transceivers provide 12 I/O pins which can
be configured to operate in one or more
of 38 predefined standard input/output
modes. Combining a wide range of I/O
models with two on-board timer/counters
enables the PL 3120 and PL 3150 Power
Line Smart Transceivers to interface with
application circuits using minimal external
logic or software development. The Power
Line Smart Transceivers also feature a full
duplex hardware UART supporting baud
rates of up to 115kbps, and an SPI interface
that operates up to 625kbps.
External Components
Only a small number of inexpensive exter-
nal components are required to create a
complete Power Line Smart Transceiver-
based device (see the PL 3120 / PL 3150
Power Line Smart Transceiver Block Dia-
gram). These components include:
• Discrete interface circuitry com-
prised of roughly fifty components,
primarily resistors and capacitors.
This circuitry provides “front-end”
filtering for the on-chip A/D, and
implements the power amplifier
that drives the on-chip D/A transmit
signal onto the power line. Echelon
offers a comprehensive Power Line
Development Support Kit* (DSK)
with which customers can imple-
ment this interface circuitry. Contact
your salesperson for details about
purchasing a PL DSK.
• Coupling circuit consisting of
approximately ten components,
mainly capacitors and inductors,
which acts as a simple high-pass
filter located between the Power
Line Smart Transceiver and the
power mains. This circuitry provides
surge and line transient protection
in addition to blocking the low fre-
quency, 50Hz/60Hz AC mains
signal. Detailed schematics are
provided in the PL 3120 / PL 3150
Power Line Smart Transceiver
Data Book.
• The new RoHS compliant Revision
B Power Line Smart Transceivers
eliminate the need for an external
inverter, thereby reducing the cost
of external components. Circuits
without an external inverter can
only be used with Revision B parts
(15311R-1000 PL 3120 Power Line
Smart Transceiver and 15321R-960
PL 3150 Power Line Smart
Transceiver).
*Echelon Corporation has developed and
patented certain methods of implementing
circuitry external to the PL 3120 and PL 3150
Power Line Smart Transceiver chips. These
patents are licensed pursuant to the Echelon
Power Line Smart Transceiver Development
Support Kit License Agreement.
www.echelon.com