Silex Unwired

Want to Enable USB as the Host Interface for our 802.11ah Kit?

WarehouseHaLow adds long-range, low-power connectivity, which is ideal in IoT environments, to the Wi-Fi portfolio. Sub-1 GHz operation and narrowband channels enable Wi-Fi HaLow to reach farther than other Wi-Fi versions, including better penetration through walls and other obstructions. Wi-Fi HaLow offers a single, open, industry-standard technology that meets IoT demands, including speed, power, distance, density, penetration, and security. As a result, Wi-Fi HaLow offers a much wider breadth of IoT applications than other technology options.

Wi-Fi HaLow facilitates a more holistic approach to wireless connectivity. Because it is part of the Wi-Fi family, it is more easily integrated with existing Wi-Fi networks, supports native IP networking, and provides the latest Wi-Fi security. The market is ripe for disruption. It needs to get thousands of devices on a single Access Point is fast approaching.

Want to have 802.11ah on a USB Dongle?

USB Icon

Last year we launched the industry’s first 802.11ah embedded module, the SX-NEWAH, which uses SPI as its host interface. How about if you could enable the USB interface by converting SPI into USB? There are many benefits of doing that.

 

Dongles are small, portable connectivity sticks that help connect to laptops, smartphones, tablets, or any other device with an available USB interface. It provides the devices convenient connectivity. USB dongles are incredibly useful for portable devices that need constant and convenient connectivity. By enabling USB, you can enable the Halow to any of your USB devices.

If you are looking at off-the-shelf Halow products, check out our Access Point and Bridge solutions to set up your 802.11ah infrastructure.

How to Set Up USB Interface on the SX-NEWAH-EVK?

There are two things you will need to achieve this.

  1. USB hardware and wiring to set up the SPI into a USB:

You will also need to establish a physical USB connection to insert the SX-NEWAH into a USB port. For the SX-NEWAH connection, we USB-SPI conversion function. SPI consists of 4 signals (MOSI, MISO, CLK, and CS) + GND as a minimum set of 5 pins. For this reason, we will use a specific cable and not just a just generic 4-pin USB-Serial cable. We recommend using FTDI C232HM-DDHSL-0, which has ten pins and is also known as the MPSSE (Multi-Protocol Synchronous Serial Engine) interface. SPI connection for FTDI C232HM-DDHSL-0 is shown below.

Color SPI Function Direction
Yellow MOSI Output
Green MISO Input
Orange SCK Output
Brown CS Output
Black GND N/A

 

SX-NEWAH-EVK FTDI USB-SPI Cable

 

SX-NEWAH-EVK  + FTDI SPI-USB Conversion Cable

 

  1. FTDI FT232H USB-SPI bridge driver for Linux:

As mentioned earlier, the SX-NEWAH module supports the SPI interface to connect to the host. We have documented instructions on enabling a USB interface for the SX-NEWAH module with the spi-ft232h, FTDI FT232H USB-SPI bridge Linux driver. Please download our app note for instructions and to learn more.

FTDI USB App Note for SX-NEWAH-EVK

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Download App Note

 

If you have any further questions, or wish to speak to our technical team, please reach out to our sales department to schedule a call at sales@silexamerica.com