User's Manual

MC46 Hardware Interface Description
DRAFT
MC46_HD_V02.8xb Page 16 of 98 21.08.2003
2 Product concept
Designed for use on any GSM network in the world, Siemens MC46 is a tri-band GSM/GPRS
engine that works on the three frequencies GSM 850 MHz, GSM 1800 MHz and GSM
1900 MHz. MC46 features GPRS multislot class 10 and supports the GPRS coding schemes
CS-1, CS-2, CS-3 and CS-4.
To save space on the application platform, MC46 comes as an extremely slim and compact
module. This makes it ideally suited for a broad range of mobile computing devices, such as
laptops, notebooks, multimedia appliances, and particularly offers easy integration with
PDAs, pocket organizers or miniature mobile phones.
The tiny MC46 module incorporates all you need to create high-performance GSM/GPRS
solutions: baseband processor, power supply ASIC, complete radio frequency circuit
including a power amplifier and antenna interface. The power amplifier is directly fed from
the supply voltage BATT+. The MC46 software is residing in a flash memory device. An
additional SRAM enables MC46 to meet the demanding requirements of GPRS connectivity.
The physical interface to the cellular application is made through a board-to-board
connector. It consists of 50 pins, required for controlling the unit, transferring data and audio
signals and providing power supply lines.
MC46 comprises two serial interfaces (ASC0 and ASC1) giving you maximum flexibility for
easy integration with the Man-Machine Interface (MMI).
An extremely versatile audio concept offers various audio interfaces, each available on the
board-to-board connector: a digital audio interface (DAI) and two analog audio interfaces.
This allows you to connect up to three audio devices in any combination, all at the same
time. Using AT commands you can easily switch back and forth and select different audio
modes.
The external dual-band or triple-band antenna can be connected optionally to a connector on
the top side or to a pad on the bottom side.
The power saving technique minimizes current consumption to as low as 3mA. In SLEEP
mode, MC46 is able to wake up on demand and to resume power saving automatically if no
activity is required.
For battery powered applications, MC46 features a charging control which can be used to
charge a Li-Ion battery. The charging circuit must be implemented outside the module on the
application platform.