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After over 5 years in service, some parts of the BT redcare GSM STU were becoming harder to obtain; in particular, the Triscend E505 - since being discontinued when Xilinx acquired Triscend. Therefore BT sought tenders from parties interested to redesign and then manufacture a new generation product - to be called the "5G STU". In preparing their tender for this opportunity, Pressac Communications approached us for assistance in the embedded firmware development. |
The contract was awarded to Pressac in March 2008, and we were pleased to be able to assist during the development project.
For interchangeability with previous generations, Pressac's new design retains the original "foorprint" but, internally, an STM32 ARM Cortex-M3 processor is used instead of the 8051-based Triscend E5, and a WMP100 wireless microprocessor provides the GSM access, replacing the large WMOi3 "brick".
Having originally performed the development of the GSM communications on the GSM STU, our key role was again in implementing this onto the new platform. We were also able to offer some general assistance based on previous experience with the GSM STU, Keil tools, etc.
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After completing the development using the Wavecom WMP100, we were able to work with Pressac and Telit to provide compatibility with their GE864 module as a second source for GSM connectivity. Although Antronics Ltd is based in Basingstoke and Pressac in Nottingham, the vast majority of the development was completed "remotely" with periodic meetings for integration, etc. |
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Deliveries of the new STU products are scheduled to start in September 2009.
We are grateful to Pressac for their kind permission to feature their 5G STU project in this article.
Please note that Antronics Ltd does not sell or
support BT redcare products or services - for details of BT products and services,
please contact BT:
http://www.redcare.bt.com
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