RedBearLab WiFi Mini

Everyone talks about the Internet of Things but few boards are available. The ARM Cortex-M4 CC3200 MCU from Texas Instruments combines a Cortex-M4 with a built-in WiFi radio. 

There is the LaunchPad CC3200, but it is difficult to integrate into a project. Many enthusiasts have asked for a DIP-form-factor board, and the RedBearLab WiFi mini answers that request.

The RedBearLab CC3200 comes in two flavours: 
  • the RedBearLab CC3200 board with Arduino form-factor, 
  • the ReadBearLab WiFi Mini with DIP20 form-factor.

Two warnings about the voltage limitations of the board.
  • The board operates at 3.3 V. Digital inputs are not 5 V-tolerant.
  • The analog inputs only accept up to 1.5 V.
Higher voltages will damage the MCU.
The CC3200MOD is certified for FCC, IC and CE, which means the board can be used in end products.

An auxiliary K20DX128VLF5 from Freescale acts as a programmer. Two extension headers allow to connect either the BLE mini or the BLE shield to the board.

The schematics are available at RedBearLab GitHub repository.

Software

The board runs on Energia right out of the box, with two frameworks: standard Energia and Energia MT based on RTOS.

Energīa is the Wiring / Arduino-compatible IDE or integrated development environment.  It is derived from Arduino 1.0. As Processing-based Wiring-derived, it is platform-agnostic and runs on Windows, Mac OS X or Linux.  

Other tools like CCS and IAR also support the board. 

The CC3200 boards are supported by embedXcode, embedded computing on Xcode.
Upload is done directly through USB and is managed by the K20DX128VLF5 from Freescale. 

However, once upload has been completed, the user needs to press the RESET button to launch the sketch. Energia release 15 displays an error message because it tries to perform an automatic reset of the board. Just ignore the error message.

I haven't found any debugging capabilities.

Pins Map

Picture

A Good Introduction to Internet of Things

Although more expensive than the LaunchPad WiFi with CC3200, the RedBearLab WiFi mini board comes with a certified CC3200. It thus offers a ready-to-use and certified module for an Internet of Things end product. 

Keep in mind the board operates at 3.3 V. The digital inputs are not 5 V-tolerant. The analog inputs only go up to 1,5 V, and any superior voltage would destroy the CC3200 and would turn it into a zombie. I'd have appreciated a voltage converter or, at least, a more explicit warning printed on the silk-screen. 

Pros

  • Very nice package, especially the DIP32
  • Certified CC3200MOD
  • Energia support
  • Standard software offer with Arduino-like Energia, and embedXcode.

Cons

  • No FPU, no debugging
  • 1,5 V-limited analog pins 
  • Real risk of zombification of the MCU

Wrap-Up

  • Good value
  • Certified WiFi module
  • DIP32 from-factor perfect for end project
  • No warning for the 1,5 V-limited analog inputs 

Links