Wi-Fi 8 Click board brings Wi-Fi to the masses
Based on Microchip’s integrated, low power ATWINC3400-MR210CA Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0-certified module, WiFi 8 Click is the latest compact add-on peripheral board from MikroElektronika (Mikroe).
The Microchip module is optimised for low power and high-performance mobile applications and this Click board can add wireless connectivity to designs in development. While wireless communication is widely used, different environments and applications require different Wi-Fi chips and modules, explained Nebojsa Matic, CEO at Mikroe. “If you have a Wi-Fi router connected to a fixed broadband line, Liechtenstein has the fastest Wi-Fi speeds in the world at 229.98Mbits per second . . . Even on Everest there is Wi-Fi, at least at base camp. Whatever the need, bringing mobility and internet to your design is just a Click away,” he said.
The Wi-Fi 8 Click board, is priced at $34.00, making it suitable for use in highly integrated and cost-effective applications, industrial wireless control, Bluetooth gateway, smart home applications and other cost-sensitive projects. The module comes with integrated power and low noise amplifiers, transmit/receive switch (for WiFi and Bluetooth), a power management unit, an integrated 2.4GHz chip antenna, and an additional 32.768 kHz clock for sleep operation.
It uses optimised IEEE 802.11 Bluetooth co-existence protocols and provides a serial peripheral interface (SPI) to interface with the host controller.
WiFi 8 Click joins 15 other Wi-Fi Clicks available from Mikroe. The total number of Click peripheral development boards offered by the company is now over 1,000.
Mikroe’s Click boards are supported by a mikroSDK compliant library, which includes functions that simplify software development. Click boards feature the company’s standard 16-pin mikroBUS socket. This standardised approach enables design engineers to change peripherals easily, cutting months off development time, said Mikroe.
MikroElektronika invented the mikroBUS development socket standard which is included on the development boards of leading microcontroller companies such as Microchip, Renesas and Toshiba.
SiBRAIN is Mikroe’s latest standard for MCU development add-on boards and sockets. MikroElektronika claims to also make the world’s widest range of compilers and additionally provides development environments, development boards, smart displays and program debuggers.
