SparkFun Thing Plus – NORA-W306

The SparkFun Thing Plus – NORA-W306 is a Feather form-factor development board equipped with the u-blox NORA-W306 module. The module contains a Realtek RTL8720DF, which has an integrated single-chip low-power dual-band (2.4GHz and 5GHz) Wireless LAN (WLAN) and Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE 5.3) communication microcontroller. It also consists of a dual processor core: Arm Cortex-M33 and Cortex-M23. To complement the module’s low-power options, we’ve optimised components and added the ability to depower all subsystems to conserve as much power as possible for remote battery-powered applications.

Why the name? We lovingly call it the “Thing” because it’s perfect for your Internet of Things project. The Thing does everything from turning on an LED to posting data with your chosen platform and can be programmed just like any microcontroller. You can even program the Thing through the Arduino IDE by installing the Realtek Arduino core.

The board includes a USB-C connector for programming, data, or power. USB data lines are protected by the ESD protection diodes. These pins are connected to a CP2102N USB-to-serial converter for uploading code or serial. Three general use, reset, and boot buttons are also populated on the board. For those that need to go remote with their application, the board includes a 2-pin JST-style connector and MCP73831 single-cell LiPo charge IC (set to a default rate of 500mA). Not sure how much power you have left on your battery? There’s also a MAX17048 single-cell, LiPo fuel gauge populated on the board. Voltage is regulated down for the NORA-W306 with the XC6222 3.3V/700mA voltage regulator.

We’ve included LEDs for power, charging, and a general-purpose user LED. You will also find a small WS2812-2020 addressable RGB LED. Pins are broken out on the board’s edge for 20 GPIO pins (20 interrupts, three 12-bit analogues, 12 PWM, two UARTs, two SPI, and one I2C). The board also includes a microSD card socket with a transistor to toggle power for low-power applications. On the back of the board are nine jumpers for the LiPo charge rate, current measurements, LEDs, microSD card power control, USB shielding, and I2C pull-up resistors. Finally, one Qwiic connector is populated on the board to add Qwiic-enabled I2C devices to your projects easily!

So what are you waiting for? Connect the SparkFun Thing Plus – NORA-W306 to the cloud to start grabbing current weather conditions in your area, post sensor data to a server, synchronise your clock to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), turn on lights for home automation, or monitor HVAC systems in smart buildings!

Note: Other boards, cables and the Lipo battery are NOT included

Get Started with the Sparkfun Thing Plus NORA-W306 Hookup Guide

Features

• u-blox NORA-W306 Module
  • Dual-band Wi-Fi 4 (802.11a/b/g/n)
    • 2.4GHz and 5GHz WiFi Frequency Bands
    • WPA2/WPA3 Authentication
  • Bluetooth® Low Energy V5.3
    • 2.4GHz Frequency Band
    • Bluetooth LE secure connection pairing
  • Built-in PCB antenna
  • Realtek RTL8720DF Dual Processor Core
    • 200MHz Arm® Cortex®-M33 (Main Core)
    • 20MHz Arm Cortex-M2 (Low Power Core)
    • Arm TrustZone™ Hardware Encryption
    • Cryptographic Hardware Accelerator Engine
    • Secure Boot
    • Secure Debug Interface
    • Encrypted 4MB Flash
    • 512kB RAM (Main Core)
    • 64kB RAM (Low Power Core)
  • Small Form Factor
    • 14.3mm x 10.4mm x 1.9mm
• Thing Plus (or Feather) Form-Factor
  • Breadboard-compatible 0.1′ (2.54 mm) pitch headers
  • Board Dimensions: 0.9′ x 2.3′ (22.86mm x 58.42mm)
  • 20x Available GPIO
    • Up to 20x Interrupts
    • Up to 3x 12-bit ADC
    • Up to 12x PWM
    • Up to 2x UARTs
    • Up to 2x SPI
    • Up to 1x I²C
  • Four Mounting Holes
    • 4-40 screw compatible
  • 30x PTHs
  • 1x USB Type C Connector
  • 1x 2-pin JST-style Connector for a LiPo Battery (not included)
  • 1x 2 x 5 SWD Programming Port Footprint
  • 1x MicroSD Card Socket
  • 1x 4-pin Qwiic Connector
• ESD Protected USB Data Pins
• CP210X USB-to-Serial Converter
  • Automatically depowered when USB-C is not connected (Ideal for low-power battery-powered applications).
• XC6222 3.3V/700mA Voltage Regulator
• MCP73831 Single Cell, LiPo Charge IC
  • Charge Rate Set to 500mA (default)
• MAX17048 Single Cell LiPo Fuel Gauge
• 2.2kΩ I²C Pull-Up Resistors
• Buttons
  • Boot (BOOT)
  • Reset (RESET)
  • User (USR IO2)
• LEDs
  • 3.3V Power (PWR)
  • Charger (CHG)
  • Status (IO18)
  • RGB Addressable WS2812-2020 (RGB IO14)
• Jumpers
  • Measurement
  • Power LED
  • Charge LED
  • Status LED
  • 3.3V RGB Addressable LED WS2812-2020
  • Data In RGB Addressable LED WS2812-2020
  • microSD Card Power Control
  • LiPo Charge Rate (500mA/100mA)
  • USB Shielding
  • I2C Pull-Up Resistors
• Weight: 6.60g

Resources

• Schematic
• Eagle Files
• Board Dimensions
• Hookup Guide
• Component Datasheet
  • u-blox NORA-W306
    • Product Summary
    • Datasheet
    • Integration Manual
  • XC6222 3.3V/700mA Voltage Regulator
  • MCP73831 LiPo Charger
  • MAX17048 LiPo Fuel Gauge
  • WS2812C-2020 RGB Addressable LED
• Graphical Datasheet
• Fritzing Part
• Qwiic Info Page
• Compare Thing Plus Boards
• CP2102 Drivers
• Realtek: Arduino Board Support Files
• Arduino Libraries
  • MAX17048
  • SdFat
• GitHub Hardware Repo