Features
- Only 1.2” x 1.6” (41mm x 31mm) -- great for space-constrained projects
- Microchip MRF24WB0MA WiFi module:
- 2.4 GHz 802.11b/g/n transceiver
- built-in PCB antenna
- range up to 400m (1300ft)
- FCC certified and WFA certified
- 1 Mbps operation
- infrastructure and ad-hoc network modes
- ATmega328P microcontroller with 16 MHz 0.005% quartz crystal. The microcontroller includes:
- 32Kbytes FLASH (512 bytes used for bootloader)
- 2Kbytes SRAM
- 1Kbyte EEPROM
- 6 10-bit analog inputs, 3 timers, serial, I2C, and other peripherals
- Bootloader (optiboot) pre-installed, compatible with Arduino Uno bootloader
- Programmable from Arduino GUI software (see Programming section below)
- Free ATmega328P pins broken out to 0.1” pin header locations (pin headers sold separately)
- 6-pin programming header compatible with FTDI USB-to-serial cable or compatible USB-to-serial breakout products
- 5V and 3.3V output voltages
- Reset switch
- Power supply input range is 7V-24V
Here are some of the improvements we made over the original Asynclabs design:
- Beefier voltage regulators to supply more current at 5V and 3.3V
- Ultra-precise quartz crystal instead of resonator
- Latest Microchip WiFi module (the original Yellowjacket used the older ZG2100 module)
- Analog pins A4 and A5 were swapped on the original design; we unswapped them so they are in the right order
- Input voltages up to 24V are allowed
Software
The power of the Rugged Circuits Yellowjacket comes from the free software that quickly turns your board into a wireless web server, or a web client, or configurable socket-based server, and more. All this software (and lots of other information) is available from the Asynclabs Wiki. For a quick start:
- Download the WiShield library software and install in your Arduino libraries directory as the WiShield subdirectory. There are two versions, differing only by which version of the Arduino GUI software they work with:
- Restart the Arduino GUI so the new library is recognized.
- Download our WebServerDemo sample sketch.
The WebServerDemo sketch illustrates a simple web server with a minimum of code. We use this sketch to production test all Rugged Circuits Yellowjacket boards prior to shipping. The sketch does the following:
- Starts up a web server in ad hoc (computer-to-computer) mode
- Sets its IP address to 192.168.1.201
- Sets its SSID to “RuggedCircuits”
- Responds to incoming web page requests with the phrase “Hello World!! I am the Rugged Circuits Yellowjacket”
The sample sketch is ready to go when the green “connect” LED comes on. Then, set your computer’s wireless IP address to be on the same subnet (e.g., set it to 192.168.1.202) and just use your browser to connect to http://192.168.1.201 and you will see the above phrase.
NOTE: The WiShield library supports different types of applications: web server, web client, socket application, UDP application, and WiServer. The type of application must be configured in the apps-conf.h file in the WiShield library directory prior to compiling your sketch. Make sure to read the important notes on the Asynclabs Wiki for each application type. For example, here are the notes on the Web Server application type.
Connections
The connector diagram below shows the main connections to the Rugged Circuits Yellowjacket:
- Programming header JP1
- Arduino digital pins D2 to D13 on JP7
- Analog pins A0 to A5 (also digital pins D14 to D19) on JP6
- Power input, reset, and serial TXO/RXI signals on JP6
- +5V and +3.3V output voltages on single-pin headers
Power In
The Rugged Circuits Yellowjacket is powered from one of two sources:
- Programming header JP1 VCC pin: this source must be a regulated 5VDC supply that can provide at least 150mA
- JP6 header RAW pin 3: this must be a 7V-24VDC source that can supply at least 150mA
There is no automatic power switching. Only one power source should be connected. Note that when the power source is the RAW pin, the programming header VCC pin can source current at 5V.
Power Out
The on-board 5V and 3.3V regulated voltages are available at two single pin header locations, shown in the connector diagram above. The VCC pin of programming header JP1 can also be used to source 5V.
Programming
Programming Header
The Rugged Circuits Yellowjacket is programmed through programming header JP1. This is a 6-pin header that is compatible with the FTDI USB-to-serial programming cable, TTL-232R-3V3 (Digi-Key part #768-1015-ND, Mouser part #895-TTL-232R-3V3, Newark part #34M8872) or TTL-232R-5V (Mouser part #895-TTL-232R-5V, Digi-Key part #768-1028-ND). There are similar USB-to-serial products available from other vendors which should work just as well. The USB-to-serial cable appears as a regular serial port on your computer and will also appear in the “Serial Port” menu of the Arduino GUI software.
When this cable is used for programming, the cable’s black wire is pin 1 and should be on the left side of the connector when properly inserted. The green wire should be to the far right.
Uploading Sketches
To upload sketches to the Rugged Circuits Yellowjacket, the standard Arduino GUI can be used. Select the “Arduino Uno” as the target board. The Rugged Circuits Yellowjacket implements the Arduino auto-reset mechanism and comes pre-loaded with the Optiboot bootloader (the same one as on the Arduino Uno).
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