Summary of SPARKFUN’S MICROMOD FAMILY GETS NEW MEMBERS – A NORDIC NRF52840 PROCESSOR AND A WEATHER CARRIER BOARD
SparkFun expanded its MicroMod ecosystem in late 2020 with a new nRF52840 Processor board and a Weather Carrier board. The nRF52840 Processor provides an ARM Cortex-M4 CPU plus a 2.4 GHz Bluetooth transceiver supporting Bluetooth 5, Bluetooth 5.1 features, Bluetooth mesh, IEEE 802.15.4 (Zigbee & Thread), and Nordic’s proprietary RF protocols. Both use the M.2 MicroMod connector to plug into existing MicroMod carrier boards, enabling flexible, plug-and-play combinations of processors and peripherals.
Parts used in the MicroMod nRF52840 Processor and Weather Carrier Project:
- MicroMod nRF52840 Processor Board
- Weather Carrier Board with three on-board sensors
- Artemis Processor Board
- ESP32 Processor Board
- SAMD51 Processor Board
- Input and Display Carrier
- Machine Learning Carrier
- ATP Carrier
- M.2 MicroMod connector (built into boards)
It was just around the last quarter of 2020 that SparkFun announced the MicroMod family — a new modular development ecosystem designed to take popular embedded devices and make them plug-and-play modular. “MicroMod makes exploring different microcontrollers easy,” said the Founder of SparkFun. You can plug various microcontrollers into various carrier boards according to your project requirements.
At first, when MicroMod was launched, three processors and four carrier boards were confirmed: an Artemis Processor Board, an ESP32 Processor Board, a SAMD51 Processor Board, an Input and Display Carrier, a Machine Learning Carrier and an ATP Carrier. Added to the list now is a new processor module based on the Nordic nRF52840 and a weather carrier board with three on-board sensors.
The MicroMod nRF52840 Processor offers a powerful combination of ARM Cortex-M4 CPU and 2.4 GHz Bluetooth transceiver in the MicroMod form-factor with the M.2 MicroMod connector to allow you to plug in a compatible MicroMod Carrier Board with any number of peripherals.
says SparkFun.
The Bluetooth transceiver included on the nRF52840 boasts a BT 5.1 stack and supports Bluetooth 5, Bluetooth mesh, IEEE 802.15.4 (Zigbee & Thread) and 2.4Ghz RF wireless protocols (including Nordic’s proprietary RF protocol) allowing you to pick which option works best for your application.
- What new MicroMod processor was added?
The MicroMod nRF52840 Processor based on the Nordic nRF52840 was added. - What new carrier board was introduced?
A Weather Carrier board with three on-board sensors was introduced. - What CPU does the nRF52840 Processor offer?
It offers an ARM Cortex-M4 CPU. - What wireless protocols does the nRF52840 support?
It supports Bluetooth 5, Bluetooth mesh, IEEE 802.15.4 (Zigbee and Thread), and Nordic’s proprietary 2.4 GHz RF protocols. - Does the nRF52840 include Bluetooth 5.1 features?
Yes, the Bluetooth transceiver boasts a BT 5.1 stack. - How do MicroMod processor boards connect to carrier boards?
They use the M.2 MicroMod connector to plug into compatible MicroMod Carrier Boards. - Can different processors be used with the same carrier board?
Yes, you can plug various MicroMod processor boards into different carrier boards according to project requirements. - What MicroMod processor boards were originally confirmed at launch?
The Artemis, ESP32, and SAMD51 Processor Boards were confirmed at launch. - What carrier boards were originally confirmed at launch?
The Input and Display Carrier, Machine Learning Carrier, and ATP Carrier were confirmed at launch.
