AzureWave Thing Plus (AW-CU488) Hookup Guide

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Contributors: QCPete, bboyho
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Introduction

The SparkFun AzureWave Thing Plus is a Feather form-factor development board equipped with the AW-CU488. The module features the Realtek RTL8721DM integrated single-chip low power dual band (2.4GHz and 5GHz) wireless LAN . It also consists of a dual processor core: Real-M300 CPU (Armv8-M, Cortex-M33) and Real-M200 CPU (Armv8-M, Cortex-M23). Connect the SparkFun AzureWave Thing Plus to the cloud to grab current weather conditions in your area, post sensor data to a server, control the lights in your next home automation project, or even calculate the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) of an input audio signal!

SparkFun AzureWave Thing Plus - AW-CU488

SparkFun AzureWave Thing Plus - AW-CU488

DEV-19957
$49.95 $28.50

Required Materials

To follow along with this tutorial, you will need the following materials at a minimum. You may not need everything though depending on what you have. Add it to your cart, read through the guide, and adjust the cart as necessary.

Reversible USB A to C Cable - 2m

Reversible USB A to C Cable - 2m

CAB-15424
$8.95
1
SparkFun AzureWave Thing Plus - AW-CU488

SparkFun AzureWave Thing Plus - AW-CU488

DEV-19957
$49.95 $28.50
Note: Click below for a wishlist of the minimum parts.

Tools

You will need a soldering iron, solder, and general soldering accessories for a secure connection when using the plated through holes.

Soldering Iron - 60W (Adjustable Temperature)

Soldering Iron - 60W (Adjustable Temperature)

TOL-14456
$16.50
16
Flush Cutters - Xcelite

Flush Cutters - Xcelite

TOL-14782
$14.00
2
Solder Lead Free - 15-gram Tube

Solder Lead Free - 15-gram Tube

TOL-09163
$3.95
4

Prototyping Accessories

Depending on your setup, you may want to use IC hooks for a temporary connection. However, you will want to solder header pins to connect devices to the plated through holes for a secure connection. For those using the stackable headers, you will want to cut or pull a pin from the 6-pin header to connect to the rows of 1x5 pins on the AzureWave Thing Plus.

Breadboard - Self-Adhesive (White)

Breadboard - Self-Adhesive (White)

PRT-12002
$5.50
48
Break Away Headers - Straight

Break Away Headers - Straight

PRT-00116
$1.75
20
IC Hook with Pigtail

IC Hook with Pigtail

CAB-09741
$5.50
10
Arduino Stackable Header - 6 Pin

Arduino Stackable Header - 6 Pin

PRT-09280
$0.75
Feather Stackable Header Kit

Feather Stackable Header Kit

PRT-15187
$1.75

Qwiic Cables

For those that want to take advantage of the Qwiic enabled devices, you'll want to grab a Qwiic cable.

SparkFun Qwiic Cable Kit

SparkFun Qwiic Cable Kit

KIT-15081
$8.95
21
Qwiic Cable - 100mm

Qwiic Cable - 100mm

PRT-14427
$1.50

Qwiic Cable - 500mm

PRT-14429
1 Retired
Qwiic Cable - Breadboard Jumper (4-pin)

Qwiic Cable - Breadboard Jumper (4-pin)

PRT-14425
$1.50

LiPo Battery

A single-cell Lithium-ion battery can be connected to the AzureWave Thing Plus (AW-CU488) for portability.

Lithium Ion Battery - 1250mAh (IEC62133 Certified)

Lithium Ion Battery - 1250mAh (IEC62133 Certified)

PRT-18286
$10.95
1
Lithium Ion Battery - 400mAh

Lithium Ion Battery - 400mAh

PRT-13851
$5.50
11
Lithium Ion Battery - 850mAh

Lithium Ion Battery - 850mAh

PRT-13854
$10.95
2

Lithium Ion Battery - 1Ah

PRT-13813
8 Retired

Suggested Reading

If you aren't familiar with the Qwiic system, we recommend reading here for an overview if you decide to take advantage of the Qwiic connector.

Qwiic Connect System
Qwiic Connect System

We would also recommend taking a look at the following tutorials if you aren't familiar with them.

How to Solder: Through-Hole Soldering

This tutorial covers everything you need to know about through-hole soldering.

Installing Arduino IDE

A step-by-step guide to installing and testing the Arduino software on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Arduino Shields v2

An update to our classic Arduino Shields Tutorial! All things Arduino shields. What they are and how to assemble them.

Installing Board Definitions in the Arduino IDE

How do I install a custom Arduino board/core? It's easy! This tutorial will go over how to install an Arduino board definition using the Arduino Board Manager. We will also go over manually installing third-party cores, such as the board definitions required for many of the SparkFun development boards.

Serial Communication

Asynchronous serial communication concepts: packets, signal levels, baud rates, UARTs and more!

Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI)

SPI is commonly used to connect microcontrollers to peripherals such as sensors, shift registers, and SD cards.

Pulse Width Modulation

An introduction to the concept of Pulse Width Modulation.

Logic Levels

Learn the difference between 3.3V and 5V devices and logic levels.

I2C

An introduction to I2C, one of the main embedded communications protocols in use today.

Analog vs. Digital

This tutorial covers the concept of analog and digital signals, as they relate to electronics.

Noisy Cricket Stereo Amplifier - 1.5W Hookup Guide

A hookup guide for the Noisy Cricket Stereo Amplifier - 1.5W.

Analog MEMS Microphone Breakout - SPH8878LR5H-1 Hookup Guide

Get started with sound monitoring using the SparkFun analog MEMS microphone breakout board with Arduino!