Adding a WIZFI360 module to a Teensy 4.1

S

SteveSFX

Well-known member
Hi all. Been a while.

I plan to add WiFi ability to my Teensy 4.1 project, and need to keep the footprint down.

Found the WizFi360 modules.... not sure what they are like.

WizFi360 | WIZnet Co., Ltd.

WizFi360 is a small size WiFi module featuring 802.11b/g and 802.11n including a 2.4 GHz WLAN CMOS power amplifier (PA)
www.wiznet.io www.wiznet.io

Any recommendations on connections or other modules?

I am guessing SPI connection will be better than RX/TX?

Thanks!
 
I use ESP32C3s connected via Rx/Tx - 500000 bps is hast enough for me and easy to debug - send as text until sorted, then change to send binary data.
Below is a picture of the system I use, I acknowledge that it is probably much larger than you are looking for, but it just shows the possibilities.
The small board to the left of the larger board is a LilyGo T-01C3 (ESP32C3). For a compact system that would be great.
Another advantage of using ESP32C3 is the fact that it brings BlueTooth with it.
The other boards are a LION battery charge circuit for a 18650 cell together with two 3.2V to 5V step up boards. One by itself might not, (should be but on the limit) be enough for both the Teensy and the ESP32C3 so I have one for each MCU. Also in the middle of the board between the MCUs is a RV-3028-C7 RTC, a Thermistor circuit and an I2C breakout socket.
The WEAct Studio board can be seen here and here.

Teensy WiFi Sys2.jpg
 
SteveSFX said:
Ooh thanks.... Like the small footprint of the connector on that ESP32C3

I will take a look
Click to expand...
Which one the little one on the left or the one on the bottom right which has a USB C connector.
The one on the left has 2 rows of 4 pins.
 
SteveSFX said:
One on the left. I am really short of PCB space.
Click to expand...
Yes, those 8 pins only take up a small amount of space, the rest of the T-01C3 could just overhang the end.
The other thing you could do is mount the Teensy to the top of the PCB with the ESP32C3 mounted from below with a slight (say 0.2") offset from left or right. That way it would not take up much more area, though I would experiment with WiFi range if attaching above or below T4.1 before committing to the PCB.
Attached is more info on the Tenstar ESP32C3. Most, if not all the code, will be applicable to any ESP32C3.
 

Attachments

  • Tenstar Robot SuperMini WiFi Bluetooth ESP32C3 and other ESP32 useful info.pdf
    1.1 MB · Views: 112
SteveSFX said:
One on the left. I am really short of PCB space.
Click to expand...
Whilst you are developing your project (software wise) I suggest that you use an ESP32C3 board with a connector. It makes programming and re,re,re programming so much easier, just having to plug in the ESP32C3 rather than un plug it from the PCB, or test harness and plug it into a USB adaptor for programming. After you have done it a couple of times it becomes a real pain.
You can restrict yourself to the pins which only exist on the T-01C3 for your testing. Then when it is all working fine program it into the T-01C3.
For the programming I find that the WeAct Studio board is slightly better than the TenStar (less or no button pressing required).
 
Just an addition, if you are intending using the ESP32C3 from battery, the TenStar has an LED always on. I suppose it could be cut/clipped off.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions...

Led being on is fine, it has mains supply.
I will see if there is room on my PCB for that header... it's really tight.

I do have a space about 150mm way in the enclosure where a dedicated second comms PCB could go, but I don't like the idea of the wires between the boards.

I am also considering adding an external antenna. The enclosure is pretty thick and solid (PETG)
 
I would be interested to know how it all works out.
Another titbit, if you are sending to sleep and waking it up via Teensy, it takes the EST32C3 something like 50ms to become compos mentis.
 
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