AF Feather overview

This content is out dated.

Adafruit has developed a complete line of development boards that are standalone, stackable, small, and portable. Conceptually they are similar to the Arduino line, but much smaller in size, and they also feature built-in portability through the use of chargable lipo batteries.

The product line is based on Feather boards and what they call FeatherWings. All Feather boards have at a minimum a microcontroller, while some have WiFi, bluetooth, packet radio, data logger, and other high value components integrated into the board. The FeatherWings are similar to an Arduino shield in that they typically stacked on top of a Feather board to add additional functionality to a Feather board.

Feather Boards

Currently, Feather Boards include one of the following microcontroller cores:

ATmega32u4 @ 8MHz with 3.3V logic/power (Feather 32u4 Basic Proto)
32 bit ARM Cortex-M4 (Teensy 3.x Feather Adapter)
STM32F205RG 120MHz ARM Cortex M3 MCU (AF WICED WiFi Feather)
240 MHz dual core Tensilica LX6 microcontroller with 600 DMIPS (AF HUZZAH32 – ESP32 )
ARM Cortex M4F @ 64MHz (AF nRF52 Bluefruit LE)
ATSAMD21G18 @ 48MHz with 3.3V logic/power (Feather M0)
ATSAMD21G18 @ 48MHz with 3.3V logic/power (AF Mo Express)
ATmega328p @ 8MHz with 3.3V logic/power (AF 328P)

Nearly all boards can be programmed in the Arduino IDE environment after the appropriate drivers and libraries are installed.

**Comparison Table**
Name	Features
Adafruit HUZZAH32 – ESP32	WiFi and Bluetooth Classic/LE. 240 MHz dual core Tensilica LX6 microcontroller with 600 DMIPS
nRF52840 Express	Bluetooth Low Energy and native USB support via the nRF52840. ARM Cortex M4F (with HW floating point acceleration) running at 64MHz CircuitPython.
HUZZAH ESP8266	ESP8266 @ 80 MHz WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
M0 Bluefruit LE	Bluetooth Low Energy (BTLE) nRF51822 ATSAMD21G18 ARM Cortex M0 processor 48 MHz
M4 Express featuring ATSAMD51	ATSAMD51 32-bit Cortex M4 core running at 120 MHz, 32-bit Arduino & CircuitPython
STM32F405	CircuitPython @ 168MHz STM32F405 Cortex M4 + FPU 1MB Flash 168MHz
Feather M0 Basic	ATSAMD21G18 ARM Cortex M0 processor 48 MHz
32u4 Bluefruit LE	Arduino compatible + BTLE nRF51822 ATmega32u4 8 MHz
nRF52 Pro	BTLE 5.0 nRF52832 Mynewt RTOS NOT for Arduino IDE ARM Cortex M4F 64MHz
Atmega328P	ATmega328P @ 8 MHz
STM32F205 with Cypress WICED WiFi	STM32F205RG 120MHz ARM Cortex M3 MCU BCM43362 802.11b/G/N radio

Digital Output

Note that digital output in mA is typically lower than what an Arduino Uno for example can handle. The exact limits per pin vary by Feather model, but in general try to keep it to a maximum of 5 mA. 3.3V & 680 ohms = 4.9 mA 3.3V & 1000 ohms = 3.3 mA.

FeatherWings or WINGS

Adafruit FeatherWings (WINGS) stack on top of Feather boards (that have a microcontroller) and add additional functionality through the stacked electrical connection. A diverse scope of components are covered, including (but not limited to):

The links for each item above are typically only for one of many WING products that are available.

Installing OS Drivers and Arduino IDE Setup

Windows OS drivers need to be installed so that the Feather connected to the PC via USB can be recognized. Follow the Adafruit instructions and download and install the drivers. Many Feather devices use either the CP2104 micro USB or the newer CP2102N USB C to serial converter, requiring the installation of the CP210x driver for your OS. (install the .inf file).

Feather boards that work in the Arduino IDE environment require Arduino IDE version 1.8 or higher.

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