What's Whisper Node?
It's a real ultra-low power board based on the popular Atmel AVR ATMega328p, an Arduino Clone. Thanks to the highly efficient MCP16251 Step-up Switching regulator, this board can be powered with little as 0.9V. In other words, you can run it on a single Alkaline Cell until the battery is totally dry.
Alternatively you could connect a 5V power supply, like an USB charger, and take advantage of the dual 300mA LDO regulator, giving more flexibility while developing or running hunger projects. Having two independent 3.3V rails is a great solution to prevent other components from taking power of the core circuits.
As standard, this board comes with a RFM69W Sub-GHz RF module, giving you wireless connectivity out of the box! Finally a W25C40 4MBit SPI Flash is attached to the PCB, giving you plenty of storage and option for remote firmware upgrade over-the-air. You get all this running on a board that consumes less than 4µA in sleep mode when powered by a 3V source, like two Alkaline cells.
Dimensions and Connections
- Board size: 65.65 x 26.75 x 1.6mm + connectors overhanging
- GPIOs: Two 17 Pin PCB Header to access all MCU Pins, Vin, Vbat, and both 3.3V Rails
- Standard 3×2 ISP Header
- 6 Pin FTDI Header
- Micro USB for External Power supply
- Pico-blade 1.25mm for Battery Connection
- RF SMA Connection for external Antenna
Components
- MCU Atmel 8-bit AVR: ATMega328P-AU (32Kb WhisperNode_0.3v_RTC_CR2032Flash/2Kb RAM)
- 4Mbit SPI Flash: W25X40
- Sub-GHz RF Module: RFM69
- Step Up Switching Regulator: MCP16251
- Dual LDO Regulator: AP7332
- 16Mhz high precision Crystal
- 2x Feedback LEDs (Blue and Yellow)
- 2x Tactile User Buttons
- 2dB omni-directional SMA antenna
Optionals
- CR2032 Battery Holder
- Real-Time Clock Kit
- High Input Voltage LDO 1117 Kit
Additional Resources
- Documentation and Code Repository: https://bitbucket.org/talk2
- YouTube Intro: - YouTube
Where to Buy
Available on our official on-line store: Whisper Node - AVR - Wisen