DESCRIPTION
For years we've seen all sorts of microcontroller-friendly WiFi modules but none of them were
really Adafruit-worthy. Either they were too slow, or too difficult to use, or required signing an
NDA, or had limited functionality, or too expensive, or too large. So we shied away from
creating or developing a WiFi Arduino shield.
NO LONGER! The CC3000 hits that sweet spot of usability, price and capability. It uses SPI for
communication (not UART!) so you can push data as fast as you want or as slow as you want. It
has a proper interrupt system with IRQ pin so you can have asynchronous connections. It
supports 802.11b/g, open/WEP/WPA/WPA2 security, TKIP & AES. A built in TCP/IP stack with a
"BSD socket" interface. TCP and UDP in both client and server mode, up to 4 concurrent
sockets. It does not support "AP" mode, it can connect to an access point but it cannot be an
access point.
Please note that the CC3000 module is being phased out and we suggest the WINC1500 as a
replacement - it has SSL support, soft-AP capability, and is more reliable.
We wrapped this little silver module in a tidy Arduino shield. It has an onboard 3.3V regulator
that can handle the 350mA peak current, and a level shifter to allow 3 or 5V logic level. This
version of the CC3000 breakout does not have an onboard antenna - instead we placed a
standard uFL connector so that an external 2.4GHz antenna can be used. You will need to
purchase a uFL to RP-SMA adapter cable and a 2.4GHZ 'WiFi' antenna to use! See below for
these items. This option can give you better range and makes it easier to enclose in a box. We
use the same route and layout as TI's eval board, however, this module is no longer
automatically FCC certified when an external antenna is used.
Each order comes with one fully assembled and tested shield, some male header for attaching it
to an Arduino and a 2x3 female header that you can use to plug it into the ICSP port of a Mega.