Adafruit Feather 32u4 with RFM69HCW Packet Radio - 433MHz (RadioFruit)

The Adafruit Feather 32u4 RFM69HCW 433MHz combines an ATmega32u4 microcontroller with a built-in packet radio, offering USB connectivity, battery charging, and long-range wireless communication in a compact Feather format.

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This is the Adafruit Feather 32u4 Radio (RFM69HCW) 433MHz. We call these RadioFruits, our take on an microcontroller packet radio transceiver with built in USB and battery charging. Its an Adafruit Feather 32u4 with a 433 MHz radio module cooked in! Great for making wireless networks that can go further than 2.4GHz 802.15.4 and similar, are more flexible than Bluetooth® LE and without the high power requirements of WiFi. 

Feather is the new development board from Adafruit, and like its namesake it is thin, light, and lets you fly! We designed Feather to be a new standard for portable microcontroller cores.

We have other boards in the Feather family, check'em out here.

This is the 433 MHz frequency module version. We also sell a 900MHz version which can be used for either 868MHz or 915MHz transmission/reception. If you want much longer range, check out the LoRa 433MHz Feather.

At the Feather 32u4's heart is at ATmega32u4 clocked at 8 MHz and at 3.3V logic, a chip setup we've had tons of experience with as it's the same as the Flora. This chip has 32K of flash and 2K of RAM, with built in USB so not only does it have a USB-to-Serial program & debug capability built in with no need for an FTDI-like chip, it can also act like a mouse, keyboard, USB MIDI device, etc.

To make it easy to use for portable projects, we added a connector for any of our 3.7V Lithium polymer batteries and built in battery charging. You don't need a battery, it will run just fine straight from the micro USB connector. But, if you do have a battery, you can take it on the go, then plug in the USB to recharge. The Feather will automatically switch over to USB power when its available. We also tied the battery thru a divider to an analogue pin, so you can measure and monitor the battery voltage to detect when you need a recharge.

Here's some handy specs! Like all Feather 32u4's you get:

• Measures 2.0" x 0.9" x 0.28" (51mm x 23mm x 8mm) without headers soldered in
• Light as a (large?) feather - 5.5 grams
• ATmega32u4 @ 8MHz with 3.3V logic/power
• 3.3V regulator with 500mA peak current output
• USB native support, comes with USB bootloader and serial port debugging
• You also get tons of pins - 20 GPIO pins
• Hardware Serial, hardware I2C, hardware SPI support
• 8 x PWM pins
• 10 x analogue inputs
• Built in 100mA lipoly charger with charging status indicator LED
• Pin #13 red LED for general purpose blinking
• Power/enable pin
• 4 mounting holes
• Reset button

This Feather 32u4 Radio uses the extra space left over to add a RFM69HCW 433 MHz radio module:

• SX1231 based module with SPI interface
• Packet radio with ready-to-go library
• Uses the amateur or license-free ISM band (ITU "Europe" license-free ISM or ITU "American" amateur with limitations)
• +13 to +20 dBm up to 100 mW Power Output Capability (selectable in software)
• Range of approx. 350 meters, depending on obstructions, frequency, antenna and power output
• Create multipoint networks with individual node addresses
• Encrypted packet engine with AES-128
• Simple wire antenna or spot for uFL connector

Comes fully assembled and tested, with a USB bootloader that lets you quickly use it with the Arduino IDE. We also toss in some headers so you can solder it in and plug into a solderless breadboard. You will need to cut and solder on a small piece of wire (any solid or stranded core is fine) in order to create your antenna.

Please note: Lipoly battery, breadboard and USB cable not included. 

Features

• ATmega32u4 microcontroller @ 8MHz with 3.3V logic
• 433 MHz RFM69HCW radio module with SPI interface
• 20 GPIO pins with hardware Serial, I2C, and SPI support
• 8 PWM pins and 10 analogue inputs
• 32KB flash memory and 2KB RAM
• Native USB support with bootloader and serial debugging
• Built-in 100mA LiPo battery charger with status indicator
• 3.3V regulator with 500mA peak output
• +13 to +20 dBm power output (up to 100mW, selectable)
• ~350 meter range depending on conditions
• Encrypted packet engine with AES-128
• Compact size: 2.0" x 0.9" x 0.28" (51mm x 23mm x 8mm)
• Weighs 5.5 grams
• Battery voltage monitoring via analogue pin
• License-free ISM band operation
• Fully assembled with Arduino IDE compatible bootloader

Specifications

• Product Dimensions: 51mm x 23mm x 8mm
• Weight: 5.5g

Revision History

• As of Dec 11, 2023 - We've updated this PCB with Adafruit Pinguin to make a lovely and legible silkscreen.

Package Contents

• 1x Adafruit Feather 32u4 with RFM69HCW Packet Radio - 433MHz (RadioFruit)
• 2x Header Strips