Skip to content

WiFi TinyShield (OBSOLETE) Tutorial

The TinyShield WiFi Board lets you connect up your projects to the Internet over WiFi. This TinyShield is based around the TI CC3000 WiFi Module, which supports 802.11b/g, different security modes (None, WEP, WPA and WPA2) and has a built in TCP/IP Stack that supports up to 4 concurrent sockets.

This tutorial will show how to connect this module to your WiFi.

Learn more about the TinyDuino Platform


Technical Details

Written description of what the board does, typically links back to product page somehow.

To see what other TinyShields are compatible with this TinySheild, see the TinyShield Compatibility Matrix

Technical Details TI CC3000 WiFi Specs
  • IEEE 802.11 b/g (2.4GHz)
  • Embedded IPv4 TCP/IP stack
  • TX power: +18.0 dBm at 11 Mbps, CCK
  • RX sensitivity: –88 dBm, 8% PER, 11 Mbps
TinyDuino Power Requirements
  • Voltage: 3.3V - 5.5V
  • Current:
    • Active Mode: 92mA typ RX current
    • Shutdown Mode: <5uA
    • Due to the current requirements, this board cannot be run using the TinyDuino coin cell option
Pins Used
  • A3: VBAT_SW_EN - This signal is an input to the WiFi module and is used to enable or disable the module. Set this high to enable the module.
  • 8: SPI_CS - This signal is the SPI chip select for the WiFi module
  • 2: SPI_IRQ - This signal is the interrupt output from the WiFi module and into the TinyDuino.
  • 11: SCLK - This signal is the serial SPI clock out of the TinyDuino and into the WiFi module.
  • 12: MISO - This signal is the serial SPI data out of the WiFi module and into the TinyDuino.
  • 13: MOSI - This signal is the serial SPI data out of the TinyDuino and into the WiFi module.
Dimensions
  • 20mm x 36mm (.787 inches x 1.417 inches)
  • Max Height (from lower bottom TinyShield Connector to upper top TinyShield Connector): 5.11mm (0.201 inches)
  • Weight: 2.54 gram (.09 ounces)

Notes

  • Upon power up, the enable pin VBAT_SW_EN must be driven HIGH in order to allow the CC3000 to operate.
  • This board is compatible with the Adafruit CC3000 WiFi Library for the Arduino, however, some pins are different which requires the following minor change near the beginning of the Adafruit examples:
#define ADAFRUIT_CC3000_IRQ 2 // MUST be an interrupt pin!
#define ADAFRUIT_CC3000_VBAT A3
#define ADAFRUIT_CC3000_CS 8

Materials

Hardware

Software


Hardware Assembly

On top of your processor board of choice, place the WiFi TinyShield. Plug a MicroUSB cable into the micro USB port (or USB shield) and then plug the cable into an available USB port on your computer. Make sure the processor is switched on.


Software Setup

Be sure to download the Adafruit CC3000 Arduino Library when using this TinyShield.

Upload Program

This code simply provides the appropriate setup for this TinyShield. The Adafruit CC3000 Arduino Library contains several example sketches you can modify with the following definitions.

Code
// Pin definitions for the TinyCircuits WiFi TinyShield

// These are the interrupt and control pins
#define ADAFRUIT_CC3000_IRQ   2  // MUST be an interrupt pin!
#define ADAFRUIT_CC3000_VBAT  A3
#define ADAFRUIT_CC3000_CS    8

#define WLAN_SSID       "myNetwork"        // cannot be longer than 32 characters!
#define WLAN_PASS       "myPassword"

// Security can be WLAN_SEC_UNSEC, WLAN_SEC_WEP, WLAN_SEC_WPA or WLAN_SEC_WPA2
#define WLAN_SECURITY   WLAN_SEC_WPA2

// WEP with HEX Passphrases
//  #define WLAN_PASS       "8899aabbccdd"  //don't do it this way!
//do it this way:
//const char WLAN_PASS[] = {0x88, 0x99, 0xaa, 0xbb, 0xcc, 0xdd, 0x00};

void setup() {
  // put your setup code here, to run once:

}

void loop() {
  // put your main code here, to run repeatedly:

}

Downloads


Contact Us

If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to email us or make a post on our forum. Show us what you make by tagging @TinyCircuits on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook so we can feature it.

Thanks for making with us!