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 Adafruit 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.
Adafruit 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 Adafruit 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. Adafruit 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. Adafruit don't have a detailed tutorial yet but to get you started, Adafruit have got a fully working Arduino library that is based off of TI's codebase but adapted for use with the AVR. We also have example code showing how to scan the SSID's, connect to your access point and run DHCP, do a DNS lookup to IP address, ping a site and connect to a remote TCP socket such as a website and print out the page.
Please note the hardware is good, but the library code does not yet support all of the CC3000's functionality. At this moment, SSID scanning, connection, DHCP, DNS lookup, ping, and UDP/TCP client & TCP server connections (eg connect to a website and grab data or host a very short website) all work and are tested with example code. Check out Adafruit's tutorial for wiring and Arduino library downloads
For use with Arduino Uno & Mega only at this time.
EagleCAD PCB files, schematics, and Fritzing Library available in the product tutorial
Exact shipping can be calculated on the view cart page (no login required).
Products that weigh more than 0.5 KG may cost more than what's shown (for example, test equipment, machines, >500mL liquids, etc).
We deliver Australia-wide with these options (depends on the final destination - you can get a quote on the view cart page):
Non-metro addresses in WA, NT, SA & TAS can take 2+ days in addition to the above information.
Some batteries (such as LiPo) can't be shipped by Air. During checkout, Express Post and International Methods will not be an option if you have that type of battery in your shopping cart.
International Orders - the following rates are for New Zealand and will vary for other countries:
If you order lots of gear, the postage amount will increase based on the weight of your order.
Our physical address (here's a PDF which includes other key business details):
Unit 18, 132 Garden Grove Parade
Adamstown
NSW, 2289
Australia
Take a look at our customer service page if you have other questions such as "do we do purchase orders" (yes!) or "are prices GST inclusive" (yes they are!). We're here to help - get in touch with us to talk shop.
Have a product question? We're here to help!
Makers love reviews as much as you do, please follow this link to review the products you have purchased.
Product Comments