Feather / FeatherWing Specification

Introduction

Adafruit makes Feather devices that generally have a microcontroller (MCU).   They also make FeatherWings that stack on the Feather and add additional functionality such as GPS, sensor, etc.   The link below to the Adafruit Feather/FeatherWing specification provides a lot of information.   I will only summarize what I find most helpful, or missing.  

Afafruit's Feather Specification

Pinout Reference
Feather
Spec.
Feather
M0 Basic
Feather
M4 Express
| Feather
Spec.
Feather
M0 Basic
Feather
M4 Express
RST RST RST | --- --- ---
3V3 3V3 3V3 | --- --- ---
ARf ARf ARf | --- --- ---
GND GND GND | --- --- ---
A0 A0 D14 A0 D14 | Vbat Vbat Vbat
A1 A1 D15 A1 D15 | EN EN EN
A2 A2 D16 A2 D16 | Vbus Vbus Vbus
A3 A3 D17 A3 D17 | D13 D13
LED
D13
LED
A4 or D24 (2) A4 D18 A4 D18 | D12 D12 D12
A5 or D25 (2) A5 D19 A5 D19 | D11 D11 D11
SCK D24
SCK
D25
SCK
| D10 D10 D10
MO D23
MOSI
D24
MOSI
| D9 A7 D9 D9
MI 22
MISO
23
MISO
| D6 D6 D6
Rx D0 0 0 | D5 D5 D5
Tx D1 D1 D1 | SCL D21
SCL
D21
SCL
(1) GND D4 | SDA D20
SDA
D22
SDA

Color Key: SPI   I2C (I2C pullup on FeatherWing, not Feather)   GPIO free  

(1)   free pin that varies in use from one board to the next.

(2)   D24 and D25 can be used in place of A4 and A5 when the pins do not feature any analog capabilities.

RST   Pull to ground to reset the Feather.   A tactile button to reset must be on the Feather.  

The EN pin is an input to the Feather and must depower the 3.3V output.   Typically connected to the Enable pin on the 3.3V regulator, with a 100K pullup. It does not disable VBAT/VUSB.  

All GPIO are 3.3V logic.   7 mA per pin recommended (10 mA max).  

Digital input HIGH when > 2.31 V, LOW < 0.99 V.  

Input power to the Feather

USB port   The USB port with at least 500 mA supply is the primary power connection.   The USB port input power is regulated down to 3.3 VDC by the Feather and is available on pin '3V3'.   It also charges any connected 3.7 V LiPoly battery (LiPo battery output is 4.2 V fully charged).  

Vusb   You may provide at least 500 mA @ 4.5 to 5.0 VDC directly to the Vusb pin, rather than using the USB port (WARNING: don't use both!).   When Vusb is is supplied power, it will provide power to the device, and charge any connected LiPo battery.  

3V3 pin   You can provide at least 500 mA @ 3.3 VDC directly to the '3V3' pin (max 3.6 V), provided you disable the XC9258A on board regulator by connecting the 'EN' pin to ground, and then never connect power to the USB port or the LiPo connector.   When you disable the on board regulator (EN to gnd), the output drops to about ~0.8 V (not 0).  

Li+ pin   You may provide at least 500 mA @ 3.6 to 4.2 VDC directly to the Li+ pin, rather than using the LiPo connector.   This will charge the LiPo battery and provide power to the Feather.   Do not disable the on board regulator XC9258A).  

 


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