Can We Make a WF32 Using Other chipKIT Products?

The WF32 and the uC32 are two boards from the chipKIT line of microcontrollers that are available in the Digilent store. Both of these boards feature the chipKIT form factor that allows our shield products to be dropped onto them. One of the most exciting things about the WF32 is the on-board WiFi module. The chipKIT shields offer a wide array of products that expand the capabilities of boards within the chipKIT form factor. One of these shield is the WiFi Shield, which has a WiFi module from the same line as the WF32’s WiFi module. So if we drop one of the WiFi shield onto a uC32, we can duplicate the WF32, right? Well… not quite.

Board Differences

You can see that WF32 chip itself has around 4 times the amount of usable memory, more SPI and I2C capabilities, and more I/O pins. The WF32 has many more programming options on-board also– a USB Connector, Potentiometer, and 2 user buttons, along with an additional external power connector!

The uC32+WiFi Shield / WF32 code compatibility

So one of the awesome things about the chipKIT is the compatibility between boards. I tested out this Instructable project (originally designed for the WF32). We are able to run the project on the uC32+Wifi Shield by just changing the MPIDE board conditions.This means you can easily port projects from board to board, so you don’t have to worry about re-learning each board.

Board Costs

But what about the cost of the board? Well, let’s check that out below:

You can see that, individually, the uC32 and the WiFi shield are cheaper than the WF32. Combined however, they cost more than the WF32 by about 10 dollars.

Synopsis

The uC32 is a good board, but if you have the chance to get either the uC32 + Wifi Shield or the WF32, we recommend the WF32, based on the WF32’s extra memory, more versatile chip, on-board WiFi module, and cheaper price.

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