SparkFun RedBoard Turbo - SAMD21 Development Board

The SparkFun RedBoard Turbo - SAMD21 Development Board is a powerful upgrade for Arduino enthusiasts who are ready to move beyond the limitations of 8-bit/16MHz microcontrollers. The RedBoard Turbo is powered by the ATSAMD21G18, an ARM Cortex M0+ 32-bit microcontroller that can operate at speeds of up to 48MHz. With a generous 4MB of external flash memory and a UF2 (USB Flashing Format) bootloader, this board offers a cost-effective and user-friendly development platform for those seeking more power than the traditional RedBoard can provide.

The RedBoard Turbo is equipped with a USB interface for programming and power, a Qwiic connector, an RTC crystal, a WS2812-based addressable RGB LED, a 600mA 3.3V regulator, and a variety of other components. Powering the board is as simple as plugging it into a USB port on your computer via the micro-B port or using the 5V tolerant barrel jack to connect it directly to a wall outlet. For situations where a USB port is not available, the board also features a LiPo Battery connector for a single-cell 3.7-4.2V lithium-polymer battery. The MCP73831's charge current can be configured to charge the battery at a rate between 15mA and 500mA. The board is pre-configured to charge the battery at approximately 250mA. The layout of the board conforms to the Arduino 1.0 footprint standard, including a separate SPI header and an additional I²C header.

One of the unique features of the RedBoard Turbo is its UF2 bootloader, which allows it to be flashed over the Mass Storage Class (MSC) just like a removable flash drive. This means the board appears on your computer as a USB storage device without the need for driver installation. Although you will still need to select the correct port in the Arduino IDE, it is also possible to use other programming languages such as CircuitPython or MakeCode.

Please note that the barrel jack connection on the RedBoard Turbo has a lower input voltage than most Arduino development boards. Ensure you are using a power supply below 6V. Also, remember that the RedBoard Turbo is a 3.3V device, unlike the original RedBoard, which is a 5V device.

The SparkFun RedBoard Turbo comes with a host of impressive features. These include the ATSAMD21G18 32-bit/48MHz ARM Cortex-M0+, 4MB Flash Memory, 32KB SRAM, 32KB of EEPROM (emulated in Flash), 26 GPIO Count, 14 ADC Channels at 12-bit Resolution, Analog-to-Digital and Digital-to-Analog Converters (ADC & DAC), Vin: 4.2V-6.0V for charger - otherwise 3.5V-6.0V, VBATT: 3.7V Lipo, VCC: 600mA @3.3V, Arduino R3 Layout, Integrated USB Controller, RGB LED, UF2 Bootloader, and a Qwiic Connector.