Microchip, represented by Soanar in ANZ, announced new ZeroG wireless ZG2100M and ZG2101M WiFi modules for wireless applicatons.
The ZeroG Wireless “Wi-Fi I/O” (ZG2100M and ZG2101M) is an easy-to-implement, lowpower, low-system-cost Wi-Fi solution that provides Wi-Fi connectivity for nearly any electronic device. The new Microchip development tools are based on the standard Microchip PICtail and PICtail Plus daughter-board connectors, which allow a designer to easily plug Wi-Fi connectivity into a variety of Microchip development kits.
This daughter board allows designers to quickly create a direct connection to the Internet by seamlessly connecting to standard wireless access points. In managing the connection, the ZeroG ZG2100M module controls the MAC and baseband layers, and is connected to the host MCU or DSC via an SPI port. The 8/16/32-bit PIC MCU or dsPIC DSC that resides on the Microchip development board controls the free Microchip TCP/IP networking stack and runs the system application.
Additional key features of the daughter board include:
- FCC, IC and ETSI Certified, providing considerable cost savings and quick time to market
- Wi-Fi Certified and IEEE 802.11b Compliant wireless solution
- ZG2100M small-footprint module with integrated antenna, MAC, baseband, RF and power amplifier
- Microchip’s free TCP/IP stack supports standard suite of Internet Protocols
- Supports WEP, WPA and WPA2 security protocols
The ZeroG IEEE 802.11 Development Kit for Explorer 16 (part # AC164136) demonstrates 802.11 Wi-Fi connectivity using the separately available Explorer 16 development board. Everything needed to connect and begin development with the Explorer16 is contained within the kit, including:
- ZeroG Wi-Fi PICtail/PICtail Plus Daughter Board
- Pre-programmed PIC24FJ128GA010 Plug-in Module for the Explorer 16, with TCP/IP and Web server application
- Pre-configured wireless broadband router
The ZeroG ZG2100M and ZG2101M Wi-Fi transceiver modules provide a complete Wi-Fi wireless connection with full FCC, ETSI, IC and Wi-Fi certification, which reduces the overall design risk, eliminates design and certification cost, and enables quick time-to-market for customers wanting to add Wi-Fi to their PIC microcontroller-based products.