Looking for Wi-Fi suggestions

Wireless & IoT
1

Hi folks,

I’m working on a project where we would like to add wireless Ethernet to, your every day 802.11 b/g network. We’re creating custom boards for this and I don’t want to have to recreate whatever is needed for Wi-Fi onto our board. There are plenty of ready made solutions already, such as Roving Network’s Wi-Fi modules that SFE sells ([like this one). Looks like I can simply add the two 2mm headers that this module then simply snaps into. However, I also noticed there is no library for that unit, although I did find the [Arduino WiFly Driver which claims to also work with the RN-XV unit. Guess I’ll try that.

However, I can’t figure out what is needed to actually make this work. Looking around, there are a number of shields that this unit plugs in to, and they’re all different. So this is where I need some help.

Our boards are a standard 328P AVR with Arduino bootloader, they’ll have an FTDI IC on board for USB communications, an RTC, and SD card (with a matching hex converter.) So what other bits and pieces will I need to communicate between our 328P and the RN module? What pins from the RN goes to what pins on the 328P?

Thanks all!](Arduino WiFly Driver - Browse Files at SourceForge.net)](RN-XV WiFly Module - U.FL Connector - WRL-11048 - SparkFun Electronics)

2

http://www.sparkfun.com/datasheets/Wire … SX-um2.pdf

3

Yes, I read that, however that’s for the actual RN module itself, not for the WiFly module. Why reinvent the wheel when it’s already made? With the WiFly Module do I only care about its VCC/GND and TX/RX lines? Do they get connected to the 328P’s UART? I know I can put status indicators on GPIO4 to 7. What about CTS/RTS?

Is there an advantage of using the 328P’s UART to communicate versus doing what the WiFly Shield does; converting it to SPI device? Then again, I also see that the RN module itself also has SPI on pins 14, 15, and 16 … why not use that instead of the SC16IS750 UART/SPI converter that’s on the shield? And what’s being used as the slave select if it is in SPI mode? Too many questions, so little time.

4

http://www.8devices.com/product/3/wi-fi-4-things