Azzy Electronics' AVR128DA Boards Bring the AVR DA Family to the Arduino IDE via DxCore

Azzy Electronics' Spence Konde has released what is claimed to be the first Arduino-compatible breakout boards for the Microchip AVR DA series of microcontrollers — courtesy of the open source DxCore.

"Since it became available in April, the DA-series has redefined what an AVR microcontroller is capable of," Konde writes. "1-24 MHz operation from 1.8-5.5V (this means 24 MHz at 1.8v!); 12-bit ADC — with all the bells and whistles that the megaAVR 0-series had; 128K of flash, 16K of SRAM, 512b of EEPROM; 2 Type A timers (up to 6 PWM pins each!) on 48 & 64-pin parts; 12-bit Type D async timer, clocked at up to 48 MHz from on-chip PLL; 10-bit DAC; Up to 6 USART, 2 SPI, 2 TWI; 26/41/54 I/O pins, 14/18/22 with analog input; Peripherals very similar to other post-2016 AVR — but many have gotten a small enhancement; TCBs can count events, and two can be cascaded for 32-bit input capture; All clock speeds generated by an internal oscillator - no crystal needed - but you can connect a watch crystal and enable 'AutoTune' for more accurate clock speeds; Same great AVR instruction set — just better peripherals, and more memory!"

"Yes, if you like working with AVR microcontrollers (and who doesn't?), these are probably about what your ideal large MCU would look like! And now, with the release of my DxCore, they can be easily programmed with the Arduino IDE, using any 'common' 328p-based Arduino as a programmer (ex, Nano, Pro Mini, Uno) (just connect three wires - or three wires and two resistors for a more versatile programmer). Unlike many 'new' cores, DxCore was released in an essentially complete state. The ADC works, with a simple call to enable 12-bit mode. PWM is available on 10, 16, or 17 pins, and ADC (analogRead()) on 12, 18, or 22 pins. Library compatibility should be essentially the same as an Arduino Nano Every/Uno WiFi Rev. 2, or ATtiny 0/1-series (ie, not great yet, but not terrible, since the DA-series is everything the ATmega4809 is, only better.)"

Konde has launched three variants of the boards, offering 32, 48, and 64 pins. "I'm not bothering with the 28-pin version," he explains, "you lose too many important pins, and there's a 28-pin DIP version available if you must have a 28-pin DA-series part." Each board is available in 5V, 3.3V, and 2.5V variants, along with the option to bypass the regulator altogether for running from a single-cell LiPo battery.

All boards are now available from the Azzy's Electronics Tindie store in assembled and unassembled varieties, with prices starting at just $2.50 bare-board or $15 fully assembled. The DxCore library, meanwhile, can be found on GitHub.