F103RB
#Medium Density, 128/20 Board, 64 pin MCU - RB
- 128 kB Flash memory
- 20 kB SRAM
- 64 pin, the pin functions are shown here
- STM32F103RBT6 or GD32F103RBT6
This Arduino style board is available from https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01APN27ES The price was excellent and it is possible that it will not be offered again. The GD32 processor is faster and more advanced as the pin compatible STM32 processor. The register set is a superset of the STM32 registers. Software is binary compatible with STM32.
$9.00 including shipment and taxes in US.
ST_Link Utility shows
- SWD Frequency = 4,0 MHz.
- Connection mode : Connect Under Reset.
- Debug in Low Power mode enabled.
- Device ID:0x410
All Arduino pins are labeled and the connectors have the crazy Arduino 0.05" shift. The other connectors (SWD, EXT, and UEXT) are without labels.
The back side has instructions for the large number of hardware settings with soldering bridges. These are used instead of jumpers. There is a slot for SD card for data logging, parametric data, or any user data.
This 0.57in x 2.13in x 2.50in package weights 28g. There are no jumpers nor user buttons. The momentary buttons are:
- BUT used for Boot0
- RST used for reset
The power LED is red. The user LEDs are:
- LED1, green led connected to PA5 (D13)
- LED2, yellow led connected to PA1 (D3)
This board is manufactured with a mature process and seems to be high quality.
In addition of the standard Arduino pins there are 3 additional connectors, screw terminal for 1 CAN channel, and 1 connector for LiPo battery.
The SWD connector in the original Maple board was the standard large one with 0.1" pitch. This board uses a mini connector with 0.05" pitch.
The ST-link requires a special cable.
In the pin map, column 'Maple' was added to map the pins to the new DG32F103RBT6 board manufactured by Olimexino. Originally the Olimexino board had the same STM32 processor as the original LeafLab Maple revision 5 board. The following covetions are used:
- Dxx = pin number printed on the board
- Dxx/Ax = pin number printed on the board and the corresponding analog number
- Lx = the led numbers (1 = green, 2 = yellow)
- Ex = Extension connector pin number (female)
- Ux = UEXT connector pin number (male)
- SWDx = Mini SWD connector pin number (male)
- Cxx = CAN transmitter and receiver signals for the internal tranceiver.
The transceiver is connected to the Low and High pins in the CAN connector.
There are standard Arduino mounting holes.
This older board is available from https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01APL4Y46 The price is excellent and the GD32 processor is faster and more advanced as the pin compatible STM32 processor. The register set is a superset of the STM32 registers. Software is binary compatible with STM32. Originally this board was designed for STM32F103RB and STM32F405RE processors.
Both the RTC and the main CPU are using 8 GHz crystals.
$9.00 including shipment and taxes in US.
ST_Link Utility shows
- SWD Frequency = 4,0 MHz.
- Connection mode : Connect Under Reset.
- Debug in Low Power mode enabled.
- Device ID:0x410
There are 28 I/O pins next to a small prototyping area. Additional I/O is available in UEXT connector for USART, I2C, and SPI.
There is a slot for full size SD card for data logging, parametric data, or any user data.
This 0.76in x 3.56in x 4,25in package weights 54g. There are no jumpers. The momentary buttons are:
- WAKE_UP is used for wakeup functin or GPIO (PA0)
- RESET used for reset
The power LED is red. The user LED is:
- STAT, red led connected to PC12
This board is manufactured with a mature process and seems to be high quality. From the two boards, one was totally clean. In the pictures, you can see that there was some rework done on the backside in the other board.
In addition of the normal male GPIO pins there is an additional connector and a screw terminal for 1 CAN channel.
The ST-link uses the full size JTAG connector.
If you are installing rails for VCC and GND with male pins, you will have large number of channels for servos, digital sensors, and analog sensors. That type of functionality is not available with normal breadboards.
There are 4 mounting holes in the corners. The shipment includes rubber pads for safe operations on any surface.
This compact board is available from http://www.aliexpress.com/item/ARM-Cortex-M3-STM32F103RBT6-STM32-core-board-mini-development-board/1561121911.html
$9.88 including shipment cost to US.
ST_Link Utility shows
- SWD Frequency = 4,0 MHz.
- Connection mode : Connect Under Reset.
- Debug in Low Power mode enabled.
- Device ID:0x410
All pins are labeled, although not totally easy to read.
The back side indicates some level rework or manual assembly. I have only one unit and cannot confirm if this is a systematic indication of quality or lack of that.
This 0.47in x 1.41in x 2.28in package weights 15g. There are 3 jumpers:
- J1, used for Boot1, PB2
- J2, with unknown usage
- J6, connected to A12. The purpose of this is unknown. A12 is used for T1_ETR, U1_RTS, CANTX, and USBDP
The power LED is red. There is no user button and no user LED.
The front side seems nice, but the back side could indicate some issues in the manufacturing process.
The SWD is available through the 20-pin JTAG connector. The UART1 RX and TX signals are available in a 4-pin header. Due to dual row pins, this board cannot be used on a breadboard.
There are no mounting holes.
The cheapest prices for this board are through the traditional electronic component vendors, such as Mouser. http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/STMicroelectronics/NUCLEO-F103RB
$10.33 plus $4.99 for shipping and handling. Total is $15.32.
ST_Link Utility shows
- SWD Frequency = 4,0 MHz.
- Connection mode : Connect Under Reset.
- Debug in Low Power mode enabled.
- Device ID:0x410
This board demonstrates the fact how the STM components are pin compatible over device families. All Nucleo boards have a built-in ST-LINK functionality as implemented with a STM32F103CBT6 MCU on a breakout portion. This part of the board can be used a s general purpose ST-LINK even without breakout. This link uses V2.1, when the low cost ST-LINK devices from AliExpress are using V2.0.
This 0.75in x 2.75in x 3.28in package weights 33g. There are 2 jumpers
- A voltage selector (5V0 or 3V3)
- JP6 IDD that is used for current measurement. Remove it and connect a current meter to the two pins.
The power LED is red, user LED is green (PA5). The blue user button is connected to PC13.
This is a high quality product.
There are no standard headers for SWD, UART, I2C, or SPI. Instead, there is a standard connectivity to Arduino shields and extesnion boards through ST morpho connectors.
There are 3 mounting holes matching the Arduino positions. The pins are in two rows and are long on both sides. This board cannot be mounted on a breadboard. This board is intended for evaluation and development and is not suitable for target applications.
This large development board is available from http://www.aliexpress.com/item/ARM-Cortex-M3-mini-stm32-stm32F103RBT6-Cortex-development-board-72MHz-128KFlash-20KRAM/32612994932.html
$12.57 including shipment cost to US.
This board has a lot of functionality. The large size allows easy access. This is OK during development, but the size and weight can restrict the usage in target systems. The board comes with brass nut screw standoff spacers.
This 0.92in x 2.67in x 3.65in package weights 38g. There is a power switch for USB. There are jumpers for
- Boot0
- Boot1
- Selection of PA11/PA12 connection either to USB or CAN
The power LED is red. There are no other LEDs.
In addition of reset button, there are two user button with labels K2 (PC0) and K3 (PC1). In my testing, I was not able to verify that these buttons do work. At the same time, I did observe that PC7 did stay active without external stimuli.
There is on-board battery holder for RTC.
Front side is nice, but backside indicates potential manufacturing issues.
The SWD is available through the 20-pin JTAG connector. There are no dedicated headers for UART. The CAN is available through the normal pins or two special pins in the I/O header row.
There is a built-in UART to USB interface using Prolific PL2303HX chip and second USB connector. I was not able to get the drivers to work with Windows 10 x64.