Not to be outdone by the
RP2040 SAO Controller, I thought I would have a go at designing a SAO Controller based around the very cheap CH32V003 RISK-V based MCU. This is only ￥1.791 or about A$0.39 each. Plus I don't need a crystal or flash memory IC that the RP2040 does. Sure this is no where as powerful as the RP2040 and it doesn't run a full Arduino stack, you also need to use a
special IDE called Moun River. You also need a special programming dongle to upload programs to it:
Link-E R0-V1.3 BUT, it is very cool to play with. I was surprised I could even get the SK6812-mini-e RGB LEDs working using a bit-banging waveform.
I have had a lot of fun learning how to do interrupts, sleep modes, ADC and PWM using this MCU. It's available in four different packages, with a 20pin version that's only 3mm x 3mm in size! In China this can be purchased from WCH for around A$0.16/ea for 50 units. The MCU can operate over a wide 2.7V to 5.5V range. This means it's ideal for using with a Li-Ion/LiPo battery as you will not need a buck/boost converter.
- CH32V003-SAO-Controler.jpg (157.04 KiB) Viewed 479 times
I can see lot more projects coming based around this cheap MCU.