Example 1 - Blink

Now that we have our board add-on installed, we can get started playing around with the development board. For the scope of this tutorial, we will highlight a few of the features on the board. From there we will be able to build our own custom code to integrate the development board into a project.

In this example, we will blink the LED that is built into the SparkFun Thing Plus NORA-W306.

Hardware Hookup

The connection is the same as explained earlier in the tutorial. Connect the USB cable to the SparkFun Thing Plus NORA-W306. Of course, make sure to connect the other end to your computer.

USB Cable inserted into Thing Plus NORA-W306

Arduino Code

Let's upload a sketch to the board. This example is the basic Arduino blink example. Note that we specify pin 18 instead of using the macro called LED_BUILTIN.

Copy and paste the following code in the Arduino IDE. Select the correct board definition from the menu (in this case, Tools > Board > Realtek Ameba Boards (32-bits ARM Cortex-M33 @200MHz) > SparkFun Thing Plus NORA-W306 (RTL8720DF). Then select the correct COM port that the board enumerated to (in this case, it was COM13). Hit upload button.

/*
  Blink
  Turns on an LED on for one second, then off for one second, repeatedly.

  This example code is in the public domain.
 */

// Pin 18 has an LED connected on most Arduino boards.
// give it a name:
int led = 18; //LED is connected to pin 18 on the SparkFun Thing Plus NORA-W306

//NOTE: You can also use LED_BUILTIN.

// the setup routine runs once when you press reset:
void setup() {
  // initialize the digital pin as an output.
  pinMode(led, OUTPUT);
}

// the loop routine runs over and over again forever:
void loop() {
  digitalWrite(led, HIGH);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level)
  delay(1000);               // wait for a second
  digitalWrite(led, LOW);    // turn the LED off by making the voltage LOW
  delay(1000);               // wait for a second
}

Note

Note: You can also use the macro for the LED by using LED_BUILTIN. The code in the built-in Arduino examples will function the same as well!

Once uploaded, check the LED labeled as 18 on the board. It should be blinking on and off every second! Sweet!

SparkFun Thing Plus NORA-W306 User LED On