Seeed Studio Brings RS-485 to the XIAO, Adafruit's QT Py Family, for Long-Range Industrial Comms
Half-duplex connectivity delivers 250kb/s throughput over cables up to 1.2km (around 4,000 feet) in length.
Embedded and hobbyist electronics specialist Seeed Studio has announced a new add-on for its XIAO development board range, also compatible with Adafruit's QT Py family — delivering RS-485 connectivity for industrial communications at distances of up to three-quarters of a mile.
"We’re excited to announce the Seeed Studio RS-485 Breakout Board, a versatile RS-485 expansion designed specifically for all Seeed Studio XIAO development boards or Adafruit QT Py Boards," Seeed's Lily Li says of the company's latest launch. "[The] RS-485 standard stands out for industrial applications. It defines the electrical characteristics of serial lines for use in serial communications systems, enabling data transmission over long distances and in electrically noisy environments."
The breakout board is designed to act as a carrier for any XIAO or QT Py, microcontroller development boards built for as small a footprint as possible while still retaining breadboard-friendly general-purpose input/output (GPIO) connectivity and a USB connector for power and programming. Roughly doubling the length, the breakout adds two new screw connectors connected to a 3PEAK TP8485E RS-422/485 balanced communications transceiver — delivering stable 250kb/s half-duplex connectivity over cable up to 1,200m (around 4,000 feet) in length.
"This breakout board is engineered for efficiency, consuming power from a single 5V or 12VDC power source," Li explains. "Its RS-485 output interface is facilitated through two 3-pin terminals for both signal wires and power connections."
The add-on joins Seed's existing RS-485 devices: the Grove-RS485, which offers a higher 10Mb/s throughput from an Analog Devices MAX13478E with a Grove connector to the host microcontroller; and the SenseCAP S211 RS485 Sensor Builder, which uses the same 3PEAK TP8485E as the new breakout but in an exterior-grade housing for use with the SenseCAP S2100 LoRaWAN data logger.
The new RS-485 breakout is now available on the Seeed Studio store at $4.50 before volume discounts, with immediate shipping; buyers will need to pick up a Seeed XIAO or Adafruit QT Py development board to use it.