Crazyradio 2.0

Crazyradio 2.0

Wireless connectivity

Control your robots remotely

How it works

Crazyradio 2.0 is a long range open USB radio dongle based on the nRF52840 from Nordic Semiconductor, featuring a 20dBm power amplifier and LNA.

The Crazyradio 2.0 is not only for usage together with the Crazyflie® family of devices, since it’s an open project with open firmware and a Python API, it’s a great building block for systems that require more predictable latency compared to WiFi and doesn’t have the same requirements for bandwidth. The hardware comes with a bootloader that enables firmware upgrades via USB without any additional hardware needed.

The Crazyradio 2.0 is compatible with the Crazyflie eco system.

Depending on the installed firmware, the Crazyradio 2.0 can run in two different modes:

  • Crazyradio PA emulation - it behaves like a Crazyradio PA. This is the firmware that is initially available.
  • Crazyradio 2.0 - a new set of protocols and capabilities that will improve the communication in the ecosystem. This is work in progress and will evolve over time.

Specifications

Specifications will be available here soon

Features

  • Radio power amplifier giving 20dBm output power
  • Open source firmware
  • Firmware upgrade via USB
  • Low latency

Mechanical specifications

  • Weight: 7g
  • Size (WxHxD): 63x18x8mm (including connectors)

Electrical specification

  • Based on the nRF52840 chip from Nordic Semiconductor
    • Cortex-M4F processor at 64MHz with 1MB of flash and 256Kb of RAM
    • 2.4GHz ISM band radio
    • USB device peripheral
    • 100 radio channels
    • 1 Mbps, 2Mbps and long range (125kbps and 500kbps mode) Bluetooth® low energy modes
    • 250kbps IEEE 802.15.4 mode
    • 1Mbps and 2Mbps Nordic proprietary modes
  • Extra signals available via soldering pads enabling custom expansions
    • 3 I/Os
    • GND
    • 3.15V out
    • 5V in
  • Standard USB-A connector
  • Programming connector

Radio specification

  • 20dBm output power (100mW)
  • Low Noise Amplifier (LNA)
  • RP-SMA connector

Usage

To get started with your Crazyradio 2.0, please see the Getting started with the Crazyradio 2.0 tutorial.

Firmware flavors

There are two flavors of the firmware: Crazyradio PA emulation firmware and Crazyradio 2.0 firmware

The Crazyradio PA emulation firmware, makes the Crazyradio 2.0 behave like a Crazyradio PA. The Getting started with the Crazyradio 2.0 tutorial shows the steps to install the firmware and drivers. From there, you are able to install the CFclient and communicate with the Crazyflie.

The Crazyradio 2.0 firmware is under development and more instructions will be added here later.

General usage

Connect the Crazyradio 2.0 to a USB port on your computer.

Flashing firmware

Enter bootloader mode by holding the button while connecting the Crazyradio 2.0 to a USB port. Install firmware by copying a .uf2 file to the USB drive.

Development

The source code for the Crazyradio 2.0 firmware can be found on github

Resources

If you have any further questions please contact support@bitcraze.io