Open source hardware enthusiast Helmut Lord, as Lord’s Boards, is launching a new Crowd Supply campaign around Nordic Semiconductor’s latest nRF54 system-on-chip (SoC). RoyalBlue54L packs multiprotocol wireless connectivity, an onboard debugger, and Zephyr RTOS support into an open source Feather-sized board.
It is exciting to see a third-party board with the nRF54 coming to market. Nordic only recently started shipping their nRF54L15-DK (development kit) and the nRF54 SoC in volume. Lord’s Boards developed RoyalBlue54L around a Fanstel BM15C module containing the nRF54 SoC and chip-style antenna.
The nRF54 SoC features an Arm Cortex-M33 core, RISC-V coprocessor, 256 KB RAM, and 1.5 MB non-volatile memory. Both cores have a 128 MHz clock. The Arm core supports secure boot, firmware update, and storage. The nRF54’s 2.4 GHz radio enables IoT applications using Amazon Sidewalk, Bluetooth Low Energy(BLE 6.0, Matter, Thread, and Zigbee.
RoyalBlue54L top / bottom (📷: Crowd Supply)
Other hardware features on RoyalBlue54L include external 2 MB flash memory for the nRF54, an nPM1300 power management IC, and an nRF52 SoC with CMSIS-DAP debugger firmware. The nPM1300 provides a high-accuracy battery gauge and charge controller. The onboard debugger alone is convenient since it eliminates the need for an external tool. It also provides an integrated UART-to-USB interface that enables the nRF54 to access the USB port.
The USB Type-C connector provides power, charging, and debug access. An Adafruit Feather-compatible JST-PH connects to LiPo batteries. A STEMMA-QT/Qwiic connector allows expansion to sensors and other devices. Interestingly, RoyalBlue54L also includes a connector compatible with Nordic’s NFC antenna. We do not usually see that support on other Feather boards with Nordic SoCs.
Lord’s Boards made RoyalBlue54L open source and licensed it under the permissive CERN-OHL-V2-P. For example, the KiCad 9 design files, Zephyr RTOS-based firmware, and a debugger firmware are already available on GitHub.
RoyalBlue54L (📷: Crowd Supply)
Learn more about RoyalBlue54L on the Crowd Supply pre-launch campaign page. You will find additional details and a link to subscribe for a notification when the development board is available for pre-order.
