I/O Expansion Headers

The Atmel AVR XMEGA-E5 Xplained headers J1, J2, J3, and J4 offer access to the I/Os of the microcontroller in order to expand the board, for example by mounting a top module onto the board.

The header J1 offers digital communication interfaces like UART, TWI, and SPI. The table below shows how the Atmel AVR XMEGA is connected to the header.

Note that when using TWI no pull-ups are mounted on the board from the factory, so it is required to enable the internal pull-ups of the device.

Table 1. Expansion Header J1
Pin on J1 Name on J1 XMEGA pin Shared with on-board functionality
1 SDA PC0 Connected to the Board Controller 1
2 SCL PC1 Connected to the Board Controller 1
3 RXD PC2 -
4 TXD PC3 -
5 SS PC4 Connected to the Board Controller 2
6 MOSI PC7 Connected to the Board Controller 2
7 MISO PC6 Connected to the Board Controller 2
8 SCK PC5 Connected to the Board Controller 2
9 GND - -
10 VCC_P3V3 - -

Header J2 is connected to analog ports of the XMEGA as shown in the table below.

Table 2. Expansion Header J2
Pin on J2 Name on J2 XMEGA pin Shared with on-board functionality
1 ADC0 PA0 -
2 ADC1 PA1 -
3 ADC2 PA2 -
4 ADC3 PA3 -
5 ADC4 PA4 -
6 ADC5 PA5 Quadrature Encoder Button 3
7 ADC6 PA6 Quadrature Encoder Output 4
8 ADC7 PA7 Quadrature Encoder Output 4
9 GND - -
10 VCC_P3V3 - -

Header J3 is connected to digital ports of XMEGA. The table below shows the mapping of the XMEGA I/O to J3.

Table 3. Expansion Header J3
Pin on J3 Name on J3 XMEGA pin Shared with on-board functionality
1 GPIO0 PR0 Shared with OLED display: data/cmd function
2 GPIO1 PR1 Shared with OLED display: CS function
3 GPIO2 QENC_A Quadrature Encoder Output 5
4 GPIO3 QENC_B Quadrature Encoder Output 5
5 GPIO4 PC4/ SS  
6 GPIO5 PC7/MOSI  
7 GPIO6 PC6/MISO  
8 GPIO7 PC5/SCK  
9 GND - -
10 VCC_P5V0 - -

Header J4 offers digital communication interfaces such as UART and TWI, but care must be taken because some pins are also connected to on-board peripherals.

Table 4. Expansion Header J4
Pin on J4 Name on J4 XMEGA pin Shared with on-board functionality
1 SDA PD0 Shared with button SW100 (silkscreen SW0)
2 SCL PD1 Shared with Light sensor 6
3 RXD PD2 Shared with button SW101(silkscreen SW1)
4 TXD PD3 Shared with OLED display: reset function
5 SS PD4 Shared with LED D100 (silkscreen LED0)
6 MOSI PD7 Connected to the Board Controller 7
7 MISO PD6 Connected to the Board Controller 7
8 SCK PD5 Shared with LED D101 (silkscreen LED1)
9 GND - -
10 VCC_P3V3 - -
1

Need to mount R408/R409 to connect TWI lines to Board Controller.

2

Need to mount R410/R411/R412/R413 to connect SPI lines to Board Controller.

3

Can be disconnected from on-board functionality by cut-straps.

4

Can be disconnected using SW103 mechanical switch.

5

Quadrature encoder outputs can be accessible on this header when SW103 mechanical switch is pushed up.

6

Can be disconnected from on-board functionality by cut-strap J100.

7

RXD and TXD lines swapped from PD3 and PD4 and used for communication with board controller.