Chain Captain

SKU:C160

Description

Chain Captain is a multifunctional programmable controller in the M5Stack Chain series. It combines a color display, button controls, audio input and output, motion sensing, and infrared transmission and reception. It is powered by an ESP32-S3R8 with a 240MHz Xtensa® 32-bit LX7 dual-core processor, 16MB Flash, and 8MB PSRAM, and supports 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi.

The 1.54-inch 240 x 240 color LCD, three user buttons, power button, and RGB LED provide a graphical interface and status feedback. The audio system combines an ES8311 codec, an analog MEMS microphone, an AW8737A amplifier, and a 1W @ 8Ω speaker for audio capture, playback, and voice interaction. The built-in BMI270 6-axis IMU detects motion and orientation. The RX8130CE real-time clock supports timekeeping, alarms, and interrupt wake-up. The infrared transmitter and receiver enable remote control and communication with other devices.

Chain Captain has a built-in 800mAh battery. Its M5PM1 + M5IOE1 multi-level power management system controls power to individual modules and supports standby, deep sleep, and external interrupt wake-up. The device provides one Chain port and one Grove port, both using HY2.0-4P connectors, as well as an Ext.Port (2.54-15P) expansion bus. It supports multiple DC 5V input sources. As a Chain Bus master, it can connect to and control daisy-chained nodes over the Chain port's UART bus. Applications include portable control terminals, desktop interfaces, smart home controllers, infrared remote control, and sensor data acquisition.

Features

• ESP32-S3R8 controller
  • 16MB Flash
  • 8MB PSRAM
  • 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi
• Display and user interface
  • 1.54" color LCD with 240x240 resolution
  • 3 x user buttons, 1 x power button
• Audio and infrared
  • ES8311 audio codec
  • Microphone and speaker
  • Infrared transmission and reception
• Motion sensing and timekeeping
  • BMI270 6-axis IMU
  • RX8130CE real-time clock
• Power system
  • Stamp Timer Power2 (M5PM1) + M5IOE1 multi-level power management
  • Built-in 800mAh battery
  • Wake-up via button, IMU, RTC, and I/O interrupts
  • Multiple DC 5V power inputs (USB Type-C / Chain / Grove / EXT)
  • Low-power operation for longer battery life
• Interfaces and expansion
  • 1 x USB Type-C
  • 1 x Chain port (HY2.0-4P)
  • 1 x Grove port (HY2.0-4P)
  • 1 x Ext.Port (2.54-15P)
• Indicators
  • Red LED for charging status
  • Green LED for operating status and boot mode
  • Programmable RGB LED
• Development platforms
  • UiFlow2
  • Arduino
  • ESP-IDF
  • PlatformIO

Includes

• 1 x Chain Captain
• 1 x Chain Bridge

Applications

• Portable control terminals
• Smart home controllers
• Desktop interfaces and smart control panels
• Portable data acquisition and monitoring terminals

Specification

Learn

Chain Bridge Connection

When connecting a Chain Bridge, orient it so the triangular arrow points from the controller toward the downstream node.

Schematics

• Chain Captain Schematics PDF

PinMap

LCD

On the M5IOE1 I/O expander, PYG1 (IOEG1_TFT_RST) controls the display reset, PYG11 (IOEG11_TFT_BL_EN) controls the backlight, and PYG12 (IOEG12_TFT_L3B_EN) controls the display power supply.

Audio

The M5IOE1 I/O expander's PYG5 (IOEG5_CODER_L3B_EN) controls power to the audio peripherals. The ESP32-S3R8's G21 (G21_SPK_L3B_EN) controls the AW8737A speaker amplifier enable signal.

KEY

IMU & RTC

The always-on 3V3_L0 rail powers the RX8130CE. Its interrupt signal connects to G2 (PMG2_RTC_INT) on the M5PM1.

RGB LED

On the M5IOE1, PYG8 (IOEG8_G_LED), PYG9 (IOEG9_B_LED), and PYG10 (IOEG10_R_LED) control the green, blue, and red LED channels, respectively, and support PWM dimming.

IR

The M5IOE1 I/O expander's PYG2 (IOEG2_IR_L3B_EN) controls power to the infrared transmitter and receiver circuits.

HY2.0-4P

G6 and G7 can be used as general-purpose I/O or configured as UART2 TX and RX, respectively. The M5PM1's G0 (PMG0_GROVE5V_EN) controls the Grove port's 5V output.

The M5PM1's G3 (PMG3_CHAIN5V_EN) controls the Chain port's 5V output.

Ext.Port (2.54-15P)

M5PM1

• G0 (PMG0_GROVE5V_EN) controls the power direction of the Grove port. Driving this pin high enables 5V output. Driving it low disables the output and allows an external 5V input.
• G1 (PMG1_IRQOUT) outputs an interrupt signal to GPIO14 on the ESP32-S3R8.
• G2 (PMG2_RTC_INT) receives the interrupt from the RX8130CE RTC for scheduled wake-up.
• G3 (PMG3_CHAIN5V_EN) controls the power direction of the Chain port. Driving this pin high enables 5V output. Driving it low disables the output and allows an external 5V input.
• G4 (PMG4_IMU_INT) receives the BMI270 INT1 interrupt for wake-up on IMU events.

• DCDC3V3_EN_PP (PM_3V3_L2_EN) controls the 3V3_L2 supply for the main controller and peripherals.
• LDO3V3_EN_PP (PM_3V3_L1_EN) controls the 3V3_L1 supply for the IMU.
• CHG_EN_PP (PM_CHG_EN) controls the enable signal for the LGS4056HDA battery charger IC.

M5IOE1

• PYG1 (IOEG1_TFT_RST) controls the display reset.
• PYG2 (IOEG2_IR_L3B_EN) controls the IR_3V3_L3B supply for the infrared transmitter and receiver circuits.
• PYG3 (IOEG3_CHG_STA) reads the charging status.
• PYG4 (IOEG4_BOOST_L3B_EN) controls the SY7088DGC boost circuit, which generates BOOST_5V for the 5V outputs on Grove, Chain, and Ext.Port.
• PYG5 (IOEG5_CODER_L3B_EN) controls the CODER_3V3_L3B supply for the ES8311 codec and the MEMS microphone. The ESP32-S3R8's G21 (G21_SPK_L3B_EN) independently controls the AW8737A speaker amplifier enable signal.
• PYG6 (IOEG6_HEADER5V_EN) controls the 5V output switch for Ext.Port (2.54-15P).
• PYG8 (IOEG8_G_LED) controls the green LED via PWM.
• PYG9 (IOEG9_B_LED) controls the blue LED via PWM.
• PYG10 (IOEG10_R_LED) controls the red LED via PWM.
• PYG11 (IOEG11_TFT_BL_EN) controls the display backlight through Q7 and supports PWM dimming.
• PYG12 (IOEG12_TFT_L3B_EN) controls the TFT_3V3_L3B supply for the display.

Model Size

coming soon...

Structure

coming soon...

Datasheets

• M5PM1
• M5IOE1
• ESP32-S3
• BMI270

Softwares

Arduino

• Chain Series Device Bus Communication Tutorial
• M5Chain Arduino Library
• M5PM1 Arduino Library
• M5IOE1 Arduino Library
• Chain Captain M5Unified Arduino Library
• Chain Captain M5GFX Arduino Library

Protocol