The STM32F411CEU6 is a compact and powerful Cortex-M4 microcontroller in a 48-pin UFQFPN package. At just GH\u20b5220 for a fully assembled breakout board, it provides one of the most cost-effective ways to get started with serious STM32 development. This guide walks you through everything from your first LED blink to working with UART, SPI flash, and USB on the NVX-F4 board.<\/p>\n
NVX-F4 board (any variant)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
USB-C cable<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
ST-Link V2 debugger (or compatible clone) for SWD programming<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
STM32CubeIDE (free download from ST)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
STM32CubeProgrammer (free download from ST)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Core: ARM Cortex-M4 with FPU, up to 100MHz<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Flash Memory: 512KB internal<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
SRAM: 128KB<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Package: UFQFPN48 with up to 36 GPIO pins<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
USB: Full Speed (12Mbps)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
SPI: up to 5 \u00d7 SPI \/ I2S interfaces<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
I\u00b2C: 3 \u00d7 I\u00b2C interfaces<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
USART: 3 \u00d7 USART interfaces<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
ADC: 12-bit, up to 16 channels<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Timers: up to 11, including advanced PWM timers<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Connect the NVX-F4 to your computer using the USB-C connector. The onboard 3.3V LDO powers the board directly from USB. The power LED should illuminate immediately. If it does not, verify that your USB cable supports both power and data, as some cables are power-only.<\/p>\n
Connect your ST-Link to the board’s 10-pin SWD header. Pin 1 is marked on the silkscreen.<\/p>\n
VCC \u2192 3.3V<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
GND \u2192 GND<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
SWDIO \u2192 PA13<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
SWDCLK \u2192 PA14<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Open STM32CubeIDE and select File \u2192 New \u2192 STM32 Project<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Search for your target MCU and select STM32F411CEU6<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Enter a project name and click Finish<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
CubeMX opens automatically for peripheral configuration<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
In CubeMX, open Clock Configuration and configure:<\/p>\n
Input Source: HSI (16MHz internal oscillator)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
PLL Source: HSI<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
PLLM = 8<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
PLLN = 100<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
PLLP = 2<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
System Clock Source: PLLCLK<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The resulting HCLK should be 100MHz, the maximum for this MCU. Click Resolve Clock Issues if any warnings appear.<\/p>\n
The NVX-F4 includes a user LED connected to PA5. In CubeMX, configure PA5 as GPIO_Output. Generate the project code and add the following inside the main loop:<\/p>\n
while (1) {\n HAL_GPIO_TogglePin(GPIOA, GPIO_PIN_5);\n HAL_Delay(500);\n}\n<\/code><\/pre>\nBuild and flash the firmware. The LED should toggle every 500ms (one complete on\/off cycle every second).<\/p>\n
Step 5 \u2014 Configure UART Debug Output<\/h2>\n
Enable USART2 in Asynchronous mode within CubeMX.<\/p>\n
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PA2 \u2192 TX<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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PA3 \u2192 RX<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Baud Rate \u2192 115200<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Add the following to main.c:<\/p>\n
#include <stdio.h>\n#include <string.h>\nvoid uart_print(const char *msg)\n{\n HAL_UART_Transmit(\n &huart2,\n (uint8_t*)msg,\n strlen(msg),\n HAL_MAX_DELAY\n );\n}\n\/\/ Example:\nuart_print(\"NVX-F4 is runningrn\");\n<\/code><\/pre>\nConnect a USB-to-UART adapter to PA2 and PA3, then open a serial terminal at 115200 baud.<\/p>\n
Step 6 \u2014 Read Analog Input Using the ADC<\/h2>\n
The STM32F4 ADC provides 12-bit resolution (0\u20134095). To read an analog voltage from PA0:<\/p>\n
HAL_ADC_Start(&hadc1);\nHAL_ADC_PollForConversion(&hadc1, HAL_MAX_DELAY);\nuint32_t raw = HAL_ADC_GetValue(&hadc1);\nfloat voltage = (raw \/ 4095.0f) * 3.3f;\n<\/code><\/pre>\nStep 7 \u2014 Communicate Using SPI<\/h2>\n
If you are using the NVX-F4 Flash variant, the onboard W25Q128JV flash memory is connected through SPI1.<\/p>\n
To read the JEDEC device ID:<\/p>\n
uint8_t cmd = 0x9F;\nuint8_t id[3];\nHAL_GPIO_WritePin(\n FLASH_CS_GPIO_Port,\n FLASH_CS_Pin,\n GPIO_PIN_RESET\n);\nHAL_SPI_Transmit(\n &hspi1,\n &cmd,\n 1,\n HAL_MAX_DELAY\n);\nHAL_SPI_Receive(\n &hspi1,\n id,\n 3,\n HAL_MAX_DELAY\n);\nHAL_GPIO_WritePin(\n FLASH_CS_GPIO_Port,\n FLASH_CS_Pin,\n GPIO_PIN_SET\n);\n\/\/ Expected:\n\/\/ id[0] = 0xEF (Winbond)\n\/\/ id[1] = 0x40\n\/\/ id[2] = 0x18\n<\/code><\/pre>\nStep 8 \u2014 Flash Firmware Through USB (DFU Mode)<\/h2>\n
The STM32 includes a built-in USB DFU bootloader, allowing firmware updates without an ST-Link.<\/p>\n
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Press and hold the BOOT0 button<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Press and release RESET while continuing to hold BOOT0<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Release BOOT0<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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The board should appear in STM32CubeProgrammer as a DFU device<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Select your .bin or .hex file and flash the firmware<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Reset the board to launch the new firmware<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Next Steps<\/h2>\n\n- \n
Add FreeRTOS: Enable FreeRTOS under Middleware in CubeMX for multitasking support<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Connect a display: Use SPI TFT displays such as ILI9341 or ST7789 through SPI2 or SPI3<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Upgrade to the NVX-F4 Pro: Adds microSD logging, EEPROM, and RTC support with no wiring changes<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Full pinout diagrams, schematics, and firmware examples are available on github.com\/nvixeon.<\/p>\n