STM32F401 “Black Pill” Cortex-M4F Dev Board

As Makers, Coders and enthusiasts of all things Electronics, there are often times in which we want to branch out our skills and try new things, and while we certainly don’t need to, given the power and functionality of the easy to use boards from brands like Arduino, Raspberry Pi and Espressif, sometimes we really just want to try out something fresh. This is what enticed us to jump at the opportunity to get in these STM32F401 “Black Pill” Cortex-M4F Dev Boards, which are STM32 based dev boards designed for a wide range of basic functionality – just like an Arduino – and with a core focus on helping Makers learn the ropes of the ecosystem. This board is a step up from the original STM32F103 “Blue Pill” Dev Board, and does a great job at bringing the classic little powerhouse into the modern age with a range of modern upgrades in almost every aspect from the Processor to the USB Port.

To start, the STM32F401 Black Pill offers a far more advanced STM32 processor, which features more power, faster processing speeds, higher capacities of RAM, Flash and SRAM, and even a more advanced USB controller with on-chip PHY and a USB Type-C interface. This makes it the perfect companion to help Makers learn the capabilities of the STM32 development environment, and with a core focus on affordability for Makers who want to learn, this board even features a great price that makes it difficult to ignore – even if you’ve already learned the STM32 environment and just want more Dev Boards for more cool projects! All of these fantastic modernisation features, coupled with a low price of entry and a surprisingly low difficulty due to the integration with other IDE softwares, makes it a must-have for any Makers who like to try new things, and test out the power and capabilities of development platforms outside of the common Raspberry Pi, Arduino and Espressif environments.

Please Note: Although this board does feature an onboard USB Type-C port, it can also be programmed directly via a Debugger/Programmer, and if this is your preferred way, then we suggest using the FT232R USB-TTL Programmer as seen in the video down below.

Typical Applications for STM32F401 “Black Pill” Cortex-M4F Dev Board:

Although the STM32F401 “Black Pill” Cortex-M4F Dev Board is primarily designed for learning and experimentation with the STM32 development environment, the features and functionality of the board are actually more than enough to perform a lot of different projects. Furthermore, while this board can technically be considered “basic” compared to other STM32 based boards, it is still way more advanced than a large majority of development boards from the past, and as such it is both highly functional and versatile despite being one of the lowest cost boards on the market. So, whether you’re eager to learn, want to experiment with what’s new, or already love the environment and want more boards to use for your projects, these are great choices that blend all of the best features for hobbyists – functionality, low cost and ease of use – into a beautiful device that’s ready for all kinds of fun applications.

Additional Resources:

• If you want to see what to expect for when you get your Black Pill Dev Board, check out this Getting Started with the Black Pill Arduino STM32F4 Video, which shows how to program this board via Arduino IDE, while explaining some of the key features and steps for programming.
  
  

Finally, the following is a great Blue Pill vs Black Pill Comparison & Review video by Gary Explains shows off many of the major changes that the newer model features over the previous edition, and also demonstrates the basic procedure for setting up and programming the board: