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Orca modules

Orca is FREE-WILi's name for its expansion boards — see What FREE-WILi 2 is for the short version. This page goes deeper, into the connector, mounting, and auto-detect mechanics.

Orcas plug into the 20-pin GPIO connector — the same pin layout FreeWili 1 used, kept on FREE-WILi 2 specifically so the existing library of Orcas keeps working, and covered pin by pin on Pinout. A rigid mounting system with off-the-shelf case options holds an Orca in place without flex or intermittent connections, unlike a header connection resting on friction alone.

An EEPROM on each Orca lets FREE-WILi 2 auto-detect what's plugged in and configure itself accordingly, rather than requiring manual setup every time you swap modules.

Available Orcas​

OrcaWhat it adds
Maestro Debug OrcaUSB debug probe and IO test points
Jambu Serial LED Control Orca8-channel serial LED driver
SAN DIEGO OrcaCAN FD, RS485, and single-pair automotive Ethernet
Humpback OrcaFocused ISO CAN FD interface

Maestro Debug Orca​

A troubleshooting and development the gives you Probe and IO test points. It gives you:

  • A Pico-scope-compatible logic analyzer connector
  • Status LEDs plus 6 programmable serial RGB LEDs
  • Switches for exercising GPIO inputs
  • I2C (Qwiic) and SD card prototyping connectors
  • A jumper for selecting or injecting IO voltage
  • A pass-through connector for stacking another Orca underneath it

There is also an integrated Raspberry Pi Debug Probe for flashing and debugging but this is only useful for FreeWili 1 OG. The FreeWili 2 includes its own debuggers inside the device.

Jambu Serial LED Control Orca​

An 8-channel LED driver breakout for common-anode serial RGB LED strips, individual LEDs, and incandescent bulbs. Control is a two-wire I2C interface (Qwiic-compatible), and the board is powered from its own 5 V barrel jack rather than drawing from FREE-WILi 2 itself.

SAN DIEGO Orca​

Puts FREE-WILi 2 on vehicle and industrial networks: exposes the internal ISO CAN FD channel and adds one RS485 channel, and both 10BASE-T1S (multidrop) and 10BASE-T1L (long-reach, up to 1 km) single-pair Ethernet. Everything routes through a single rugged DB-15 connector, and the module can be powered directly from vehicle battery voltage (VBATT) rather than relying on FREE-WILi 2's own supply.

Humpback Orca​

A smaller, CAN-FD-only counterpart to SAN DIEGO: it exposes internal ISO CAN FD channel and adds VBATT power input, and a DB-15 connector.

Making your own​

Example Orca project templates are published at freewili/fw2-orca-templates, so you can design a custom module against the same connector and mounting system the official Orcas use.

The repository currently includes a KiCad starter project (ORCATemplate) with the two Orca connector symbols (CN1/CN2), a 3D .step model, and the footprint for the auto-detect EEPROM. An Altium Designer template isn't in the repository yet — ask on Discord if you need one.