WeAct CH32V006F8U6 Mini Core is an inexpensive, tiny development board based on the 48 MHz CH32V006 RISC-V microcontroller and equipped with a USB-C port, a Reset button, and two rows of 12-pin headers for I/Os using either 3.3V or 5V voltage.
WCH introduced the CH32V006 in 2024 as an update to the popular CH32V003 with more memory (8KB vs 2KB SRAM), storage (62KB vs 8KB flash), additional GPIOs, a wider supply voltage range, and an upgraded 32-bit RISC-V2C core. I just hadn’t seen any third-party CH32V006 boards so far. The WeAct Studio board changes that.
WeAct CH32V006F8U6 Mini Core board specifications:
- SoC – WCH CH32V006F8U6
- CPU – 32-bit “RISC-V2C” core up to 48 MHz
- Memory – 8KB SRAM
- Storage – 62KB flash + 3KB “boot” flash
- USB – 1x USB Type-C port for power and debugging
- Expansion
- 2x 12-pin headers with GPIO, ADC, USART, I2C, SPI
- I/O Voltage – 3.3V or 5V, depending on model (selected by resistors)
- Debugging – 4-pin debug header
- Power Supply – 5V via USB-C port
- Dimensions – 30.48 x 17.78 mm
WeAct Studio provides the CH32V006 datasheet and reference manual, PDF schematics, 3D STEP file, sample code (C language), an SDK, and tools on GitHub. The latter is named WCH-LinkUtility.exe, so I suppose that means it’s designed for Windows only… However, you might be able to use CNLohr’s CH32Fun project to get a Linux 32-bit RISC-V toolchain that works with the board, especially since I can see CH32V006 is listed in the project.
Since the MCU is supposed to sell for a little over 10 cents (it’s $0.1397 per unit on LCSC for ~6k orders), the board is equally cheap, going for $2.0x on AliExpress including shipping. You can also select a bundle of 5 boards for $7.70 in the same link, or $1.54 per board. The board ships with GPIO and debug headers, and you might need a WCH-LinkE USB debugger ($2.99) to flash the board with your firmware. If the WeAct board gets out of stock, you can always get the larger, official CH32V006-EVT evaluation board for around $4.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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