Wiznet makers

🌐 EthernetRTL_BW16 – W5500 Ethernet Integration for Realtek BW16 (RTL8720DN)

We came across an open-source project on GitHub by Azhaque59 called EthernetRTL_BW16 (MIT License), which demonstrates how to bring wired Ethernet capability (via the WIZnet W5500 Ethernet controller) to the BW16 (RTL8720DN) module—an embedded board based on the Realtek RTL8720DN chip.

🚀 What the project does

It provides a library (for Arduino/AmebaD environment) to integrate W5500 Ethernet with BW16, primarily aimed at verifying compile-time integration and header linking.

Includes an example sketch W5500_TestCompile.ino which tests that the W5500 driver headers and SPI interface compile correctly on the BW16 platform.

The README notes that this is still a “work in progress” and that hardware verification of full network stack operations is planned as the next step.

It supports the Realtek AmebaD Arduino Core (version referenced in forum post) and adapts the Ethernet3 library/driver for the BW16 environment.

🔧 Why this matters

For embedded-and-maker communities working with the BW16 board (which has WiFi + BLE capabilities), this project opens up the possibility of adding wired Ethernet via W5500—a significant enhancement for use cases where WiFi may be less reliable, or where Ethernet bandwidth/latency matters.
Because W5500 includes its own TCP/IP hardware stack and MAC/PHY support, this kind of integration offloads network protocol work from the MCU and can provide a more deterministic network path—important in industrial/embedded applications.
For your community at WIZnet, this project ties directly to your W5500 ecosystem and illustrates real-world hardware integration.

🧰 Basic usage & notes (based on project readme)

Download the ZIP of the repo and place it into your Arduino libraries folder under EthernetRTL_BW16/.

The hardware setup: connect the BW16 board (3.3 V logic) to the W5500 module via SPI (SCK/MOSI/MISO/CS) with shared ground and correct voltage levels. The README includes a wiring diagram and cautions about variant pin mappings.

Ensure correct mapping of the SPI pins: because BW16 modules vary, the variant.cpp in the Realtek package may need edits to align with the board’s SPI lines.

The provided example sketch just tests compilation and header linkage—it does not yet test live network connectivity. Live Ethernet functionality is a future goal.

✅ Strengths & ⚠️ Considerations

Strengths:

Demonstrates how to integrate WIZnet’s W5500 into a less-common board (BW16/RTL8720DN).

Open-source under MIT license—easy to adapt and contribute.

Good reference for makers wanting to add Ethernet to WiFi/BLE modules or hybrid boards.

Considerations:

As of now, the project is proof-of-concept / compile-test only—hardware network functionality still pending full verification.

The BW16 board variants differ in pinouts and the Arduino core/variant mapping may need adjustments by the user.

For deployment, you’d still need to test SPI reliability, packet throughput, link stability, and integrate the full W5500 network stack (DHCP/DNS/socket) beyond header linkage.

🔗 Project link: EthernetRTL_BW16 on GitHub
👤 Created by: @azhaque59

⚠ Disclaimer: This project was created and shared publicly by @azhaque59 under an MIT license. We are featuring it here to highlight potential and inspire our community. All credit belongs to the original author; we do not claim ownership or rights over this work.