olimex News - CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

November 1, 2024November 2, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

MicroPython v1.24 release adds support for RP2350 and ESP32-C6 microcontrollers, various RISC-V improvements

Micropython v1.24 with ESP32-C6 and RP2350 support

MicroPython has become one of the most popular ways of programming microcontrollers, and the just-released MicroPython v1.24 adds support for the widely-used Raspberry Pi RP2350 and Espresif ESP32-C6 microcontrollers and a range of other changes. Those include improved RISC-V support with native code generation, an updated Zephyr v3.7.0 RTOS with threading support, unified TinyUSB bindings across ports, a portable UART IRQ API, and enhanced mpremote recursive copy. Damien George goes into more detail about the RISC-V improvements: … include an RV32IMC native code emitter, native NLR and GC register scanning implementations for 32- and 64-bit RISC-V, support for placing RV32IMC native code in .mpy files and also freezing it, and RISC-V semihosting support. Testing for RISC-V is done with the qemu and unix ports, and the support is utilised in the esp32 and rp2 ports. The Raspberry Pi RP2350 comes with both Arm Cortex-M33 and RISC-V cores, and the good […]

October 3, 2024October 2, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 14 Comments

Olimex RVPC is a one Euro RISC-V computer kit with VGA and PS/2 connectors

Olimex RVPC is one Euro RISC-V computer powered by a WCH CH32V003 RISC-V microcontroller and equipped with a VGA port for video output and a PS/2 connector to connect a keyboard. You won’t be able to do much with this device as an end-user, but it does not matter since the RVPC open-source hardware board mostly targets the education market and is offered as a kit to be soldered to lower the selling price and to serve as a soldering learning kit. Olimex RVPC specifications: MCU – WCH CH32V003 32-bit RISC-V2A microcontroller up to 48 MHz with 2KB SRAM, 16KB flash (SOP8 package with 6x GPIOs) Video Output – VGA connector (3x GPIO used for Vsync, HSync, and RGB) Keyboard port – PS/2 connector (2x GPIO used) Programmer port – 2-pin header for CH32V003 programming through a board such as ESP32-S2-DevKit-LiPo-USB Misc – Buzzer (1x GPIO) and Red power LED […]

June 25, 2024June 25, 2024 by Debashis Das - 2 Comments

Olimex NEO6502 is a W65C02 and Raspberry Pi RP2040-powered retro computer with HDMI, USB, and more

Olimex has recently launched NEO6502 an open-source hardware retro computer designed for educational and entertainment purposes, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be used for retro gaming. The board is very unique as it’s built around a 65C02 MPU and Raspberry Pi Pico RP2040 MCU in a dual-processor configuration. The MOS6502 handles the Apple II, Oric, and Commodore 64 emulators whereas the RP2040 handles everything else including HDMI (DVI) video output using the PicoDVI project. Previously we have written about similar retro computer kits such as the CERBERUS 2100, TinyLlama x86, DevTerm with ClockworkPi v3.14, Olimex AgonLight2, and many others feel free to check those out if you are interested in retro tech with a modern twist. Olimex NEO6502 board specifications Processors Western Design Center W65C02S 8-bit microprocessor @ 6.25 MHz with 64kB RAM, 32kB Graphics RAM Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Cortex-M0+ MCU @ 133 MHz with 264 KB SRAM Storage […]

May 28, 2024May 27, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Olimex open-source hardware NXP i.MX 8M Plus industrial-grade SoM runs mainline Linux

Olimex has just announced the iMX8MP-SOM-4GB-IND industrial-grade, open-source hardware system-on-module based on NXP i.MX 8M Plus Arm AI SoC and 4GB LPDDR4 thar runs mainline Linux and operates in the -20°C to +85°C temperature range. The CPU module also features a wide range of interfaces exposed through female headers including HDMI 2.0, MIPI-DSI, LVDS, dual MIPI CSI, dual Gigabit Ethernet, CAN FS and more. Olimex also designed the iMX8MP-SOM-EVB evaluation board for easy evaluation. Olimex iMX8MP-SOM-4GB-IND system-on-module Specifications: SoC – NXP i.MX 8M Plus (MIMX8ML8CVNKZAB) CPU Quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor @ up to 1.6 GHz Arm Cortex-M7 real-time core @ 800 MHz Cache – 512KB GPU – Vivante GC7000UL 3D GPU, Vivante GC520L 2D GPU VPU – 1080p H.265/H.264 video decoder & encoder DSP HiFi 4 DSP AI accelerator – 2.3 TOPS Neural Processing Unit (NPU) System Memory – 4GB LPDDR4 Storage – EEPROM for Linux configuration Display and camera […]

April 29, 2024April 29, 2024 by Tomisin Olujinmi - 1 Comment

Olimex ESP32-POE2 board offers up to 25W for power-intensive applications

The Bulgarian hardware manufacturer, Olimex, has designed a new ESP32 board with Power over Ethernet (PoE) functionality. The Olimex ESP32-POE2 board builds on the original ESP32-POE and features the same ESP32-WROOM-32 microcontroller module with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. However, it supports up to 25W power delivery from the Ethernet port via PoE and can be used in more demanding projects. The Olimex ESP32-POE2 board features a low-power design and consumes only 200µA in deep sleep mode. The board can be powered via USB-C, Ethernet, or Li-Po battery. The Ethernet interface is built on Texas Instruments’ TPS2378PW chip with IEEE 802.3at classification and legacy PoE support. Powering with PoE requires at least 37V DC for seamless operation. Two proprietary connectors (UEXT and EXT1) can be used to add sensors and other modules and expand the board’s operation for IoT projects. Users can select between 24V/0.75A or 12V/1.5A power output, with a […]

March 25, 2024March 25, 2024 by Debashis Das - 3 Comments

Olimex VGA2HDMI is an open hardware board for VGA to HDMI conversion

Olimex VGA2HDMI is an open-source hardware VGA-to-HDMI converter specially designed and tested to work with the CERBERUS 2100, AgonLight 2, and Agon Origins boards. The board has a VGA port as input and an HDMI port as output and a USB-C port is there to provide the external power required for the board. In one of our previous posts, we wrote about the NovaVGA Shield, which adds VGA output to your Arduino UNO. Now, with the help of this board, that capability can be extended to HDMI. There are also extenders that carry VGA signals over Ethernet cables, a topic we have covered in another post. With this new board, you can convert that VGA signal to HDMI. It’s not like there aren’t other VGA to HDMI converters on the market; a quick Amazon search gave me the VENTION VGA to HDMI Adapter, but among them, most were HDMI to […]

February 9, 2024February 9, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 29 Comments

CERBERUS 2100 is a BASIC-programmable educational board with Z80 and 6502 8-bit CPUs

Olimex has just announced the launch of the CERBERUS 2100 open-source hardware, educational, multi-processor 8-bit computer with both Z80 and 6502 CPUs, as well as a Microchip AVR processor serving as an I/O controller. The CERBERUS 2100 features several CPLD and is fully programmable from the lowest level (individual gates and flip-flops) up to BASIC interpreters running on the Z80 and 6502 CPUs. Olimex did not design this themselves as the hardware design is from Bernardo Kastrup (aka TheByteAttic), while BASIC interpreters were written by Alexander Sharikhin (6502) and Dean Belfield (Z80). CERBERUS 2100 specifications: Processors Zilog Z80 8-bit microprocessor at 4 or 8 MHz (user selectable) Western Design Center W65C02S 8-bit microprocessor at 4 or 8 MHz (user selectable) “FAT-CAT” (Custom ATmega328pb) Microchip 8-bit AVR ATMega328PB microcontroller at 16 MHz CPLDs (ATF1508AS-7AX100) FAT-SCUNK (Scan CoUNter and clocK) and FAT-CAVIA (ChAracter Video Adapter) for video circuit connected to a 25.175 […]

January 19, 2024January 19, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

8 Euros ESP32-H2-DevKit-LiPo is an open-source hardware Bluetooth 5 LE and 802.15.4 (Zigbee/Thread/Matter) board

Olimex ESP32-H2-DevKit-LiPo is an open-source hardware board based on ESP32-H2-MINI-1-N4 wireless module with Bluetooth 5 Low Energy (LE) and an 802.15.4 radio for Zigbee, Thread, and Matter connectivity, and that can be powered by a LiPo battery. The ESP32-H2 RISC-V microcontroller is coupled with 4MB flash in the wireless module, and the board comes with two rows of 15 pins for up to 19 GPIOs with alternate functions such as ADC, SPI, UART, I2C, etc… plus pUEXT and Qwiic/Stemma connectors for expansion modules. The board also features two USB-C ports, one for connected directly to the ESP32-H2 and the other for USB to UART programming/debugging. ESP32-H2-DevKit-LiPo specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-H2-MINI-1-N4 MCU – Espressif Systems ESP32-H2 32-bit RISC-V microcontroller at up to 96 MHz with 320 KB SRAM, 128 KB ROM, 4 KB LP memory, Bluetooth 5.2 LE/Mesh and 802.15.4 (Zigbee/Thread/Matter) radios. Storage – 4MB flash storage PCB antenna Dimensions […]