Author: Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

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.
Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on Maxtang T0-FP750 (AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS) mini PC review – Part 1: Specs, unboxing, teardown, and first boot

Maxtang T0-FP750 (AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS) mini PC review – Part 1: Specs, unboxing, teardown, and first boot

Maxtang T0-FP750 Windows 11 Pro review

Maxtang T0-FP750 is a mini PC powered by an AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS octa-core/sixteen-thread SoC supporting up to 64GB 5600 MT/s dual-channel DDR5 SO-DIMM memory, equipped with two M.2 slots for up to NVMe 2280 SSDs, and an additional M.2 slot for a WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 module. The Windows 11 Pro mini computer can drive up to three displays via HDMI 2.0, USB4, and DisplayPort 1.4 connectors and offers 2.5GbE networking. Maxtang sent us a review sample of the T0-FP750 mini PC with 32GB DDR5 RAM, a 512GB M.2 SSD, and a WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 wireless module. Despite having a similar name to the earlier AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS-powered Maxtang MTN-FP750 mini PC reviewed last December, the T0-FP750 design is fairly different as we’ll see below. As usual, we’ll do a three-part review starting with the specifications, an unboxing, a teardown, and a quick first try […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on How to recover a “bricked” Raspberry Pi Pico 2 or other RP2350 board

How to recover a “bricked” Raspberry Pi Pico 2 or other RP2350 board

Recover Bricked Raspberry Pi Pico 2 or RP2350 board with flash_nuke.uf2

In theory, it’s close to impossible to brick your Raspberry Pi Pico 2 or other RP2350 boards because the bootrom code (source code) is stored in the 32KB ROM of the microcontroller and is by definition “read-only memory”.  But I managed to “brick” my Raspberry Pi Pico 2 the other day, and even a blinky sample would not run on the board. So I’ll explain a simple method to recover/perform a factory reset of sorts. First, let me explain what happened. My board became unusable after I ran the following command while building RISC-V Linux for RP2035 and my Pico 2 was connected to the build machine:

At some point, it will copy a UF2 firmware binary designed for boards with PSRAM which the Raspberry Pi Pico 2 lacks:

After that, I could still see the Raspberry Pi Pico 2 board as an “RP2350” drive on my computer, […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on WeAct RA4M1 – A small board with plenty of GPIOs that’s software-compatible with the Arduino UNO R4

WeAct RA4M1 – A small board with plenty of GPIOs that’s software-compatible with the Arduino UNO R4

WeAct RA4M1 board

Last week, we covered the Maker Go RA4M1-R4 development board, an inexpensive “clone” of the Arduino UNO R4 Minima with some small modifications like support for up to 50V DC input and a 3.3V/5V switch for I/Os. But today, I’ve come across a smaller and cheaper Renesas RA4M1 board that’s also software compatible with the Arduino UNO R4. Meet the WeAct RA4M1. The WeAct RA4M1 is mostly a breakout board for the Renesas R7FA4M1AB3CFM Arm Cortex-M4F microcontroller with two 30-pin GPIO headers, a USB-C port for power and programming, and three buttons. It offers a middle ground between the Arduino UNO R4 Minima and the tiny XIAO RA4M1 USB-C board. WeAct RA4M1 specifications: Microcontroller – Renesas RA4M1 Arm Cortex-M4F MCU @ 48 MHz with 32KB SRAM, 256KB flash USB – 1x USB Type-C port for power and programming Expansion 2x 30-pin headers with GPIO, VIN, VCC, GND 3.3V or 5V […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments on DietPi 9.7 and Armbian 24.8 released with improved support for Rockchip, Amlogic, and Allwinner SBCs

DietPi 9.7 and Armbian 24.8 released with improved support for Rockchip, Amlogic, and Allwinner SBCs

DietPi 9.7 Orange Pi 5 Plus

Armbian and DietPi are two separate projects that provide Linux-based OS images optimized for Arm-based single board computers. The last time we had a look at both projects was in June with the release of Armbian 24.5.1 and DietPi 9.4, but there have been several updates since then including the releases of the latest DietPi 9.7 and Armbian 24.8 Yelt just a few days ago. So let’s check out the latest changes. DietPi 9.7 DietPi is a lightweight Debian-based Linux distribution for SBCs and server systems that ships as a minimal image but users can install any packages they want, including the ones required for desktop environment, to match the requirements of the applications. It’s notably used by the Linamp project – a Raspberry Pi 4-based project that brings WinAMP to real life – that we covered a few weeks ago. DietPi 9.7 was released on August 25, 2024 with […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on GAOMON PD2200 pen display review – A 21.5-inch drawing tablet tested with Windows 11, Ubuntu 24.04, Krita software

GAOMON PD2200 pen display review – A 21.5-inch drawing tablet tested with Windows 11, Ubuntu 24.04, Krita software

GAOMON PD2200 pen Display review

Today, we’ll review the GAOMON PD2200 pen display, a 21.5-inch drawing tablet with 1920 x 1080 resolution, and an AP32 stylus with 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity. It allows you to draw and write in the same way as you would with a pen and paper. It can also be used as a standard HDMI monitor and is similar to the smaller, but higher resolution (2560 x 1440) HUION Kamvas Pro 16 (2.5K) we reviewed last April. HUION and GAOMON are different brands, but based on the shipping information, they may be made by the same company… Guangdong Gaomon Technology sent us a sample of the GAOMON PD2200 drawing tablet for review. We will test the device as an external display in Windows 11 and Ubuntu 22.04 and as a drawing tablet using the stylus with Krita open-source software that works fine in both Windows and Linux. GAOMON PD2200 Pen […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments on Using RISC-V cores on the Raspberry Pi Pico 2 board and RP2350 MCU – From blinking an LED to building Linux

Using RISC-V cores on the Raspberry Pi Pico 2 board and RP2350 MCU – From blinking an LED to building Linux

Raspberry Pi Pico 2 RP2350 RISC-V review

Raspberry Pi Pico 2 was released last month with a Raspberry Pi RP2350 microcontroller equipped with two Arm Cortex-M33 cores and two 32-bit RISC-V “Hazard3” cores with up to two cores usable at any time. So in this guide, we’ll show how to use the RISC-V cores on the RP2350 MCU, compare their performance against the Arm Cortex-M33 cores, and even build Linux for RISC-V for RP2350 boards that have PSRAM. Apart from the extra memory and more powerful cores, plus new features related to security and the HSTX interface, the Raspberry Pi Pico 2 and Pico will be very similar to the end user and the instructions in our article “Getting Started with Raspberry Pi Pico using MicroPython and C” remain valid. I don’t think there’s a MicroPython RISC-V image yet, so we’ll focus on running C programs on the RISC-V cores. A quick check with the Arm cores […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on Vantron HCAM26 WiFi HaLow IP camera offers up to 1km range

Vantron HCAM26 WiFi HaLow IP camera offers up to 1km range

Vantron HCAM26

Vantron HCAM26 is an IP camera based on the company’s VT-MOB-AH-L sub-GHz 802.11ah WiFi HaLow module itself equipped with Morse Micro MM6108 RISC-V SoC and offering up to 1km range and better wall penetration than WiFi security cameras operating at 2.4 GHz or 5GHz frequencies. The Linux camera comes with 1GB RAM and 8GB eMMC flash, features a 5MP (2592 x 1944) camera sensor, supports AI features through a 2.0 TOPS NPU integrated into the main SoC,  and is also fitted with a speaker and microphone for two-way audio, and a micro HDMI port to monitor the camera output. A 2,600mAh Li-ion battery powers the camera. Vantron HCAM26 specifications: SoC – Unname, but most likely Rockchip RV1126 CPU – Quad-core Arm Cortex-A7 32-bit vision processor with RISC-V core ISP – 14MP ISP VPU H.265/H.264 codecs Frame rate – 3840 x 2160 @30 fps + 1080p @30 fps encoding supported ; […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on AAEON RICO-MX8P fanless Pico-ITX Plus SBC is powered by NXP i.MX 8M Plus AI processor

AAEON RICO-MX8P fanless Pico-ITX Plus SBC is powered by NXP i.MX 8M Plus AI processor

NXP i.MX 8M Plus Pico-ITX Plus SBC

AAEON has launched another Pico-ITX Plus SBC with the RICO-MX8P single board computer powered by an NXP i.MX 8M Plus SoC with a 2.3 TOPS AI accelerator and equipped with up to 8GB LPDDR4 and a 16GB eMMC flash. The fanless 100x80mm board offers a range of interfaces such as HDMI 2.0 video output, gigabit Ethernet, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports (one Type-C OTG, one Type-A), RS-232/422/485 DB9 connector, and a 40-pin FPC connector for optional daughter boards. All these features make the RICO-MX8P SBC suitable for digital signage, retail kiosks, and industrial control systems such as PLCs and telemetry. AAEON RICO-MX8P specifications: SoC – NXP i.MX 8M Plus AI SoC CPU Quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor @ up to 1.6 GHz Arm Cortex-M7 real-time core @ 800 MHz GPU – Vivante GC7000UL 3D GPU, Vivante GC520L 2D GPU VPU – 720p60 H.265/H.264 video decoder & encoder Optional AI accelerator […]

UP 7000 x86 SBC