Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft), Author at CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

December 4, 2024December 4, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

CapibaraZero firmware enables low-cost Flipper Zero alternatives based on ESP32-S3 hardware

CapibaraZero ESP32-S3 Flipper Zero alternative

CapibaraZero open-source firmware aims to offer a low-cost alternative to Flipper Zero for ESP32-S3-based hardware platforms and soon other gizmos with ESP32 wireless microcontrollers, notably the LilyGO T-Embed CC1101, similar to the original T-Embed with ESP32-S3 WiSoC, but also featuring a Texas Instruments CC1101 Sub-GHz microcontroller and an NXP PN532 NFC/RFID module. The Flipper Zero is a popular portable multi-tool for pentesters and hardware hackers based on STMicro STM32WB55 Bluetooth 5 LE & 802.15.4 wireless microcontroller and a TI CC1101 Sub-Ghz MCU that got involved in controversies such as a ban proposal in Canada last year due to its (dubious) potential use for car theft. Since then we’ve seen several alternatives such as Monstatek M1 (that’s yet to be delivered to backers…) and HackBat open-source hardware with Raspberry Pi RP2040, ESP8266 WiFi module, and the CC1101 RF transceiver. The CapibaraZero firmware offers another way to create your own cheap Flipper […]

December 3, 2024December 28, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Orange Pi 5 Ultra SBC offers HDMI 2.1 output and HDMI 2.0 input

The Orange Pi 5 Ultra is a Rockchip RK3588 SBC that’s slightly larger than a business card and visually identical to the Orange Pi 5 Max introduced last August, but replacing one of the two HDMI 2.1 video outputs on the latter with an HDMI 2.0 input port. The new single board computer is still offered with up to 16GB LPDDR5, an eMMC flash module connector or soldered-on eMMC flash, an M.2 socket for an NVMe SSD, 2.5GbE and WiFi 6E networking, and four USB 3.0/2.0 ports. Orange Pi 5 Ultra specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3588 CPU – Octa-core processor with 4x Cortex-A76 cores @ up to 2.4 GHz, 4x Cortex-A55 cores @ up to 1.8 GHz Arm Mali-G610 MP4 GPU with support for OpenGL ES1.1/2.0/3.2, OpenCL 2.2, and Vulkan 1.2 6 TOPS AI accelerator with support for INT4/INT8/INT16/FP16 mixed operation VPU – 8Kp60 H.265/VP9/AVS2 10-bit decoder, 8Kp30 H.264 decoder, […]

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

Matter 1.4 specification improves multi-admin and energy management, adds new devices like solar panels, batteries, and water heaters

We covered the Matter 1.3 specification in May 2024, but the Connectivity Standards Alliance is wasting no time and the Matter 1.4 specification is already out with features and improvements such as “Enhanced Multi-Admin”, Matter certifiable Home Routers and Access Points, energy management enhancements, and several new device types such as solar power equipment and batteries. Matter has been deployed in millions of Smart Home products in just a few years and aims to enable interoperability between devices from multiple vendors. Paisit reviewed a few Matter products from SONOFF including the MINIR4M Smart Switch, SONOFF Zigbee Bridge Ultra, and SwitchMan M5 Matter wall switch, and while Matter interoperability is working since devices can be controlled from Matter-compatible apps (e.g. Apple Home), users do lose some features found in the “native” app such as eWelink in the case of SONOFF devices. Matter 1.4 key improvements and new features: Home Routers and […]

December 2, 2024December 28, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Wi-Fi 8 (802.11bn) to focus on reliability and efficiency while maintaining Wi-Fi 7 performance

WiFi 4 vs WiFi 5 vs WiFi 6 vs WiFi 7 vs WiFi 8

Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) routers and modules have only been launched recently, but engineers are already working on Wi-Fi 8 (802.11bn) “Ultra High Reliability (UHR)”, and MediaTek shared some details in a whitepaper detailing some of the improvements of the new standard for its upcoming Filogic Wi-Fi 8 SoCs. Surprisingly, there aren’t any enhancements to the maximum performance with Wi-Fi 8 still offering up to 320 MHz channel bandwidth, 23 Gbps maximum PHY rate, and support for 2.4 GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz frequency bands, as well as up to 8 spatial streams. The Wi-Fi 8 improvements are all meant to improve Wi-Fi reliability, network efficiency, and power consumption in IoT use cases, which will end up improving the overall WLAN performance when many nodes are connected. Wi-Fi 8 new features: Coordinated Target Wait Time (TWT) allows low-power IoT devices to negotiate specific times for transmission with access points in order to […]

December 1, 2024December 2, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

ORICO COM2-T3 review – A 40Gbps SSD enclosure tested with a 7000MB/s M.2 NVMe SSD

ORICO COM2-T3 40Gbps SSD enclosure review

ORICO sent me a COM2-T3 SSD enclosure capable of 40 Gbps speeds for review along with the company’s 1TB O7000 NVMe SSD rated at up to 7000MB/s read speed which converts to about 56 Gbps and should be plenty enough to test 40 Gbps SSD enclosure. Thunderbolt 4 and USB4 are not always equivalent But before going into the review itself, here’s some background information. When I test the USB-A and USB-C ports in mini PC reviews, I rely on an ORICO M234C3-U4 NVMe SSD enclosure with an Apacer SSD. That enclosure was falsely advertised as a “USB4″ enclosure but still works at 40Gbps with an Intel JH7440 Thunderbolt 3 chip that works with 40 Gbps USB Type-C ports and a JMS583 “USB 3.1 Gen 2 to PCIe NVMe Gen3” bridge for USB 3.0 ports up to 10 Gbps. I always assumed a 40Gbps USB-C peripheral would always work with […]

November 30, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 16 Comments

Boardcon Compact3588S SBC – A Raspberry Pi 5 alternative based on Rockchip RK3588S AI SoC with M.2 socket for SSD or 4G LTE module

Boardcon Compact3588S SBC Raspberry Pi 5 Alternative

Boardcon Compact3588S SBC is another Raspberry Pi 5 alternative powered by a Rockchip RK3588S octa-core Cortex-A76/A55 SoC with a 6 TOP NPU for AI acceleration, up to 16GB RAM, up to 256GB eMMC flash, and all the features found in the Raspberry Pi 4, plus an M.2 socket supporting either an NVMe SSD or a 4G LTE module in conjunction with a Nano SIM card slot. It more closely follows the Raspberry Pi 4 form factor, but Rockchip RK3588S’ performance and capabilities make it a direct Raspberry Pi 5 competitor. Contrary to most credit card-sized single board computers, it follows a carrier board + soldered-on system-on-module design, rather than a single PCB. Boardcon Compact3588S specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3588S CPU – Octa-core processor with 4x Cortex-A76 cores @ up to 2.4 GHz, 4x Cortex-A55 cores @ up to 1.8 GHz GPU – Arm Mali-G610 GPU with OpenGL ES 3.2, OpenCL […]

November 29, 2024November 29, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Picade Max USB Controller board supports two joysticks and up to 30 arcade buttons

Pimoroni Picade Max USB Controller is a Raspberry Pi RP2040 board designed for arcade game consoles with support for two joysticks and up to 30 buttons through standard DuPont socket connectors and one Plasma button connector. The board comes with a 2MB QSPI flash for the firmware, a USB-C port for power and programming, one of DuPont socket connectors exposes three ADC inputs, 3.3V, and GND, and there’s also a Qwicc/Qt STEMMA connector for I2C module expansion, plus BOOT and RESET buttons for programming. Picade Max USB Controller specifications: Microcontroller – Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Arm Cortex M0+ MCU @ 133 MHz with 264kB of SRAM Storage – 2MB QSPI flash supporting XiP USB – 1x USB Type-C port for power and programming User inputs DuPont socket connectors 2x 4-way joystick inputs 30x arcade button inputs Plasma button connector Expansion Qw/ST (Qwiic/STEMMA QT) connector for I2C modules 3x ADC […]

November 29, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Olimex USB-SERIAL-L is a USB-to-serial debug board with CTS/RTS pins, up to 3Mbps baud rate, adjustable voltage from 0.65V to 5.5V

There are already many USB-to-TLL debug boards on the market, but Olimex USB-SERIAL-L open-source hardware USB-to-serial board is more advanced than most with not only Tx/Rx pins, but also CTS/RTS pins, support for up to 3 Mbps speeds, and an adjustable voltage from 0.65V to 5.5V to cater to a wide range of boards. Olimex USB-SERIAL-L specifications: USB-to-serial chip – Silicon Labs CP2102N Seven signal lines – +5V, GND, CTS, RTS, TX, RX, Vref Baud rate from 50bps up to 3Mbps Output buffers with adjustable levels from 0.65 up to 5.5V USB – USB Type-C port for power and connect to host Misc – Power, Tx, and Rx status LEDs Power Supply Input – 5V via USB-C port Output – +5V to the target Dimensions – 35 x 35 x 8 mm (Custom 3D printed plastic box) Seven 200 mm long cables The Vref signal is used to adjust the […]