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) - 16 Comments on 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 – 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 […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Picade Max USB Controller board supports two joysticks and up to 30 arcade buttons

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

Picade Max USB Controller

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 […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments on 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

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

OLIMEX USB-Serial-L

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 […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on STMicro NUCLEO-WL33CC1 and NUCLEO-WL33CC2 boards features STM32WL33 Cortex-M0+ Sub-GHz wireless MCU

STMicro NUCLEO-WL33CC1 and NUCLEO-WL33CC2 boards features STM32WL33 Cortex-M0+ Sub-GHz wireless MCU

STMicro NUCLEO-WL33CC1 Sub-GHz development board

STMicro unveiled the STM32WL3 sub-GHz wireless MCU family last year and has now announced the general availability of the STM32WL33 Arm Cortex-M0+ microcontroller, along with two development boards namely the NUCLEO-WL33CC1 and NUCLEO-WL33CC2 for battery-powered smart meters and smart building and industrial monitoring solutions using wireless M-Bus, Sigfox, WiSun, LoWPAN or Mioty LPWAN protocols among others. The NUCLEO-WL33CC1 and NUCLEO-WL33CC2 development boards look the same, but the former supports 826-958 MHz high-band frequencies, while the latter handles 413-479 MHz low-band frequencies. STMicro NUCLEO-WL33CC1/2 specifications: SoC – STMicro STM32WL33CCV6 MCU Core – Arm Cortex-M0+ up to 64 MHz Memory – 32KB SRAM with full retention Storage 256KB flash 1 KB OTP flash (user data) Sub-GHz Wireless 413-479 MHz or 826-958 MHz frequency bands with OOK, ASK, 2(G)FSK, 4(G)FSK, D‑BPSK, and DSSS modulations Compatible with proprietary and standardized wireless protocols such as WM-Bus, Sigfox, Mioty, KNX-RF, and IEEE 802.15.4g Low-power autonomous wake-up […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on Barebone Intel Celeron 2955U or Pentium 3805U fanless industrial mini PC goes for $60 (Promo)

Barebone Intel Celeron 2955U or Pentium 3805U fanless industrial mini PC goes for $60 (Promo)

Low-cost Intel Celeron 2955U fanless mini PC

If you’re in need of a low-end, cheap x86 platform you’re in luck since XCY is selling the X46G industrial fanless mini PC powered by an Intel Celeron 2955U Haswell processor or a Pentium 3805U Broadwell CPU for just about $60 as a barebone system, or around $74 with 4GB of RAM, a 64GB SSD, and a WiFi module as part of a Black Friday 2024’s promotion. It’s even cheaper in some other shops, as we’ll see below. Both CPUs have been discontinued since 2021, and nobody should use those in a desktop system unless you are of the very patient type. However, if you want to run some lightweight Windows or Linux application(s), make use of RS232 ports for industrial control, set up a Full HD HTPC, configure a dual GbE server, or need to run FreeDOS or similar x86-only operating systems, those ultra-cheap Intel mini PCs might prove […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments on $16 Banana Pi BPI-WiFi5 router is powered by Siflower SF19A28 dual-core MIPS SoC

$16 Banana Pi BPI-WiFi5 router is powered by Siflower SF19A28 dual-core MIPS SoC

Banana Pi BPI WiFi5 Low-cost WiFi 5 router

Banana Pi BPI-WiFi5 is a low-cost WiFi 5 AC1200 router with four gigabit Ethernet ports powered by a 1.2 GHz Siflower SF19A28 dual-core MIPS SoC coupled with 64MB DDR2 and an 8MB flash. It’s not the first low-cost router from the company, as the Banana Pi BPI-WiFi6 Mini was introduced this summer for $30 with Triductor TR6560 SoC, and with the Banana Pi BPI-WiFi5, they’ve now introduced a lower-end WiFi 5 router going for just about $16 plus shipping on AliExpress or $29.99 on Amazon. Banana Pi BPI-WiFi5 specifications: SoC – Siflower SF19A2890S2 dual-core MIPS processor @ 1.2GHz System Memory – 64MB DDR2 RAM Storage – 8MB flash Networking Switch – Airoha AN8855R Gigabit Ethernet switch 1x Gigabit Ethernet WAN port 3x Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports Wireless 2.4 GHz WiFi 2×2 MIMO up to 300 Mbps 5 GHz WiFi 2×2 MIMO up to 866.7 Mbps Frequency bands 2.4GHz – 2.4GHz […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on A first look at the Raspberry Pi Development Kit for CM5

A first look at the Raspberry Pi Development Kit for CM5

Raspberry Pi Development Kit for CM5 Raspberry Pi OS

Raspberry Pi has just launched the Compute Module 5 (CM5) and the company sent me a “Raspberry Pi Development Kit for CM5” for review and to play around with the new Broadcom BCM2712 system-on-module succeeding the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 (CM4) introduced in 2020. Today, I’ll have a first look at the development kit checking out the hardware, connecting accessories, booting it up to Raspberry Pi OS, and collecting some basic system information. I’ll do a more in-depth review in a few weeks. Unboxing of the Raspberry Pi Development Kit for CM5 I received the kit in a package reading “Raspberry Pi Development Kit” and “For Raspberry Pi CM5”. That’s a good start… The bottom side lists the package’s content which I will check out shortly, and a link to the documentation. Let’s see what we have with the Raspberry Pi Development Kit: a Raspberry Pi IO Case, a […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 17 Comments on Raspberry Pi CM5 launched with Broadcom BCM2712 SoC, up to 16GB LPDDR4 ECC memory

Raspberry Pi CM5 launched with Broadcom BCM2712 SoC, up to 16GB LPDDR4 ECC memory

Raspberry Pi CM5 Compute Module 5

The Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5, or Raspberry Pi CM5 for shorts, is now available with up to 16GB LPPDR4 ECC memory, up to 64GB eMMC flash, and an optional WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0 LE wireless module. It has the same form factor as the Raspberry Pi CM4 and CM4 Lite launched in 2020 but delivers a significant performance boost. The Raspberry Pi CM5 is basically a tiny version of the Raspberry Pi 5 SBC designed for embedded applications with a Broadcom BCM2712 quad-core Cortex-A76 SoC, and offered with 2GB to 16GB RAM, optional 16GB to 64GB eMMC flash, and optional WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0 module. As usual, there are also Raspberry Pi CM5 Lite versions without any eMMC flash meant to be booted from a microSD card or an SSD on the carrier board. Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 Raspberry Pi CM5 specifications: SoC – Broadcom BCM2712 […]

EmbeddedTS embedded systems design