Hardware Category - Page 704 of 1132 - CNX Software

June 15, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Qualcomm Announces Audio Platforms for Smart Speakers, Headphones, and Hearables

Smart speakers are getting a lot of buzz recently with products like Amazon Echo or Google Home, and many home automation products are advertised with Amazon’s Alexa support, so that they can be controlled by voice commands. Qualcomm is now going after this market, and others audio markets via 5 new platforms for streaming audio, high resolution audio, wireless audio, USB -C audio devices – due to the “death” of the 3.5mm headphone jack -, and hearables. The five platforms include: Bluetooth and BLE Audio SoCs such as Qualcomm CSRA68100 for premium wireless speakers and headphones. The SoC comes with flash, DSP, a 2-ch audio CODEC, USB & I/Os interfaces. Qualcomm QCC3xxx entry-level Bluetooth audio SoC for mid to low-cost Bluetooth headsets and speakers. Qualcomm WHS9420 (192kHz/24-bit audio) and WHS9410 (entry-level) USB-C audio SoC for USB-C headphones Qualcomm DDFA Digital Amplifier Technology with CSRA6xxx amplifier Smart Speaker Platform shown above […]

June 14, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

$23 Sonoff 4CH Pro 4-Channels WiFi & RF Switch Ships in a DIN Rail Enclosure

ITEAD Studio’s Sonoff family is a collection of really useful and inexpensive home automation devices which have been featured multiple times on CNX Software with either to stock firmware and eWelink app, or open source firmware developed by the community. I’m using a Sonoff TH16 to control a water pump, a Sonoff Pow to monitor my office’s power consumption, and Karl used some Sonoff switches to control his lights at home. The company has now launched Sonoff 4CH Pro with 4 relays that can be controlled with buttons on the unit, WiFi, or RF remote controls, and comes in a DIN Rail enclosure. Sonoff 4CH Pro switch specifications: Connectivity – ESP8266 WiFi module and 433 MHz receiver Relays – 4x HUIKE 230V/10A relays (max 2200W per relays) with NC and NO connection Configuration – K5 & S6 switch for mode selection; K6 switch for time selection (0.5 to 4s) Misc […]

June 14, 2017June 14, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

MangOH Red Open Source Hardware Board Targets Cellular Industrial IoT Applications

Sierra Wireless has announced MangOH Red open source hardware platform designed for IIoT (Industrial IoT) applications with a snap-in socket for 2G to 4G & LTE-M/NB-IoT modules, built-in WiFi and Bluetooth, various sensors, a 26-pin expansion header, and more. MangOH Red board specifications: Snap-in socket to add any CF3-compatible modules, most of which based on Qualcomm MDM9215 ARM Cortex A5 processor including: Airprime WP7502 LTE Cat 3, HSPA, WCDMA, EDGE/GPRS module Airprime WP7504 LTE Cat 3, HSPA, WCDMA, CDMA module Airprime WP7601 LTE Cat 4 module Airprime WP7603 LTE Cat 4, WCDMA module Airprime WP8548 HSPA, WCDMA, EDGE/GPRS, and GNSS module AirPrime HL6528RD quad-band GSM/GPRS Embedded Wireless Module designed for the automotive market And more…. Storage – micro SD slot Wireless MCU Module – Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.2 BLE module with an ARM Cortex-M4 core MCU (Mediatek MT7697) providing access to real-time I/Os Wireless Connectivity “Accessories” Micro SIM card […]

June 14, 2017June 18, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 37 Comments

$10 Smartphone Display Released for Orange Pi 2G-IoT Board

Orange Pi 2G-IoT is a low cost ARM Linux board with 2G, and WiFi & Bluetooth connectivity, basically with the guts of a smartphone minus the display and battery. Shenzhen Xunlong has now released a 800×480 display with capacitive touch support for the board available in black or white, and selling for $9.98 plus shipping. The board is too thick to make a smartphone out of it, but it reminds of the very expensive Qualcomm MDP’s (Mobile Development Platform), so Android app developers may find some use to test their apps on lower end hardware. It could also be used for control panels that do not need to be very thin. Orange Pi 2G-IoT display specifications: 3.5″ TFT Display with 800×480 resolution Capacitive touchscreen Case with the Back, Home, and Recent buttons Dimensions – With case: 57.14 x 96.85 x 2.0 mm; Display only: 51.84 x 86.4mm Software support is […]

June 14, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

$89 MiniZed Development Board based on Xilinx Zynq Z-7007S SoC Includes WiFi, Bluetooth, Arduino Headers

Avnet has unveiled MiniZed development board – part of ZedBoard family – powered by a Xilinx Zynq Z-7007s SoC with an ARM Cortex A9 processor and FPGA fabric, supporting WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, and equipped with Arduino and PMOD headers. MiniZed board (AES-MINIZED-7Z007-G) specifications: SoC – Xilinx Zynq-7007S single ARM Cortex A9 processor up to 677 MHz + FPGA with 23K logic cells, 1.8 Mb block RAM, 60 DSP slices System Memory – 512 MB DDR3L Storage – 8 GB eMMC flash, 128 Mbit QSPI flash Connectivity – Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.1 plus EDR and BLE via Murata “Type 1DX” wireless module USB – 1x USB 2.0 host port Sensors – 3-axis accelerator and temperature sensor (LIS2DS12); Digital Microphone (MP34DT05) Expansion Interfaces: 2x Pmod compatible connectors with 16x GPIOs Arduino UNO R3 compatible header with 22x GPIOs Debugging – JTAG and serial console via micro USB port Misc – 2x […]

June 13, 2017February 19, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 38 Comments

Micro SD Cards for Development Boards – Classes, Tools, Benchmarks, Reliability, and Tips & Tricks

When people plan to use a development board for their project, they mainly focus on the requirements of the development board itself, as well as software support. But selecting the right accessories may be just as crucial for good performance and stability. For example, selecting a proper power supply is important, as the board may freeze or randmly rebooted if it is not feed at the right voltage. Part of this is selecting a micro USB cable, as you’ll want a cable with minimal resistance which can be achieved through shorter cables and/or a low AWG value. Another important item that can impact stability and performance of the systems are micro SD cards when used to run the operating system in development boards. Understanding SD Card Performance Metrics & Classes Until a few years ago, (Micro) SD cards were primary used to store data such as photos, videos and music. […]

June 13, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

OpenDime is a Bitcoin USB Stick based on Microchip SAMD21 MCU, and ATECC508A Security Chip

The first time I heard about crypto currencies, specifically Bitcoin, was probably around 2011, and later in May 2012, I noticed a “micro-payments with Bitcoin digital currency” talk at a Barcamp. I did not think much of it at the time, but with hindsights, I should definitely have started to mine some Bitcoins considering the price was $5. Nevertheless, cryptocurrencies appear to be here to stay, and while most transactions occurs over the Internet, Opendime project has made a hardware USB dongle to store Bitcoins, and earlier this year, announced version 2 of their “Verified Bitcoin Credit Stick”. Hardware specifications of OpenDime v2.0 / v2.1 USB stick: MCU – Microchip / Atmel SAMD21 Cortex M0 MCU Security Chip – Microchip / Atmel ATECC508A Crypto chip with support for SHA-256, TRNG, and public key signing (ECDSA) USB 2.0 interface to connect to a computer Bitcoin seal The USB stick works like […]

June 12, 2017August 9, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

HiMedia Q30 (Hisilicon Hi3798MV200) Android TV Box Review – Part 1: Unboxing and Teardown

I’ve often read praises about HiMedia TV boxes in the comments section of this blog, but so far, I had never tested any of their products. This is about to change, since the company has sent me their latest HiMedia Q30 TV box running Android 7.0 on Hisilicon Hi3798MV200 processor, a cost-down version of Hi3798CV200 processor with the same CPU,a lower-end Mali-T450 GPU, about the same media capabilities, and less I/Os. I’ll start the review by checking out the TV box and accessories, as well as the PCBA, before reporting the experience with Android 7.0 firmware in several weeks. HiMedia Q30 TV Box Unboxing I received the device is a package that read “HIMEDIA Q30” and “Android TV Box”, and shows some of the key features like 4K @ 60 fps, 10-bit HEVC, HDR and Kodi support. The devices ships with an IR remote control with IR learning function for […]