Realtek Ameba is a family of WiFi ARM Cortex M3 micro-controllers for IoT applications, and RTL8710AF got some buzz last year, as modules would sell as low as $2, hereby competing with ESP8266 in terms of price. While the solution was interesting, the community activity around the solution has been slow as ESP8266 already have the community and software support. Other Realtek RTL8195AM and RTL8711AM processors offer much more memory, but at the time, price was not as attractive with Ameba Arduino board based on RTL8195AM selling for $25. But there’s now a new Arduino compatible board made by ShenzhenRAK Wireless Technology (RAK) that comes with RTL8711AM processor with 1MB ROM, 2MB SDRAM, 512KB SRAM, and up to 64MB SPI flash, and sells for just $8.80 + shipping on Aliexpress. CREATOR Pro (Wiskey) board specifications: WiFi Module – RAK473 with Realtek RTL8711AM ARM Cortex M3 MCU @ 166 MHz, 1MB […]
Helios4 Personal Cloud DIY NAS Supports 3.5″ Hard Drives, RAID, and More (Crowdfunding)
A few months ago, we covered GnuBee Personal Cloud 1, a NAS that runs on open source software, and that supports up to six 2.5″ SATA drives. The crowdfunding has been successful – after lowering the funding target -, and backers should hopefully get the NAS right after summer. But at the time, some people complained about the memory capacity (512MB), the lack of support for 3.5″ drives, and a few other items. A new project called “Helios4 Personal Cloud” addresses many of those concerns. It comes with 1 to 2GB RAM, enclosure supporting four 3.5″ drives, supports RAID, and is powered by Marvell ARMADA 388 processor that has been specifically designed for this type of application. Helios4 NAS specifications: SoC – Marvell ARMADA 388 dual core Cortex A9 processor @ up to 1.866 GHz with RAID5/6 acceleration engines, security acceleration engines, etc… System Memory – 1 or 2 GB […]
Meet Zynqberry, a Xilinx Zynq FPGA Board with Raspberry Pi 2/3 Form Factor
Earlier this year, I wrote about Trenz Electronic’s Xilinx Zynq Ultrascale+ system-on-module, but I’ve just found out I missed another interesting product from the company. The ZynqBerry is a board powered by Zilinx Zync Z-7007S or Z-7010 ARM + FPGA SoC with Raspberry Pi 2/3 form factor. ZynqBerry specifications: SoC Xilinx Zynq XC7Z007S-1CLG225C (Z-7007S) single core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore up to 766MHz + FPGA with 23K logic cells Xilinx Zynq XC7Z010-1CLG225C (Z-7010) dual core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore up to 866 MHz + FPGA with 28K logic cells System Memory – 128 or 512 MB DDR3L Storage – 16 MB Flash SPI flash + micro SD card slot Video Output – HDMI, MIPI DSI interface Audio Output – HDMI, 3.5mm audio jack (PWM audio only) Connectivity – 100 MBit Ethernet via (LAN9514 USB Hub with Ethernet USB – 4x USB 2.0 host ports Camera – MIPI CSI-2 interface Expansion – 40-pin Raspberry […]
Rockchip RK3328 Powered T98 4K Ultra HD TV Box Comes with 2GB RAM
We’ve already seen one of the first Rockchip RK3328 4K UHD TV boxes with A5X Plus Mini model now selling for $34.60, but with only 1GB RAM. There’s now another model called T98 with 2GB RAM, and mostly the same other specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3328 quad core Cortex A53 processor @ 1.5 GHz with Mali-450MP GPU System Memory – 2GB RAM Storage – 8 GB eMMC flash + micro SD card up to 32 GB Video Output – HDMI 2.0a up to 4K @ 60 Hz with HDR10 and HLG support, 3.5mm AV port (composite video + stereo audio) Audio Output – HDMI, AV, and optical S/PDIF Video Codec – 4K VP9, H.265 and H.264. 1080p VC-1, MPEG-1/2/4, VP6/8 Connectivity – Fast Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi (No Bluetooth) USB – 1x USB 2.0 port, 1x USB 3.0 port Misc – IR receiver, power LED Power Supply – 5V/2A Dimensions […]
Christmann RECS|Box Atlas Quad Apalis Microserver Evaluation Kit Supports Four Toradex Apalis SoM
System-on-modules are normally used in low volume embedded systems, but they can also be used in microservers, for example to upgrade capacity as needed. Christmann informationstechnik + medien GmbH has developed a microserver evaluation kit taking up to 4 Toradex Apalis SoMs for example based on Nvidia Tegra K1 processor, and also offers full rack systems with up to 72 modules. Christmann RECS|Box Atlas Quad Apalis specifications: Modules – 4x Slots for Apalis SoM Connectivity – 1 GBit/s Compute Ethernet, 1 GBit/s Management Ethernet Video Output – 1x HDMI USB – 3x USB host ports, 1x micro USB port Misc – 5 Status LEDs for USB, communication, and serial console, 4x fan connectors, KWM switch, 5x temperature sensors, 6x current sensors, 1x voltage monitor, fan speed monitoring Power Supply – 12V via a 4-pin jack Dimensions – 300 x 145 x 68 mm The evaluation kit includes an Atlas board […]
Allwinner G202 Dual Core Processor is Designed for Voice Activated Smart WiFi Speakers
Today I received Banana Pi BPI-M2 Ultra board together with Allwinner catalog. As I flicked through it, I discovered new Allwinner B-Series ARM Cortex A7 processors (B188 and B288) designed for e-readers, as well as Allwinner G-Series ARM Cortex A7 processors (G102 and G202) targeting the WiFi speaker market, now dominated by products like Amazon Echo or Google Home (in the US). Allwinner G202 specifications: CPU – Dual core ARM Cortex A7 processor Memory I/F – DDR2/DDR3/DDR3L SDRAM Storage I/F – eMMC 5.0, SD 2.0 compliant Audio 24-bit/192 Khz audio playback 2x I2S/PCM interfaces up to 384 KHz sample rate, and 16 channel TDM with 32bit sample resolution DSD (Direct Stream Digital) interface with 2 channels,64/128/256bit sample mode DMIC (Digital Microphone) interface with 8 channels, maximum 48KHz sample rate S/PDIF OUT interface Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n WiFi with WPS, WPA/WPA2 security Other interfaces – USB 2.0 OTG, UART, SPI, TWI […]
SHA2017 Conference Badge To Feature ESP32 SoC, e-Paper Display
In most conference, you’ll wear a badge showing your name, job description and company, but with the price of electronics going down, it may be time for a conference badge upgrade. SHA2017 is a non-profit outdoor hacker camp taking place in The Netherlands in 2017 on August 4 – 8, and the organizers are planning to use a special badge comprised of Espressif ESP32 processor, and an e-Paper Display. SHA2017 Badge specifications: Wireless Module – Espressif ESP32 based ESP-WROOM-32 module with WiFi and Bluetooth Display – 2.9″ e-paper display (296×128) Storage – micro SD slot Expansion – 12-pin expansion header with GPIOs, I2C, 3.3V, GND Debugging – micro USB port + USB->TTL chip for programming Misc – Direction keys, select, start, A and B buttons for input; 6x RGB, LEDs; pager motor for notifications Battery – Battery sized to last at least a day Beside your name and company details, […]
Mecool KI PRO Hybrid Android TV Box with Amlogic S905D SoC, DVB-T2 & DVB-S2 Tuners Sells for $80
VideoStrong has become popular among people wanting an Android TV box with a tuner thanks to their affordable and customizable products such as K1 Plus T2 S2, or KIII Pro coming with DVB-T/T2 and DVB-S/S2 tuners. AFAIK, all there products so far came with a single demodulator meaning you could watch or record satellite or terrestrial TV, but not do both at the same time, for example watching a channel via DVB-S2, and recording one via DVB-T2. Amlogic S905D is supposed to support this, and upcoming products like Sen5 Android set-top box do come with two demodulators. Mecool KI PRO – based on the processor – has just been launched, pre-selling for $79.99 on Banggood with shipping scheduled for mid May. Mecool KI Pro specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905D quad core ARM Cortex-A53 @ up to 1.5 GHz with Mali-450MP GPU System Memory – 2 GB DDR4 Storage – 16GB […]