433/868/915 MHz LoRa Modules Are Now Selling for $6 and Up

Market forecasts for the Internet of Things promise billions of connected device in the years to come, but this won’t happen when LPWAN  connector sensors cost $50 or more, so prices will have to come down. I’ve been told that one company is working on a WiFi + LoRa module that’s going to sell for $5 to $6 sometimes in 2017, but in the meantime, it’s possible to get some LoRa modules for less than $10, albeit limited to 433 MHz frequency not the more common 868 MHz (EU) and 915 MHz (US), thanks to products such as AI-Thinker Ra-02 module. Ra-02 specifications: Chipset – Semtech SX1278 low power long range transceiver Radio 433MHz frequency (420 to 450 MHz range) +20dBm – 10mW constant RF output vs. V supply; up to 300 kbps bitrate Supports FSK, GFSK, MSK, GMSK, LoRa and OOK Modulation Mode 127dB RSSI wave range. I/Os – […]

RetrOrangePi 3.0 Retro Gaming & Media Center Firmware Released for Orange Pi H3 Boards and Beelink X2 TV Box

RetrOrangePi is a Linux distribution based on armbian transforming Allwinner H3 boards – mostly Orange Pi boards, but also Banana Pi M2+ and NanoPi boards – into entertainment centers to play retro games, and watch/listen media files (videos/music) using Kodi. If you don’t have a development board, or would prefer a complete solution with casing and power supply, Beelink X2 TV box is also supported. The developers had been recently working on rectifying some GPL issues, and they have released RetrOrangePi 3.0 images right before Christmas. RetrOrangePi 3.0 changelog and key features: Full Armbian 5.23 Jessie Desktop version with kernel 3.4.113 (backdoors fixed) Slim version 1st release (less than 2 GB) coming soon OpenELEC (Kodi Jarvis 16.1) with CEC support by Jernej Škrabec RetroPie-Setup version 4.1 New Kodi Krypton beta6 version New emulationstation-ROPI branch forked from jacobfk20 with gridview, on screen keyboard with easy wifi config and storage check with […]

vThings WiFi CO2 Monitor Quick Start Guide

I’ve already checked out vThings CO2 Monitor hardware and we’ve seen it’s based on ESPrino ESP8266 board, and my model includes CM1106 CO2 sensor and BMP180 temperature and pressure sensor. I’ve now installed it in my kitchen, about 3 to 4 meters from the gas stove, and getting data to ThingSpeak. The door and window of my kitchen are open all day, and the wall have ventilation holes. That’s important for CM1106 sensor since it auto calibrates every 3 days in clear air. If you plan to use such sensor in a closed environment, you should buy Vthings with CM1102 CO2 sensor that costs more, but does not require calibration. Since all WiFi systems I’ve just so far starting AP mode for configuration, I first looked for an access point, but… nothing… Then I decided to read the documentation (might be useful at times), and the monitor is actually configured […]

JeVois-A33 is a Small Quad Core Linux Camera Designed for Computer Vision Applications (Crowdfunding)

JeVois Neuromorphic Embedded Vision Toolkit – developed at iLab at the University of Southern California – is an open source software framework to capture and process images through a machine vision algorithm, primarily designed to run on embedded camera hardware, but also supporting Linux board such as the Raspberry Pi. A compact Allwinner A33 has now been design to run the software and use on robotics and other projects requiring a lightweight and/or battery powered camera with computer vision capabilities. JeVois-A33 camera: SoC – Allwinner A33  quad core ARM Cortex A7 processor @ 1.35GHz with  VFPv4 and NEON, and a dual core Mali-400 GPU supporting OpenGL-ES 2.0. System Memory – 256MB DDR3 SDRAM Storage – micro SD slot for firmware and data 1.3MP camera capable of video capture at SXGA (1280 x 1024) up to 15 fps (frames/second) VGA (640 x 480) up to 30 fps CIF (352 x 288) […]

ADLE3800SEC is a Compact Intel Bay Trail-I Board with Dual Gigabit Ethernet, HDMI or DisplayPort, and More

ADL Embedded Solutions, a US company specializing in… embedded solutions, has unveiled ADLE3800SEC embedded single board computer (SBC) optimized for size, weight and power (SWAP), based on an Intel Atom E3800 Bay Trail-I processor with HDMI, SATA dual Gigabit Ethernet, etc… The board is the first one part of the company’s Edge-Connect architecture defined a 75x75mm form factor with an edge connector exposing additional I/Os for breakout boards. ADLE3800SEC board specifications: SoC Intel Atom E3827 dual core Bay Trail-I processor @ up to 1.75GHz with 1MB cache, Intel Gen7 graphics (8W TDP) OR Intel Atom E3845 quad core Bay Trail-I processor@ up to 1.91GHz with 2MB cache, Intel Gen 7 Graphics (10W TDP) System Memory – Up to 4GB DDR3-1333MHz (soldered on-board) Storage – 1x M.2 socket(Key B, 2242); 1x SATA 2.0 (6GB/s) via edge connector Video Output 1x HDMI up to 1920 x 1200 or 1x DisplayPort up to […]

SmartHomy Hybrid TV Box with DTV Tuner Triples as a Game Console & Home Automation Gateway (Crowdfunding)

SmartHomy Homy Player is a TV box running Android TV that includes an ATSC, DVB-T2/C,DVB-S2, or ISDB-T tuner, is said to be powerful enough to be used as a 3D gaming platform, and serves as a security system and home automation gateway using Z-Wave, Bluetooth, WiFi and IR blaster to control your things. Homy player specifications [Updated on January 19th, 2017]: SoC – Amlogic S912 octa-core Cortex A53 processor with Mali T820MP3 GPU System Memory – 3 GB DDR3 Storage – 32 GB eMMC flash Video Output – HDMI 2.0 up to 4K @ 60Hz with HDCP 2.2, HDR, CEC Audio Output – HDMI and optical S/PDIF Video / Audio Capabilities – 10-bit 4K H.265 @ 60 fps, HD audio pass-through, Dolby Digital & DTS licenses DRM – Widevine Level 1, Microsoft PlayReader, Netflix license Digital TV Tuner – DVB-S2 (satellite), DVB-C/T/T2 (Cable/Terrestrial), ATSC, and ISDB-T Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, […]

LicheePi One Allwinner A13 ARM Linux Board is Equipped with LCD Display and Camera Interfaces

Allwinner A13 – repackaged as Allwinner R8 – single core Cortex A8 processor is used in $9 C.H.I.P board with 512MB, 4GB storage, WiFi and Bluetooth, and I/Os. Now a Chinese company has created a new Allwinner A13 board called Lichee Pi that appears especially suited to drive LCD displays thanks to its 40-pin LCD RGB connector, but it also comes with WiFi & Bluetooth, a micro SD slot, and some I/Os. Lichee Pi One board (preliminary/tentative) specifications: SoC – Allwinner A13 ARM Cortex A8 processor @ 1.0 GHz with Mali-400 GPU System Memory – 512MB DDR3 RAM Storage – 2x micro SD slot Display Interface – 40-pin RGB LCD connector, with 8080 interface, VGA and LVDS supported via add-on board Camera – 24-pin CSI interface Audio – 3.5mm audio jack Connectivity – Optional 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth via RTL8723BU module (Multiplexed with USB 2.0 host port) USB – […]

Eweat R9 Plus TV Box Review Part 2 – Android, OpenWrt, and HDMI Recording

Eweat R9 Plus is a device powered by Realtek RTD1295 SoC combining main functions: Android 6.0 TV box, OpenWrt NAS/router, and HDMI recorder thanks to its HDMI input port. It competes directly with Zidoo X9S which has the same features, except while Zidoo X9S has no internal SATA bay and your 2.5″ hard drive just hang outside the box, Eweat R9 Plus comes with an internal 3.5″ SATA bay that makes it much neater on your furniture… We’ve already seen that in the first part for review “Eweat R9 Plus unboxing and teardown“, and I was impressed by the hardware, but the software is even more important, and that’s what I’m going to check out in the second and final part of this review. First Boot, First Impressions and Setup. I’ve first inserted a 1TB 3.5″ SATA drive in the device, and then I connected an extra USB 3.0 hard […]

UP 7000 x86 SBC