Once upon a time, FriendlyELEC launched a Raspberry Pi Zero competitor for headless applications with Allwinner H3 powered NanoPi NEO, which was then followed with NanoPi NEO2 equipped with a more powerful Allwinner H5 processor and Gigabit Ethernet, and less than two years ago, NanoPi NEO4 was launched with Rockchip RK3399 hexa-core processor, 1GB RAM, and HDMI output. “Wait! What happened to NanoPi NEO3?!” you may ask. It probably got lost in the woods, but FriendlyELEC found it under a rock, and are about to launch NanoPi NEO3 SBC based on Rockchip RK3328 and offering a USB 3.0 port and Gigabit Ethernet network connectivity. NanoPi NEO3 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3328 quad-core Arm Cortex A53 processor with Mali-450MP2 GPU System Memory – 1GB or 2GB DDR4 Storage – MicroSD Slot for system boot and storage Video Output – N/A Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet with unique MAC via RTL8211E PHY USB […]
Qualcomm IPQ8074 Embedded Board Offers 802.11ax WiFI 6 12×12 MIMO DBDC Connectivity
Qualcomm IPQ8074 802.11ax WiFi 6 SoC was first unveiled in 2017 and designed for high-end routers, gateways, and access points supporting up 12×12 MIMO configuration (8×8 5GHz + 4×4 2.4 GHz) using Dual-Band Dual Concurrency (DBDC). I was just informed about a Qualcomm IPQ8074 embedded board going under the names DR8074A or HK01 depending on the company promoting it, respectively Wallys Communication and Compex. Qualcomm IPQ8074 embedded board (AP.HK01) specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Atheros IPQ8074A quad-core Arm Cortex A53 processor 2.2GHz CPU System Memory – 1GB (2x 512MB) DDR3L RAM (Option for up to 4GB) Storage – 8GB eMMC flash, 32MB NOR Flash, 256MB NAND flash, 1x micro SD Card socket Connectivity Wired 5x Gigabit Ethernet (1GbE) RJ45 ports 1x 10Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) RJ45 port 1x SFP+ Port WiFi On-board 4×4 2.4GHz MU-MIMO 802.11b/g/n/ax WiFi 6 up to 1147Mbps On-board 2x(4×4) or 8×8 5GHz MU-MIMO 802.11a/n/ac/ax WiFI 6 up to […]
Most Affordable WiFi 6 Router Yet: $60 Xiaomi Mi Router AX1800
[Update May 20, 2020: It did not last long, as Xiaomi Mi Router AX1800 is not the most affordable WiFi 6 router anymore with the launch of Honor Router 3 (XD20) AX3000 router for 219 RMB in China, or about $31 US] When Xiaomi AIoT router AX3600 launched in April for around $135, we noted that while it was the most affordable WiFi 6 router we’d seen so far, the other 802.11ax WiFi 6 routers had also come down in price significantly. But now the company has come up with a really inexpensive router: Xiaomi Mi Router AX1800 which I first discovered on Gearbest for just $67.50, but also available on Aliexpress for about $60 shipped. If you are in China, you should be able to get it for 329 RMB (around $46). Xiaomi Mi Router AX1800 specifications: SoC – Qualcomm IPQ6000 quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 @ 1.2GHz with single-core network […]
WiFi 6 Embedded SBC Features Qualcomm IPQ6018 Processor, Gigabit & 2.5Gbps Ethernet Ports
Last year, we covered Dakota DR40x9 Wave-2 AC router board powered by Qualcomm IPQ4019 or IPQ4029 quad-core Cortex-A7 WiSoC, but there’s now a new Qualcomm based embedded SBC supporting WiFi 6. DR6018 (aka AP.CP01 or just CP01) is powered by Qualcomm IPQ6018 quad-core Cortex-A53 WiSoC with 802.11ax WiFi 6, six Ethernet ports including five Gigabit Ethernet, and one 2.5 GbE port, as well an M.2 expansion socket. Specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Atheros IPQ6018 quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor @ 1.8 GHz apparently part of Qualcomm Networking Pro 400 platform; 14nm FinFET process System Memory – 1GB (2x 512MB) DDR3L 16-bit interface with 32-bit memory bus design Storage – 256MB NAND Flash, 32MB NOR flash, SD card slot Networking Wired 5x Gigabit Ethernet ports 1x 2.5Gbps Ethernet port Wireless WiFi 2×2 2.4GHz MU-MIMO OFDMA 802.11b/g/n/ax WiFi 6, max 23dBm per chain 2×2 5GHz MU-MIMO OFDMA 802.11a/n/ac/ax WiFi 6, max 20dBm per chain […]
NanoPi R2S Dual GbE IoT Board and Gateway Launched for $22 and Up
We first covered NanoPi R2S SBC back in mid-January 2020. Specifically designed for headless and IoT application the board features a Rockchip RK3328 processor combined with 1GB RAM, and contrary to most competing platforms on the market such as Orange Pi R1 or NanoPi R1S, R2S comes with two true Gigabit Ethernet ports. At the time, the board was not available for sale, but now FriendlyELEC has started to take orders for just $22.00, and adding a yellow case adds $3 to the total. This is around $5 extra compared to NanoPi R1S gateway which was expected with extra RAM (1GB) and true dual GbE connectivity. But in the age of COVID-19, nothing runs quite as smoothly as it used to and the company expects shipping delays: Because of the epidemic, postal services in a lot of countries get delayed. Customers who need orders urgently need to choose DHL. EU […]
ARM9 in 2020 – Meet Microchip SAM9X60 SoC & Evaluation Kit
In my first job, I wrote code for a MIPS processor for VoIP phones, then I switched to NEC/Renesas MCUs for CD and DVD players, before going back to Linux and my first experience with an Arm processor: Cirrus Logic EP9307 with a single ARM9 (ARM920T) core clocked at 200 MHz. That was in 2005, and according to Wikipedia various ARM9 cores were released between 1998 to 2006, and now such cores are not recommended for new IC designs with most companies now building their chips around Arm Cortex-A/M/R cores. At the end of last year, we wrote about Banana Pi BPI-F2S SBC based on Sunplus SP7021 “Plus1” quad-core Cortex-A7 processor with ARM9 and 8051 co-processor. Odd enough but at least the ARM9 core is not the main processor, however, while looking at the upcoming Linux 5.6 Linux kernel log I read an entry about a new SAM9X60 ARM926-based SoC […]
FriendlyELEC SOM-RK3399V2 CPU Module Gets 4GB LPDDR4 RAM Upgrade
Last year, FriendlyELEC launched SOM-RK3399 system-on-module (SoM) powered by Rockchip RK3399 hexa-core processor combined with 2GB DDR3 memory, 16to 64GB flash, and a built-in WiFi 5 module. Contrary to most SoM’s on the market, SOM-RK3399 could work in standalone mode thanks to two USB-C ports, although it could also be integrated into a carrier board to create a complete development board with more ports and interfaces. The company has now introduced an update with SOM-RK3399V2 CPU module with 4GB LPDDR4 RAM, as well as a small change in the layout for the LED’s and buttons, but the rest of the features remain the same. The company also appears to have changed the way they handle cooling with SOM-RK3399V2 shipping with a heatsink, while SOM-RK3399 cooling was handled by a heatsink + cooling connected to the carrier board. SOM-RK3399V2 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3399 big.LITTLE hexa-core processor with 2x Cortex-A72 cores […]
Newport GW6903 is a Compact Marvell Octeon TX SBC with Gigabit Ethernet, Dual mPCIe, and USB 3.0
Gateworks introduced its Newport SBC family powered by Cavium Octeon TX processors and designed for networking applications in 2017. One of those boards was a compact SBC with one Gigabit Ethernet port, an mPCIe socket, and a USB 2.0 Type-C port. The company has now launched Newport GW6903 SBC with the same 100x35mm form factor but with one Gigabit Ethernet port, two mPCIe sockets, and a faster USB 3.0 Type-A port. Newport GW6903 specifications: SoC – Cavium Marvell Octeon TX CN8120 dual-core Armv8 processor @ 800 MHz or Octeon TX CN8130 quad-core ARMv8 processor @ 1.5 GHz System Memory – 1GB DDR4 SDRAM (Option up to 4GB) Storage – 8GB eMMC flash (Option up to 64GB), serial configuration EEPROM Networking – Gigabit Ethernet Port with Passive PoE Support GNSS – Optional Ublox ZOE-MQ8 GNSS GPS Receiver with PPS support USB – USB 3.0 Type-A host port Expansion 2x Half Card […]