Sonoff S55 Waterproof WiFi Smart Sockets are Offered in Six Regional Variants

Sonoff S55

When WiFi smart sockets (aka smart plugs) started to appear a few years ago, they were often only available with either US or China plugs, and users from Europe, UK or other locales may have had to use an adapter instead. Since then, products that ship with multiple versions such as Sonoff S26 or Orvibo Wiwo S20 have launched in order to cater to more people around the world. ITEAD has now launched another WiFi smart socket, namely Sonoff S55, that’s designed to work outdoors thanks to IP55 ingress protection rating, and is offered in six different variants for Australia, Germany, France, the United States, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Sonoff S55 specifications: Input/Output S55TPI(AU) – AC 100-240V 50/60Hz 10A Max S55TPF(DE) – AC 100-240V 50/60Hz 16A Max S55TPE(FR) – AC 100-240V 50/60Hz 16A Max S55TPB(US) – AC 125V 50/60Hz 10A Max S55TPD(ZA)- AC 100-240V 50/60Hz 10A Max S55TPG(UK) […]

mDash Cloud platform for IoT Devices Targets ESP8266/ESP32, STM32, and TI CC3220 Wireless MCUs

mDash firmware

Cesanta (a company based in Dublin, Ireland) recently launched mDash – an IoT cloud platform for administration of various IoT modules. This platform supports Espressif’s modules ESP32 & ESP8266, STM32 (L4,M4) and TI CC3220, and offers a bunch of features which are known to be  challenging tasks in the IoT world. This includes OTA (Over-The-Air) firmware updates, remote configuration and administration, alerts and notifications, remote device control and file management. This can be achieved through 3 programming platforms – Arduino IDE, ESP-IDF and through Mongoose OS. For evaluation and testing purpose mDash offers a simulator that run as a docker container. Refer our previous post, to understand how to get started with Cesanta’s Moongoose OS for ESP8266. Basic WorkFlow mDash Library The company offers reference firmware/library for the defined hardware platforms. This been implements by using secure MQTT for communication, re-connection and initial provisioning with mDash cloud. You can find […]

Espressif to Launch ESP8285 WiSoC Variants with Extended Industrial Temperature Range

ESP8285 Industrial Temperature

Espressif Systems first introduced ESP8285 WiFi SoC in 2016. The chip is similar to ESP8266 WiFi chip but includes 1MB flash making it more suitable for space-constrained applications since an external flash chip is not required. Since the launch, we’ve seen several modules and final products based on the solution including ESP-WROOM-5C and PSF-A85 modules, as well as Sonoff B1 WiFI RGB light bulb. The original chip (ESP8285N08) would work in -40°C to 85°C industrial temperature range, but in their recent newsletter, the company announced plans to launch two new variants in the ESP8285 series with an extended temperature range up to 105°C and different flash capacities: ESP8285H16 with 2 MB flash, -40°C to +105°C operating temperature range ESP8285H08 with a 1 MB flash, -40°C to +105°C operating temperature range ESP8285H16 is slated to launch at the end of August 2019, and the company plans to provide more details next month, […]

Espressif Systems Gets Listed on the Shanghai Stock Market

Espressif Systems is widely popular community thanks to their low-cost ESP8266 and ESP32 WiFi & Bluetooth SoC, modules, and development kit as well as their extensive software ecosystem, and community support. If you wonder how they did outside of the maker sphere, you don’t need to worry, as the company founded in 2008 is already profitable ($23 US million profit in 2018), and even launched an IPO on the new STAR market for science and technology sectors on the Shanghai stock market that was completed on July 9 and oversubscribed around 2,880 times. A bank source informed me the IPO was only available to local Chinese people, and the IPO price was set to 62.60 CNY ($9.1). Listing started this Monday (July 22, 2019), and the stock has done extremely well with the price having reached 161.54 CNY at the time of writing. For reference, the stock code is 688018, […]

ANAVI Gas Detector ESP8266 Board Monitors Air Quality, Toxic Gases (Crowdfunding)

ANAVI Gas Detector

Leon ANAVI is a software engineer with an interest in open-source hardware, and he had previously launched several ANAVI boards for home automation based on Espressif ESP8266 or for Raspberry Pi boards including ANAVI thermometer, ANAVI light controller, and ANAVI Infrared pHAT among others. Leon has now introduced a new board on Crowd Supply: ANAVI gas detector. The board is powered by ESP8266 WiSoC providing WiFI connectivity, and supports MQ gas sensor modules such as MQ-135, MQ-2, or MQ-3 in order to monitor air quality and detect gas leaks. ANAVI gas detector board specifications: Wireless Module – Based on ESP8266 Tensilica L106 32-bit processor with Wi-Fi 4 802.11 b/g/n connectivity Display – Optional Mini OLED display Gas sensor support – MQ-135 for air quality or any other 5V MQ analog gas sensor Expansion – 3x slots for I²C sensors Debugging / Programming – UART pins for flashing custom firmware Misc […]

Olimex ESP32-ADF Board is Made for Smart Speakers, Internet Radios, VoIP Phones, and More

Olimex ESP32-ADF

We’ve already covered several (smart) audio boards based on ESP32 WiSoC, including the Espressif’s own ESP32-LyraTD-MSC Audio Mic HDK,  as well as third party boards such as TTGO TAudio or Seeed Studio ESP32-A1S all compatible with the company’s ESP-ADF (Audio Development Framework) compatible with Baidu DuerOS, Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. Olimex ESP32-ADF adds another ESP32 audio option, and AFAIK the first one that is open source hardware, with two speakers, and a dual-microphone that enable projects such as Alexa smart speaker, internet radio receiver, or SiP VoIP phone. Olimex ESP32-ADF specifications: Wireless Module – ESP32-WROVER-B with 8MB PSRAM, 4MB Flash, WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 4.2 LE Audio Stereo microphones Stereo 2x3W speakers with amplifier Audio output jack Display – UEXT connector for optional 2.8″ LCD display USB – 1x micro USB port for power supply and programming Misc – IR receiver, 4x touch buttons, 3x tactile buttons Build-in programmer […]

$15 TTGO T-Call Board Combines ESP32 WiFi & Bluetooth SoC with SIM800 GPRS Module

TTGO T-call Pinout Diagram

LilyGo has launched several TTGO boards usually based on Espressif ESP8266 or ESP32 over the years. Here’s another that could be useful if 2G cellular networks have not sunset in your country: TTGO T-Call. The new board combines ESP32 WiFi & Bluetooth WiSoC with SIMCom SIM800L GPRS module, and also happens to rely on a USB-C port for power and programming instead of the more common micro USB port on this type of hardware. TTGO T-Call board (BLINK_V1.3) specifications: Wireless Module – ESP32-WROVER-B based on ESP32 dual core Xtensa processor @ 240MHz with 520kB SRAM on-chip, 4MB QSPI flash, 8MB PSRAM Connectivity – WiFi 4 802.11 b/g/n (2.4 GHz) up to 150 Mbps Bluetooth 4.2 Classic + LE Cellular  – 2G GSM/GPRS via SIMcom SIM800L module + Nano SIM card slot USB – 1x USB-C for power and programming (via CP2104) Expansion – 2x 21-pin headers with UART, SPI, SDIO, […]

Sonoff MINI & R3 Smart Switches Support a DIY REST API

Sonoff MINI

ITEAD Studio’s Sonoff are low-cost wireless switches based on ESP8622/ESP8285 WiSoC, and supporting WiFi and/or 433 MHz connectivity. They usually come with a firmware that allows users to control them with eWelink app for Android or iOS. But many people will install alternative open source firmware such as Sonoff-Tasmota or ESPurna to get more flexibility such as the ability to use MQTT. But the company’s latest models, including Sonoff MINI and R3 series, implement a “DIY” REST API that allows you to control the device, or flash the firmware over a LAN connection. Sonoff MINI two-way Smart Switch Sonoff MINI is designed to be installed behind existing wall-mounted light-switches and wall-mounted power-sockets. Specifications: Terminal blocks with 6x inputs/outputs: N/L Inputs –  AC 100-240V 50/60Hz 10A Max N/L Outputs – AC 100-240V 50/60Hz 10A Max S1/S2 – Designed to optionally connect a standard on/off switch Connectivity – Wi-Fi 4 – 802.11 […]

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