LumenRadio has recently introduced a Wireless Modbus (W-Modbus) module built around Nordic Semiconductor’s nRF52840 SoC. The module can connect up to 100 nodes, integrates a power amplifier with 100mW transmission power, and supports Bluetooth LE for smartphone connectivity. These features simplify Modbus RTU installations by eliminating traditional control cables, making them ideal for building and industrial automation applications. The company mentions two variants available for this module the ‘W-Modbus OEM Module’ which supports one Modbus client, and the ‘W-Modbus PRO OEM Module’ supporting up to sixteen Modbus clients. Both modules support self-healing, self-organizing mesh protocols that address the issues of network reliability and scalability in industrial environments. The module can also be used for remote monitoring and troubleshooting via smartphones. LumenRadio’s Wireless Modbus module specification Module – LumenRadio W-Modbus module SoC – Nordic Semiconductor nRF52840 CPU – 32-bit Cortex-M4 core with FPU @ 64 MHz Connectivity Bluetooth 5.4 (BLE, Bluetooth mesh, […]
Raytac AN7002Q – A smaller nRF7002 Wi-Fi 6 module for industrial IoT applications
IoT solutions company Raytac has introduced the AN7002Q Wi-Fi 6 module series, which integrates Nordic Semiconductor’s nRF7002 chipset and is designed for Industrial IoT, smart home, healthcare, consumer electronics, and automotive applications. They can be paired with Raytac’s MDBT53 Bluetooth LE modules based on the nRF5340 multiprotocol SoC, supporting Wi-Fi and Bluetooth LE solutions. The AN7002Q is a low-power Wi-Fi 6 module supporting dual-band 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz operation with a maximum PHY data rate of 86 Mbps (MCS7). It is compatible with IEEE 802.11ax, a/b/g/n/ac standards, and connects to a host SoC or MCU via SPI or QSPI interfaces. The module also supports coexistence with Bluetooth LE, Thread, and Zigbee systems, making it ideal for IoT applications. Previously, we covered the Abluetech PTR7002, a low-power wireless module based on the Nordic Semiconductor nRF7002. The PTR7002 has a slightly larger size and offers more GPIO options, while the AN7002Q […]
T1000-E Card Tracker is a thin, credit card-sized GPS tracker with Meshtastic support
Seeed Studio has introduced the T1000-E, an updated version of the SenseCAP T1000 Card Tracker, built for Meshtastic. This rugged tracker is compact, about the size of a credit card, making it easy to carry or attach to assets. It uses Semtech LR1110 RF transceiver, Nordic Semi nRF52840 wireless SoC, and MediaTek/Aihora AG3335 GPS module for precise, low-power tracking and communication. With an IP65 rating for dust and water resistance, the T1000-E is ideal for reliable asset tracking. The T1000-E supports LoRa and Bluetooth v5.1 for communication and includes a 3-axis accelerometer, an LED, a buzzer, and a button for operation. It has internal antennas for GNSS, LoRa, Wi-Fi, and BLE communication range of 2 to 5 km, depending on the environment. SenseCAP Card Tracker T1000-E specifications: SoC – Nordic Semiconductor nRF52840 CPU – 32-bit Cortex-M4 core with FPU running at 64 MHz Flash – 1 MB RAM – 256 kB […]
Abluetech PTR7002 WiFi 6 and PTR5302 WiFi 6 and BLE 5.4 modules feature Nordic Semi nRF7002/nRF5340 wireless chips
Shenzhen-based Abluetech has launched two low-power wireless modules based on Nordic Semi nRF7002 and nRF5340 wireless chips. The PTR7002 is a dual-band WiFi 6 module based on the nRF7002 chip, and the PTR5302 module combines the nRF7002 with the nRF5340 wireless microcontroller to offer dual-band WiFi 6 and Bluetooth LE 5.4 connectivity Abluetech PTR7002 dual-band WiFi 6 module with nRF7002 PTR7002 specifications: Chipset – Nordic Semi nRF7002 Wireless Dual-band Wi-Fi 6 Tx power – Up to +21dBm Rx sensitivity – -96.5dBm @ 2.4GHz / -90.5dBm @ 5GHz PHY bandwidth – Up to 86 Mbps (MCS7) 1SISO; 20MHz bandwidth Modes – Station, Wi-Fi Direct, Soft AP (Wi-Fi 4 operation only), simultaneous Station +Soft AP/Wi-Fi Direct/Station modes. 2.4GHz and 5GHz dual-band PCB antenna Range – Up to 300 meters Host interface – SPI / QSPI; AT command set Supply Voltage – 2.9 to 4.5V Power Consumption (@ 3.6V TBC) Tx peak current […]
Seeed Studio Wio Tracker 1110 Dev Kit supports Meshtastic for off-grid communication
The Seeed Studio Wio Tracker 1110 is a dev kit designed to work with the Meshtastic network. The board is built around a Nordic nRF52840 multiprotocol Bluetooth 5.4 SoC and uses the Semtech LR1110 LoRa transceiver for communication. Seeed Studio is selling the Wio Tracker 1110 development board in a bundle with an OLED display and a GNSS receiver, providing everything needed to start experimentation for peer-to-peer LoRa mesh networking. Meshtastic is a free, open-source, decentralized mesh network that uses LoRa radios to establish a low-power, long-range, off-grid communication system in areas without reliable infrastructure. Driven entirely by the community, Meshtastic enables decentralized, encrypted communication without the need for a dedicated router or phone. Previously we have written various versions of the Wio Tracker including the Wio GPS and Wio LTE GPS Tracker. Since Meshtastic projects are becoming popular among developers and enthusiasts, we will likely see many more dev […]
Arduino to switch from Arm Mbed to Zephyr RTOS
Following Arm’s decision to stop supporting Mbed from July 2026 onwards, Arduino has now decided to use Zephyr RTOS instead of Arm Mbed for Arduino boards that rely on the latter including Arduino GIGA, Arduino Nano 33 BLE, Arduino Nano RP2040 Connect, as well as Arduino PRO boards/solutions such as the Portenta, Nicla, and Opta families. Note that Arduino UNO, MKR, and Nano families are not impacted by the change since their Arduino Core implementation does not rely on Mbed. The change is not going to happen overnight as software development takes time, and Arduino plans to release the first beta based on ZephyrOS by the end of 2024. and a rollout for various boards starting in 2025 long before Arm Mbed is phased out for good. Arduino is not new to the Zephyr project as the company became a Silver member last year, and they were aware that Arm […]
The Blette Stick relies on Bluetooth 5.0 LE for off-grid messaging with up to 1.1km range
The Blette Stick is a Bluetooth 5.0 LE USB-C dongle designed to be attached to an Android smartphone in order to provide off-grid messaging and GPS coordinates sharing capabilities with a range of up to 1.1km in case WiFi and cellular networks are down. CNX Software readers may also be familiar with Meshtastic devices relying on WiFi to connect to the smartphone with Bluetooth and to other nodes using LoRaWAN to enable off-grid messaging while trekking or during emergencies. The Blettle Stick does something similar to the Meshtastic project but with Bluetooth LE long-range communication instead of Bluetooth+LoRaWAN. While the range will be shorter and limited to around 1km (line-of-sight), the plug-and-play design will make it easier to use for typical users who are not technically savvy. Blettle Stick specifications: SoC – Nordic Semi nRF52 Bluetooth 5.0 LE microcontroller (exact part number not specified, possibly nRF52840) Wireless – Bluetooth 5.0 […]
Apple’s Embedded Swift programming language supports ESP32-C6, Raspberry Pi RP2040, STM32F7, nRF52840 microcontrollers
Apple has released a beta version of Embedded Swift that notably works with Espressif ESP32-C6 wireless RISC-V microcontroller, and the company also built a Matter sample based on ESP-IDF and ESP-Matter SDKs. Embedded Swift is not limited to the ESP32-C6 and supports other microcontrollers from STMicro, Raspberry Pi, Nordic Semi, etc… Apple Swift programming language is mostly designed for mobile app development, but we’ve also seen it being used on Mad Machine’s SwiftIO board powered by a 600 MHz NXP i.MX RT1052 Arm Cortex-M7 crossover processor and the tiny SwiftIO Micro launched a few years later. The company has now decided to create a subset of the Swift programming language better suited to microcontrollers simply called Embedded Swift that’s currently working on STMicro STM32F746, Raspberry Pi Pico, nRF52840, and ESP32-C6. The “Go small with Embedded Swift” presentation at WWDC 2024 shows how to get started with Embedded Swift using Espressif […]