Silicon Labs Category - CNX Software

November 2, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Seeed Studio’s XIAO MG24 and XIAO MG24 Sense boards target battery-powered Matter and BLE applications

Seeed Studio has added two members to its XIAO family of tiny MCU boards with the XIAO MG24 and XIAO MG24 Sense boards based on Silicon Labs EFR32MG24 multi-protocol wireless SoC and designed for battery-powered Matter over Thread and Bluetooth LE 5.3 applications. Both 21×17.8 mm USB-C boards feature a 78MHz Silabs MG24 Cortex-M33 microcontroller with 256kB SRAM and 1536KB flash, an additional 4MB SPI flash on-board, and 22 pins and pads for GPIO pins, analog inputs, and power signals, plus a reset button and two LEDs. The “Sense” model adds an analog microphone and a 6-axis IMU sensor. XIAO MG24/MG24 Sense specifications: SoC – Silicon Labs EFR32MG24 (EFR32MG24B220F1536IM48-B) MCU cores Arm Cortex-M33 @ 78.0 MHz with DSP instruction and floating-point unit for user application Arm Cortex-M0+ core for wireless Memory – 256 KB RAM Storage – 1536 KB flash Wireless protocols – Matter, OpenThread, Zigbee, Bluetooth Low Energy 5.3, […]

October 25, 2024 by Paisit Wongsongsarn - 31 Comments

SONOFF ZBMINIR2 review – A mini Zigbee switch & Zigbee router tested with eWeLink and Home Assistant

We have received another Zigbee device from SONOFF for review, namely the ZBMINIR2 which we’ll review with both eWelink adn Home Assistant. Many people may be familiar with the first-generation mini Zigbee Switch that SONOFF released in 2020, known as the ZBMINI. ZBMINI was one of the early Zigbee Switch models, which also acted as a Zigbee Router. The ZBMINIR2 is SONOFF’s second-generation mini Zigbee Switch including both software and hardware upgrades compared to its predecessor. Improvements include a smaller size, better signal quality, an increase in the number of supported devices (2x), wider coverage (5x), and additional features. Let’s dive into the details. Unboxing ZBMINIR2 Zigbee switch Inside the box, you’ll find a small user manual and the ZBMINIR2 device as usual. It is notably smaller than the predecessor model, which makes installation much easier in many cases. For example, it can now fit into the wall box behind […]

October 7, 2024 by Debashis Das - 2 Comments

Arduino Nano Matter powered gamepad runs Quake at 27 FPS

Silicon Labs Solutions architect Nicola Wrachien has designed an Arduino Nano Matter gamepad for which he was successfully able to port Quake, a popular first-person shooter game. We have seen developers and engineers port doom on everything from toothbrushes to GPS receivers. Wrachien was previously able to port Doom on a Sparkfun Thing Plus Matter MGM240P at Silicon Labs’ 30th-anniversary celebration. But to make things more interesting and challenging he wanted to see if Quake could be run on the same MGM240SD22VNA MCU, and he succeeded. In the end, he could not only run the game, but he also implemented improved graphics (better than Doom), better physics, 3D rendering, and much more. This gamepad is built around an Arduino Nano Matter board which features MGM240SD22VNA MCU from Silicon Labs, along with 256KB of RAM, which is very low compared to Quake’s original system requirements which is a minimum of 8MB […]

September 23, 2024September 24, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

SONOFF ZBMINIR2 tiny Zigbee 3.0 switch also works as a Zigbee router with up to 64 sub-devices

SONOFF ZBMINIR2 is a tiny Zigbee smart switch that looks very similar to the SONOFF Zigbee Extreme (ZBMINIL2) but requires a neutral wire and can act as a Zigbee router with up to 64 sub-devices. It also supports new features such as “Turbo mode” for extended range and “detach relay” mode where the states of external switches and relay are separated, so operating the external switch button won’t affect the relay state. The tiny wireless switch can fit into the smallest EU-type/86-type/120-type mounting boxes and works with gateways supporting the Zigbee 3.0 protocol such as ZBBridge Pro, NSPanel Pro, and other compatible Zigbee 3.0 hubs. It also supports external switches (momentary, door, SPDT, and rocker), voice control through Amazon Alexa and Google Home, and like other SONOFF devices is designed to be controlled through the eWelink mobile app by default. SONOFF ZBMINIR2 specifications: MCU – Unspecified – Potentially the same […]

September 4, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

Bluetooth 6.0 features accurate two-way ranging using Channel Sounding, latency reduction, improved scanning efficiency, and more

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) has just announced the release of the Bluetooth 6.0 Core Specification with features and feature enhancements that include Bluetooth Channel Sounding for two-way ranging between BLE devices, decision-based advertising filtering and monitoring advertisers to improve device scanning efficiency, an enhancement to the Isochronous Adaptation Layer (ISOAL) for lower latency and higher reliability, the LL extended feature set, and a frame space update for throughput optimization. Bluetooth 5.4 was released as a minor update mostly adding electronic shelf label (ESL) support in February 2023, or about 18 months ago, but Bluetooth 6.0 is a major update with the most notable feature being Bluetooth Channel Sounding to enable two-way ranging between two Bluetooth LE devices. It’s not the first time we’ve heard about “Bluetooth Channel Sounding” for distance measurements as it was implemented in WiFi 7/6 and Bluetooth 5.4 chipsets such as Synaptics SYN4382 and Broadcom […]

July 17, 2024July 16, 2024 by Paisit Wongsongsarn - 4 Comments

SONOFF SWV Review – A Zigbee Smart Water Valve tested with eWelink and Home Assistant

Today, we are going to test and review another new Zigbee product from SONOFF, the SONOFF Zigbee Smart Water Valve (SWV). This is the first water valve built by SONOFF. When it comes to devices related to water control, whether watering plants or opening and closing valves in tanks or pools, many people might be familiar with the SONOFF 4CHPro model, which is a WiFi smart switch that controls solenoid valves with DC or AC power (valve sold separately). The SONOFF SWV is an all-in-one device that integrates both valve control and IoT functionality in one. It is ideal for plant watering around the house or controlling water filling into pools or tanks. Besides being able to set schedules for opening and closing valves, it also has other interesting features. Let’s look at the details. Unboxing the SONOFF Zigbee Smart Water Valve Inside the box, you will find the valve […]

June 13, 2024June 12, 2024 by Paisit Wongsongsarn - 2 Comments

SONOFF ZBMicro Review – A Micro Zigbee USB Smart Adapter tested with eWelink and Home Assistant

We’ve just published the review of the SONOFF Zigbee Bridge Ultra, and as promised the next one will be the SONOFF Micro Zigbee USB Smart Adapter (ZBMicro for short). When we first received the device we wondered what improvements could be made beyond the first Wi-Fi version as it’s so small. However, after using it for a while, we found it to be a pretty good product. Besides functioning as a smart USB switch for turning devices on and off, it supports fast charging, data transfers, and can act as a Zigbee router. Additionally, it can be used with other platforms that adhere to the Zigbee 3.0 standard. From our market observations, competing devices similar to the ZBMicro lack features like fast charging or switching capabilities, making the SONOFF USB adapter more appealing compared to competitors at a similar price point. Compared to its predecessor (WiFi version), the ZBMicro has […]

June 12, 2024June 13, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

$20 Zigbee & Z-Wave mPCIe module targets Home Assistant gateways

Mixtile’s “2-in-1 Zigbee & Z-Wave mPCIe module” is a relatively inexpensive way to add Zigbee and Z-Wave connectivity to a Home Assistant server without having USB dongles sticking out of the server and taking some of its spare USB ports. The module is compatible with any computer, gateway, or SBC with a spare mini PCIe socket featuring a USB 2.0 interface such as Rockchip RK3568-powered Mixtile Edge 2 Kit gateway. You’ll also need some way of mounting the antennas after connecting them to the IPEX-1 antenna connectors on the module, the Edge 2 Kit comes with multiple antenna holes. Mixtile 2-in-1 Zigbee & Z-Wave mPCIe module specifications: Wireless MCUs Silabs EFR32MG24 Arm Cortex-M33 @ 78.0 MHz with 256 kB RAM, 1536 kB flash Radio Frequency – 2.4 GHz (802.15.4 radio) TX Power – up to +19.5 dBm RX sensitivity – -105.4 dBm at 250 kbps Protocols – Zigbee, Matter, Thread […]