Video Category - CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

April 10, 2025April 10, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Altech DO-1 Modbus monitor connects to up to 128 Modbus RTU/TCP devices

US-based Altech Corp has recently announced the DO-1 universal monitor for Modbus devices to enable companies to easily monitor, collect, and analyze their equipment and process data such as temperature, humidity, pressure, vibration, and energy usage without any subscription fees or licenses. The DO-1 is a vendor-agnostic solution that connects to up to 128 RTU-TCP Modbus devices, features 5GB of internal data storage expandable up to 128GB with a microSD card, dual Ethernet, and optional WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity. The device also implements dual power input with a 12V/24V DC input via a terminal block, and 5V via micro USB as power backup. Altech DO-1 specifications: Storage 5GB for data storage (I assume from 8GB eMMC flash) MicroSD card slot up to 128GB Networking 10/100Mbps Fast Ethernet RJ45 port (LAN1) Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port (LAN2) LAN1 and LAN2 can be configured in switch or 2-port mode Optional WiFi 802.11 b/g/n […]

April 9, 2025April 9, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

IOL HAT adds an IO-Link compatible master to Raspberry Pi for industrial IoT sensors and actuators

Pinetek Networks’ IOL HAT is a Raspberry Pi expansion board using the IO-Link (IEC 61131-9) protocol to interact with industrial sensors. It’s based on the Analog Devices MAX14819 IO-Link master transceiver and offers two SDCI (“Single-Drop Digital Communication”) connectors. While work on the IO-Link communication protocol started in 2006, and the IEC 61131-9 “Single-drop digital communication interface (SDCI) for small sensors and actuators” standard was adopted in 2013, it only recently came onto our radar with products like the STMicro EVLIOL4LSV1 IO-Link actuator board and Renesas CCE4511 IO-Link master and ZSSC3286 IO-Link sensor signal conditioner. The IOL HAT brings the IO-Link standard for industrial IoT communication to the Raspberry Pi. IOL HAT specifications: IO-Link chip – Analog Devices MAX14819 dual IO-Link master transceiver with integrated framers and L+ supply controllers 2x SDCI ports for IEC 61131-9 (IO-Link) sensors and actuators Host connection (one or the other) PT-1201 model – 40-pin […]

April 9, 2025April 9, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

Antenna hack more than doubles the range of cheap ESP32-C3 USB-C boards

There are plenty of small ESP32-C3 IoT boards with a USB-C connector on the market, and while they all look very similar, antenna designs differ, and less thought-out ones may severely impact the WiFi and Bluetooth range. Peter Neufeld decided to hack one of those cheap ESP32-C3 boards by adding a custom antenna, and this resulted in the board having more than twice the range and almost three times in some cases. Those tiny boards are cramped, so there’s very little space around the ceramic antenna typically used, leading to poor RF performance. To work around that issue, Peter added a 31mm long antenna made of silver-plated wire, making a loop of about 8mm in diameter outside of the board and soldered on the ceramic antenna’s solder joints, and the rest of the wire (about 15mm) points upwards. As you can see from the photo above, he didn’t remove the […]

April 8, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Bosch magnetic-field quantum sensors leverage synthetic diamonds, lasers, and microwaves for ultra-precise measurements

Most people have heard about quantum computers, but quantum sensors? I’ve just come across those as Bosch is developing magnetic-field quantum sensors harnessing “the power of quantum physics to enable measurements with unmatched precision” while being much more compact than other quantum sensors using techniques like SQUIDs (superconducting quantum interference device), vapor cells, or optical traps. Bosch Quantum Sensing (that’s the full company name) further explains its magnetic-field quantum sensors surpass the capabilities of conventional sensors by offering a wider measurement range, higher sensitivity, and higher spatial resolution. They currently have an internal quantum sensor prototype/evaluation board that’s about the size of a smartphone, so they are still quite larger than traditional sensors. Bosch quantum magnetometer can measure tiny magnetic field variations with accuracy, including the Earth magnetic’s field, and even analyze the direction of and magnetude of magnetic fields giving the equivalent of a 3D-point magnetic representation. This notably […]

April 7, 2025April 6, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

TwoTrees TTC6050 CNC router review with vacuum cleaner Monster (M1) kit and a 800W spindle upgrade

Twotrees has sent us a TTC6050 CNC router for review, along with a vacuum cleaner Monster (M1) kit and an 800W spindle upgrade with a speed of 30,000 RPM. The machine is designed for carving and milling various materials such as wood, plastic, and metal. It features a working area of 600 x 500 x 100 mm and comes equipped with a 500W spindle by default, upgradable to an 800W spindle. It’s capable of handling larger workpieces, works faster, and supports a broader variety of materials than the TwoTrees TTC 450 CNC router we reviewed in 2023 with a 500W spindle. In this review, we will start by listing the specifications and going through an unboxing, before assembling the TTC6050 CNC router and the vacuum cleaner Monster (M1) Kit, and installing the Candle CNC software to conduct milling tests on thick MDF wood. After that, we’ll install the 800W high-speed […]

April 3, 2025April 3, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

PocketCloud – Battery-powered, portable NAS takes up to 16TB of storage (Crowdfunding)

Firefly’s PocketCloud is a battery-powered, portable NAS powered by a Rockchip RK3568B2 quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 SoC with 4GB LPDDR5 of RAM and a 32GB eMMC flash for the OS, and supports up to 16TB of NVMe SSD storage. It’s comprised of the battery-powered PocketCloud itself with WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity, and an optional dock with 2.5GbE networking and an additional M.2 NVMe socket. Since I’m unable to find a 16 TB M.2 NVMe SSD for now, I suppose the 16TB claim only works with an 8TB + 8TB configuration with one SSD in the main unit, and the other in the dock. PocketCloud specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3568B2 (as found in ODROID-M1 SBC) CPU – Quad-core Cortex-A55 processor @ up to 2.0 GHz GPU – Arm Mali-G52-2EE AI Accelerator – 1TOPS NPU System Memory – 4GB LPDDR4 Storage 32GB eMMC 5.1 flash M.2 PCIe Gen3 socket for M.2 […]

April 3, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

LILYGO T-Deck Pro – An ESP32-S3 LoRa messenger with e-paper touch display, keyboard, and 4G LTE or audio codec option

LILYGO T-Deck Pro is a LoRa messenger based on an ESP32-S3 WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.x SoC, and offered with a 3.1-inch e-paper display with touchscreen, a Blackberry-like QWERTY keyboard, a GPS module, speaker, microphone, and a 3.5mm audio, as well as IMU and light sensors. It builds upon the T-Deck Plus design, but replacing the 2.8-inch IPS display with a 3.1-inch e-paper display allows for a slimmer design and should offer longer battery life despite the smaller 1,400 mAh battery used in the new model. Two versions of the T-Deck Pro are available: one with a Simcom 4G LTE modem and a cheaper one with a PCM5102A audio codec. LILYGO T-Deck Pro specifications: SoC – ESP32-S3FN16R8 CPU – Dual-core Tensilica LX7 microcontroller @ up to 240 MHz 2.4 GHz 802.11n WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.0 LE connectivity Memory – 8MB PSRAM Storage – 16MB SPI flash Storage – MicroSD card […]

April 2, 2025April 2, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

TinyBeast FPGA – A Microchip PolarFire MPF300T/MPF100T FPGA PCIe reference design (Crowdfunding)

TinyBeast FPGA is a compact module based on Microchip PolarFire MPF100T or MPF300T FPGA with up to 300K logic elements and a hard PCIe interface that is suitable for automation, measurement, and robotics applications. Two versions of the module are available: the TinyBeast FPGA P mini PCIe module designed for integration with embedded systems, and the TinyBeast FPGA S with B2B connectors designed to be connected to a carrier board. TinyBeast FPGA P TinyBeast FPGA P specifications: FPGA – Microchip PolarFire FPGA TinyBest FPGA P-300 – MPF300T-1FCVG484E FPGA with 300K LE, 10.6 Mbit embedded RAM, 924 DSP blocks TinyBest FPGA P-100 – 100K LE, 5.2 Mbit embedded RAM, 288 DSP blocks System Memory – 4 GB DDR4 memory Storage – SPI flash Host interface – PCIe x1 Gen2 as EP via mini PCIe edge connector Expansion – Samtec SS4-30-3.00-L-D-K I/O connector for GPIOs and up to 12.7 Gbps transceivers Debugging […]