The 3.5mm audio jack may be slowly disappearing from new mobile phones, but I’ve recently discovered they were also used in some soldering irons such as the upcoming TS80 USB soldering iron succeeding TS100 model. I initially thought it was a custom design from the maker of TSxxx soldering irons, but this morning I’ve come across the “RT Soldering Pen” board which also features a 3.5mm (audio) jack and can be used to make your own soldering iron by 3D printing your own enclosure, adding some power source, and inserting one of the many Weller RT tips available into the jack. RT soldering pen board specifications: MCU – STMicro STM32F031 Arm Cortex-M0 micro-controller Display – 0.91″ OLED display with 128×32 resolution Compatible with all Weller RT tips with 3.5mm jack. Set-point temperature – 20°C – 400°C with about +/-5°C accuracy (calibration is planed) Maximum measurable temperature – 500°C Heating speed […]
Microsoft Surface Go Tablet Based on Intel Pentium Gold 4415Y Processor to Sell for $399 and Up
Microsoft Surface devices are powerful but usually expensive ($2,000+) tablets and laptops, but the company has now launched an entry-level model called Surface Go, powered by an Intel Kaby Lake Pentium processor with 4 to 8GB RAM, 64 to 256 GB storage, and a 10″ high resolution display, and selling for $399 and up. Microsoft Surface Go specifications: SoC – Intel Pentium Gold 4415Y dual core/four thread Kaby Lake-Y processor @ up to 1.6 GHz (base frequency), with 24EU Intel HD Graphics 615 @ 300 / 850 MHz; 6W TDP System Memory – 4 or 8GB LPDDR3-1866 Storage – 64GB eMMC flash, 128GB or 256GB SSD, micro SD card slot Display – 10″ 1800×1200 PixelSense display; 3:2 aspect ratio; built-in kickstand with full friction hinge that extends to 165 degrees Cameras – 8MP Rear camera, 5MP Front-facing camera with Windows Hello facial recognition Audio – 3.5mm headphone jack Connectivity – […]
Sapphire FS-FP5V Embedded Board Features AMD Ryzen Embedded V1000 Processor, Four DisplayPort Outputs
We’ve previously covered UDOO Bolt AMD Ryzen Embedded V1000 development board that’s offered for $229 and up on Kickstarter, and targets the maker community. Another board with Ryzen Embedded processor is SAPPHIRE FS-FP5V 5″ board with support for up to four independent displays, and suitable solution for digital signage, POS terminal, electronic gaming machines, medical imaging, thin clients, and so on. Sapphire FS-FP5V specifications: SoC AMD Ryzen Embedded V1202B 2 cores / 4 threads @ 2 GHz / 3.6 GHz (Turbo) with Radeon Vega 3 @ 1100 MHz; 12-25W TDP AMD Ryzen Embedded V1605B 4 cores / 8 threads @ 2.06 GHz / 3.6 GHz (Turbo) with Radeon Vega 8 GPU @ 1100 MHz; 12-25W AMD Ryzen Embedded V1756B 4 cores / 8 threads @ 3.25 GHz / 3.6 GHz with Radeon Vega 8 GPU @ 1100 MHz; 35-54W TDP AMD Ryzen Embedded V1807B 4 cores / 8 threads @ 3.35 […]
BOSON Kits Feature LEGO Compatible Building Blocks for STEM Education
Last year, DFRobot successfully introduced BOSON Kit “Powerful Building Blocks For LEGO STEM”via Kickstarter, and I’ve just noticed the company is now selling two BOSON Kits on their website: BOSON Science Kit for $149 BOSON Inventor Kit for $249 The kits are plug and pay and do not require coding, nor soldering. The modules come with built-in magnets, or they can be attached with screws, Velcro or to LEGO parts. BOSON modules are based on Intel Curie BLE modules, but those are being phased out, so you may want to inquire DFRobot if long term availability / appropriate stock is a concern. BOSON Science Kit As its name gives away, the kit is a set of exploration tool for aspiring young scientist with the following items: 8 scientific sensors for physics, chemistry and biology: Light sensor Humidity sensor Soil moisture sensor Temperature sensor Waterproof temperature sensor pH sensor (That’s the […]
Differences Between RS232, RS422 and RS485 (Video)
RS232, RS422, and RS485 are pretty old serial communication interfaces, and I was not even born when RS232 was specified in 1962, but there are still commonly used today in various applications such a points-of-sales, multi-meters, industrial equipment like PLC or HMI, as well as medical devices. Maxim Integrated shared a video – embedded at the end of this article – on social networks today explaining the fundamentals of serial transmitter devices and the differences between RS232, RS422, RS485, and Profibus. The video goes into more details with a glossary of terms, discussion of cable length and bitrate, hand-shaking, and auto-shutdown, but I’ll provide a quick summary below: RS232 supports one transmitter and one receiver, and operates between -15 and +15V (with input tolerance of up to -/+ 25V). A logic zero is between +3 and +15V and a logic one between -15 and -3V on the receiver side RS422 […]
Connect Multiple Rotary Encoders to Arduino, ESP8266, Raspberry Pi, etc… with I2C Encoder V2 (Crowdfunding)
Rotary encoders are pretty common devices that convert the angular position of a shaft to analog or digital output signals with quadrature-encoded A / B pulses the most common way of reporting the position to the micro. So for each encoder you’d need 2-pin, and if your project use many of those you may quickly run out of pin, interrupts, etc… Simone Caron has decided to tackle this issue by creating an I2C encoder board, which works with various encoders, and whose second revision is now offered on Kickstarter. The I2C Encoder V2 board supports standard mechanical encoders, illuminated RGB encoders, and clickable rotary encoders, each of which may be with or without dent. The board also comes with 3 GPIOs following RGB LED footprint, but also usable as PWN, GPIO, or ADC, and each board’s I2C address can be configured with some soldering on A0 to A6 pins. Finally, […]
Firefly Team Mailbag – Rockchip Development Boards and Accessories
T-Chip Intelligent Technology Co. is a hardware and software technology services company, and a few years ago they setup the “Firefly Team” to provide development boards running Android and/or Linux distributions to the maker community. If I remember correctly the company started with Firefly-RK3288 development board powered, as its name implies, by Rockchip RK3288 processor. Since then they’ve launched several other Rockchip development boards and modules, which I’ve covered on this blog. The company decided to send me some of their recent boards and accessories, so let’s have a look at what I received in my “mailbag”. I’ve also taken a few photos for those who did not watch the video or prefer close up photos. ROC-RK3328-CC “Renegade” Development Board The first board is ROC-RK3328-CC “Renegade” board which was first launched via a crowdfunding campaign by Libre Computer. Both companies have been collaborating on some boards, and Libre Computer makes […]
Vivo Announces TOF 3D Sensing Technology with 300,000 Sensor Points
Earlier this year, I reviewed a TOF sensor board based on STMicro VL52L0X Time-of-Flight ranging sensor that allows to measure distance accurately up to 2 meter using a 940 nm laser and a detection array with a few points to measure the time it takes for the light to travel and determine the distance. VIVO has showcased a smartphone solution leveraging time-of-flight technology at Mobile World Congress Shanghai 2018, but instead of using it for 2D measurements with a small detection array, their TOF 3D Sensing Technology creates 3D scans of objects using a whopping 300,000 sensor points. The technology will enable features & applications such as facial, gesture and motion recognition, 3D photography and extended/augmented reality. Vivo’s TOF 3D Sensing solution is said to deliver 10 times more depth of information than existing Structured Light Technology, for example used for FaceID in the latest iPhones. Vivo’s technology allows 3D […]