3G News - Page 3 of 8 - CNX Software

March 20, 2018March 21, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

X99 Android TV Box is Based on Rockchip RK3399 Processor, Equipped with a SIM Card Slot

We’ve previously seen a fair amount of TV boxes / mini PCs based on Rockchip RK3399 processor like Yundoo Y8 or Vorke Z3, which perform very well for tasks like web browsing and gaming, but required more work when it comes to video playback, at least in 2017 when I reviewed the devices. X99 is another one of those TV boxes with RK3399 SoC, 4GB RAM, 32GB storage, HDMI 2.0 output, Gigabit Ethernet, and so on, but interestingly enough it adds a SIM card slot too. The photo above appears to show a modem module close to the SIM card, but somehow none of the website explains which type (2G/3G/4G) of modem that is in X99 TV box specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3399 hexa core processor with 2x ARM Cortex A72 cores @ up to 1.8 GHz, 4x ARM Cortex A53 cores, Mali-T860MP4 GPU System Memory – 4GB DDR3 Storage […]

February 17, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

STMicro Introduces Two STM32 Discovery Kits with 2G/3G or 4G LTE-IoT Cat M1/NB1 Connectivity

Embedded World 2018 trade fair will take place on on take place on February 27 – March 1 in Nuremberg, Germany, and we’re starting to see some company announce new products and solutions for the embedded market. STMicro has just announced their showcase their very first cellular development kits at the event, based on a display-less variant on their 32L496GDISCOVERY Discovery board with cellular add-on boards: P-L496G-CELL01 Discovery kit with with a 2G/3G modem P-L496G-CELL02 Discovery kit with with an LTE-IoT Cat M1 (eMTC) / NB1 (NB-IoT) / 2G model Now the company has not started designed their own cellular modem, but instead relying on QUECTEL modems. Both kits share most of the same specifications: MCU – STMicro STM32L496AGI6 Arm Cortex M4F MCU@ 80 MHz with 1 MB Flash, 320 KB RAM in a UFBGA169 package On-board memory – 8 Mbit PSRAM On-board + external storage – 32 KB I2 […]

February 11, 2018October 22, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

How to Use 3G and GPS on Raspberry Pi with ThaiEasyElec 3G HAT Expansion Board

Venus Supply is an embedded systems company based in Bangkok, Thailand that sells products through their ThaiEasyElec website/brand, as well as a act as a local distributor for popular DIY electronics items. I previously tested their ESPino32 ESP32 board, and the company has now send me another of their new product called “3G HAT Expansion for Raspberry Pi” and based on Quectel UC20-G that support 3G and GPS/GLONASS connectivity globally, meaning it should work in any country with 2G or 3G coverage. After listing the specifications, going through unboxing and assembly with a Raspberry Pi 2/3 board, I’ll write some quick start guide to show what I had to do to use GPS and connect to 3G with a Hologram SIM card. 3G HAT Expansion for Raspberry Pi Specifications Quectel UC20-G wireless module supporting Cellular 3G – UMTS @ 800/850/900/1900/2100 MHz 2G – GSM @ 850/900/1800/1900 MHz Data – HSPA+ […]

February 8, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

TECHBASE ModBerry M300 IoT Gateway Adds Support for NanoPi and Orange Pi Allwinner H5 Boards

Announced at the end of last year TECHBASE launched the ModBerry M300, a Linux IoT gateway powered by FriendlyELEC NanoPi NEO board equipped with Allwinner H3 Cortex A7 processor. The company has now made four extra variants of the gateway with Allwinner H5 quad core Cortex A53 based development boards from FriendlyELEC and Shenzhen Xunlong: Modberry M300 N2 – Based on NanoPi NEO2 Modberry M300 N2+ – Based on NanoPi NEO Plus2 adding 8GB eMMC flash, WiFi & Bluetooth 4.0, and an extra USB port over the N2 model Modberry M300 O1 – Based on Orange Pi Zero Plus Modberry M300 O2 – Based on Orange Pi Zero Plus2 adding 8GB eMMC flash, HDMI, one extra USB port, and Bluetooth 4.0 over the O1 model, but falling back to 10/100 Ethernet, while all three models above come with Gigabit Ethernet To avoid confusion, the original NanoPi NEO model has changed […]

February 1, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Amarula Vyasa is a $150 Pico-ITX Single Board Computer Powered by Rockchip RK3288 SoC

Yesterday, as I published Linux 4.15 changelog for Arm and MIPS, I discovered a new Rockchip RK3288 platform described as “Amarula Vyasa single board computer”, so that got me interested. The full name of the company is “Amarula Electronics Limited Sony UK”, which means Vyasa is the name of the board. Amarula Vyasa relies on a 2.5″ Pico-ITX form factor, and is available in either commercial and wide temperature (WiTAS) range. The board is equipped with 2GB RAM, 16GB eMMC flash, exposes ports and connectors such as HDMI 2.0, eDP, and LVDS, and plenty of network connectivity (WiFi, Ethernet, mPCIe modem…) that would make it suitable for a connected digital signage, or other applications requiring a (touchscreen) display and redundant Internet / network connectivity. Amarula Vyasa specifications: SoC – CPU Rockchip RK3288 (ARM CortexTM -A17 Quad-core 1.6GHz) System Memory – 2GB DDR3L SDRAM Storage – 16GB eMMC flash, Micro SD […]

December 11, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

Turn Your Raspberry Pi into a “Smartphone” or Cellular IoT Gateway with PiTalk 3G HAT (Crowdfunding)

The Raspberry Pi boards are used in a countless number of projects, and some of those turn one of Raspberry Pi boards into a (thick) smartphone powered by Linux. The first one was probably PiPhone based on Raspberry Pi 1 Model B, and other followed suit such as TyTelli based on Raspberry Pi Model A+, and more recently ZeroPhone powered, as its name implies, by Raspberry Pi Zero board. UK based SB Components Ltd is offering another option with their PiTalk HAT based on a Quectel 3G UMTS module, and kits adding a 3.2″ to 5″ display, an optional camera, and/or Raspberry Pi 3 board. PiTalk board specifications: Cellular Connectivity Quectel UC15 3G/2G UMTS/HSDPA and GSM/GPRS/EDGE module with up to 3.6 Mbps download, 384 Kbps upload SMA antenna connector Push push SIM card holder Voice, SMS and data support Audio – 3.5 mm audio jack, speaker and mic support via […]

November 28, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Compulab IOT-GATE-RPi Industrial IoT Computer is Powered by Raspberry Pi CM3 Module

We’ve seen several industrial products powered by Raspberry Pi 3 board or CM3 module recently, with the likes of Industrial Shields Panel PC, TECHBASE ModBerry, or Pi/104 PC/104 compliant carrier board among others. We can now add another industrial computer based on Raspberry Pi CM3 module with Compulab IOT-GATE-RPi IoT gateway, with dual Ethernet port, support for 3G/LTE modems, a rugged case, and working in a wide temperature range of -40°C to 80°C. Compulab IOT-GATE-RPi specifications: SoC – Broadcom BCM2837 quad-core Cortex-A53 @ 1.2GHz with VideoCore IV GPU System Memory – 1GB LPDDR2 Storage – 4 to 64GB of soldered eMMC flash, micro SD socket Connectivity 2x 100Mbps Ethernet WiFi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1 BLE 3G / LTE cellular modem via mini-PCie module) Video Output – HDMI 1.3, up to 1920×1080 Audio – 3.5mm stereo line out jack, HDMI audio USB – 4x USB2.0 host port Serial 1x RS232 port, ultra-mini […]

October 20, 2017October 20, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 19 Comments

SixFab Launches Raspberry Pi 3G-4G/LTE Base Shield V2 for $31.20

Development boards with 4G LTE are still quite expensive, at least compared to 2G or 3G solutions, with for example Wio LTE GPS Tracker board selling for around $100. So when I saw Sixfab introducing a 3G/4G shield for Raspberry Pi 3 for just $31.20 (pre-orders), I first thought it was an incredible deal. But I soon realized I missed the “base” word in the name, as the shield just includes the SIM card slot, and mPCIe connector where you can connect Quectel’s UC20-G Mini PCle 3G module or EC25 Mini PCle 4G/LTE Module which adds respectively $59 or $89 to the price. That’s still an interesting HAT board, so let’s have a look. Raspberry Pi 3G-4G/LTE Base Shield V2 specifications: Clip-in Mini PCIe socket for: 4G/LTE Module (Quectel EC25) up to 150Mbps downlink and 50Mbps uplink data rates, GPS/GLONASS 3G Module (Quectel UC20) up to 14.4Mbps downlink and 5.76Mbps […]