lpwan News - Page 18 of 23 - CNX Software

May 22, 2018July 6, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Dragino NB-IoT Bee is a $23 Xbee Compatible NB-IoT Add-on Board

Several companies are already offering XBee NB-IoT add-on board including Digi International themselves, and SODAQ with their NB-IoT Bee N211 module going for 69 Euros. Dragino NB-IoT Bee is another option for NB-IoT connectivity using Xbee form factor, and the board should be cheaper than most as it goes for $23.00 on Tindie with an external antenna. NB-IoT Bee specifications: NB-IoT module Quectel BC95-B5 for B5:850Mhz, B8:900Mhz, or B20:800Mhz in respectively Nb-IoT Bee QB05, QB08, QB20 models (i.e. one frequency is supported by model) Quectel BG96 for LTE Cat M1 & Cat NB1 & EGPRS in Nb-IoT Bee QG96 model Output Powe – 23dBm Sensitivity – -129dBm Micro SIM Slot Input voltage – 4.5v ~ 5.5V Temperature Range – -40°C ~ +85°C Typical applications for such board include smart metering, facility management services, security & fire alarms, asset tracking, smart city infrastructure and so on. If you are looking specifically […]

May 16, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Sens’it Discovery is a Sigfox IoT Solution with 6 Sensors

Sigfox has just launched Sens’it Discovery, which they describe as a “end-to-end IoT solution, which aims to accelerate the adoption of the IoT (Internet of things) among business and technical professionals”. The solution is comprised for Sens’it 3 device with 6 sensors, sensit.io application, and Sigfox connectivity. Sens’it 3 hardware specifications: MCU – STM32 micro‑controller Connectivity TI CC1125 radio transceiver Sigfox Ready class 0U Frequencies – 868 to 869.7 MHz, 902 to 908 MHz, or 923.2 MHz (TX) / 922.2 MHz (RX), or 920 to 925 MHz depending on region Transmit Power emission – 14 dBm ERP (RC1), 22 dBm ERP (RC2), 10 dBm ERP (RC3), 22 dBm ERP (RC4) Sensors Thermometer (HTS221) – -40 to 120°C / Accuracy ± 0.5°C Humidity (HTS221) – 0 to 100 / Accuracy ± 3.5% rH (20 to +80% rH) Accelerometer (FXOS8700) – ±2, 4, 8 g / Accuracy 0.244, 0.488, 0.976 mg Magnetometer (FXOS8700) […]

April 27, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Jorjin WS2118/WS2119 is a Sigfox & Bluetooth LE Module Based on STMicro BlueNRG-1 & S2-LP Chips

Jorjin WS211X is a family of certified dual radio modules combining Sigfox wireless technology thanks to STMicro BlueNRG-1 BLE System-on-Chip (SoC) and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) using STMicro S2-LP sub-1GHz RF transceiver. Two models are currently available: WS2118-00 certified for Sigfox regions RCZ1 (Europe, Middle East, South Africa) and RCZ3 (Japan), and WS2119-A0 for regions RCZ2 (USA, Mexico, Brazil) and RCZ4 (Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Argentina). Jorjin’s WS211x specifications: Connectivity Bluetooth LE STMicro BlueNRG-1 Arm Cortex M0 @ 16 MHz with 160 kB flash, 24 kB RAM with retention Up to +8dBm BLE RF output power Sigfox STMicro S2-LP sub-1GHz transceiver WS2118-A0 – Up to +16 dBm sub-1GHz RF output power WS2119-A0 – Up to +27dBm sub-1GHz RF output power Receiver sensitivity – Up to -88dBm (BLE) and -130dBm (Sub-1GHz). I/Os – 38-pins package. Security – STSAFE-A1SX for SIGFOX secure element Power Supply – 2.0 to 3.6V Dimension […]

February 13, 2018February 13, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Embedded Linux Conference & IoT Summit 2018 Schedule

The Embedded Linux Conference 2018 and the OpenIoT Summit 2018 will jointly take place next month, on March 12 – 14, 2018 in Portland, Oregon, USA. The former is a “vendor-neutral technical conference for companies and developers using Linux in embedded products”, while the latter is a “technical conference for the developers and architects working on industrial IoT”. The Linux Foundation has already published the schedule, and it’s always useful to learn what will be discussed about even for people who won’t attend. With that in mind, here’s my own virtual schedule with some of the talks I find interesting / relevant to this blog. Monday, March 12 10:50 – 11:40 – Progress in the Embedded GPU Ecosystem by Robert Foss, Collabora Ltd. Ten years ago no one would have expected the embedded GPU ecosystem in Linux to be what it is now. Today, a large number of GPUs have […]

February 8, 2018February 8, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Sixfab Launches Arduino and Raspberry Pi NB-IoT Shields with Four Sensors

SixFab previously introduced a 3G/4G base shield for the Raspberry Pi boards that would take Quectel based mini PCIe card in order to add cellular connectivity to the popular development boards. The company is now back with NB-IoT shields that should better suited to IoT projects with lower hardware and data costs, and support either 40-pin Raspberry Pi boards or Arduino. SixFab Raspberry Pi NB-IoT Shield Specifications & features: Module – Quectel BC95-B20 NB-IoT Module supporting 800MHz frequency (suitable for the European market) Micro SIM card socket, PCB Antenna and u.FL socket for external antenna I/O expansions 4x Channel 12-bit ADC via ADS1015 Relay with optocoupler protection (24V DC, 120-220V AC Switching) 3-pin 1-Wire interface for DS18B20, DHT21, etc… 4-pin I2C interface 3.3V reference voltage Sensors MMA8452Q 3-axis accelerometer HDC1080 temperature sensor (-40 to +125 °C) HDC1080 humidity sensor (0 to 100%) ALS-PT19 ambient light sensor Misc – User button […]

January 9, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Semtech Improves LoRa Efficiency and Range, Reduces Footprint with SX1261, SX1262, and SX1268 LoRa Chips

LoRa is one of the most popular LPWAN technology deployed around the world with chips made by Semtech, as it allow long range, low power communication at low bitrate, and is especially useful for asset tracking, smart parking, and all sort of remote monitoring of persons (e.g. elderly fall for seniors) or assets (e.g. leak detection). Depending on your applications, i.e. data size and update frequency, a coin cell battery can last up to 10 years The company has now introduced the second generation LoRa technology with three new RF chips that are 45% smaller, reduce power consumption by 50% (4.5 mA) , and extend range by 20%. The new chips also offers a high-power transmit option (+22 dBm), supports FSK modulation for migration to LoRaWAN from legacy protocols, and includes a new spreading factor for dense networks. Full list of new features listed by the company: 50% less power […]

January 5, 2018January 5, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

AcSiP S76G/S78G SiPs Integrate LoRa, GPS, and MCU into a Single 1.3×1.1 cm Package

LoRa has been combined with GPS in several products such as Rakwireless RAK811 LoRa tracker board, or Dragino LoRa/GPS HAT board among others, with all designed for far based on a LoRa module, plus a GPS module. LoRa GPS tracker will soon even smaller as AcSiP has developed S76G and S78G systems-in-package (SiP) that combine LoRa, GPS and an MCU into a single 1.1 x 1.3cm package. The two new modules are not listed on the company’s IoT-LoRa products page yet, but they appear to be an evolution of their S76S / S78S LoRa + MCU SiP released in 2016, so the new modules should have the following features: MCU – STMicro STM32L073x Arm Cortex M0+ MCU with up to 192 KB of Flash memory and 20 KB of RAM LoRa AcSiP S76G – Semtech SX1276 supporting global 868 MHz or 915 MHz ISM-Bands. AcSiP S78G – Semtech SX1278 supporting […]

December 31, 2017December 31, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 21 Comments

Year 2017 in Review, Top 10 Posts, and Some Fun Stats

2017 is coming to an end, and as I do every year, I’ll take a look back at the year that was on CNX Software. The pace of development boards launches has not slowed down this year, and we get an even wider range from the low-end with Orange Pi or NanoPi boards, to much more powerful ARM boards, and some new entrants like Libre Computer. The same is true for TV boxes, most of which now support 4K HDR, ranging from ultra cheap models selling for less than $20 to higher end Android TV boxes, while mini PCs were dominated by Intel Apollo Lake models, although some Cherry Trail products were also launched. Processor-wise, Amlogic launched more Amlogic S905X derivatives with S905W/S905D/S905Z, which are popular in the TV box market. Rockchip’s most interesting processor this year was RK3328 quad core Cortex A53 processor designed for 4K HDR Android TV […]