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March 31, 2018March 30, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

$24 Eastron SDM120C Smart Meter Supports RS485, ModBus, Up to 45A Load

A couple of days ago, I wrote about Sonoff POW R2 WiFi switch with power monitoring function that meant to be connected to your mains via terminal, and I was made aware of another product – Eastron SDM120C – that also does power metering, but support up to 45A (good enough for whole house in many cases), and use RS485 / Modbus communication instead of WiFi. I’ve also noticed it’s compatible with Domoticz with source code released on Github, so it might be worth a look. Eastron SDM120C specifications: Rated Voltage (Un) – 220/230V Voltage Range – 0.8~1.2 Un Base Current – 5A Max. / Min. Current – 45A / 0.25A Frequency – 50/60Hz Remote Reading – RS485 port using Modbus RTU protocol Pulse Output – Pulse 1: 1000/100/10/1 imp; pulse 2: 1000 imp/kWh Power Consumption – <2W/10VA Safety / Certifications: AC voltage test – 4KV for 1 minutes Impulse […]

March 28, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments

Sonoff Pow R2 is a Power Monitoring WiFi Smart Switch with Better Accuracy, Safety and Extra Features

ITEAD Studio released several wireless switches / sockets with power monitoring capability over the years. Recently they company launched Sonoff S31 smart socket that plugs directly into your AC socket and does not require any wiring, but earlier they introduced Sonoff Pow that is meant to be connected directly into your circuit via terminals. ITEAD has now launched an upgrade to the latter – Sonoff Pow R2 – with many of the same features, including support for eWelink, but offering 99% measurement accuracy, overload protection defined by the user, and various other features like the ability to export data. Sonoff Pow R2 (Revision 2) specifications: WiSoC – Espressif ESP8266 (TBC) Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n WiFi with WPA/WPA2 support Voltage Range – 90 to 250 VAC input Max Current – Up to 16A Max Power – 3,500 Watts Terminals – 6 terminal for mains and load’s ground, live and neutral signals. […]

March 28, 2018February 29, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Logic Supply CL200 Series Compact Embedded Mini PCs To Ship with Ubuntu 16.04 or Windows 10 IoT

After launching their ML350 customizable fanless industrial computer, Logic Supply is back with another Apollo Lake family of mini PCs – CL200 series – with a much more compact form factor (Ultra Small Form Factor), and equipped with an Intel Celeron N3350 processor. Two models are available for now with CL200 featuring 1 GB RAM, 8 GB storage and running Ubuntu 16.04, and CL210 with 2GB RAM, 32 GB storage, and shipping with either Windows 10 IoT or Ubuntu 16.04. Specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron N3350 dual core processor @ 1.10 / 2.40 GHz with Intel HD graphics 500 System Memory & Storage CL200 – 1 GB LPDDR4, 8 GB eMMC flash, mSATA Up To 1 TB, micro SD slot CL210 – 2 GB LPDDR4, 32 GB eMMC flash, mSATA Up To 1 TB, micro SD slot Audio – CL210 only: 3.5 mm audio jack (mic in, line out) Video […]

March 19, 2018March 8, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

FOSSASIA Summit 2018 Schedule – March 22-25

FOSDEM is the “Free & Open Source Software Developers’ European Meeting” takes place the first week-end of February every year in Brussels, Belgium. It turns out there’s an event in Asia called FOSSASIA Summit that’s about to take place in Singapore on March 22-25. There are some differences however, as while FOSDEM is entirely free to attend, FOSSASIA requires to pay an entry fee to attend talks, although there are free tickets to access the exhibition hall and career fair. There are also less sessions as in FOSDEM, but still twelve different tracks with: Artificial Intelligence Blockchain Cloud, Container, DevOps Cybersecurity Database Kernel & Platform Open Data, Internet Society, Community Open Design, IoT, Hardware, Imaging Open Event Solutions Open Source in Business Science Tech Web and Mobile Since the event is spread out over four days, it should be easier to attend the specific sessions you are interested in. I’ve […]

March 8, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Zanflare QP6012SA Light Bulb Comes with a Built-in PIR Motion Sensor

We’ve previously shown how to control lights with a 433 MHz PIR motion sensor via a 433MHz to WiFi bridge based on an ESP8266 WiFi module itself commanding Sonoff Basic wireless switches connected to the light bulbs. It works, and can be useful for more advanced features like monitoring when people came in and out of the room, but if you just want your light to turn on when motion is detected, and it’s dark, Zanflare QP6012SA looks much easier to install and setup as it already includes both a PIR motion sensor and can detect light intensity. Zanflare QP6012SA main features & specifications: Light 850 lumens 3000K to 6000K temperature range 12x SMD2835 LEDs 12W (equivalent to a traditional 60W light bulb) E27 Socket Sensors PIR motion sensor with 110° detection angle, 5 to 10 meters range Light sensing only turning on the light bulb if light intensity drops […]

March 7, 2018January 30, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

WAGO PFC200 PLC Runs Embedded Linux, Supports Web and Mobile Visualization

WAGO is an international company with headquarters in Germany, designing electrical devices and automation systems. One of their latest product is WAGO PFC200 (PFC – Programmable Field Controller) designed for IIoT applications and running embedded Linux on an Arm Cortex A8 processor. WAGO PFC200 PLC key specifications & features: SoC – Arm Cortex A8 processor @ 600 MHz (CNXSoft: possibly Texas Instruments Sitara AM335x processor) System Memory – 256 MB RAM Storage – 256MB flash, SD card slot up to 32GB Fieldbus ports – 2x Ethernet; MODBUS, TCP/UD/RTU, CAN port, PROFIBUS Slave, Smart Grid and Serial RS-232/RS-485 Support for over 400 digital, analog, and specialty I/O modules Temperature Range – 0 to 50°C or -20 to 60°C depending on model All models support Modbus over TCP/UDP via their Ethernet port, but other Fieldbus ports are optional and depend on the exact model. The PLCs also come with a built-in Web […]

March 4, 2018March 4, 2018 by Karl Johnson - 14 Comments

Sonoff S31 Smart Socket Review – Power Consumption Monitoring with eWelink Android App

Today we are looking at the Sonoff S31. It is another device in the Sonoff line by ITEAD Studio. Similar to the Sonoff POW, you can see power usage but on the S31 you can keep historical data up to 100 days. This time around I am using it with the standard firmware, and will not be flashing the popular MQTT Tasmota firmware. Specifications per ITEAD website: Max. Current: 16A Voltage Input: 90~264V AC, 50/60HZ Wireless Standard: 2.4GHz, 802.11 b/g/n Receive Sensitivity: 802.11b: <-84dBm(11Mbps); 802.11g: <-68dBm(54Mbps) Output Power: 802.11b:16±2dBm; 802.11g:13±2dBm Security Mechanism: WEP/WPA-PSK/WPA2-PSK Encryption: AES/TKIP Working Temp: -20 °C ~ 75 °C Working Humidity: 10%-80% Product Dimensions: 75.7×39.7x32mm Gang: 1 Weight: 135g Certification: FCC (Download) Sonoff S31 Unboxing & Teardown Taking the S31 apart is rather easy but I did not take it fully apart for fear of breaking it. Just pop the power button off the left side. Then […]

February 19, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Low Cost Renesas Target Boards for RX MCUs are Designed for Home Appliances, Building & Industrial Automation

Renesas Electronics has announced three new Target Boards for the RX65N, RX130 and RX231 32-bit Microcontroller (MCU) groups designed for home appliance, building and industrial automation applications. Each board has minimal features with an on-chip debugger, a mini USB port, the micro-controller, and through-hole pin headers providing access to all MCU signals. This design allows to access all MCU features while keeping the price below $30. Renesas Target Board specifications: MCU Renesas RX65N (R5F565NEDDFP) 32-bit RXv2 MCU @ 120 MHz with 2MB+32KB ROM, 640KB RAM Renesas RX130 (R5F51308ADFP) 32-bit MCU @ 32 MHz with 512KB+8KB ROM, 48 KB RAM Renesas RX231 (R5F52318ADFP) 32-bit RXv2 MCU @ 54 MHz with 512KB+8KB ROM, 64 KB RAM Expansion Unpopulated 12-pin Pmod connector 2x unpopulated 50-pin MCU headers Misc 2-pin Current measurement header Reset and user push buttons Power LED (Green), ACT LED (Green), 2x user LEDs (Green) 2-pin emulator reset header Power Supply […]