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March 17, 2025March 16, 2025 by Debashis Das - 6 Comments

Waveshare CM5-NANO-B is a compact Raspberry Pi CM5 carrier board with the same dimensions as the Compute Module 5

Waveshare CM5 NANO B Raspberry Pi CM5 carrier bord with CM5

Waveshare has just released the CM5-NANO-B, a compact Raspberry Pi CM5 carrier board, with the same dimensions as the Compute Module 5 and multiple peripheral interfaces making it suitable for industrial automation, IoT, embedded computing, AI development, and other space-constrained applications. Key features include a Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port, an unpopulated 40-pin Raspberry Pi GPIO header, a USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A port, dual MIPI 4-lane interfaces, a mini HDMI port supporting 4K output, a USB audio 3.5mm jack, a microSD card slot, and a 16-pin PCIe Gen2/3 x1 connector. Power is supplied via a USB-C port (5V/5A), and additional features include an RTC battery header, a 4-pin PWM fan header, a dual-color LED indicator, and user-configurable buttons. Waveshare CM5-NANO-B specifications: Compatibility – Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 (CM5) Storage – MicroSD card slot (for Raspberry Pi CM5 Lite) Display Mini HDMI output up to 4K resolution Up to 2x MIPI […]

March 16, 2025March 16, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Updated PineTab-V RISC-V tablet ships with Debian 12-based Linux image

Pine64 has launched an updated version of the PineTab-V RISC-V tablet with the same StarFive JH7110 SoC, 8GB RAM, and 128GB eMMC flash, but a few small hardware changes, and a Debian-based Linux image maintained by StarFive themselves. The PineTab-V is not exactly a new RISC-V tablet since it was launched in 2023, but at the time it was reserved for developers since it shipped with nothing… Users had to install the OS (that did not support the display yet) themselves, and work on the software/OS to improve it. The new model still targets developers and enthusiasts/early adopters, but at least now there’s a Debian 12 image optimized for the PineTab-V. The hardware is mostly the same, except Pine64 added an accelerometer, a status LED, an ID for the PineTab-V in the EEPROM, and a fix for slow charging while the tablet is turned off. PineTab-V (2025) specifications: SoC – […]

March 13, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Variscite VAR-SOM-AM62P SoM features Texas Instruments Sitara AM62P5 SoC for cost-effective multimedia applications

Variscite VAR-SOM-AM62P is a system-on-module powered by Texas Instruments Sitara AM62P5 quad-core Cortex-A53 + Cortex-R5F SoC coupled with up to 8GB LPDDR4 RAM and 128GB eMMC flash, and designed for cost-effective multimedia applications. The SO-DIMM module offers high speed interfaces such as gigabit Ethernet and USB 2.0, a certified WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.4 module, and operating in the -40 to 85°C industrial range. As a VAR-SOM module, it’s pin-to-pin compatible with other modules from the family such as the VAR-SOM-6UL or VAR-SOM-IMX93. Variscite VAR-SOM-AM62P specifications: SoC – Texas Instruments Sitara AM62P5 CPU 4x Arm Cortex-A53 @ 1.4 GHz up to 12,880 DMIPS Arm Cortex-R5F real-time core up to @ 800 MHz GPU – 3D GPU with OpenGL ES 3.2 & Vulkan1.2 VPU – H.264/H.265 Video Encoder/Decoder No PRU System Memory – 1GB to 8GB LPDDR4 Storage – 8GB to 128GB eMMC flash Networking Gigabit Ethernet PHY (Analog Devices ADIN1300) […]

March 11, 2025March 12, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Review of SunFounder 10.1-inch touchscreen display for SBCs using Raspberry Pi 5 and Radxa ROCK 5B

SunFounder 10.1-inch RPI Touchscreen Display Review

SunFounder has just sent us one of their 10.1-inch touchscreen display designed for single board computers (SBCs) for review. It supports the Raspberry Pi family, but not only, thanks to a flexible design that allows mounting all sorts of boards with mounting holes that fit within an 85x70mm area. All you need is a board with HDMI output, a spare USB port for the touchscreen, and 5V USB-C input (up to 5A). So I’ll first test the SunFounder 10.1-inch touchscreen display with a Raspberry Pi 5 (85x56mm), then a larger Radxa ROCK 5 Model B Pico-ITX SBC (100 x 72mm). Since the display can also be used as an external touchscreen monitor, I’ll also try it with my laptop in Ubuntu 24.04 and Windows 11. SunFounder 10.1-inch touchscreen display specifications Key features and specifications: Display Type – IPS LCD Resolution – 1280×800 (16:10 aspect ratio) Touchscreen – 10-point capacitive Viewing […]

March 5, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Rockchip RK3588 4K video encoder features four SDI inputs, four SDI loop outputs

Mekotronics R58-4x4-3U RK3588 video encoder

Mekotronics R58-4×4 3U is yet another device based on Rockchip RK3588 from the company, but this product is a 4K video encoder with four SDI inputs, and four SDI loop outputs mirroring the SDI inputs. SDI (Serial Digital Interface) inputs are used for transmitting uncompressed, unencrypted digital video signals and typically found in professional video production and broadcasting environments. The SDI interface can also be found in security cameras like the MOKOSE SHD50-2.8-12MM and I can also see it used in cameras designed for live streaming on YouTube, or other services. The main advantages of SDI over interfaces like USB, HDMI, or Ethernet, are that it can use longer cables up to 300 meters, offers better signal integrity, and has near zero latency. Compatibility for professional camera equipment is another advantage. Let’s look at the Mekotronics R58-4×4 3U specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3588 octa-core processor with CPU – 4x CortexA76 […]

March 3, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

Software progress and source code release for CIX P1 Armv9 SoC and Orion O6 motherboard

When the Orion O6 mini-ITX motherboard with a CIX P1 12-core Armv9 SoC was announced in December 2024, we were told binary releases would start on January 15, 2025, and the source code would be released later in Q1 2025. Tom Cubie further explained that upstreaming of the CIX kernel would start in Q2 of 2025, and Linux 6.1 with Device Tree plus Linux 6.6 with ACPI would be supported in the meantime. I’ve been able to quickly check the Debian 12 binary release on the Orion O6 motherboard at the end of January, but as I was looking for an updated image for the second part of the review, I noticed there weren’t any new Debian 12 images so far. That does not mean there haven’t been any work done, as the forums are somewhat active and I’ve been told Radxa is even more active on Discord, although I […]

March 2, 2025March 6, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Citronics built a router based on the Fairphone 2 mainboard

Destore Citronics Fairphone 2 industrial gateway

Belgium-company Citronics has designed a router based on the mainboard of the Fairphone 2 smartphone, connecting the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 “system-on-module” to a carrier board with Ethernet, USB ports, and other connectors, while leveraging 4G LTE, WiFi, and Bluetooth connectivity from the phone’s core board. Citronics calls this type of hardware “Circular Microcomputers,” which refers to small computers focusing on sustainability and circular economy principles using parts from discarded devices like old smartphones. There’s actually more than one router, as Citronics designed its own development kit, and also partnered with other companies to design custom gateways based on the Fairphone 2 mainboard. Let’s have a look at the devkit first. Citronics devkit: Fairphone 2 mainboard SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 (MSM8974AB) quad core Krait 400 processor @ up to 2.26 GHz with Adreno 330 GPU System Memory – 2 GB LPDDR3 Storage – 32GB eMMC flash Connectivity – 2G/3G/4G LTE, […]

February 25, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 28 Comments

Armbian v25.2 and DietPi v9.11 released with updated Ubuntu and Debian-based Linux images for single board computers

Vendor-provided Linux images for single board computers are not always working optimally, so this post is a regular reminder that users may want to check out Armbian and DietPi projects mostly supported by the community but also backed by some of the vendors who offload some (repackaging) software work to them. Armbian and DietPi are separate projects, but this month, Armbian v25.2 and DietPi v9.11 were almost released simultaneously. I don’t report on each release (should I?), but they release an update every few months. The last time we had a look at both projects was in September 2024 for the releases of DietPi 9.7 and Armbian 24.8. Let’s see what the new releases have to bring. Armbian v25.2 Main changes: New Boards – Rock 2A and 2F, NanoPi R3S, Retroid Pocket RP5, RPMini, Rock 5T, GenBook, MKS-PI, SKIPR, Armsom CM5, NextThing C.H.I.P, Magicsee C400 Plus Rockchip 3588 Improvements – […]