We’ve been writing about international Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals and coupon codes since 2014, as US-centric promotions such as Amazon’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals are not always available to the international audience of CNX Software. So once again, we’ve searched at Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2023 international promotions and discount codes from specific manufacturers as well as popular online stores such as Aliexpress, Banggood, and others. Aliexpress Black Friday and Cyber Monday event Aliexpress will have a Black Friday (and Cyber Monday) event in 2023, but we have limited details at this time since it will only start on November 23, contrary to some of the other deals we’ll feature below which are already up and running. But the event will have two periods: Nov 20-22 PT – Warm Up event where users can find and add items to the cart before purchasing during the […]
UniHiker review – A Linux-based STEM education platform with IoT and AI support, Micro:bit edge connector
DFRobot’s UniHiker is a STEM educational platform that was originally launched in China, but now UniHiker is now available worldwide through the DFRobot shop. The company has sent us a UniHiker sample for review, so let’s unpack the kit and learn how to use the UniHiker platform. The main component of the kit is the Linux-powered UniHiker board which features a 2.8-inch resistive touchscreen display and a BBC Micro:bit edge connector, so we can use expansion boards for the Micro:bit board. Let’s start unboxing it together. UniHiker unboxing DFRobot sent us the UniHiker platform by DHL. The package is a familiar-looking DFRobot box in orange color and comes with a plastic box to safely store the UniHiker board and accessories after use. The plastic box contains another plastic box with the board, some 3-pin and 4-pin cables for Gravity ports, and a USB Type-C cable. The UniHiker is like a […]
FireBeetle 2 ESP32-S3 camera board ships 16MB flash, 8MB PSRAM, PCB or external antenna
DFRobot “FireBeetle 2 ESP32-S3” is a 2MP camera board with ESP32-S3N16R8 dual-core WiFi and Bluetooth microcontroller fitted with 16MB flash and 8MB PSRAM, and offered in two versions: a more compact variant with a PCB antenna, and one with an external antenna offering a better signal quality. The FireBeetle 2 ESP32-S3 also features two rows of I/Os with GPIO, I2C, SPI, ADC, USB 2.0, etc…, a USB-C port for power and programming, a few buttons, and support for a LiPo battery through a 2-pin JST connector and a charging circuit. FireBeetle 2 ESP32-S3 specifications: ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 wireless module SoC – ESP32-S3FN16R8 dual-core Tensilica LX7 microcontroller @ 240 MHz with 2.4 GHz 802.11n WiFI 4 and Bluetooth 5.0 LE connectivity Memory – 8MB PSRAM Storage – 16MB SPI flash Camera – Camera connector fitted with 2MP OV2640 camera with 68° FoV, up to 1600×1200 resolution Display – GDI connector for optional 1.54-inch, […]
LattePanda Sigma – An Intel Core i5-1340P Raptor Lake SBC with ATmega32U4 MCU for Arduino support
LattePanda Sigma is a 3.5-inch single board computer (SBC) with an Intel Core i5-1340P Raptor Lake-P processor and a Microchip ATmega32U4 microcontroller to control I/Os with Arduino programming. The board comes with 16GB soldered-on LPDDR5 RAM, supports M.2 NVMe/SATA SSDs and SATA drives for storage, offers HDMI 2.1, eDP, and USB-C DisplayPort video outputs, dual 2.5GbE networking, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, and three M.2 sockets for expansion sich as WiFi or 4G/5G modules. LattePanda Sigma specification SoC – Intel Core i5-1340P 12-core (4P+8E)/16-thread Raptor Lake hybrid processor @ up to 4.6 GHz (Performance cores), 3.4GHz (Efficient cores), 12MB L2 Cache, 80EU Intel Iris Xe Graphics @ up to 1.45 GHz; PBP: 28 W MCU – Microchip ATmega32U4-MU 8-bit AVR microcontroller with 32 KB flash, 2.5 KB SRAM, 1 KB EEPROM System Memory – 16GB dual-channel LPDDR5-6400 Storage – M.2 SSD (NVMe/SATA) socket, SATA III port Display I/F HDMI 2.1 up […]
Offline voice recognition module supports Arduino programming, custom voice commands
We’ve already covered inexpensive offline voice recognition modules based on US516P6 or TW-ASR ONE microcontrollers that allow people to add smarts to their projects without a network connection for improved privacy and lower latency. Those are great in theory, but at the time (April 2022) documentation was lacking or only in Chinese, and they were fairly hard to use based on some of the comments in my earlier posts. But today, I’ve noticed DFRobot is now selling the “Gravity: Offline Voice Recognition Sensor – I2C & UART” module with support for Arduino programming, and it looks fairly easy to customize as we’ll see further below. Gravity Voice Recognition DF2301QG module specifications: Voice recognition module – WS-2520-TR module with MCU – TBD 121 commonly used fixed voice commands, one-fixed wake word Support for 1 learned wake-word, 17 user-defined commands Audio Output – Built-in speaker and external speaker interface Input – Dual […]
Beetle RP2040 is a tiny Raspberry Pi RP2040 board with easily solderable pads
DFRobot Beetle RP2040 joins other miniature Raspberry Pi RP2040 developments boards such as Pimoroni Tiny 2040 & Adafruit QT Py RP2040, but with only eight GPIOs accessible through larger pads that are easier to solder. The tiny 27 x 20 mm board comes with a USB Type-C port, BOOT and reset buttons, and twelves pads with a through hole each comprised of eight GPIOs, plus VCC, 3.3V, and GNS pads. The Beetle RP2040 is designed to be embedded into small devices or projects, and the company selected I/Os that can be configured as I2C, UART, SPI, GPIOs, analog input, etc… Beetle RP2040 specifications: MCU – Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Cortex-M0+ microcontroller@ up to 133Mhz with 264kB of SRAM Storage – 2MB QSPI flash USB – USB 1.1 Type-C port for power, data, and programming I/Os 12x golden pads with through hole for 8x I/Os pins enabling up to 2x I2C, […]
$30 Raspberry Pi CM4 IoT Router Carrier Board Mini offers Dual Gigabit Ethernet
We’ve recently written about Seeed Studio’s “Dual Gigabit Ethernet Carrier Board for Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4” that offers dual Gigabit Ethernet, and two USB 3.0 ports for software router applications, but it can also be used for IoT, Smart Home, and camera projects, as well as HTPC maker thanks to micro HDMI output and MIPI DSI/CSI connector. It is sold for an affordable $45, exceeding the Raspberry Pi CM4 module. But if all you want to do is get a dual Gigabit Ethernet WiFi router or IoT gateway, DFRobot has now introduced a more compact and cheaper carrier board for Raspberry Pi CM4: “Compute Module 4 IoT Router Carrier Board Mini“. CM4 IoT Router Board Mini specifications: Compatible Module – Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 / 4 Lite with Broadcom BCM2711 quad-core Cortex-A72 processor, up to 8GB RAM, up to 32GB flash, optional 802.11b/g/n/ac WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0 […]
12.5-inch 4K IPS Touchscreen Display Works with Raspberry Pi 4B and other 4K SBC’s
There are plenty of displays for the Raspberry Pi boards, but if you are looking for a high-resolution display with capacitive multi-touchscreen it may be challenging to find. DFRobot may have what you are looking for though with a 12.5″ 4K IPS touchscreen display. The company says it’s compatible with Raspberry Pi 4B SBC, but since it comes with a mini HDMI input port, it should really work with any 4K capable SBC’s or computers. Key features & specifications: 12.5-inch IPS Pro display with 4K UHD (3840×2160) resolution, 60 Hz refresh rate, HDR, 10-point touch 100% Color gamut, 400cd/㎡ brightness, 178° viewing angle Video Input – Mini HDMI input Audio – Built-in left and right loudspeaker, 3.5mm audio jack (output) USB – 2x USB Type-C ports both supporting touch/data and power Misc – Function menu button, power LED, power button Power Supply – Via USB-C port (USB-PD supported) Dimensions – […]