openwrt News - Page 31 of 36 - CNX Software

December 14, 2015December 14, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

WiTi Router Board Powered by Mediatek MT7621A SoC Now Sells for $79

MQmaker launched their WiTi router on Indiegogo in early August, and they raised close to $30,000, enough to go into production. However, some people are understandably wary of crowdfunding campaigns, and likely postponed their decision to see how the project would progress. The good news is that the AC1200 board is now available for $79 + shipping ($9.05 in my case) on Aliexpress. WiTi router specifications have not changed much: Processor – Mediatek MT7621A dual core MIPS 1004Kc processor @ 880Mhz System Memory – 256MB RAM Storage – 16MB SPI NOR flash for firmware, 1x micro SD slot, and 2x SATA 3.0 ports supporting 3.5″ hard drives. Connectivity 2.4 GHz WiFi 802.11b/g/n up to 300Mbps 5 GHz WiFi 802.11a/n/ac up to 867Mbps 2x Gigabit Ethernet WAN ports 4x Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports 2x RF Antenna Connectors USB – 1x USB3.0 port Expansion – 30-pin header including USB, I2S, JTAG, UART, and GPIO […]

December 5, 2015December 13, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 30 Comments

$15 PINE64 64-Bit ARM Single Board Computer is Powered by Allwinner R18 Processor (Crowdfunding)

It looks like Next Things’ C.H.I.P computer with Allwinner R8 processor will soon have a big brother with PINE A64 board powered by Allwinner R18 / A64 quad core Cortex A53 processor, and made by a US start-up also called PINE 64. PINE A64 and PINE A64+, a version with more memory and features, will have the following specifications: SoC – Allwinner R18 (based on Allwinner A64?) quad core ARM Cortex A53 processor @ 1.2 GHz with Mali-400MP2 GPU System Memory PINE64 – 512 MB DDR3 PINE64+ – 1 GB DDR3 Storage – micro SD slot supporting up to 256 GB Video Output HDMI 1.4 up to 4K resolution @ 30 Hz PINE64+ only – 4-lane MIPI DSI connector and touch panel connector Video Codecs – H.265 up to 4K Audio – HDMI, 3.5 mm headphone jack Connectivity PINE64 – Fast Ethernet + optional WiFi & Bluetooth module PINE64+ – […]

December 1, 2015December 1, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Quick Start Guide for LinkIt Smart 7688 (Duo) Board

Mediatek Labs has announced LinkIt Smart 7688 development boards powered by Mediatek MT7688 WiSoC earlier today, but I was selected for a close beta several weeks before the launch, and I’ve had time to play a little with the boards, so today I’ll report my experience getting started with LinkIt Smart 7688 amd 7688 Duo by writing a Quick Start Guide showing how to setup the boards, upgrade firmware, access the serial console, run “Blink LED” sample applications with Python and JavaScript, as well as the Arduino IDE, and connect to the Internet. Initial Setup You’ll only need a micro USB cable and a computer with WiFi and USB ports to get started with the board. The green LED (top) for the MCU will turn on immediately, while the red LED (bottom) for WiFI will blink once, and only turn on continuously after 5 seconds, and within 30 seconds after […]

December 1, 2015November 7, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Mediatek LinkIt Smart 7688 and Smart 7688 DUO Boards Run OpenWRT for IoT Applications

MediaTek LinkIt is a collection of development platforms designed for the prototyping of wearables and Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and last year they started with LinkIt ONE board based on Mediatek MT2501 “Aster” micro-controller and featuring WiFi, Bluetooth, GPSD and GSM/GPRS connectivity. Mediatek Labs has now launched two new LinkIt board, namely LinkIt Smart 7688 and LinkIt Smart 7688 DUO, both powered by Mediatek MT7688 MIPS processor and running OpenWRT, with the latter also adding an Atmel ATmega32U4 for Arduino compatibility. LinkIt Smart 7688 Board LinkIt Smart 7688 is then the simpler of the two with the following specifications: Processor – Mediatek MT7688AN MIPS24KEc processor @ 580 MHz with WiFi System Memory – 128MB DDR2 RAM. Storage – 32MB flash + micro SD slot Connectivity – 1T1R Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n with chip antenna and I-PEX conector USB – 1x micro USB host port, 1x micro USB port for power […]

November 23, 2015November 23, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 21 Comments

MIPS Creator Ci40 Development Board Powered by cXT200 SoC Launched for $53 on Kickstarter

Last year, Imagination Technologies launched their first community development board with MIPS Creator CI20 powered by Ingenic JZ4780 dual core MIPS processor running both Android and Linux, and now supported by various projects. The company has been teasing about its MIPS Creatort Ci40 for a few weeks, and was already announced as the MIPS platform of choice for Google Brillo operating system, but the board has now officially been launched via a Kickstarter campaign where you can get the board for $53, as well as some add-on boards. But instead of using a processor from one of their partner, Imagination just designed their own MIPS interAptiv SoC for the board. Creator Ci40 board specifications: SoC – Imagination Technologies Creator cXT200 with 2x MIPS interAptiv core @ 550MHz, 512KB L2 cache, and an Ensigma C4500 RPU (for 802.11ac/ BT 4.1 LE) System Memory – 256 MB DDR3 Storage – 512 MB […]

November 13, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Turris Omnia Open Source Hardware Router’s Crowdfunding Campaign is Up

CZ.NIC is a non-profit organization running the .cz domain of the Czech Republic, and as part of their activities they are also making open source hardware routers such as Turris 1.1 based on Freescale QorIQ P2020 communication processor. I’ve previously written about Turris Omnia router based on Marvell ARMADA 385 dual core processor, and the organization has now launched an Indiegogo campaign where you can get the bare board for $99, and a complete router with WiFi modules, power supply, cables, and enclosure for $189, shipping not included. Turris Omnia router specifications: Processor – Marvell ARMADA 385 (88F6820) dual core ARMv7 processor @ 1.6 GHz with 1MB L2 cache System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 4GB flash, mSATA slot Connectivity 5x Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports 1x Gigabit Ethernet WAN port 1x SFP cage 3×3 MIMO 802.11ac, 2×2 MIMO 802.11 b/g/n (Included in router perk, not with bare board) SIM […]

November 9, 2015November 9, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

SolidRun ClearFog Pro and Base Router Boards Feature Marvell ARMADA 380/388 Processor

Last month, I wrote about Turris Omnia an upcoming open source hardware router board with 6 Gigbit Ethernet ports and an SFP cage powered by Marvell ARMADA 385 processor. SolidRun has now unveiled ClearFog Pro router board with similar features, but opting instead for either Marvell ARMADA 380 or 388 processor. The company will also soon launch or lower-end version called ClearFog Base with the less ports, but with the same system-on-module as ClearFog Pro: Processor – Marvell ARMADA 380 (88F6810) single core or 388 (88F6828) dual core ARMv7 processor (Cortex A9 class) @ up to 1.6 GHz with 1MB L2 cache, NEON and FPU System Memory – 256MB to 1GB 16-bit DDR3L (ARMADA 380) or 32-bit DDR3L (ARMADA 388) Storage Pro version – M.2 slot, 1x micro SD slot, 2x mSATA/mPCIE Base version – M.2 slot, 1x micro SD slot, 1x mSATA/mPCIE Connectivity Pro version – 6x switched Gigabit […]

October 21, 2015October 21, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

How to Use an ESP8266 Board as a WiFi to Serial Debug Board

Telnet and SSH are great to access a Linux device, machine and computer remotely when they are already running, but when you are working on the bootloader and/or kernel themselves, you’ll have to use a serial port to access the terminal / serial console. Boards used to get an RS232 port which you connected to your computer with a NULL modem cable, but these days, most boards and devices expose TTL signals and require a USB to TTL debug board to access the console via a USB cable. If you only have one device close to you computer that’s fine, but if your testbed is a little further. or you need to access the serial console on multiple boards you could consider using ESP8266 module to export the terminal over WiFi. This is exactly what Zoobab did above with a GL.inet router running OpenWRT and NodeMCU board with ESP-12(E) module […]