Reviews - Page 49 of 126 - CNX Software

April 13, 2020February 5, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

HeimVision HM241 NVR Review – Part 2: Installation Tips, Video Interface, Android App

A coupled of weeks ago, I received HeimVision HM241 HD NVR kit, and in the first part of the review, I showed the content of the kit, installed an internal 3.5″ hard drive, and did a teardown of both the NVR and one camera. I’ve now had time to test the device for about two weeks. I have plans to install it permanently in another location, but for testing, I temporarily installed the camera for testing in several strategic locations: 3 outdoors, one indoors. Back inside, I connected the NVR device (black box below) to an Ethernet switch for Internet connectivity, a 4K TV to access the user interface, a USB mouse, and the power supply. First Boot and Configuration I was quite surprised during the first boot as I did not have to set up anything and the cameras were automatically detected. The first screen shows QR code for […]

March 23, 2020August 3, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

HeimVision HM241 HD NVR Kit Review – Part 1: Unboxing, Teardown and HDD Installation

I’ve reviewed a few solar-powered security cameras in the last year, and from time to time, I’m being asked to review more from time to time, but I asked for a change, and instead, I wanted to look into security network video recorders (NVR). HeimVision offered this opportunity with its HM241 HD NVR Kit which they also call a “wireless security camera system”, and comes with 4 Full HD security cameras besides the NVR itself. In the first part of the review, I’ll check out the hardware, and take the opportunity to install a 3.5″ hard drive, before doing a proper installation, and report my experience about the software in one or two extra articles. HM241 HD NVR Kit Unboxing People working at customs seem to be fond of larger packages, checked it out in details hence the “Opened and Releases” sticker on the package, and I had to pay […]

March 20, 2020October 3, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

A First Look at Otii Arc Power Supply, Power Meter, and DAQ Unit

I have recently been contacted by a Swedish company called Qoitech about their Otii solution that aims to help hardware and software engineers achieve long battery life for their IoT devices or apps. At the heart of Otii is Otii Arc hardware that acts as a power supply, voltage and current meter, and data acquisition (DAQ) unit. The company has now sent me a unit for review. I’ll start with a first quick post describing the device and checking out the hardware and interfaces, before writing my experience, or a getting started guide, with Otti hardware and software. Otii Arc specifications: Current/Voltage Measurement Current Accuracy – ±(0.1% + 50 nA) Sample Rate – in ±19 mA range: 4 ksps; in ±2.7 A range: 1 ksps; in 0 – 5 A range: 1 ksps Analog Bandwidth (3dB) – 400 Hz Voltage Total accuracy – ±(0.1% + 1.5 mV) Sample Rate – […]

February 11, 2020February 11, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 19 Comments

KKSB Raspberry Pi 4 Aluminum Case Review – Benchmarks at Stock Clock and Overclocked to 2.0 GHz

KKSB is a Swedish company designing and manufacturing metallic products for various open-hardware products such as single board computers including Raspberry Pi, Arduino, ODROID, Orange Pi and others, as well as mobile phone and tablet stands, and they also have a mini-ITX case planned for March. The company approached CNX Software to review their latest Raspberry Pi 4 case, and I was interested to find out how it would handle cooling. KKSB Raspberry Pi 4 Case Aluminum Unboxing So I recently received the enclosure in a mostly white package. The case comes in two parts as well as a thermal pad for the processor, mounting screws, rubber pads, and two plastic bits for the LED. Aluminum Case Assembly First, peel over the plastic film on one side of the thermal pad, and place it on the extrusion for the processor on the top part of the enclosure. Remove the second […]

February 10, 2020February 10, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

GOLE F7 Windows 10 Tablet Review – Part 2: Barcode & QR Code Scanner, NFC, and Ruggedness

GOLE F7 is a waterproof, shock resistant, rugged tablet running Windows 10 Pro 64-bit. The company sent us a sample together with a charging dock, and you can check out “GOLE F7 Rugged Tablet Review – Part 1: Unboxing and Charging Dock” to find out more about the hardware interface and other physical features of the tablet. I’ve now spent more time with the tablet and tested some of the features such as Barcode scanner and NFC reader. I’ve only done minimal testing of the usual Windows 10 benchmarks since the Intel Atom x5-Z8350 processor powering the tablet has been around for many years, and we have previous mini PC’s reviews showing the performance of the platform in Windows 10 with MINIX NEO Z83-4 Pro or even the previous GOLE F10 model. Instead, I’ve focused on the differentiating features including the ruggedness of the device. GOLE F7 System Info Windows […]

February 9, 2020December 15, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Yeelight Smart LED Bulb 1S (Color) Review with Android App and Google (Local) Home

Yeelight Smart LED Bulb Google Local Home

Last summer, Google released the Local Home SDK developer preview which allows developers to run actions and use resources on the local device rather than in the Cloud for lower latency. One company that updated its devices is Yeelight whose WiFi smart lights have now been enhanced with the Google Local Home SDK helping deliver a latency of less than 0.3 seconds, so you don’t need to wait after your voice command has been processed by Google Assistant. The company contacted me to test the new feature and had GearBest sent a sample of Yeelight Smart LED Bulb 1S (Color) for review. I have never tested Yeelight devices so I’ll start with an unboxing, testing with the Android app, before trying it out with Google Home and Google Assistant. Unboxing of Yeelight Smart LED Bulb 1S (Color) The package has some useful information about the light bulb including some specifications […]

February 3, 2020March 16, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Reolink Argus PT Review – A Solar powered Pan-Tilt Security Camera

Last year, I reviewed Reolink Argus Eco solar powered security camera, and I’m still using it to date. It’s working fairly well, although sometimes motion detection will not be triggered, or triggered too slowly so it’s not impossible to miss important footage. The PIR function can be tweaked so maybe it’s just a question of finding the right settings for a given location. Nevertheless, the company has now launched a new model called Reolinkg Argus PT that is very similar to the Argus Ego but with PT (Pan, Tilt) function, and I received a sample for review. Since both models are so similar, I recommend reading Argus Eco review first, as I’ll focus on the differences. Reolink Argus PT Unboxing I received two packages like las time: the camera itself, and Reolink solar panel. The camera comes with a WiFi antenna, a wall-mounting set, a USB cable, and some documentation. […]

January 30, 2020 by Ian W MORRISON (Linuxium) - 4 Comments

Beelink Gemini T45 Pentium N4200 Mini PC Review

Beelink T45-Pentium N4200 Mini PC Review

No sooner had I written ‘Beelink T45 Review with Windows and Linux, and Tweaking BIOS Power Limits’ than Beelink announce they wouldn’t in fact sell that configuration but an ‘updated’ version. And it is significantly different because this new version is now actively cooled and uses an Apollo Lake N4200 processor. It also still has the same name: the Beelink Gemini T45. I’ve now reviewed this new version and you may experience déjà vu on reading the following as in keeping with Beelink’s philosophy I’ve basically reused the same text as before and just updated where appropriate. Beelink have further extended their ‘Gemini’ range of mini PCs by adding the T45. This is an actively cooled mini PC that uses the slightly older Apollo Lake Intel Pentium N4200 CPU which is a quad-core 4-thread 1.10 GHz processor boosting to 2.50 GHz with Intel’s HD Graphics 505. The T45 is a […]