Single Board Computer News - CNX Software

March 26, 2025March 26, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

$23 ArmSoM Forge1 industrial SBC is powered by Rockchip RK3506J SoC

ArmSoM Forge1 is an industrial SBC (single board computer) powered by the Rockchip RK3506J triple-core Cortex-A7 processor designed for Smart Audio, HMI, and factory automation applications. The Forge1 is equipped with 512MB RAM, 512MB NAND flash, two Fast Ethernet ports, a MIPI DSI display connector, USB Type-A and Type-C ports, an audio jack, a 40-pin GPIO header partially compatible with Raspberry Pi HATs, and a 16-pin header with speaker output, microphone input, RS-485, and CAN Bus. ArmSoM Forge1 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3506J CPU 3x Arm Cortex-A7 core up to 1.5 GHz Arm Cortex-M0 real-time core GPU – 2D GPU only No VPU, no NPU System Memory – 512MB DDR3L Storage 512MB SPI NAND flash MicroSD card Video Output – 2-lane MIPI DSI connector up to 1280 x 1280@ 60FPS Audio 3.5mm audio jack Speaker and Mic via expansion header Networking – 2x 100Mbps Ethernet RJ45 ports USB 1x USB […]

March 25, 2025March 25, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Linux 6.14 release – Main changes, Arm, RISC-V, and MIPS architecture

Linus Torvalds has just announced the release of Linux 6.14 on LKML: So it’s early Monday morning (well – early for me, I’m not really a morning person), and I’d love to have some good excuse for why I didn’t do the 6.14 release yesterday on my regular Sunday afternoon release schedule. I’d like to say that some important last-minute thing came up and delayed things. But no. It’s just pure incompetence. Because absolutely nothing last-minute happened yesterday, and I was just clearing up some unrelated things in order to be ready for the merge window. And in the process just entirely forgot to actually ever cut the release. D’oh. So yes, a little delayed for no good reason at all, and obviously that means that the merge window has opened. No rest for the wicked (or the incompetent). Below is the shortlog for the last week. It’s nice and […]

March 23, 2025March 22, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

rpi-image-gen build system creates custom images for Raspberry Pi boards

Raspberry Pi has just released the rpi-image-gen build system to generate custom Raspberry Pi images designed for a specific application and based on packages from the Debian and Raspberry Pi OS repositories I was initially surprised by this announcement, as there are already build tools like the Yocto Project or buildroot designed for this purpose. They are however somewhat complex to use and there’s a steep learning curve, so maybe Raspberry Pi made something easier to use. Let’s have a look. The build is mostly defined by a configuration file which defines the profile and image layout. The company explains the main reasons for creating yet another build system. First, the images are quick to build with the rpi-image-gen build system since you don’t have to build the whole project from source, contrary to something like the Yocto Project which can take hours (for the first build at least). That’s […]

March 21, 2025March 22, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

Mini UPS with 5V, 9V, 12V DC, and PoE output could be useful for routers, security cameras, SBCs, and mini PCs

Mini Uninterruptible Power Supply DC USB PoE

Most uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) require AC voltage and use specific batteries that must be changed every few years. But those may be oversized and not the most efficient if you just want to keep single board computers (SBCs), low-power mini PCs, routers, or security cameras up and running during power failures. Luckily, some mini UPS solutions use standard rechargeable 18650 batteries, output 5V, 9V, or 12V DC, or even PoE (15V/24V) which may be more suitable for those use cases. Many mini UPS solutions come from WGP (Wonderful Green Power), so let’s have a look at the WPG103A model. WPG103A mini UPS specifications: Batteries – 4x 18650 batteries for a combined 10,400 mAh capacity Protection – Overcharge, over-discharge, overcurrent, and short circuit protection Misc – Power button, status LEDs Power Input – 12V/2A via DC jack Power Output 5V via USB Type-A port (likely limited to 1.5A or 2A […]

March 17, 2025March 17, 2025 by Debashis Das - No Comments

IMDT V2N Renesas RZ/V2N SoM powers Edge AI SBC with HDMI, MIPI DSI, dual GbE, WiFi 4, and more

IMD Technologies has recently introduced the IMDT V2N SoM based on the newly launched Renesas RZ/V2N low-power AI MPU and its SBC carrier board designed for robotics, smart cities, industrial automation, and IoT applications. The SoM ships with 8GB RAM and 32GB eMMC flash, and supports various interfaces through B2B connectors including two 4-lane MIPI CSI-2 interfaces, a MIPI DSI display interface, and more. The SBC supports MIPI DSI or HDMI video output, dual GbE, WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.2, as well as expansion capabilities through M.2 sockets. IMDT V2N SBC specifications: IMDT V2N SoM SoC – Renesas RZ/V2N Application Processor – Quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 @ 1.8 GHz (0.9V) / 1.1 GHz (0.8V) L1 cache – 32KB I-cache (with parity) + 32KB D-cache (with ECC) per core L3 cache – 1MB (with ECC, max frequency 1.26 GHz) Neon, FPU, MMU, and cryptographic extension (for security models) Armv8-A architecture System Manager […]

March 17, 2025March 19, 2025 by Debashis Das - 9 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 17, 2025March 16, 2025 by Debashis Das - No Comments

Jetway F35-ASL1 – A 3.5-inch Intel Atom x7433RE SBC with dual 2.5GbE, six COM ports, and triple 4K display outputs

Jetwayipc F35 ASL1 3.5 inch subcompact SBC

Jetway F35-ASL1 3.5-inch subcompact SBC is built around the Intel Atom x7433RE (Amston Lake) processor and designed for industrial and embedded applications. This SBC supports up to 32GB of DDR5 4800MHz memory and offers triple display output via two HDMI ports, one USB Type-C DP, and an LVDS/eDP interface. It also includes two 2.5Gbps Ethernet ports, optional WiFi and Bluetooth and/or 4G LTE /5G cellular connectivity via M.2 slots. Storage options include a SATA III port, an M.2 M-Key, and an optional onboard 64GB eMMC. The board provides extensive I/O with one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, one USB 3.2 Gen 2, eight USB 2.0, and six COM ports. Built for industrial environments, it features a wide DC input range (12–28V) with power protection mechanisms (RVP, OCP, and OVP), and a rugged design supporting shock and vibration resistance. It is suitable for industrial automation, edge computing, IoT, digital signage, and […]

March 9, 2025March 9, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

UP Squared 7100 Review – Part 2: An Intel N100 fanless SBC preloaded with Ubuntu Pro 24.04

I’ve already checked out the hardware of the UP Squared 7100 fanless SBC in the first part of the review with an unboxing and first boot to Ubuntu Pro 24.04. I’ve now had time to test the features of the Intel N100 SBC with Ubuntu Pro, so I’ll report my experience with the system in this second part of the review.

I’ll report my experience with Ubuntu Pro features, test hardware features of the board including GPIOs, check out BIOS options, run a few benchmarks, and measurement power consumption.