Hey, Karl here and I am getting old. I guess middle age is more accurate. Two wonderful kids and I want to stick around for a while. I have not been feeling well and as a result, I picked up strength training as a form of exercise. I started with an adjustable bench and a set of adjustable dumbbells. I trained with them for about 3 months in my office. I had just enough space. I was hooked. I dove in and learned as much as I could on current best practices, and developed a spreadsheet for tracking progress. I started to outgrow the 55lb/25kg adjustable dumbbells with several exercises and the next step was a squat rack, bar, and Olympic weights. My problem was the lack of space. I had a building that was poorly organized. After a bit of organizing, I was able to carve enough space for […]
Makerfabs SenseLora 4G gateway supports LTE Cat 1 and WiFi 4 connectivity, features solar battery charger
The Makerfabs SenseLora 4G Gateway is a device that collects data from LoRa sensors (like temperature and humidity sensors) and sends that data over a 4G network to a cloud service or directly to your phone via SMS, this is ideal for applications where installing a LoRaWAN device is unnecessary or expensive. The application for this gateway includes monitoring soil humidity in your backyard or greenhouse conditions on your farm. Previously we have written about similar smart agriculture sensors including AgroSense LoRaWAN sensors and WisGate Soho Pro RAK7267 LoRaWAN gateway feel free to check those out if you are looking for LoRa-based agricultural products. Makerfabs SenseLora 4G gateway specifications SoC – Espressif ESP32-S3R8 CPU – Dual-core Tensilica LX7 microcontroller up to 240 MHz with vector instructions for AI acceleration Memory – 8MB PSRAM Wireless – WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.0 LE + Mesh connectivity LPWAN connectivity LoRaWAN SX1276 LoRa module Frequencies 868 […]
NBIOT/LTE-M Air Monitor – A solar-powered ESP32-S3 multi-sensor board with SIM7080G NB-IoT & LTE-M modem
The NBIOT/LTE-M Air Monitor is a solar-powered device that utilizes a combination of ESP32-S3 and SIM7080G modules for remote environmental monitoring. It monitors and transmits environmental parameters such as temperature, humidity, CO2, TVOC, and light intensity using low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) technology ensuring efficient power consumption, durability, and reliable data transmission. Previously we have written about similar environment monitor devices like the Airlytix ES1, Sonoff SC WiFi, V-Air Monitro, and devices like Arduino MKR IoT Carrier Rev2, Radair mini gateway, and Nicla Sense ME designed for environment monitoring applications. Feel free to check those out if you are interested in this type of product. NBIOT/LTE-M Air Monitor specification Wireless Module – ESP32-S3-WROOM-1-N16R8 Espressif Systems ESP32-S3R8 – Dual-core Tensilica LX7 @ up to 240 MHz with vector instructions for AI acceleration, 512KB RAM, 8MB PSRAM Storage – 16 MB flash Wireless – 2.4 GHz WiFi 4 and Bluetooth PCB antenna Cellular connectivity Module – SIMCom SIM7080G LTE Cat […]
WisGate Soho Pro RAK7267 LoRaWAN gateway supports LTE Cat 1 and WiFi 4 connectivity, solar battery kits
Designed for both indoor and outdoor deployments, RAKwireless’ WisGate Soho Pro RAK7267 is an 8-channel LoRaWAN gateway with LTE Cat 1 and WiFi 4 connectivity and support for 9V-36V DC input compatible with the company for solar battery kits. The LoRaWAN gateway is based on the MediaTek MT7628 MIPS processor with 256MB RAM and 32MB flash, runs a fork of OpenWrt with a dashboard for configuration, and integrates with WisDM cloud-based IoT management platform. WisGate Soho Pro RAK7267 specifications: SoC – MediaTek MT7628 MIPS processor at 580MHz System Memory – 256MB RAM Storage – 32MB NOR flash, microSD card socket LoRaWAN connectivity to sensors Semtech SX1303 LoRa Concentrator for up to 8 channels Frequencies 868 MHz – EU868/ IN865/ RU864 9150 MHz – US915/ AU915/ KR920/ AS923 Rx Sensitivity – At least -139 dBm Tx Power – Up to 27 dBm LoRaWAN v1.0.3 LoRa Frame filtering (node whitelisting) Buffering of […]
DFM8001 indoor energy harvesting kit harnesses solar energy (and mechanical, thermal, RF energy with extra hardware)
DFRobot DFM8001 indoor ambient energy harvesting kit can power IoT devices by harnessing solar energy, and the company claims it can also capture mechanical, thermal, and RF energy from the local environment but there’s no way to do that with that kit without additional hardware. The DFRobot kit is comprised of an evaluation board with the company DFM8001 energy harvesting module, two pluggable supercapacitors, and a solar panel used as power input. You could also use other sources emitting at least 150 mV gathering energy from RF, thermal, or mechanical sources. The board features two outputs one low-voltage (1.2-1.8V) terminal up to 20mA, and a high-voltage (1.8V-4.1V) terminal up to 80mA, and two battery connectors plus a few jumpers for configuration. DFM8001 energy harvesting kit specifications: Operating voltage – 3.3V to 5.5V DC Cold start condition – Input > 400mV 15uW Sustaining voltage after cold start – 150mV. Input voltage […]
ESP32-S3 PowerFeather board supports up to 18V DC for solar panel input
The ESP32-S3 PowerFeather board is an Adafruit Feather-shaped ESP32-S3 WiFi and BLE IoT board that can be powered by a Li-Ion or LiPo battery and supports up to 18V DC input for direct connection to a solar panel. The developer told CNX Software that the main differentiating factor from other ESP32-S3 development boards was “its extensive power management and monitoring features” with a wide DC input range, supply and battery monitoring, and battery protection features. ESP32-S3 PowerFeather specifications: ESP32-S3-WROOM-1-N8R2 MCU – ESP32-S3 dual-core Tensilica LX7 up to 240 MHz with 512KB SRAM, 16 KB RTC SRAM Memory – 2MB QSPI PSRAM Storage – 8MB QSPI flash Wireless – WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5 LE + Mesh; PCB antenna USB – 1x USB-C 1.1 OTG port for power and programming Expansion 2x 16-pin 2.54 mm pitch headers with 23x multi-function GPIO: UART, I2C, SPI, I2S, SDIO, PWM, CAN, RMT, Camera, LCD […]
Solar power manager module supports 6V-24V input range, battery charging, MPTT function, and outputs 5V/3A
Waveshare Solar Power Manager Module (D) is a compact power module for solar panels with support for 6V to 24V input, MPTT (Maximum Power Point Tracking), and battery charging. It outputs 5V up to 3A via a USB-C port or terminal block and should be suitable for a range of projects. A few weeks ago, we wrote about the FireBeetle 2 ESP32-C6 IoT development board with DFRobot highlighting support for solar charging of lithium batteries thanks the the CN3165 chip. But with a range of just 4.5 to 6V for solar panel input and a lack of support for MPTT, several readers were unimpressed by the solution. The Waveshare Solar Power Manager Module (D) recently popped up in my news feed, and I thought it might be worth a look. Waveshare Solar Power Manager Module (D) specifications: Solar panel input 6V to 24V via DC jack or 2-pole screw terminal […]
This new ESP32-C6-based IoT development board supports solar battery charging
DFRobot’s FireBeetle 2 ESP32-C6 is an IoT Development Board with 802.11ax (now called Wi-Fi 6), Bluetooth 5, Zigbee 3.0, Thread 1.3, and flexible power options including USB Type-C, 5V DC, and a CN3165 Lithium Ion battery charger for solar-powered systems. This isn’t the first solar-based board we’ve covered. We’ve also explored boards like Conexio Stratus, Wisblock Kit 2, and RAK8211-NB iTracker along with other solar-powered devices such as solar-powered laptops, solar-powered headphones, and even a solar-based power supply. FireBeetle 2 ESP32-C6 IoT Development Board Specifications: Processor – ESP32-C6 RISC-V single-core, 160 MHz Memory SRAM – 512KB ROM – 320KB Flash – 4MB RTC SRAM – 16KB USB – USB 2.0 CDC Wi-Fi Protocols – IEEE 802.11b/g/n, IEEE 802.11ax (20 MHz-only non-AP mode) Bandwidth – Supports 20 MHz and 40 MHz at 2.4 GHz Modes – Station, SoftAP, SoftAP+Station Frequency – 2.4GHz Frame Aggregation – TX/RX A-MPDU, TX/RX A-MSDU Bluetooth Protocol […]