The Waveshare Thermal Imaging Camera module comes in two variants, namely the Thermal-45/90 Camera Raspberry Pi HAT and Thermal-45/90 USB Camera. The main difference between the two is that the HAT is designed to be attached to a Raspberry Pi, Pi Zero, or any other SBC that features a Pi-compatible pin layout like the Sipeed Longan Pi3H, Banana Pi BPI-M4, Radxa Zero 3W SBC, and others. On the other hand, the USB module can be connected to any PC, Android, or other device with a USB connection. The camera features a shutterless design, which is why it can produce a thermal imaging video stream output of up to 25 frames per second (FPS). Additionally, Waveshare offers options for different fields of view (FOV) – a basic version with a 45° FOV and a wide-angle version with a 90° FOV, making it suitable for applications like IR thermometers, industrial temperature control, […]
Openterface Mini-KVM is an affordable KVM-over-USB device (Crowdfunding)
Openterface Mini-KVM compact, open-source hardware KVM-over-USB device with HDMI and audio inputs which connects over a USB-C port to the host computer. We’ve seen quite a few low-cost KVM-over-IP solutions based on single board computers over the years, but the Openterface Mini-KVM is quite different (and cheaper) as a plug-and-play and network-independent KVM-over-USB device that establishes a direct HDMI and USB connection between the host computer and the target device. It supports many of the same features as KVM-over-IP solutions except for some features such as ATX support found in the PiKVM v4 Plus or the Pi-Cast KVM with an expansion board that allows the target device to be turned off and from the host device. Mini-KVM (model LIG03D01) specifications: Control method – KVM-over-USB Video capture – Up to 1920×1080 @ 30 Hz with under 140ms latency through HDMI or VGA (the latter requires an add-on VGA-to-HDMI cable) Audio capture […]
SBC Case Builder v3.0 can create thousands of cases for popular SBCs and standard motherboards (mini-ITX, Pico-ITX, NUC…)
SBC Case Builder V3.0 case design utility has just been released with the ability to create over 1,000 standard cases – not including customization – for popular SBCs from Raspberry Pi, Hardkernel, Orange Pi, Radxa, and others, as well as standard motherboards following Mini-ITX, Pico-ITX, NUC, Nano-ITX, etc.., and SBC adapters following these standards, meaning you could install a Raspberry Pi 5 into a mini-ITX case if needed. SBC Case Builder started as a command line utility for designing DIY case for SBCs relying on OpenSDAD in April 2022, but Edward Kisiel (hominoids) quickly released version 2 with a GUI in October or the same, and has now further improved the utility with the release of SBC Case Builder v3.0. Version 3.0 comes with many improvements but the main focus was to reuse existing and new PC standard form factor cases by creating SBC adapters and custom I/O Shields since […]
FLIR Si2 acoustic imaging camera features 124 microphones to detect leaks and faults up to 200 meters away
Teledyne FLIR is well known for its thermal imaging infrared cameras, but the FLIR Si2 is different as instead of measuring temperature, the acoustic imaging camera is equipped with 124 sensitive microphones to detect leaks, electrical discharge, and mechanical faults up to 200 meters away. The acoustic imaging camera also comes with a 5-inch display and a 12MP RGB camera. It is available in three variants: the FLIR Si2-PD for partial discharge detection, the Si2-LD for air leak and mechanical fault detection, and the Si2 Pro capable of handling both. FLIR Si2 specifications: Display – 5-inch resistive touchscreen TFT PCB with 1280 × 720 resolution Measurement and analysis FLIR Si2-LD Detection threshold 20 kHz: -7 dB SPL 35 kHz: 4 dB SPL 50 kHz: 10 dB SPL 80 kHz: 36 dB SPL 100 kHz: 51 dB SPL Supported gases: Compressed air, hydrogen, CO2, methane, natural gas, helium, argon, ammonia Other […]
RAKwireless open sources RUI3 multi-target IoT development platform
RAKwireless has made its RUI3 IoT software development platform open-source so that customers or users can implement “nice-to-have” features on top of the features already implemented by the company which could make it even more versatile in a wider range of IoT scenarios. Introduced in 2022, the RAK Unified Interface v3, or RUI3 for shorts, is a modular IoT platform based on the Arduino SDK with additional functions for IoT connectivity and low power that supports a variety of devices and applications. So developers can learn the language, code once, and use the same software on multiple WisBlock core platforms including Nordic Semi nRF52, STM32, ESP32, and Raspberry Pi RP2040 instead of having to juggle between different the Arduino BSP, the ESP-IDF framework, Nordic nRF Connect SDK, or Raspberry Pi C SDK. Users could already use the RUI3 firmware with the RAK3172 (STM32), RAK4630/RAK4631 (nRF52), or RAK11720 (Apollo3) WisBlock Core […]
Xtherm II TS2+ review – A 256×192 thermal imager tested with an Android smartphone
Shortly after I wrote about the Mustool MT13S 2-in-1 thermal imager and multimeter, Xinfrared asked me if I wanted to review the Xtherm II TS2+ thermal imager for smartphones. They offer versions that work for Android or iOS smartphones, so the company sent me the Android version of the Xtherm II TS2+ for review. After listing the key features and specifications, I’ll go through an unboxing, and report my experience using the thermal imager with the OPPO A98 5G smartphone running Android 14. Xtherm II TS2+ specifications Minimum focus – 8mm Resolution – 256×192 Pixel Pitch – 12μm FOV – 44.9° x 33.4° Image Frame Rate – 25Hz NETD (Noise Equivalent Temperature Difference) – ≤40mK@25°C, F#1.0 MRTD (Minimum Resolvable Temperature Difference) – ≤500mK@25°C,F#1.0 Temperature Range Measurements- -20°C ~ +450°C with ±2°C or ±2% reading accuracy Operating – -20°C ~ +50°C Temperature Correction – Manual/automatic Power Consumption – <350mW Dimensions – […]
LibreVNA open-source USB vector network analyzer (VNA) works in the 100kHz to 6GHz range
Jan Käberich’s LibreVNA is an open-source hardware USB vector network analyzer (VNA) based on a Spartan-6 FPGA, an STM32 microcontroller, and RF circuitry with MAX2871 and Si5351C chips. The open-source VNA supports two channels and works in the 100kHz to 6GHz frequency range. Vector network analyzers are expensive pieces of electronic test equipment used to measure the magnitude and phase of high-frequency electrical networks costing several thousand dollars. They are commonly used in radio frequency (RF) and microwave engineering applications. Last year, we wrote that Pico Technology released PicoVNA 5 software for Linux, Raspberry Pi, and macOS instead of only providing a Windows program for their commercial PicoVNA devices. I thought it was already a good development even if it was closed-sourced, but LibreVNA goes all the way with an open-source hardware design with hardware design files, the FPGA code, STM32 firmware, and PC software (GUI) all open-source. LivreVNA hardware […]
$166 Mustool MT13S thermal imager doubles as multimeter
Mustool MT13S is a relatively inexpensive 2-in-1 thermal imager and multimeter with a 2.8-inch touchscreen display and an IR camera with a 192×192 resolution. Thermal cameras used to be quite expensive, but in recent years, we’ve seen cheaper models such as the HT-102 thermal camera for Android smartphones and M5Stack T-Lite Wi-Fi thermal camera, but those integrate fairly small 32×32 and 32×24 pixels IR arrays, The Mustool MT13S provides a higher resolution 192×192 thermal camera and doubles as a 10,000-count multimeter for about $166 plus shipping on Banggood or around $177 including shipping on Aliexpress. Mustool MT13S specifications: Thermal imaging Sensor – Uncooled focal plane Image capture frequency – 20Hz Thermal imaging resolution – 192 x 192 Display image resolution – 240 x 240 Field of view (FoV) – 50.0(H) × 50(V)/72.1(D) Emissivity – 0.1-0.99 is tunable and 0.95 is the default Temperature Range – -20°C to +550°C Accuracy – […]