Hardware Category - Page 1060 of 1115 - CNX Software

February 20, 2013May 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

$59 pcDuino – AllWinner A10 Board with Arduino Compatible Headers

pcDuino is a new development board based on AllWinner A10 Cortex A8 SoC that comes with 1GB RAM and 2GB NAND Flash, HDMI output, as well as USB and Ethernet RJ45 ports, and is said to feature 2.54mm pin headers compatible with Arduino boards. Here are the pcDuino specifications: SoC – AllWinner A10 ARM Cortex A8 CPU @ 1GHz + Mali-400 GPU System Memory – 1GB DRAM Storage – 2GB Flash + SD card slot for up to 32GB Video Output – HDMI USB – 2x USB 2.0 Host Connectivity: Ethernet – 10/100 Mbps (RJ45) Wi-Fi – Via USB Wi-Fi dongle (not included with the board) Headers – 2.54mm pin headers: 1x UART, 6x ADCs, 2x PWMs up to 24MHz, 14x GPIOs, 1x I2C and 1x SPI. Power Supply – 5V/2A Dimensions – 125mm x 52mm The board comes preloaded with Ubuntu 12.10, but it also supports Android 4.0 ICS. […]

February 18, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

How to Open an Android mini PC / HDMI TV Dongle

Since I’ve been asked, I’ve done a short video showing how to open an Android mini PC, namely Droid Stick A2. As most casings are based on similar design the same method can be used for many other mini PCs that comes with a plastic casing. Some other mini PCs with a metallic casing, such as Hi802, need to be opened with a different, and IMHO easier, method as you just have to remove 2 screws. For Droid Stick A2, all you need is a flat head precision screwdriver. First look for small spaces between the two parts of the casing, insert the screwdriver where the largest space is, and gently lift it up. Watch the video below for a demo. Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews […]

February 18, 2013February 18, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

Weightless Overview and Neul Iceni, The First Weightless Chip

The Weightless Special Interest Group (SIG) has recently announced the world’s first transceiver chip using the Weightless Specification and operating over white space spectrum. Neul Iceni chipset makes use of the entire TV white space spectrum to provide low power connectivity for M2M and IoT applications using the Weightless Standard. Weightless Standard Overview Since this is the first time I write about the Weightless standard, let’s see what it is and what will be used for. There has been a lot of talk about the Internet of Things (IoT) and machine to machine communication (M2M), but one of the limiting factor is currently the cost of technology (and networks?) to provide communication. That is where “white space” spectrum comes into play. A large spectrum was used by analog TV channels, and since many countries have now switched to digital TV, part of this spectrum is unallocated (hence the name “white […]

February 18, 2013February 18, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

PQ Labs iStick A200 Android mini PC Connects to G4 Series Multi-Touch Screens

PQ Labs iStick A200 is a Rockchip RK3066 Android 4.1.1 mini PC with 2 GB RAM, 4 GB Flash, an HDMI (female) output, a USB 2.0 Host port, and a miniUSB port for power. Pretty boring stuff if you ask me… And I would not be writing about it, if the company hadn’t interfaced their infrared touch frames to this mini PC to allow 10-point multi-touch on a large screen or projector output, making it a pretty good solution for conferences and interactive digital signage. Before going further, let’s have a look at the details of specifications for the iStick A200: SoC – ARM Cortex A9 Dual Core @ 1.6Ghz with HyperSpeed (Equivalent to 2.0Ghz Dual Core) and Quad Core Mali400 GPU (cnxsoft: It has to be Rockchip RK3066) System Memory – 2 GB DRAM chipset Storage – 4 GB NAND flash + microSD socket (Up to 32 GB) Video […]

February 15, 2013February 16, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Gumstix Introduces Geppetto Web Platform to Design Custom Embedded Boards

Gumstix, the company behind the Overo computers-on-module (COMs), has recently announced an online platform called Geppetto that allows anybody with a proper web browser (e.g. Chrome or Firefox) to design and order a complete baseboard for the Overo COMs. You don’t need to know anything about schematics, PCB layout, or other lecrtical engineering knowledges. The program lets you set the board size, add modules (e.g. USB, HDMI, Ethernet…) as you wish, tells you which connections are required, and once the board is done, you can see your 3D rendered board. You can then save it to the cloud with an option to share it with the community, and you can just order it. The learning curve is very short, and once you know how to use it, it probably takes around 10 minutes to design a complete board. Your fearless CNXSoft had to give it a try… First, point your […]

February 14, 2013February 14, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

Electronics Shop in Thailand – What Will $33 Buy?

Since I was in urgent need for a 5V/3A power adapter, I decided to go shopping locally (in Chiang Mai, Thailand) at some computer shopping malls, where they also have some spare parts. We spent about 1h30 visiting around 10 shops with no success: most of them did not have 5V power supply for sale, and those who did, could only provide 5V/2A power adapters. Finally, one guy at a shop was very helpful, and tried to help us without success, but finally he said you should go to “Amorn“, and after driving a few kilometers we got there. When I entered the shop I started to see some pretty interesting equipments: multi-meters, full sized oscilloscopes from 11,000 Bath (~370 USD), electronics cards for appliances (ventilators washing machine, car audio, amplifiers…), soldering irons, ribbon cables, components (capacitors, but no resistors), and much more. It turns out “Amorn Electronics Center” has […]

February 13, 2013February 17, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 27 Comments

ARMBRIX Zero Cortex A15 Development Board Unboxing Pictures

I’ve just received an early sample of ARMBRIX Zero (aka ARMBRIX-5250-A), a development board based on Samsung Exynos 5250 dual cortex A15 processor with 2GB RAM, a microSD slot, 1x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0 Host, 1x USB Device, 10/100 Ethernet, HDMI output, SATA 3.0, some Audio I/O ports, and 3 expansions headers. This is basically a low cost version of the Arndale board, with things such as eMMC 4.5 (Sorry I’ve missed the eMMC socket at the back of the board) sensors missing. Today, I won’t turn the board on (I’ll explain why at the end of the post), but instead show some pictures of the development and debug boards. If you had previously seen the board picture before, you’ll noticed it has a grown a heatsink. The heatsink is probably here to stay, but may be slightly different (e.g. lower) when you receive your board. The bottom acrylic […]

February 12, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Pipo Max M9 Android 4.1 Tablet Powered by Rockchip RK3188

I first heard about Rockchip RK3188 quad core Cortex A9 at the end of 2012, Rockchip showcased an RK3188 tablet development platform at CES 2013, and we were told the first tablet would ship in March without more details about available models. It appears Pipo Max M9 may be one of the first RK3188 available for purchase. This Android 4.1 tablet features a 10″ IPS display with 1280 x 800 resolution, 2 GB RAM, and 16 GB Flash. Here are the full specifications for PiPO MAX M9: SoC – Rockchip RK3188 Quad core Cortex A9 @ 1.8GHz with Mali-400MP4 GPU @ 533 MHz. System Memory – 2 GB RAM Storage – 16 GB flash + microSD slot Display – 10.1″ IPS display with 10-Point capacitive touch screen. Resolution: 1280 x 800 pixels Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n Bluetooth 2.1 3G via external USB dongle Camera – 2.0MP front camera, 5.0MP rear […]