CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

February 25, 2022July 31, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

RISC-V design challenge – Get a free board, RISC-V chips, and cash prizes

A little while ago, I wrote about WCH CH32V307 32-bit RISC-V MCU that was found in a board with eight UART ports that could be controlled over Ethernet or USB, and the company has released some source code to use the board while inviting the community to submit pull requests to the project. But now WCH, RT-Thread, LCSC, and EasyEDA have joined hands to launch the RISC-V design challenge where the companies will provide a free board or two RISC-V chips to selected participants, as well as cash prizes with up to $1000 offered to the best projects. The companies have prepared 300 boards and 200 chips for this contest. All you need to do to get a chance to get either one CH32V307V-EVT-R1 development board or two CH32V307 RISC-V microcontrollers is to enter your contact and project details in this Google form by April 30, 2022. The conditions are […]

February 25, 2022March 3, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Raspberry Pi 5G Development Kit to ship with Quectel RM50xQ or Telit FN980 modem

SixFab is now taking pre-orders for its “Raspberry Pi 5G Development Kit” equipped with either Quectel RM50xQ or Telit FN980 5G modem fitted to SixFab’s Raspberry Pi 5G HAT, all housed in a plastic and acrylic enclosure with four antennas. The selected modems rely on the worldwide 5G NR Sub-6GHz and mmWave frequency bands, and the company says a data throughput of up to 5.0 Gbps (download) and 1.0 Gbps (upload) is possible with the kit. SixFab explained the 5G devkit is designed to help with the development, optimization, and testing of MTC (Machine-type Communication) and M2M projects leading to products such as IoT gateways, indoor and outdoor CPE, high bitrate video streaming, real-time sensor data broadcasting, high-speed mobile 5G hotspot, etc. SixFab Raspberry Pi 5G Development Kit specifications: Works with Raspberry Pi 4 or compatible SBC’s with USB 3.0 port Raspberry Pi 5G HAT with M.2 socket optionally fitted […]

ArmSoM RK3588 AIModule7 NVIDIA Jetson Nano-compatible SOM

February 24, 2022October 17, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Pigeon RB700 is a DIN Rail automation controller with RS-485, RS-232, Ethernet, CAN FD, 1-WIRE, RS-232, and more

We’re covered DIN-Rail industrial computers powered by Raspberry Pi CM4 module, but Kristech’s Pigeon RB700 automation controller may be the one with the most features so far thanks to two RS-485 ports, two Ethernet ports, CAN FD, 1-WIRE, RS-232, 12 digital inputs (8 optoisolated, 4 dry contacts), and 8 digital outputs. That’s for the common features present in all variants including RB700 Essense. The RB700 Standard model adds UPS, HDMI, analog I/Os, and TPM, while the RB700 Advance is further equipped with two M.2 sockets (for SSD and/or cellular modem) and two additional RS-232 ports. Pigeon RB700 specifications: Supported SoM- Raspberry Pi CM4 with up to 8GB RAM, up to 32GB flash, optional WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0 module Video Output (Standard and Advance) – HDMI port Networking – 2x Ethernet ports USB – 2x or 3x USB 2.0 ports Wired communication interfaces 3x RS-232, 2x RS-485, CAN FD, 1-Wire […]

February 24, 2022February 28, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 35 Comments

Raspberry Pi 4 4GB/8GB price is going through the roof (over 100 Euros in Europe)

While Raspberry Pi Foundation provides a fixed price for their single board computers before taxes and shipping, the street price may be different, and I’ve seen several reports on Twitter of the Raspberry Pi 4 with 4GB RAM now selling for over $100 due to the lack of supplies. The problem seems especially pronounced in Europe with some users reporting a price close to 120 Euros, instead of the usual 50 to 60 price range. Geizhals price comparison website did even show the Raspberry Pi 4 with 8GB RAM selling for up to 149.99 Euros (About $170) just last week, but prices have now gone down to just around 100 Euros, clearly a steal! The price for Raspberry Pi 4 with 4GB RAM has also gone down, but it is still at 89.90 Euros according to the Heise’s price comparison website. This is probably a regional pricing issue, but the […]

February 24, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Intel launches Alder Lake P-Series and U-Series mobile hybrid processors

Intel-Alder Lake P-Series and U-Series block diagram

Intel first unveiled the most powerful Alder Lake H-Series last year before the launch in January, and also introduced Alder Lake-S desktop IoT processors and Alder Lake U-Series and P-Series mobile IoT SoCs in early January. But now the company has announced the launch of the Alder Lake P-Series (28W) and U-Series (9W and 15 PBP) 12th generation mobile processors designed for “thin-and-light” laptops which should become available around March 2022. The block diagram of the 28W P-Series and 15W U-Series (source: product brief from Intel) shows both offer the same interfaces including eDP 1.4b, HDMI 2.0b, 2x PCIe Gen4, 12x PCIe Gen3, 2x SATA… and the same 50x25x12mm BGA package. But the 9W U-Series comes in a cost-optimized 28.5x19x11mm BGA package that does without SATA interfaces, a lower number of PCIe Gen3 interfaces (10 vs 12), USB 2.0 interfaces (6 vs 10), Thunderbolt 4 interfaces (2 vs 4), and […]

February 23, 2022 by Ian W MORRISON (Linuxium) - 4 Comments

Aerofara Aero 2 Pro Review – A Celeron N5105 mini PC tested with Windows 11, Ubuntu 20.04

Aerofara’s Aero 2 Pro is an Intel Jasper Lake mini PC and one of the very few new mini PCs to include a VGA port. Aerofara kindly sent one for review and I’ve looked at performance running both Windows and Ubuntu. Aero 2 Pro Hardware Overview The Aero 2 Pro physically consists of a 120 x 120 x 23mm (4.72 x 4.72 x 0.91 inches) rectangular metal case with inset front and back plastic panels. As an actively cooled mini PC, it uses Intel’s 10 nm Jasper Lake N5105 processor which is a quad-core 4-thread 2.00 GHz Celeron processor boosting to 2.90 GHz with Intel’s UHD Graphics. The front panel is bereft of anything save a pinhole which is illuminated blue when the device is powered on. The rear panel includes the power jack, a USB 3.1 port, an HDMI port, an Ethernet port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a […]

Rockchip RK3568, RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs and SoMs in 2025

February 23, 2022February 23, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

OpenScan DIY 3D scanner works with Raspberry Pi, DSLR, or smartphone cameras

OpenScan is an open-source DIY 3D scanner that relies on Photogrammetry and works with Raspberry Pi camera modules, compatible ArduCam modules, as well as DSLR cameras, or the camera from your smartphone. The open-source project was brought to my attention after I wrote about the Creality CR-Scan Lizard 3D scanner. The OpenScan kits include 3D printed parts such as gears, two stepper motors, a Raspberry Pi shield, and a Ringlight module to take photos of a particular object from different angles in an efficient manner. The OpenScan Classic kit above allows for 18x18x18cm scans and comes with the following components: 1x Nema 17 Stepper Motor (13Ncm) 1x Nema 17 Stepper Motor (40Ncm) 2x A4988 Stepper driver 1x Power Supply 12V/2A (5.5-2.5mm plug) 1x Optional Bluetooth remote shutter control for smartphones If you’re going to use the Raspberry Pi as shown on the right side of the image, you’ll also need […]

February 22, 2022April 13, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Challenger RP2040 LoRa board combines Raspberry Pi RP2040 MCU with RFM95W LoRa module

Invector Labs is now offering a variant of the WiFi-based Challenger RP2040 board with a LoRa radio. The Challenger RP2040 LoRa board features the Hope RF RFM95W LoRa radio transceiver module instead of the ESP8285 WiFi chip found in the original board. Raspberry Pi RP2040 has already been used in combination with a LoRa module, notably in Rakwireless RAK11300 WisDuo LPWAN module and the “LoRa Expansion for Pico“, a baseboard for Raspberry Pi Pico equipped with a LoRa module, but it’s the first time I see the combination in a development board form factor, which as a potential bonus following Adafruit Feather form factor. Challenger RP2040 LoRa board preliminary specifications: MCU – Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Cortex-M0+ MCU @ 133MHz with 264KB SRAM Storage – 8MB flash Wireless module – Hope RF RFM95W connected via SPI channel and some GPIOs 168 dB maximum link budget. +20 dBm – 100 mW […]