CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

February 17, 2022August 11, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 28 Comments

USB 3.0 to 2.5Gbps Ethernet adapter review

Late last month, I received hardware to test 2.5GbE and WiFi 6 with namely a Radxa E25 SBC, Xiaomi AX6000 WiFi 6 router, and an 8-port TP-Link 2.5GbE switch. I intended to start testing 2.5GbE networking with UP Xtreme i11 mini PC and Radxa E25, but I thought it might be a good idea to get a USB 3.0 to 2.5Gbps Ethernet adapter just in case. I purchased a no-name dongle for under $15 (475 THB on Lazada) in Thailand, but a USB 3.0 dongle that looks exactly the same can also be purchased on Aliexpress with either a USB Type-A port or a USB Type-C port. There’s some issue with Radxa E25 (it won’t boot it), so I ended up testing the dongle with UP Xtreme i11 mini PC. USB 3.0 to 2.5Gbps Ethernet adapter unboxing The package, marked “USB to LAN Gigabit Ethernet Adapter”, has “USB 3.0” and […]

February 17, 2022June 10, 2023 by Ian W MORRISON (Linuxium) - 12 Comments

Beelink GTR5 Review – An AMD Ryzen 9 mini PC tested with Windows 11, Ubuntu 20.04

Beelink’s GTR5 is their most powerful mini PC to date and has been released as part of their ‘GT’ series of slightly larger mini PCs that are notable for expandable storage configurations together with multiple ports and characterized by the inclusion of a fingerprint scanner. Featuring an AMD Ryzen 9 mobile processor with Radeon Graphics, Beelink kindly sent one for review and I’ve looked at performance running both Windows and Ubuntu. Hardware Overview The Beelink GTR5 physically consists of a 168 x 120 x 39mm (6.61 x 4.72 x 1.54 inches) rectangular metal case. As an actively cooled mini PC, it uses AMD’s ‘Zen 3’ Ryzen 9 5900HX processor which is an eight-core 16-thread 3.3 GHz mobile processor boosting up to 4.6 GHz together with Radeon Graphics. The front panel has an illuminated power button, a ‘CLR CMOS’ button, a USB 3.1 port, a Type-C USB 3.1 port, and a […]

ArmSoM RK3588 AIModule7 NVIDIA Jetson Nano-compatible SOM

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

IoT device monitoring as a product reliability improvement tool

IoT Device Monitoring with Torizon Platform

CNXSoft: This is a guest post by Renato Kiss, Product Manager – Software at Toradex, explaining how IoT device monitoring can be used with open-source software tools like Fluent Bit to improve product reliability, using temperature monitoring as an example. It is impossible to dissociate connected devices from modern life. They are present in homes, offices, industries – basically, in every business, connected devices play vital roles. In a market estimated at 24.1 billion devices and with a revenue of more than USD 1.5 trillion by 2030, IoT will grow based on both consumer and business applications. Hardware will account for about one-third of this value with the majority being distributed in services, including the connectivity for the system. As part of this growth, more services will be added to IoT business and some specialists estimate the economic potential, including IoT products and services, can unlock at least USD 5.5 […]

February 16, 2022January 31, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Blues Wireless launches Wi-Fi Notecard for mixed cellular & WiFi IoT deployments

Blues Wireless has just launched the Wi-Fi Notecard M.2 module that can be used as a replacement to the company’s Notecard LTE Cat-M / NB-IoT M.2 modem that sells with 10 years of connectivity up to 500MB for $49 and up. The Wi-Fi Notecard came to be as some customers wanted to have mixed deployments where cellular makes sense in some locations, while Wi-Fi is better suited to other sites. Others preferred to use WiFi during development or prototyping to save on Notecard cellular data usage. Wi-Fi Notecard specifications: MCU – Arm Cortex-M4 MCU with 2MB flash Wireless Silicon Labs WFM200S Wi-Fi transceiver module with a 2.4 GHz 802.11b/g/n radio supporting up to 72 Mbps link u.FL antenna connector Host interface – M.2 edge connector with I2C, UART, USB Sensor – 3-axis accelerometer and temperature sensor Security – STSAFE Secure Element with hardware crypto, true hardware random number generator, and […]

February 16, 2022February 15, 2022 by Sponsored Post - 13 Comments

Ai-Thinker BW16 is a dual-band WiFi & Bluetooth 5.0 IoT module (Sponsored)

Ai Thinker BW16 dual-band WiFi BLE 5.0 module

Many users prefer the ESP32 when implementing WiFi & Bluetooth into their IoT projects. But Ai-Thinker BW16 offers dual-band WiFi 4 & Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity through Realtek’s RTL8720DN chipset which may provide more reliable connectivity where the 2.4 GHz band is crowded. The module integrates an Arm Cortex-M4F compatible high-performance MCU, an Arm Cortex-M0 compatible low power MCU, WiFI 802.11 a/b/g/n, MAC, Bluetooth and RF baseband, and provides a set of configurable GPIO ports to control peripheral devices. BW16 module One significant difference between BW16 and ESP32 module is that it has two serial port interfaces, so attention should be paid to the wiring of the UART interfaces. The following diagram shows the two serial interfaces of the BW16 module. One of the module serial interfaces is used to send and receive AT commands to control connectivity from a host processor or microcontroller, while the other serial port is used […]

February 16, 2022February 15, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Raspberry Pi RP2040 gains an extra USB port through PIO’s (programmable I/Os)

The Raspberry Pi RP2040 specifications only list one USB 1.1 Host/Device hardware interface, but developer’s Sekigon Gonnoc decided to leverage the microcontroller’s programmable I/Os (PIO) to add an extra USB port that also works in host or device mode. While the C library is still supposed to be a work in progress Sekigon implemented full-speed (12 Mbps) and slow-speed (1.5Mbps) host, full-speed device, USB hub, and multi-port support. There’s even a demo with three “Pico Pico USB” keyboards acting as USB hubs and HID plus a wireless mouse to show the results. The implementation uses one PIO for the USB transmitter using 22 instructions and one state machine and another PIO for the USB receiver using 31 instructions and two state machines, as well as one 1ms loop timer for the host, and one PIO interrupt for the receiver. You’ll find the code to implement the extra USB port on […]

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

February 15, 2022February 15, 2022 by Sponsored Post - Comments Off

Yodeck Leverages Raspberry Pi in Mainstream Digital Signage (Sponsored)

Yodeck, the digital signage company has been utilizing Raspberry Pi 4 (2 GB RAM) as their goto computer to run their signage software. The versatile RPi 4 is a choice for many makers, inventors, schools, and hobbyists, but does not often find its way into mainstream business ventures. The Yodeck service software runs a remote digital signage system that is built on the RPi 4 SBC. Digital displays play an enormous role in business, for advertising, information sharing, instruction, and training. The RPi 4 can be situated at the forefront of those services. Finding the RPi 4 in a custom case, with inputs and connections readily accessible is sometimes startling. Many people are used to the RPi 4 with its circuits bare. The RPi 4 powers the Yodeck Player. A Play and Plug mini-computer with full 4K resolution and direct encoding. The Raspberry Pi 4 Model B is built for […]

February 15, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

DIY Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W handheld PC (mostly) makes use of off-the-shelf parts

The Penkesu Computer is a DIY handheld PC powered by a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W SBC, and mostly comprised of off-the-shelf parts including a 7.9-inch display from Waveshare, replacement hinges for the Gameboy Advance SP, a 48-key mechanical keyboard fitted with Kailh low profile Choc V1 switches, and so on. Penk also happens to have designed the CutiePi tablet with Raspberry Pi CM4, and designed the Penkesu Computer (ペンケース in Japanese) as a side project without having to “worry too much about commercial viability” and as a way to remind himself why he started tinkering. Penkesu Computer handheld PC specifications: SBC – Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W with Broadcom RP3A0 SiP with Broadcom BCM2710A1 quad-core Cortex-A53 processor @ 1.0 GHz, 512MB RAM, MicroSD card slot Display – 7.9-inch IPS display with capacitive touch screen, 1280x 400 resolution, connected over HDMI via flat cable through an Adafruit adapter Keyboard – […]