CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

November 23, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

SONOFF releases HTTP API for SPM-Main power meter

SPM-Main is the main unit of Sonoff Smart Stackable Power Meter using RS485 to provide up to 128 relays. Besides support for the eWelink mobile app, we were promised an HTTP API at the time of the launch in September 2021. ITEAD kept its promises and has now released the HTTP API for the SPM-Main smart power meter to allow IoT home automation users and developers to control SONOFF devices via existing home automation open-source platform or local HTTP client. It’s the same REST API used for SONOFF MINI & R3 smart switches, but it adds support for power monitoring as well. The API allows you to switch between eWelink and DIY modes as needed, and provides the following functions: Device Status Broadcast – Returns the switch status of all channels with current, voltage, power, overload status, RS485 communication status, and more Get the List of Sub-device – List of […]

November 23, 2021November 23, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Entry-level Alder Lake Pentium G7400 and Celeron G6900 processors show up online

Intel recently formally announced the 12th generation Alder Lake hybrid processors family with some high-end processors like the 125W Core i9-12900K processor designed for gaming. But we know some low-power parts are also expected, and @momomo_us recently shared a screenshot showing listings for the boxed version of Intel Pentium Gold G7400 and Celeron G6900 processor. The screenshot contains limited information revealing the $123 Pentium Gold G7400 comes with a 6 MB cache and clocks at up to 3.70 GHz, while the $91 Celeron G6900 features 4M of cache and a 3.40 GHz maximum CPU clock speed. Both are available in an (FC-)LGA16A package. What we do not know for sure from the screenshot is whether the two processors are indeed part of the Alder Lake family. and media reports like the NotebookCheck.net article that tipped us of the leak suspect they could either be an Alder Lake SoC, or Comet […]

ArmSoM RK3588 AIModule7 NVIDIA Jetson Nano-compatible SOM

November 23, 2021April 17, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 24 Comments

Phytium D2000 ARMv8 Mini PC runs Linux, supports gaming with Box64 emulator

Dragonbox is now taking pre-orders for a “Phytium D2000 ARMv8 Mini PC” with an octa-core 64-bit Arm processor, 16GB RAM, a 512GB NVMe, and an AMD Radeon RX550 GPU that makes it powerful enough to play older PC gaming like Crysis through Box64 x86_64 emulator, the 64-bit version of Box86 x86 emulator compatible with Raspberry Pi and other 32-bit Arm platforms. If the Dragonbox name sounds familiar, it’s because that’s the community that developed the Pyra handheld Linux game console/PC, except now they are offering a mini PC based on Phytium D2000 processor based on the same FTC663 Armv8 cores as found in the earlier Phytium FT2000/4 processor, with both Pythium SoC specifically designed for desktop PCs, contrary to most other Arm SoCs on the market. Phytium D2000 mini PC specifications: SoC – Phytium D2000 ARMv8 octa-core custom Armv8 (FTC663) desktop processor @ 2.3 – 2.6 GHz with 8MB L2 […]

November 22, 2021November 22, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

Renesas introduces sub 50 cents FPGA family with free Yosys-based development tools

Renesas has just unveiled the ForgeFPGA family of low-cost low-power FPGA’s to go for under 50 cents in (large) volumes following their acquisition of Dialog Semiconductors last August, who previously designed the GreenPAK programmable mixed-signal matrix. The company says its FPGAs consume half the power of competing FPGAs with a standby current of under 20uA, the price point will enable the use of FPGA in new markets and IoT products, and the tools will be free, at least as in beer, without any license to acquire or install. The full specifications are not available yet, but the ForgeFPGA Family will come with a maximum of 5,000 gates of logic, and the first devices ship with 1K and 2K Look Up Tables (LUTs), and as just mentioned, will operate at ultra-low power as low as 20 microamps in standby. ForgeFPGA is expected to target the same market as GreenPAK notably embedded […]

November 22, 2021January 24, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 18 Comments

International Black Friday 2021 Deals

We’ve been listing Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals available internationally since 2014, going beyond the US-centric Amazon Black Friday deals for instance. So let’s do it again this year from the usual suspects like Aliexpress and Banggood, as well as direct deals from manufacturers. Arduino Black November The maker board manufacturer offers discounts on eight products until November 29, namely the Arduino Starter Kit, the Arduino UNO board, the Arduino Nano Arduino Micro, Oplà IoT Kit, Arduino Due, Portenta H7 machine vision bundle, and the Arduino Mega. The company also offers discounts on Arduino-branded gears from T-Shirts to pens. Khadas 20% discount Khadas has an upcoming deal on the Amazon US store that will run for only 24 hours from 25th November 12:00 am to 26th November 11:59 pm (Pacific Standard Time). As I understand it, they ship internationally too, and you’ll be able to get 20% off the […]

November 21, 2021November 22, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Setting up a motion activated light with Sonoff Zigbee sensor and T2 WiFi switch

Earlier this month, I received a Sonoff ZBBridge Zigbee gateway, a motion sensor, and a Sonoff T2 wireless switch in order to set up everything to work as a motion activated light using Zigbee and WiFi through the eWelink Android app and cloud service. You can check out the first post to have a closer look at the hardware and accessories. We’ve now had time to configure everything and will report the results of the project in this post. The idea is basically to detect motion with the Zigbee sensor, which then transmits the info through the gateway, and the T2 switch is controlled by the eWelink cloud. Last time around, I thought I had a switch with a neutral wire at home, but I did not check in detail enough, and I’ve been unable to use it. Without suitable switches in my home, it was not practical to rewire […]

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

November 20, 2021November 20, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 62 Comments

Dimensity 9000 – MediaTek’s 4nm, 3 GHz octa-core Armv9 processor for flagship 5G smartphones

MediaTek is the top mobile SoC vendor in terms of unit shipped, well ahead of the competition, but the company’s processors were mostly found in entry-level, mid-range, and “premium” smartphones, while flagship smartphones usually feature application processors from Qualcomm, Samsung, or Apple. But MediaTek has upped the ante with the introduction of the Dimensity 9000 smartphone processor featuring an octa-core Armv9 CPU subsystem, including one Cortex-X2 core clocked at up to 3.05 GHz, a Mali-G710 MC10 GPU, 5G connectivity, and manufactured with the bleeding edge 4nm TSMC manufacturing process. Dimensity 9000 specifications: Octa-core CPU subsystem 1x Arm Cortex-X2 “Ultra Core” at 3.05 GHz 3x Arm Cortex-A710 “Super Cores” at up to 2.85 GHz 4x Arm Cortex-A510 “Efficiency Cores” up to 1.80GHz 8MB L3 cache GPU – Mali-G710 MC10 @ 850 MHz with support for Vulkan, (software) raytracing AI Accelerator – 5th generation APU (AI processing unit) with up to 4x […]

November 19, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Jetson EX1 and SUB mini PCs put Xavier NX SoM into metal enclosures

Seeed Studio has just unveiled another Jetson Xavier NX mini PC with the Jetson EX1, plus some metal enclosures for the Jetson SUB mini PC announced last month with the official NVIDIA Jetson Xavier NX developer kit, a 128GB SSD, and the Re_Computer case comprised of an aluminum frame and a plastic cover. Jetson EX1 mini PC The Jetson EX1 mini PC has a different design with a custom carrier board offering dual Gigabit Ethernet and support for four MIPI CSI cameras, a 256GB NVMe SSD, and an aluminum enclosure designed to help with cooling, albeit the computer is not completely fanless since a 5V fan is included in the design as well. Jetson EX1 specifications: NVIDIA Jetson Xavier NX module CPU – 6-core NVIDIA Carmel ARMv8.2 64-bit processor with 6 MB L2 + 4 MB L3 cache GPU – NVIDIA Volta architecture with 384 NVIDIA CUDA cores and 48 […]